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Tsukasa Hojo's Angel Sign Film Casts Nao Matsushita, Dean Fujioka

The official website for Angel Sign, City Hunter manga creator Tsukasa Hōjō's debut live-action film, revealed a teaser video for the film on Thursday. The video reveals the film's main cast, and the site also describes the film's story.

The film centers around cellist Aika (Nao Matsushita) and pianist Takaya (Dean Fujioka). Musicians and lovers, they share a dream of one day moving the world with their music. Takaya composes pieces while doing part-time jobs, and Aika watches over him. But one day, after composing the "Angel Sign" piano-cello duet piece, Takaya never came home. Aika continues to play the piece alone, and eventually, the piece will spread throughout the world.

North Star Pictures describes the film as love stories based on submissions to North Star Pictures' Monthly Comic Zenon's Silent Manga Audition, along with an original story by Hojo himself.

Hojo's City Hunter manga recently inspired both the City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes anime film from Sunrise, and the Nicky Larson et le Parfum de Cupidon (Nicky Larson and the Cupid's Purfume) French live-action film. The former opened in Japan on March 1, while the latter opened in France on February 6.

Hojo also drew the City Hunter spinoff manga Angel Heart, which debuted in 2001 in Shinchosha's Comic Bunch magazine. The manga relaunched with Angel Heart 2nd Season in Tokuma Shoten's Monthly Comic Zenon after Comic Bunch ceased publication in 2010. The manga ended in May 2017. Tokuma Shoten released 16 volumes for the manga. The manga inspired a television anime in 2005 and a live-action television series in 2015.

The Silent Manga Audition highlights artists who draw short comics around the world in the style of manga. All entries in the competition are required to have no dialogue. The 11th and most recent Silent Manga Audition's deadline for submissions ended on March 31. The theme for this year is "Promise." Hojo has judged the audition every year since its start, and Fist of the North Star's Tetsuo Hara, Monthly Comic Zenon editor in chief Nobuhiko Horie, Yoroshiku Mecha-Doc's Ryūji Tsugahara, and Koroshi-ya Menkichi's Jun Tomizawa are joining him as the judges for this round.

Sources: Angel Sign film's website, Comic Natalie