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More of Live-Action Kiki's Delivery Service Cast Revealed in Costume

Machiko Ono (Suzaku, Like Father, Like Son, second from the right in photo) will play the prominent character Osono in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular children's novel series Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) by Eiko Kadono (second from left in photo). Osono is the owner of the bakery where the main character Kiki (Fūka Koshiba, center in photo) works. Hiroshi Yamamoto (rightmost in photo) will play Osono's baker husband named Fukuo, and Miho Kanazawa will play a character named Saki.

The film's staff and cast appeared before the press on Friday on location in Shōdo Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagawa. Director Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge/Juon, Tomie: Rebirth, leftmost in photo) emphasized that the live-action version "is starting from scratch, even before step 0" in creating a world based on Kadono's original books, as opposed to Hayao Miyazaki's more famous anime film adaptation.

Shimizu acknowledged that Miyazaki's version is famous worldwide and has already established an image of what the story looks like in everyone's minds. He also acknowledged that making a live-action version after the anime would seem rash, but he wanted to do this film specifically because of this challenge. Producer Akira Morishige added that of the five or six director candidates, Shimizu was the most motivated towards the project.

Filming began on May 23 in a Tokyo studio, and it moved on May 30 to Shōdo Island, a locale known for its olive gardens and Mediterranean-like climate and architecture. A huge open set was set up on location, including Osono's Gütiokipänja Bakery with its white walls, green window frames, and stained-glass decorations. Kadono visited the set for the first time on Friday, and after complimenting Koshiba's looks, remarked that she always wanted to see a living Kiki in person.

Filming will continue until the end of July, and the film will open next year.

Koshiba (Iki mo Dekinai Natsu), an accomplished figure skater (she can perform the triple loop jump), entered the entertainment industry when she was chosen from 35,390 candidates in the "Girls Audition 2011" competition. Satoko Okudera (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Princess and the Pilot) is writing the script for the film.

The six novel volumes of Majo no Takkyūbin follow the coming of age of Kiki with her black cat Jiji. They have sold 1.8 million copies and have been translated into eight languages, including English, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, and Korean. The anime adapted the first novel volume, while the live-action film will cover the first two volumes.

Annick Press published the first novel with an English translation by Lynne E. Riggs in 2003. That same year, Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney released Ghibli's film on DVD in North America.

Oricon posted more photos from Friday's press presentation at Shōdo Island.

Source: Oricon