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Tenpai Gaiden Mahjong Manga Gets Live-Action Films
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Author Tomoshi Kuga and artist Shinmei Minegishi's Mahjong Hadō Densetsu Tenpai Gaiden (Mahjong Military Rule Legend: Tenpai Side Story) will get two live-action film adaptations. They will screen on November 18 at the Shibuya Euro Live theater in Tokyo and then ship on separate DVDs on January 5.
Yūichi Onuma (live-action Saki) is directing and Kenji Matsuda is starring in both films.
The mahjong-themed manga's main character Yoshiaki Kurosawa, known by the nickname "Mahjong Craftsman," came from the creators' Mahjong Hiryū Densetsu Tenpai manga (Tenpai for short). The spinoff tells the story of how Kurosawa came to meet the original manga's protagonist Shun Okimoto.
Tenpai Gaiden is serializing in Nihonbungeisha's Manga Goraku Special (after moving from Bessatsu Manga Goraku when the magazine ceased publication) and it has 3 million copies in print. The 34th volume shipped on April 19 and the 25th volume will ship on October 29.
The original manga is also ongoing in Weekly Manga Goraku, and the 95th volume of the original manga shipped on August 18. The series inspired its own pair of live-action film series adaptations, as well as a 2003 game for PlayStation 2.
Sources: Cinema Topics, Amazon (link 2)
