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Himeanōru Live-Action Film's Trailer Highlights Parallel Storylines
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The official website of the live-action film adaptation of Minoru Furuya's Himeanōru manga began streaming the film's trailer on March 21. The trailer highlights the film's parallel stories: a romance following the main character Susumu and the heroine Yuka, and a suspense story following the two as they run from the serial killer Shōichi.
The film's main visual features the tagline: "This is annoying so can I kill you?"
The film stars Gaku Hamada (seen center in image at right; Miss Hokusai, live-action Space Brothers) as Susumu Okada, a 25-year-old ordinary man who works part time as a building cleaner. Murotsuyoshi (left) plays Yūji Andō, Susumu's co-worker. Aimi Satsukawa (right; Kikaider Reboot) plays the heroine Yuka Abe, who is being stalked and who becomes Susumu's girlfriend. V6 member Gō Morita (Ningen Shikkaku, Risk no Kamisama) plays Shōichi Morita, Susumu's former high school classmate and serial killer. The role marks Morita's first starring role in a film.
Keisuke Yoshida (live-action Silver Spoon) is directing the film. The film will receive an R-15 rating in Japan. The staff stated that the rating is due to the realistic depictions of the character Shōichi's serial killings. The film will open in Japan on May 28.
In the manga, Susumu is an ordinary man who spends his days in isolation feeling anxious and dissatisfied with his life. He starts going out with cafe worker Yuka, but Yuka informs him that a man named Shōichi, who used to be Susumu's classmate in high school, is stalking her. Shōichi, the other protagonist of the manga, is in truth a serial killer who gets pleasure through killing. He was severely bullied when he was in high school.
Furuya (Himizu) serialized the six-volume manga in Weekly Young Magazine in 2008-2010.
Sion Sono directed an award-winning live-action film adaptation of Furuya's Himizu manga in 2011. Furuya's Ping Pong Club manga received an anime adaptation in 1995, which Central Park Media released in North America.
