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Dean Fujioka, Nao Matsushita Perform Theme Song for Tsukasa Hojo's Angel Sign Film
posted on by Alex Mateo
The official website for Angel Sign, City Hunter manga creator Tsukasa Hōjō's debut live-action film, revealed on Monday that Dean Fujioka, one of the movie's costars, will perform the film's theme song titled "Chasing A Butterfly feat. Nao Matsushita." Nao Matsushita, another costar in the movie, will also perform and play piano for the song.
The website began streaming a new trailer on Tuesday. The video previews the theme song.
The film opens on November 15, and will be an omnibus film with multiple stories.
Hojo will only direct the "Prologue" and "Epilogue" stories, while a different director will handle each of the other stories, which include "Wakare to Hajimari" (Beginning and Farewell), "Sora e" (SKY SKY), "30-pun 30-byō" (Thirty and a Half Minutes), "Chichi no Okurimono" (Father's Gift), and "Furusato e" (Back Home). All the stories will have no spoken lines, and will only have video and music.
Hojo's "Prologue" and "Epilogue" stories are based on his original work, and as previously revealed, will star Matsushita as cellist Aika and Fujioka as pianist Takaya. The story centers around two musicians and lovers who 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.
All the stories except for Hojo's are based on submissions to North Star Pictures' Monthly Comic Zenon's Silent Manga Audition.
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.
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, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
