First-day-screening event of new movie "Sangatsu no Lion Kouhen"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Sangatsu no Lion Kouhen" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 22 April which was attended by the director Ootomo Keishi and cast members Kamiki Ryuunosuke, Arimura Kasumi, Kurashina Kana, Kiyohara Kaya, Maeda Gin, Kase Ryo and Iseya Yuusuke. It was also announced during the event that the two "Sangatsu no Lion" movies will be featured in the Panorama Category of the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival and be screened on two consecutive nights. The film festival is the largest in Asia which will start from 17 June and it is the first time in the festival's history that a two-part movie is screened over two consecutive nights. Kamiki revealed his joy and said that this is great news and he feels really happy about it. Director Ootomo also said that there is a limited number of foreign films which can be screened in China so he hopes that Kamiki who is very popular there, can also attend the screenings in Shanghai to meet the fans.

As for the movie nearing its finale due to the release of Part 2, Kamiki said that he's thankful for the support for both movies while the director praised the staff for paying great attention to details and the cast for showing their wonderful acting. Iseya who joins the cast only in Part 2, praised Kamiki for being a perfect fit to play the lead character Rei. Kase who plays the top shogi player, said that the scenes where his character had a match with Rei was really tough and more tiring than he expected.

Arimura who was greeting the audience, suddenly stopped talking as if she was stumped for words. She later admitted that she was feeling unwell so her mind wasn't working well. Iseya then teased her for being like that all the time so it wasn't something that happens once in a blue moon.

To wish for the movie's box office success, there was a kagami biraki ceremony (breaking the sake cask) but Kamiki didn't know how much force he should apply when hitting the cask. Iseya then joked that he should do it with full force since it wouldn't be an issue if his clothes get wet and the media will get to take nice pictures. Upon hearing this, Kamiki asked Iseya to do that instead which made the rest of the cast and audience laugh.

Sources: Oricon 1 / Sponichi / Eiga.com