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Live-Action Itoshi no Nina Net Series' Promo Video Reveals May 18 Debut

Fuji TV revealed on Monday that its live-action series adaptation of Ryo Ikuemi's Itoshi no Nina (Nina, My Love) manga will debut on its Fuji TV On Demand (FOD) service on May 18. The service is streaming a promotional video for the show on the Fuji TV On Demand's website. The Twitter account for actor Ayumu Mochizuki also posted the trailer on Twitter.

The eight-episode series will star Kenshi Okada as the protagonist Atsushi, a high school boy. Other cast members include: Mayu Hotta as Nina Aota, Ayumu Mochizuki as Masayuki Oshikawa, Rea Nagami as Mami Morioka, and Shō Kasamatsu as Kiyotaka Ushijima.

The manga's story begins when Masa tells his best friend Atsushi that he has kidnapped Nina, a girl that Atsushi has a crush on. Atsushi becomes Nina's bodyguard. Even though Atsushi fears Ushijima, the mastermind of the kidnapping, he still wants to help Nina, who herself carries a burden in her heart.

Rei Narakino and Hiroyuki Nakata are directing the series, with scripts by Tomoko Akutsu and Iyo Nishikōri. Tsugi Shikanai is credited for production, and Sumi Asano and Yū Gōda are credited as producers.

Ikuemi serialized the manga in Gentosha's Web Spica manga website from 2005 to 2010, and Gentosha published four compiled book volumes for the manga. Gentosha recently recompiled the manga into two omnibus volumes last August. Tokyopop had once licensed the manga, but did not release it before it shut down its North American publishing operations in 2011.

Ikuemi's Pops manga inspired an original video anime in 1993, her Kiyoku Yawaku manga inspired a live-action film in 2013, and her Anata no Koto wa Sorehodo manga inspired a live-action television series in 2017. Ikuemi's Principal manga inspired a live-action film that opened in Japan in March 2018. JManga digitally distributed Ikuemi's Cousin manga in English before closing its doors.

Sources: Fuji TV on Demand, Comic Natalie