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Fuyumi Soryo's Mars Shōjo Manga Gets Live-Action Film Finale in June
posted on by Egan Loo
The ongoing live-action television adaptation of Fuyumi Soryo's shōjo manga Mars will conclude its story with a film. The film, titled Mars ~Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru! (Mars ~But, I Love You~) just like the television series, will open in theaters throughout Japan on June 18.
The manga revolves around Kira and Rei, two high school students. Kira is an extremely introverted artist, and Rei is an outgoing playboy with a frightening violent side. The two start a friendship and eventually a romance after Rei sees a drawing that Kira drew on the back of a map she gave him. However, both Kira and Rei are hiding troubled pasts, and through their relationship they confront their past demons. Masao, a student at Kira and Rei's school, has a connection to Rei's violent past. He enters Kira and Rei's lives to try to force Rei to return to the person he used to be.
The television series stars Kis-My-Ft2 member Taisuke Fujigaya (Nobunaga Concerto's Inuchiyo Maeda, Kamen Teacher's Gota Araki) as Rei Kashino and Masataka Kubota (Death Note TV series' Light Yagami) as Masao Kirishima. The other cast members include Marie Iitoyo (live-action anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day's Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi) as Kira Asō, Hirona Yamazaki (live-action Prison School's Mari Kurihara) as Harumi Sugihara, Yū Inaba (Kamen Rider Drive's Go Shijima) as Tatsuya Kida, Gōki Maeda (Death Note TV series' Tōta Matsuda, Kamen Teacher's Kotaro), Yuuka Suzuki, Kanako Tahara, and Makoto Okunaka (Kamen Rider Wizard's Koyomi). All of these cast members are returning for the film along with Haruka Fukuhara.
Saiji Yakumo and Kōji Shintoku are directing the series, and Yakumo is also directing the film. Tetsuya Ōishi (Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, live-action Death Note: The Last Name) is writing the scripts for both the series and the film. Tarō Makido (Kamen Teacher) is composing the music for the series, and Kis-My-Ft2 performed the theme song "Gravity" for both the series and the film. Showgate is distributing the film.
The television series premiered on January 24, and it airs on NTV on Saturdays from 12:55 a.m. to 1:25 a.m.
Soryo (ES, Cesare) published the 15-volume series in Bessatsu Friend from 1996-2000. Soryo also penned a one-volume Mars Gaiden prequel manga. The manga series has more than 5 million copies in print. Tokyopop published all 15 volumes of the manga and the Mars Gaiden prequel in 2002-2004.
The manga already received a Taiwanese Mars [2004] live-action television series adaptation that aired in 2004-2005. The adaptation starred Vic Zhou and Barbie Hsu.
Source: Comic Natalie
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