Yamada Takayuki, Sato Takeru & Arakawa Yoshiyoshi to star in new movie "Hard Core Heisei Jigoku Brothers"

Yamada Takayuki, Sato Takeru, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi will be starring in the new movie "Hard Core Heisei Jigoku Brothers" (Hard Core Hell Brothers of Heisei) which will be directed by Yamashita Nobuhiro and shown in cinemas next year. The movie is based on the manga by Caribu Marley and Imashiro Takashi and features Yamada and Sato as brothers. Filming will be done between early August and early September.

The story is set in the fringe of a city in Gunma where two men attempt to survive at the lowest rungs of society with their frankness and innocence instead of changing their beliefs to adapt to the world. Gondou Ukon (Yamada) is a man who gets really angry easily and flares up at young people who get carried away at the bar and his best friend is Ushiyama (Arakawa). The two of them are engaged by a strange activist to search for buried treasures. Ukon's younger brother Sakon is very different from them and works as an elite salaryman. However, despite being supposedly in a better position than his brother and Ushiyama, Sakon can't help but look on with envy about how the two of them live freely. One day, Ukon and Ushiyama find a old robot at an abandoned factory where they live at. When Sakon investigates further, they are surprised to know that the robot contains functions which are unachievable with today's technology. They then manage to get the robot to use its functions to help them find the real hidden treasure. Meanwhile, Ukon becomes sexually involved with the activist's daughter which marks the start of a forbidden relationship.

Yamada who is a fan of the original manga, described his character as a clumsy man who people will get irritated at but can't bring themselves to dislike him. He revealed that the ending made him cry so he thinks that the men in the world who want to live in the way as they want will probably see this movie as a realisation of their dreams. As for Sato who is working with Yamada for the first time, he commented that he agreed to the offer once he heard that he will be playing brothers with the latter since he is a fan of Yamada. Arakawa revealed that he met the director in an izakaya at Shimokitazawa 10 years ago and talked about the manga when he said that he is the only person who can play Ushiyama if the manga is ever made into a movie. As such, this is like a dream come true so he will try his best to play this character.

Sources: Natalie / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Eiga.com