It has been announced that Shinya Kote, Hinako Sakurai, Shintaro Anzai, Koji Kato, and Kenjiro Tsuda will appear in "SAKAMOTO DAYS" (directed by Yuichi Fukuda, scheduled for release on April 29th), a live-action film adaptation of the popular manga currently being serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha).
This film is an adaptation of Suzuki Yuto's popular manga, which has sold over 15 million copies worldwide (including digital versions), with the screenplay written by director Fukuda, who is also known for the "Gintama" series and "From Today, It's My Turn!! The Movie." It stars Meguro Ren of the popular group Snow Man. It's a solid action story about Sakamoto Taro (Meguro), a former legendary hitman who retires and runs a shop, and who, together with his friends, fights against approaching assassins to protect the peaceful daily life he lives with his beloved family.
Kote, Sakurai, and Anzai play hitmen who are after Sakamoto's life, as there is a bounty on his head. Kote plays Boyle, a hard-boiled hitman with a connection to Sakamoto, Sakurai plays Obi Kuro, a karate master who teams up with Boyle, and Anzai plays Tatsu, who uses a specially made poison as a weapon.
Sakurai commented, "Until now, I've often had the opportunity to play rather sensitive girls in girls' manga, so I was thrilled to be able to take part in a production based on a hugely popular boys' manga, and to be entrusted with the role of a strong assassin. The role of a combative, cool woman is something I've always wanted to try. It was my first time filming in a daring costume that I've never worn before, and I also had to train my abdominal muscles to prepare for the role."
Kato and Tsuda will play important characters connected to Sakamoto's partner, Asakura Shin (Takahashi Fumiya). Kato will play the boss of the assassin organization that Shin belonged to, while Tsuda will play Asakura, the director of the Asakura Laboratory, which took in the esper Shin when he was a child.
Kato, who is appearing in a Fukuda film for the first time, said, "When I think back, my first encounter with Fukuda dates back over 30 years. It's been a long time. A really long time. It took a long time for Fukuda to become a director and use me... So I really wanted to take the role I was given seriously, and with that in mind, I grew my hair out to be just like in the original manga. But guess what, people started to make insults and slander about my hairstyle. Because of my personality, I couldn't cut it, and here I am today. What are you going to do about it?" he said, while also expressing his joy at being in the film.
Looking back on the filming, Tsuda said, "I was really grateful to be able to play Director Asakura with a visual that was carefully crafted to be faithful to the original. Thanks to that, I was able to easily enter the world of 'SAKAMOTO DAYS'."
