It has been revealed that author Kitakata Kenzo will be making a cameo appearance in the TV drama series "Kitakata Kenzo Suikoden," which is based on his own novel. The drama began airing and streaming on WOWOW and the video streaming service "Lemino" on February 15th, and Kitakata will appear in the second episode, which will be broadcast and streamed from 10pm on the 22nd. In addition, a special video of a conversation between Kitakata and lead actor Oda Yuji on set has been released on the official YouTube channel.
Kitakata's monumental historical epic novel, the "Water Margin" series (19 volumes, Shueisha Bunko), is a reconstruction of "Water Margin," considered one of China's three great classics, and has sold over 11.6 million copies. This is the first in a trilogy of "Great Water Margin" works, which will be followed by "Yang Lingden" and "Yue Feiden." Set in China at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (early 12th century), the drama tells the story of Song Jiang (played by Oda), who rises up in despair over the rampant corruption of the world, and the rebellion of the "outcasts" he gathers around him.
Although details of the role Kitakata will play and the scenes in which he will appear have not been revealed, the released making-of stills show Kitakata standing next to Oda with a full beard and a dignified and imposing appearance.
In the special interview video released, Kitakata looks back on his surprise appearance in the drama and talks amiably about his impressions of being on set. There is also a heartwarming moment when Oda interrupts Kitakata, who is about to start talking about the scene he appeared in, with a smile, saying, "You'll have to watch it to find out." When Oda commented that the scale of this work is about two or three times larger than a regular drama series, Kitakata responded, "The excitement on set is incredible. We're putting a lot of effort into it," raising expectations for the work.
Additionally, an interview with Kitakata has been published on WOWOW's official note, where he shares his thoughts on his cameo appearance in episode 2, behind-the-scenes stories, his thoughts on the film adaptation, memorable scenes, and characters, all from the perspective of an original author.
"Kitakata Kenzo Suikoden" consists of 7 episodes. It is broadcast and streamed every Sunday at 10pm on WOWOW Prime, WOWOW On Demand, and Lemino.
