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QP Gang Manga by Crows' Takahashi Gets Live-Action Show
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
A live-action television adaptation for Hiroshi Takahashi's QP gang manga has been green-lit for an October premiere. Actor Takumi Saitō (2011's Hana-Kimi, Space Battleship Yamato, live-action Phoenix Wright) will star as Ryō Azuma. Takashi Miike (Crows Zero, Nintama Rantaro, Yatterman) will direct the series which will premiere on October 5 on NTV.
Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web has photos of Saitou in his role. The original manga centered around a neighborhood's most powerful former gangster named "QP" or Kotori Ishida, but the live-action version is a side story that will focus on Ryō, Ishida's close friend with hidden ambitions.
Saitou replaces Sōsuke Takaoka (Battle Royale, Crows Zero), who had to withdraw from entertainment ties after making controversial comments on Twitter about the Korean wave of entertainment that has become popular in Japan.
Takahashi's Crows manga was adapted into two live-action prequel films directed by Miike: Crows Zero in 2007 and Crows Zero 2 in 2009.
QP ran in Shonen Gahosha Co's Young King magazine from 1999 to 2001, and Shonen Gahosha published a total of eight compiled volumes which have sold 8 million copies. QP is set within the same universe as Takahashi's Crows and Worst manga. Digital Manga Publishing released part of the manga Worst in North America.
Source: Sponichi Annex
