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Barakamon Live-Action TV Drama Casts Yosuke Sugino, Premieres in July

Fuji TV announced on Tuesday that the live-action television drama of Satsuki Yoshino's Barakamon manga will premiere on the network in July, and it will star Yōsuke Sugino as Seishū Handa (pictured below). The series will air on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. JST.

Keita Kono is directing the series. Kumiko Asо̄ is writing the screenplay. Juichi Uehara is in charge of planning, and Masataka Takamaru is producing.

Yoshino launched the manga in Square Enix's Gangan Online magazine in 2009, and the manga also began running in Monthly Shonen Gangan in 2014. The manga ended with its 18th volume in December 2018. The returned for a limited serialization on April 12.

The manga inspired a 12-episode television anime series that premiered in July 2014. Crunchyroll and Funimation both streamed the series as it aired, and Funimation released the series on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in 2016.

Yen Press publishes the manga in North America, and it describes the story:

For a certain reason, a handsome young calligrapher by the name of Seishuu Handa uproots himself and moves to an island on the westernmost edge of Japan. "Sensei," as he comes to be known, is a city boy through and through, and has never experienced rural life until now. And by the looks of it, he has much to learn! From navigating public roads by tractor to resigning himself to having his new digs commandeered by the local children as their new hangout, the list of Sensei's hardships is shaping up to be long indeed!

Yoshino started the Barakamon prequel manga Handa-kun in Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine in October 2013, and ended the manga in June 2016. Yen Press has released all seven volumes in English. The manga inspired a television anime that premiered in July 2016. Funimation released the anime on home video in November 2018.

Yoshino launched the Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean manga on the same day that Barakamon ended. The manga ended in May 2020. Yen Press releases the manga in English. Yoshino then launched the Eighteen manga in Monthly Shonen Gangan in August 2020, and ended the series in January 2022. Manga UP! Global is releasing the series in English digitally.

Sources: Fuji TV, Comic Natalie