Miss King

Miss King (2025): All the Tea They Didn’t Spill in the End Credits

Revenge, shogi, and a dead mom might be the core of Miss King, but what about the real-life drama? Fans, brace yourselves: this is one of those maddeningly well-behaved productions. No set walkouts, no affairs exposed by traffic cameras mid-shoot… but there is some fascinating history, odd on‑set choices, latestnetflix.com contends, and a leading man with a very real scandal in his past. Let’s line the pieces up.

On-Set Drama (A.K.A. Everyone Was Weirdly Professional)

The “Too Clean for TV” Toilet Scandal (Sort Of):

The show opens with Asuka in a truly vile public bathroom. Production tried to shoot in a real public restroom around Tokyo… but discovered modern Japanese toilets are annoyingly spotless. Director Seita Yamagishi finally admitted, “We couldn’t find a dirty one,” so they built a fake hell-bathroom in a warehouse and deliberately trashed it with scattered garbage, dripping “water,” and even live insects set loose for realism. Non reportedly recoiled the first time she stepped in; staff had to reassure her most of the filth was paint, not biohazard .

The Nosebleed Dream Team:

For Asuka’s iconic single-trickle nosebleed, the crew assigned three different staffers just to manage the fake blood from off-camera angles. Non joked that having a whole “nosebleed squad” fussing over her face became a running gag on set, lightening the mood around what’s otherwise one of the show’s bleakest sequences .

Mirror Magic With a Human Double:

Those intense mirror shots? That’s not CGI. They used a body double on one side and Non on the other, carefully syncing every twitch and gesture so it looks like a reflection. Non and the stand‑in rehearsed obsessively to get the timing exact, since one missed beat would ruin the illusion .

Shogi Bootcamp From Hell:

Non had never touched a shogi piece before this series. Her instructor told her, “If you play 100 games a day, you’ll definitely get better,” and she actually tried to live up to it: practicing before filming began, grabbing pieces even while eating breakfast, and learning the tricky “arched grip” that kept sending the pieces flying in early rehearsals. She went from nailing one move correctly out of ten to consistently handling full match sequences while delivering heavy dialogue .

Cast Feuds & Tea (Mostly Cute, Not Catastrophic)

Shido Nakamura’s Stone-Cold Silence:

Asuka’s monstrous shogi-god dad is played by Shido Nakamura, and rumor has it he was just as icy in real life… for artistic reasons. Shido chose to barely speak to Non on set so that her simmering hatred would stay raw. He later admitted he only exchanged “a few words” with her in the final days of filming, despite them being scene partners all along . Not a feud, but definitely a calculated cold shoulder.

The Secret Instagram Stalking Pact:

At wrap, Nakamura casually told Non he’d followed her on Instagram — only to learn she’d already been quietly following him. They became public mutuals right as they stopped needing to hate each other on camera. Enemies to mutual followers: the most 2025 dynamic imaginable .

Kana Kurashina: Emotional Support Co-Star:

Kurashina (Reiko) is described by Non as the soothing presence on set — warm, “healing,” and the emotional cushion against all the angst. Non likened their scenes to a mille‑feuille of comfort and tension: layers of safety and dread stacked together. No cattiness; just two actresses low‑key gushing about how much they like each other in interviews .

Fujiki Naohito, Chaos in One Outfit:

Fujiki, who plays ex‑pro shogi bum Todo, admitted he was terrified people would feel catfished by the promo images. The glossy stills make Todo look slick and mysterious, but in the actual show he only has one outfit the entire time. Fujiki joked fans might watch the drama and think, “This is not what I signed up for,” insisting he worried about expectations versus the budget reality of a single costume .

Rubik’s Cubes & Showa Star Roleplay:

Co-star Sayaka Yamaguchi recalled Nakamura entertaining everyone between takes by doing “Showa-era star” impressions — acting like an old-school idol from another time — while other cast members, including Kurashina and Fujiki, played idly with Rubik’s Cubes on set. It was less toxic set, more bizarre retro variety show backstage .

Romance Rumors (More Fanfic Than Fact)

Non & Fujiki: Ship, Don’t Slip:

Public events and interviews show a relaxed, almost buddy‑cop closeness between Non and Fujiki. He praises her range and intensity; she talks about his “cool but sensual” screen presence and how Todo becomes a kind of rough-edged mentor she leans on .

• Important: there is no solid reporting of any off-screen romance. Fans on social media speculate and ship them (because of course they do), but that’s squarely in unconfirmed-fan-theory territory.

Non’s Real-Life Career Drama Overshadows Dating Talk:

The juiciest “Non” story isn’t about who she’s dating — it’s about how she had to change her own name to keep working. After a nasty dispute with her former talent agency, she was reportedly told she could no longer use “Rena Nōnen” professionally. She re-emerged as “Non,” and for years insiders whispered she’d been semi-blacklisted from mainstream TV. Only recently has she fully resurfaced, with Miss King touted as a major comeback lead . That baggage adds a meta twist to her role as a woman fighting a system that stole her life.

