Tsubasa Honda, Masahiro Higashide Star in Live-Action Ao Haru Ride
Tsubasa Honda (GTO, Andō-Roid ~A.I. knows Love?) and Masahiro Higashide (Amachan, Gochisōsan) will star in the live-action film of Io Sakisaka's shōjo manga Ao Haru Ride. Honda personally wanted to look more like the story's heroine Futaba, so she gave herself 20-centimeter (about eight-inch) hair extensions.
The story revolves around Futaba Yoshioka, a girl who was in love with a boy named Kō Tanaka (played by Higashide) in middle school. However, after a misunderstanding, their relationship as friends ends when he transfers schools over summer vacation. In high school, her world is turned around once again when she meets Kō again, this time under the name of Kō Mabuchi.
Yua Shinkawa (leftmost in photo above) will play Shūko Murao, a "lone wolf" who likes Tanaka-sensei. Ryo Yoshizawa (center left, Kanojo wa Uso o Ai Shisugiteru) will play Aya Kominato, who loves events and is interested in Shūko. Izumi Fujimoto (center right) will play Yūri Makita, Futaba's friend who likes Kō. Yū Koyanagi (rightmost) will play Yōichi Tanaka, Kō's older brother.
Takahiro Miki (Solanin, Hidamari no Kanojo, We Were There) is directing the film off a script by Tomoko Yoshida (Gaku, Kanojo wa Uso o Ai Shisugiteru). The film will open in Japan this December.
The manga is also inspiring a television anime this summer with Maaya Uchida, Yuuki Kaji, Mikako Komatsu, Ai Kayano, Kenn, and Daisuke Hirakawa will play the respective roles of Futaba Yoshioka, Kō Mabuchi, Shūko Murao, Yūri Makita, Aya Kominato, and Yōichi Tanaka.
Sakisaka began her Ao Haru Ride manga in the magazine in 2011, and Shueisha shipped the ninth compiled volume in Japan in January. A drama CD written by Sakisaka and featuring the anime's cast will come with the limited edition of the 10th compiled volume of the manga on May 23. The manga was ranked as one of the top 20 shojo manga recommended by professionals in the fields of manga and publishing. Viz publishes Sakisaka's Strobe Edge manga in North America.
ANN