News
Yuya Yagira Stars in Live-Action Show of Tokyo23 Manga
posted on by Heather Skinner
Actor Yuya Yagira will be starring this fall in Tokyo23: Survival City, WOWOW's live-action television series version of the manga Tokyo23 by writer Takeshi Arashida and artist Eiji Hashimoto. The story takes place within the 23 wards of Tokyo and centers on Noboru (Yagira), an unemployed youth whose dream is to become a martial arts fighter. Noboru and fellow competitor Dan (Kanata Hongō) enter the "X Game," a deadly competition where participants are given a mysterious bracelet at the beginning. Those who are still wearing the bracelet at the end of the competition are awarded with a prize of 100 million yen (about US$1.1 million). However, the prize for those who cannot keep up is death in the most unusual manners.
The original manga ran in Coamix's Weekly Comic Bunch magazine from 2008 to 2009, and three book volumes were compiled and published. The television series is scheduled to run for five episodes in WOWOW's Saturday midnight timeslot starting on September 4. Ryō Nishimura is directing off scripts written by Yūsuke Watanabe (20th Century Boys trilogy, Robo Rock, Bloody Monday, Kami no Shizuku, Yasuko to Kenji, Gantz). Other cast members for the show include Maho Nonami, Rin Takanashi, and Yōji Tanaka.
Source: Sports Hochi via Tokyograph
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history