NHK starts a new six-month-long asa-dora (morning drama) on Monday. These popular serials traditionally launch the careers of the young actresses who play the heroines, but "Dan Dan" (More and More; NHK-G, M-F, 8:15 a.m.; BS-2, M-F, 7:45 a.m.) stars twins Mana and Kana Mikura, who appeared in an asa-dora in 1996 when they were 10 years old.
Mana plays Megumi Tajima, a free spirit who lives with her fisherman father, Tadashi (Eisaku Yoshida), in Shimane Prefecture. A third-year high-school student, Mana likes to spend her free time busking in front of the train station. Kana plays Nozomi Ichiko, a maiko (apprentice geisha) in Kyoto who lives with her mother, Makiko (Hikari Ishida), a geisha.
These two meet by accident at the famous shrine in Izumo, and the encounter leads to a revelation of how the two girls are twin sisters separated shortly after birth. A deeper connection is forged, and though the girls possess very different temperaments, they aim to become a singing duo after Megumi moves to Kyoto to attend university.