Japan premiere event of new movie "Tokyo Ghoul"

The Japan premiere event of new movie "Tokyo Ghoul" was held at Marunouchi Picadilly on 10 July which was attended by the director Hagiwara Kentaro and cast members Kubota Masataka, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Sakurada Hiyori, Aoi Yu, Ooizumi Yo, Ogasawara Kai, Shiraishi Shunya, Aida Shoko, Yanagi Shuntaro and Maeno Tomoya. The movie is based on the same-titled manga by Ishida Sui and features Kubota as the lead character Kaneki Ken while the heroine Kirishima Touka is played by Shimizu Fumika. In Tokyo where ordinary people and ghouls who look like humans but need to eat human flesh in order to survive live together. While on a date with a ghoul Rize (Aoi Yu), Kaneki is attacked by Rize which results in him being sent to hospital for surgery using her organs. When Kaneki recovers, he discovers that he has become a half-ghoul and must cope with the changes in his body while from keeping the truth from the people he loves and his friends and evading the pursuit of CCG i.e. Commission of Counter Ghoul, the government agency which deals with crimes related to ghouls.

Kubota who had attended the world premiere at Anime Expo 2017 in Los Angeles on 3 July and the European Premiere at Berlin, Germany on 7 July, said that he was very surprised and impressed by the warm reception from those who came for the screenings and the depth of their knowledge about Japanese culture. There were also about 40 cosplayers who came dressed as Kaneki during the events.

Ooizumi who plays CCG investigator Mado Kureo, revealed that he accepted the offer to play Mado because of the fact that the character is an investigator and he wanted a change from his usual casual and frivolous characters. However, he had not actually read the manga then and found that Mado was not the usual type of investigator he imagined. When the cast announcement was made, he heard many complaints that his looks and image were too far from Mado's although there were some encouraging views amid the criticism. Then again, when he heard that, he also didn't feel that good because nobody in real life would want to look like Mado which made everyone laugh upon hearing this.

During the event, Kubota received a surprise present from the manga's author Ishida Sui as the latter had drawn an illustration of Kubota in the image of Kaneki. This gesture surprised Kubota who was very touched and thanked Ishida for taking the time to draw this for him. Upon seeing Kubota's drawing, Ooizumi revealed that Ishida also drew a picture of him during the filming but it wasn't in Mado's image but rather how he appears in the HTB variety show "Suiyou doudeshou" shown locally in Hokkaido so it turned out to make him look quite silly. It was then announced that Ishida will be drawing illustrations for the rest of the cast members as well which will be distributed in coaster sizes to those who come and watch the movie from the first day of screening on 29 July. This was greeted by loud applause from the event participants in the audience.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Yomiuri Hochi / Eiga.com / Natalie / Oricon