Sato plays the lead character Origuchi Yaichi who is a father raising his daughter Natsuna (Nemoto Maharu) singlehandedly. One day, Mike Flanagan (Baruto), a Canadian who married Yaichi's estranged twin brother Ryouji, comes to visit Yaichi with the news that Ryouji had passed away recently. Although Yaichi does not look upon Mike favourably at first due to his homosexuality and doesn't know how to interact with him, Yaichi gradually changes his mindset and attitude after interacting with the latter who stays with them. Yaichi's ex-wife Natsuki will be played by Nakamura Yuri.
Sato commented that after reading the original manga, he said that it will bring everyone close to tears with its quiet and gentle atmosphere while questioning the readers how much they understand and spare a thought for others. As such, he is glad and nervous about being able to participate in such a drama.
As for Tagame, he expressed his wish for as many people as possible to read his manga especially with same-sex marriages gradually being legalised in many countries. He hoped that this topic will be discussed at length in Japan one day and that people who don't know much about homosexuality of same-sex marriages will be able to find out more first without having preset prejudices against such people. As such, he was very happy about the offer to dramatise his work and hoped that the story would reach as many people as possible through the medium of TV dramas.
Filming will be done between December and January in the Kanto region.
Sources: Oricon / Natalie
They'd better adapt this manga properly and preserve the essence of it. A solid and sensitive adaptation can go a long way towards facilitating more in-depth discussion on LGBT issues.
ReplyDeleteTagame Gengoroh is his pen name in English. He was born in 1964 and had his first manga illustrations published in 1982 when he was still a student at Tama Art University. He knew he was gay since he was a teenager and now refers to himself professionally as a gay erotic artist. His website in Japanese and a English news section is at www.tagame.org
ReplyDeleteHe is 54 years old now, with art exhibitions and book signings in Paris and New York, and across Asia and Japan.
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