Scandals & Controversies (Mostly Imported, Not Created)

Shido Nakamura’s Drunk-Driving Past:

Long before Miss King, Nakamura was involved in a very real scandal: he was busted for drunk driving in 2006, with actress Aya Okamoto in the car. The incident caused a media firestorm and reportedly contributed to the breakdown of his first marriage . When Miss King publicity rolled out, some Japanese and Asian entertainment blogs revisited this history, questioning whether giving him the role of a selfish, destructive father was “brave meta-casting” or just a sign that industry men always land on their feet. Officially, the show never commented on this angle.

The “Missing Episode 9” Urban Legend:

Fan discussions outside Japan sometimes refer to Miss King as having “about 9–10 episodes” early in the hype cycle. The finished run is eight. That tiny discrepancy has fueled English-language fan theories that there was a scrapped finale or darker ending ABEMA refused to air. There’s no hard proof of this — schedules from Japanese outlets and official events consistently say 8 episodes — but the rumor lives on among fans who swear they saw “9 eps” teased in old posts .

Not the Queen’s Gambit, Thanks:

After Western viewers on Reddit started calling it “the Japanese Queen’s Gambit but with shogi,” some fans pushed back, arguing that Miss King focuses more on misogyny, exploitation, and trauma than “girl genius beats men at their own game.” The comparison isn’t a scandal, but it’s become a small culture-war talking point about how non‑Western shows get flattened into Hollywood analogies .

Leaks, Deleted Bits & Production Oddities

The Bloodless “Tabloid Scandal”:

Episode 7’s plot centers on a tabloid scandal around Asuka’s father — but outside the show, there were no real tabloids breaking stories about the cast. Searches through gossip outlets and social chatter show no leaked affairs, no secret babies, no production lawsuits. The only “scandal” to hit headlines was the fictional one in the script .

Shogi Nerd-Level Authenticity:

To keep shogi obsessives from dragging them online, the team brought in consultants and had Non memorize actual game records, move by move. She watched ABEMA’s real shogi broadcasts to mimic how real pros sit, react, and analyze post-game — not just dramatic “I slam my piece and smirk” TV moves . According to Non, the shogi advisor even told her she had enough talent and understanding to work toward an official dan rank if she kept studying — a compliment that sent fans fantasizing about her entering real tournaments someday .

Production Limitations Turned Running Jokes:

Fujiki’s infamous one-outfit Todo wasn’t just an actor’s paranoia. He pointed out at an event that marketing photos made him look like a cool noir antihero, but in reality, Todo is a washed-up ex-pro living off his girlfriend… in the same clothes every episode. He joked viewers might feel bait-and-switched when they realize his wardrobe never changes, hinting at budget or design constraints that became an inside joke among the cast .

Wild Trivia & Fan-Driven Lore

Public Toilets Too Nice for Gritty Drama:

The fact that the production literally couldn’t find a convincingly gross toilet in modern Japan turned into a mini talking point in Japanese coverage — an odd little reflection on how much cleaner real life is than drama would like it to be. The director basically had to manufacture hell because Tokyo’s infrastructure is too competent .

Non Says This Is Her “Least Smiling” Role Ever:

In interviews, Non has said she’d never before played a character so utterly deprived of joy, and that performing Asuka’s rage and despair left her emotionally drained. She described going home from certain days of shooting feeling “dragged down,” especially after long shogi scenes where she had to sustain barely contained fury across take after take .

Set Mood: Grim Script, Goofy Cast:

While the show itself is all trauma and revenge, reports from events paint the cast as borderline goofy:

• Nakamura doing “Showa star” antics.
• Fujiki playing Rubik’s Cube and worrying about his single costume.
• Non cracking jokes about having three “nosebleed guys.”
• Everyone collectively marveling at how filthy the toilet set looked, despite being mostly paint and stagecraft .

ABEMA’s Prestige Flex:

Critics and bloggers have pointed out that Miss King and fellow ABEMA drama Scandal Eve are being held up as evidence that the platform can play in the same league as big TV networks — with articles explicitly pairing the two as examples of ABEMA’s darker, more ambitious original dramas . So for once, the biggest “industry narrative” around a revenge drama is… “wow, this is actually well-made.”

In the end, Miss King pulls a reverse drama move: the fictional world is a vicious, tabloid-fodder nightmare, while the real production is almost disturbingly wholesome. Your fave dark shogi thriller was built on meticulous craft, old scandals dragged in from earlier decades, and a lot of fake filth poured into a lovingly disgusting bathroom set. Not every show needs a lawsuit to be legendary — sometimes it just needs three nosebleed wranglers and a director who thinks Japan’s toilets are too clean.