To the readers, sorry it’s been so long since this blog’s last post! I’m just now surfacing from a brain-addling haze of Fire Emblem: Fates. 150+ hours in, and still more routes to go…
But in news that actually matters, the cast for the previously announced live action TV show of Higurashi has now been finalized. The show will feature:
- Yuuma Ishigaki as Tomitake Jiro
- Yū Inaba as Keiichi Maebara
- Minami Katō as Rena Ryūgū
- Rika Nakai as Mion Sonozaki, Shion Sonozaki (they’ll have to be clever with camera angles when both characters appear in the same scene).
- Reina Seiji as Satoko Hōjō
- Hinata Honma as Rika Furude
- Rie Kitahara as Miyo Takano
- Moeka Takakura as “the mysterious girl”…I’d assume this is Hanyuu. Which is interesting, considering the theory that the show’s 8 episodes will only cover the Question arcs. Although she could still be worked into the Question arcs for some extra hints to the audience.
The names for the female actors, all from the NGT48 idol group, link to a video of their audition. They’re all multi-character scenes, and I can’t tell which girl is which. But still, it gives one an idea of what the acting will be like.
This Japanese article also has side-by-side comparisons of these and other male characters, some of which are perfect.
As you can see, at least they got the show’s most important character right, so I can rest easy.
The show is still set to air in May, on Fridays at 9:00 PM. I’m looking forward to the inevitable fansubs.
Sea of Fragments 
I’m almost certain that this show will only cover the question arcs, because I’ve seen a screenshot from the ‘making of’ special or whatever that shows the scripts, which are Onikakushi, Watanagashi, and Tatarigoroshi, and each one is labeled 前編・後編 or Part 1 and Part 2. So presumably two episodes each. I wonder what they’re going to do for the last two episodes…Himatsubushi would fit in perfectly, but then I wonder why they didn’t show it.
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Ooo, that’s cool. Can it be watched online somewhere?
Maybe when that was shot, the script for Himatsubushi hadn’t been finalized, or they just hadn’t started shooting on it?
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I’m not sure the ‘making of’ video actually shows any new footage, I think it just shows the main roles being picked and such.
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I’m really looking forward to this one, they seem to be having fun. It doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it’s adapting from the anime and not from the Novel, but whatever.
Since they will only cover the question arcs it could be actually a decent adaptation and maybe we’ll have a second season?
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Yeah, I hope it does well! And if not, at least it’ll get a lot of new people into the anime or VNs, so they can actually resolve all those burning questions the first half brings up.
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I totally understand the Fire Emblem bit. I spent my entire spring break ignoring projects and playing it. Unfortunately, school resumed when I was in chapter 22 of Revelations, so I’m not quite finished. All total, though, I spent about 30 hours on both Birthright and Conquest, and then about 20 hours so far in Revelations. What great games. Fire Emblem has always been one of my favorites.
If Oishi looks good, the show will be good. That’s all there is to it.
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Ha, I wonder how I managed to spend 90 hours on Birthright….and that’s without replaying any maps, since I’m playing the game on Classic without resets, or “ironman.” I guess it just makes me stop and consider every move with agonizing detail, since it’s literally life and death. And I’m on Conquest now, which is damn brutal. I’ve been loving the game that way, though. It makes it so immersive and really touches your emotions like few other games can.
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Mr. Delicious looks just right. Now I hope the main roles don’t get screwed up.
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TBH the whole “casting idol group as the main heroines” does worry me. Celebrity gimmicks and dramatic casting don’t usually mix. Buuut, I’m ready to give it a chance.
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Yuu Inaba might okay as Keiichi. He played Kamen Rider Mach/Gou Shijima in last year’s Kamen Rider, and his performance in the second half of the show (when it got decidedly more serious and they stopped pushing toys as much) was pretty enjoyable. It’s actually for him that I might watch this.
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Thanks for chiming in! I know basically nothing about Japanese drama; just that he has the right look for the part, IMHO. Keiichi’s role has the potential for a great performance, though. Hopefully he’ll be able to do those awesome climactic scenes from the Atonement arc, too.
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I fell in a ditch and died a couple of months ago, and only recently resurrected, so I understand that feeling. I’m glad you’re back though.
Watching the auditions, the scenes seemed a lot more animated than what I expected (especially the “mysterious girl” audition, and those with the picnic as the setting), which is a good thing considering the cartoony nature of the original sound novel. I’ve never seen the live action movie, so I don’t have much to compare this to, but I’m at least glad that this rendition keeps some of the vibrance that makes Higurashi what it is.
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Welcome back to the world of the living : )
IMHO adapting anime/manga/VN into live action is incredibly difficult, since if you adhere too closely to the original it comes off as ridiculous (no characters with their hair dyed bright green, please), but you can also go too far in the opposite direction (ala Dragonball: Evolution). It’s kind of like walking a tightrope.
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I’m excited about this… i really hope their appearance not screwed as in the film..
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With my level of japanese (aka bing) it seems like there will be only 6 episodes.
Oh, and I like the fact that they have the original outifts.
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It’s true. Maybe they were originally planning on including Himatsubushi, but decided not to for whatever reason.
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I’ve just watched the first episode in japanese. Trash aside, it was actually really good. The characters were surprisingly faithful to the original and overall it was just a big surprise
Nice
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