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Manga Artist Akiko Higashimura to Appear in Princess Jellyfish Film

Manga author Akiko Higashimura will appear in the live-action film adaptation of her Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) manga. Higashimura will appear during the "fashion show" scene as a VIP with the main characters.

When commenting on the film, she noted, "The sets, the mood, the cast... There's absolutely no off-putting elements in the film, and it feels like the manga has just become 3D. As the author, I'm very satisfied with the feeling of the world."

The cast for the film will star:

• Rena Nōnen (Amachan, Hot Road) as jellyfish-obssesed otaku Tsukimi Kurashita (leftmost)
• Masaki Suda (Kamen Rider W, High School Debut) as cross-dressing Kuranosuke Koibuchi (top center)
• Hiroki Hasegawa (Second Virgin, Why Don't You Play in Hell?) as Shū Koibuchi, who is scared of women (top right)
• Chizuru Ikewaki (The Cat Returns, The Piano Forest) as railroad otaku Banba (bottom, fourth from the right)
• Rina Ōta (The Next Generation -Patlabor-) as Three Kingdoms otaku Mayaya (bottom, third from the right)
• Singer Tomoe Shinohara (Ghiblies, on-chan Yume Power Daibōken) as Jiji, who is into old men (bottom, second from the right)
• Azusa Babazono (of the comedy duo "Asian") as Japanophile Chieko (bottom, rightmost)

Taisuke Kawamura (Himitsu no Akko-chan, Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score Part II) is directing the film off a script by Toshiya Ono (Watashi no Yasashikunai Sempai, Gatchaman Crowds, tsuritama, Suite Precure). Kumiko Iijima worked on the costumes for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu before designing the costumes for this movie.

The film will open in Japanese theaters on December 27.

The manga inspired the 2010 Princess Jellyfish television anime series which Funimation released in North America. Funimation describes the story:

Plain, timid and obsessed with jellyfish, Tsukimi is a far cry from her idea of a princess. Her tepid life as a jobless illustrator comes complete with roommates who harbor diehard hobbies that solidify their status as hopeless social rejects. These wallflowers run a tight, nun-like ship, but their no-men-allowed-not-no-one-not-no-how bubble is unwittingly burst after Tsukimi brings home a rescued sea jelly and a beauty queen... who's actually a guy. When the threat of losing their cozy convent inspires this glamour boy to turn the neurotic entourage into a portrait of success, will Tsukimi take her chance to bloom, or will she end up a hot mess?

Higashimura launched the manga in Kiss, Kodansha's manga magazine for female readers, in 2008, and Kodansha published 2.7 million copies as of the 14th compiled book volume in September. The manga also received two prequel chapters in Kodansha's Kiss magazine.

Source: Comic Natalie

Images © LesPros Entertainment.Co.,Ltd. © Akiko Higashimura/Kodansha