Nakajima Kento, Yoshine Kyoko, Ishii Anna & Kanichiro to star in new movie "Kokoro ga sakebitagatterunda"

Sexy Zone's Nakajima Kento, Yoshine Kyoko, E-girls' Ishii Anna and Kanichiro will be starring in the new movie "Kokoro ga sakebitagatterunda" (The heart wants to shout) which will be shown in cinemas from 22 July. The full-length anime version was a hit which achieved box office takings of more than JPY 1.1 billion. Filming began at Chichibu, Saitama from 14 March.

The story features Sakagami Takumi (Nakajima), a senior high school student poor at interacting with others gets appointed to become a member of the local interaction committee along with his classmate Naruse Jun (Yoshine). Jun is unable to speak due to a traumatic experience in the past and would suffer stomachaches if she attempts to speak to others. Initially, the two are unsure of how to deal with each other but through working on a musical performance for the committee, they gradually become closer. Ishii will play Takumi's ex-girlfriend Nitou Natsuki while Kanichiro will play Tasaki Daiki who is the pitcher of the school's baseball team and suffered an injury to his knee. Nakajima will be playing the piano which he has learnt since he was in primary 2 while Yoshine will be singing for the first time in this movie.

Nakajima revealed that when he first heard about the movie offer, he was so excited about it that he felt like his body and heart wanted to shout loudly. Although he feels the pressure, he hopes to be able to do a good job and pay the utmost respect to the original material through his acting in this movie. As for Yoshine who cut her hair by 30cm straight after wrapping up the filming for NHK morning drama "Beppin-san", she was touched by the anime which she watched during the movie's filming breaks and cried so much that she was scolded by the make-up artist who had to redo her make-up. Since she is also like Jun who can't really speak her mind, she can understand some traits in Jun's character and is honoured to be able to play this character. As Jun is unable to speak for about 70 percent of the time in this movie, Yoshine has to rely on her acting skills and

Ishii commented that she is very happy to act in this movie which features characters who shine in their own ways. At the moment, she is practising hard for the cheerleading dance and musical scenes and hopes to be able to convey the power of youth through this movie. As for Kanichiro, he pledged to grow along with his character in this movie and show the audience how the young people in this movie try to overcome their personal traumas.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Eiga.com