Tokyo, 28 January, /AJMEDIA/
Usually, there’s a long, gradual build-up to the launch of a live-action adaptation of a popular anime/manga series. First comes the initial announcement, maybe with a redesigned logo and pleasant but platitude-packed statement from the original creator about how they’re surprised and excited, and that even though there’s no release window yet at this early stage, they hope that everyone is looking forward to it.
Quite a bit later comes the introduction of the actor or actress tapped to play the protagonist, who also will make some broad statements about how they fell in love with the character and are happy to be portraying them, followed by a slow-drip reveal of the rest of the cast, with the live-action version finally releasing months after it was first announced.
So it’s pretty shocking to see Amazon Prime Video and Toei say “We’re making a live-action version of ‘Oshi no Ko.’ Here’re photos of the main cast, in costume as their characters, and the series will be out by the end of the year. Oh, yeah, we’re releasing a movie too.”
That’s precisely what the two companies have done, though, with a surprise announcement made on Wednesday in Japan.
“Oshi no Ko’s” story of show business, murder, and reincarnation is centered on the idol industry, and several members of the cast come from musical backgrounds. Cast in the lead role of Aqua is drummer/actor/fashion model Kaito Sakurai (son of J-pop band Mr. Children vocalist Kazutoshi Sakurai), and playing Aqua’s twin sister Ruby is Nagisa Saito, who until last January was a member of idol unit =LOVE. Asuka Saito (no relation to Nagisa Saito), a founding member of Nogizaka46 and a 10-year veteran of the group, will play the twins’ mother, Ai, with the remaining cast announced so far consisting of Nanoka Hara as Kana, Mizuki Kayashima as Akane, and Ano as Mem-cho.
The live-action “Oshi no Ko” drama series will stream worldwide exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, with a premiere date sometime in “winter 2024,” ostensibly meaning December of 2024, Toei says that it will also release a live-action “Oshi no Ko” movie in theaters following the drama’s streaming, though it’s currently unclear if this is going to be a continuation of the Amazon Prime series or a condensed compilation of the drama’s episodes.
