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Tetsujin 28, Samurai 7 Get Adapted as Stage Plays
posted on by Egan Loo
The manga that inspired the Tetsujin 28 (Gigantor) robot anime and the animated re-imagining of the Seven Samurai film classic are both being adapted as theatrical stage plays — and Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii and The Prince of Tennis actors are involved. Oshii will make his stage-directing debut and write the script for the new adaptation of Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Tetsujin 28 manga. Actress Kaho Minami (Soreike! Anpanman: Ningyo Hime no Namida) will play Shoutarou Kaneda, the 15-year-old hero of the story and the controller of the Tetsujin 28 robot. The other performers include Narushi Ikeda (Gurren Lagann, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon), Diamond Yukai, Sunplaza Nakano-kun (Odenkun). Oshii's frequent music collaborator Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell and Death Note films) will make his theatrical stage debut as the play's composer. The play will open in Tokyo next January and then move to Osaka in February.
Samurai 7, the science-fiction anime remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai film, is itself being remade as a stage play in Tokyo this November. The play will star Masaya Katō (live-action Crying Freeman) as the samurai leader Kambei and Razor Ramon HG in the Kikuchiyo role made famous by Toshirō Mifune. The Prince of Tennis musical's Masataka Nakagauchi and Hijiri Shinotani will also perform, as will The Prince of Tennis live-action film's Ryuuji Sainei, Tsuyoshi Kida, Hiroki Takahashi (Hunter X Hunter), Erina Mizuno, and Ginnojō Yamazaki. Shun-ichi Okamura (Azumi play) is directing. The Samurai 7 play will run in Tokyo from November 14 to November 24.
Source: Sports Hochi, Sports Nippon
Image © Hikari Production/Shikishima Juko
