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ToQger's Shizon Stars in Film of Senpai to Kanojo Shōjo Manga
posted on by Egan Loo
Senpai to Kanojo, Atsuko Nanba's popular shōjo high school romance manga that has over 1 million copies in print, is inspiring a live-action film from director Chihiro Ikeda this fall. Jun Shizon, who just finished starring in the Super Sentai tokusatsu (special-effects) television series Ressha Sentai ToQger in February, will have his first starring role in a movie.
Shizon will play a third-year high school student named Keigo Minohara, and the heroine is first-year student Rika Tsuzuki. Keigo is Rika's senpai (upperclassman) in a club, and Rika harbors feelings for him. Keigo treats Rika with carefree kindness, but he himself harbors feelings for a popular girl who already graduated from their school.
Nanba (Taiyo wa Kimi ni Kagayaku, Sprout, Tonari no Atashi) launched the manga in Kodansha's Bessatsu Friend magazine in 2004, and Kodansha published the second and final compiled book volume in 2005.
The manga creator happens to be a huge fan of ToQger and Shizon, and she even went to the series' live sentai shows at Tokyo Dome City which attracted over 310,000 attendees. This led to the 20-year-old actor being selected for this starring role. Senpai to Kanojo is the first project that Shizon is filming right after ToQger ended.
Shizon, who is 1.78 meters (5 feet, 10 inches) tall, is playing a boy who frequently employed shōjo tropes in the original manga, such as "kabe-don" (planting a hand next to a girl's head against the wall) and "ago-kui" (lifting a girl's chin to look into her eyes). Shizon joined the D2 actor group (now merged with D-Boys) in 2011, and he made his acting debut in The Prince of Tennis stage musical that same year. The event for his first photo collection book attracted 3,000 fans last August.
Source: Sankei Sports
