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Himawari - Kenichi Legend Live-Action Series Reveals Additional Cast
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The official website for the live-action television series of Akiko Higashimura's Himawari - Kenichi Legend comedy manga revealed three additional cast members on Wednesday. The show also held a press conference at Miyazaki TV in Miyazaki on Tuesday.
The new cast members are:
(seen back row, left to right in image above)
- Masanori Ishii as Kuroki
- Mai Ooshima as Kurumi Ebihara
- Mayumi Satō as Deputy Director Saruwatari
The series will star:
(front row, left to right)
- Katsunori Takahashi as Kenichi Hayashi
- Yūna Taira as Akiko Hayashi
- Yūki Inoue as Kenichi Koorogi
The television series will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Miyazaki TV, and it will premiere on the channel in mid-May. (The original manga's story is set in Higashimura's native Miyazaki Prefecture.) The series will have 10 15-minute episodes. Networks in other areas of Japan will also broadcast the show, and it will stream.
Sōichi Ishii is directing the series, and Tetsuhiro Ikeda is writing the script. Miyazaki TV and HoriPro are credited for production.
The manga centers on the office antics of Akiko and her father Kenichi (collectively called "the two Kenichis"), who both work for the same telephone service company in southern Kyushu.
The manga ran in Kodansha's Morning magazine from 2006 to 2010, and Kodansha published 13 compiled book volumes for the series.
Higashimura's Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls have both previously inspired live-action adaptations. Kodansha Comics is releasing both manga in English. Most recently, Higashimura's Gisō Furin manga inspired a live-action series that premiered last July.
Kodansha Comics is releasing Higashimura's Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns sequel manga in English, and the first volume shipped on January 28.
Tokyo Tarareba Girls won last year's Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia award in the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards.
Sources: Himawari - Kenichi Legend live-action series' website and Twitter account, Comic Natalie, Asahi Shimbun (高橋健人、佐藤修史)
