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Live-Action Strobe Edge Series Casts Sakura Kiryu
posted on by Anita Tai
The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the live-action series of Io Sakisaka's Strobe Edge manga announced on Thursday that Sakura Kiryū (Weathering With You, Lonely Castle in the Mirror) will play Mao Sugimoto, Ren and Andō's younger underclass student during junior high school. Mao will be key to the story in the series' upcoming second season.
The live-action series will have two seasons to adapt the entire manga. The first season will debut on October 31 at 11:00 p.m. on WOWOW and will have six episodes.
The series stars Riko Fukumoto as Ninako Kinoshita and Kyohei Takahashi as Ren Ichinose.
Additional cast members include (character romanizations are not confirmed for all characters):
- Kōki Yamashita as Takumi Andō
- Nao Kosaka as Sayuri Uehara
- Motoki Nakazawa as Daiki Korenaga
- Tsubasa Nakagawa as Manabu Miyoshi
- Sora Inoue as Yuutarou Terada
- Neo Inoue as Tamaki Tsutsui
- Yui Oguri as Ritsuko Kashiwagi
- Ririka Tanabe as Mayuka Korenaga
The series is reuniting the staff of WOWOW's previous live-action series adaptation of Sakisaka's Blue Spring Ride (Ao Haru Ride) manga that premiered as two seasons in September 2023 and January 2024. Masato Kimura and Yūsuke Matsuda are again directing the Strobe Edge series, and Sayaka Kuwamura is again penning the script.
The Strobe Edge manga spawned a spinoff story in the November issue of Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret magazine, which shipped on October 10. The 32-page spinoff story focused on the character Takumi Andō.
Strobe Edge previously inspired a live-action film that opened in Japan in March 2015. Sōta Fukushi and Kasumi Arimura starred in the film.
Viz Media published the 10-volume manga in English, and it describes the story.
What is love, anyway? Ninako Kinoshita's friends tell her it's one thing, but Ninako wonders what this mysterious feeling really is. When she meets Ren Ichinose, a handsome, enigmatic guy who all the girls worship, her life takes an unexpected turn. With just a few words and a smile, he changes her world...
Sakisaka launched the manga in Bessatsu Margaret magazine in 2007, and ended it in 2010.
Viz Media has also released Sakisaka's Blue Spring Ride; Sakura, Saku!; and Love Me, Love Me Not manga in English.
Sources: Comic Natalie, live-action Strobe Edge series' X/Twitter account
