35-year-old actress Michiko Kichise (Nodame Cantabile, Bloody Monday) will have her first television lead role with the live-action adaptation of Kahoru Fukaya's Hagane no Onna (She's a Steely Woman!) manga. The television series will premiere in Japan on May 21 at 11:15 p.m. Kichise will play Ineko Haga, a woman with no boyfriend, money, or work. Haga, who is nicknamed "Hagane" ("Steel"), becomes the teacher of a notoriously troublesome fourth-grade class; she follows a long string of teachers who were hired for the class, only to quit in frustration. Between the disrespectful students and the overly obsessive parents, "Hagane" must live up to her nickname to survive the job.

The manga has been running in Shueisha's You manga magazine for women since 2007, and the sixth compiled book volume is shipping this month.