FANTASTICS Yusei Yagi selected to star in the movie “We Can Use Magic Only Once in Our Life” based on and written by Osamu Suzuki

■“I couldn’t stop crying while reading (the script)” (FANTASTICS Yusei Yagi)

It has been decided that the movie “We Can Use Magic Only Once in Our Life” will be produced, with the original story and screenplay written by Osamu Suzuki, who retired from broadcast writing and script writing on March 31, 2024, starring Yusei Yagi (FANTASTICS). In addition, a fresh and luxurious main cast has been announced, including Yuki Inoue, Umion Sakurai, Taiga Tsubaki (IMP.), and others (in alphabetical order).

The film will be released in theaters in 2025.

A small village in the countryside. When the boys in this village turn 18, they are told something. That is, “A boy born in this village can only use magic once in his life. However, he must use it within two years until he turns 20.” Until we use magic ourselves, we cannot know what the adult men of the village used magic for in the past. In this way, Akito and the four high school boys begin to think about what they should use magic for. And it will be an irreplaceable experience, reaching an emotional climax…

This work is a film adaptation of the popular reading play of the same name, which has been performed many times since its premiere in 2019 and has stirred excitement. Osamu Suzuki wrote the movie script before retiring from broadcasting and screenwriting, and approached this work with a passion, saying, “I really wanted to make this work before I quit.” The scenes and words unique to a reading drama are created by Suzuki. In his hands, it has been reborn into a new youth film filled with beautiful, heartrending, and warm emotion.

The leading role will be played by Yusei Yagi (FANTASTICS), who left a vivid impression in “Beautiful Boyfriend” (2021/MBS drama, 2023/movie version) and was highly acclaimed. In 2023, he will appear in 2 movies and 5 dramas, and will also be the main cast in the drama “Konkatsu 1000 Knock” (Fuji TV), making him the actor currently attracting the most attention. Yagi, who has shown his presence as the vocalist of FANTASTICS and is also expanding his activities into the visual field, gives a refreshing performance as the main character, Akito. He has loved the piano since he was young and aims to go to music college, but he breaks new ground with the role of a man who struggles with strong opposition from his father.

A fresh and high-profile cast has gathered together to co-star. She played the role of Haruhi in “Ultraman Taiga” (2019/TV Tokyo) for the first time, and has steadily continued her career with roles such as “Young People at Dawn” (2021) and “What to Do with Ieyasu” (2023/NHK). Yuki Inoue has been selected to carry the project. Haruhi was born with a weak body and grew up being protected by his friends. He embodies Haruhi, who is more kind-hearted than anyone else, but also has a certain “strength”, in a fleeting and warm way.

Natsuki will be played by Kaito Sakurai, who starred in “Ao Haru Ride” (2023/WOWOW) and was also announced to play Aqua in the live-action movie “Oshi no Ko”. Sakurai plays the clumsy Natsuki, who has given up on her dream of becoming a soccer player because of her father’s illness and is unable to listen to her friends, with her natural sensitivity.

In addition, Taiga Tsubaki from IMP., whose popularity has skyrocketed since his worldwide simultaneous debut in August 2023, will appear as Yukio. Expectations are high as to how Tsubaki will portray Yukio, who is an innocent character but is shocked by the unexpected secret that his own father harbors.

Innocent boys climb the stairs to adulthood through “magic.”

What will they use their magic for a limited time of two years? At the age of 18 to 20, when everyone is at a crossroads in their lives, the four boys gradually grow into reliable adult men while seriously worrying and sometimes violently clashing with each other. A thrilling story in which the existence of magic reveals the secrets of adult men living in their hometown village. And when the true nature of magic is revealed, the audience will be enveloped in warm tears.

■Yusei Yagi comment
It is an honor to be able to appear in this work as the lead role.
I read the script, and the story centers on four young people, and the story revolves around the big topic of “you can only use one magic once in your life,” but each of them has their own unique conflicts. There was a lot of drama going on, and as I got to the end, I couldn’t stop crying as I read it.
Even though it’s beautiful and sparkling, you can also see the true nature of human beings, or rather, the foolish side. It’s my first time participating in a work with this kind of taste, so I’m really looking forward to it!
Akito, who I play this time, is a young man who aims to become a pianist, and I feel that he has a very strong heart and a core that will never waver no matter what happens.
Even when he feels like he is about to give up, he is a character who always has the strength to accomplish what he has decided to do, even though he is supported by his precious friends.
I’m really looking forward to working with all the cast members who are active in the same generation, and I’m feeling a sense of responsibility that’s different from before, which makes me feel more relaxed.
There are many staff members who are working with us for the first time, so it’s refreshing.
I think a lot of things will be revealed from here, so please look forward to it.
I also want to enjoy it to the fullest!
■Yuki Inoue comment
My name is Yuki Inoue and I will be playing the role of Haruhi in the movie “We Can Use Magic Once in a Lifetime”.
I get the impression that Haruhi is a kind boy who always looks at the situation and people in front of him from a bird’s-eye perspective, and above all, he wants the happiness of those around him.
In this world where “magic” can only be used once, the world is shaken by that “magic”, and what kind of “magic” will they use in the end? I especially want to play with such conflicts and worries, and the sense of distance and relationships between Akito, Natsuki, and Yukio.
There’s still a little time until it’s released, but I hope you’re looking forward to it. thank you.
■Sakurai Umion comment
Natsuki, the character I play, is the most high school-like of the four, and I felt that her emotional expression and clumsiness as she transitioned from adolescence to adulthood were very realistic.
I’m really looking forward to playing the role because there are many parts of his feelings about soccer that are linked to my own.
I have worked with Director Kimura on another work, and I am very happy to be able to act with Kimura-gumi again.
I’m really excited to see how I can express myself based on Osamu Suzuki’s wonderful original story and script, and what kind of scene it will be.
■Tsubaki Taiga comment
When I was told that I would be appearing in this movie, I was very surprised and thought, “I’m going to appear in a movie?!” But at the same time, I was very excited to be able to take on a new challenge!
When I first saw the title, I got the impression that it was a story set in a fantasy world.
However, as I read the script, I found it to be very humane, and I wondered how the unrealistic element of magic could touch my heart so much, and I found myself in tears.
I hope you’re looking forward to seeing how the central part of the story, which is that you can only use magic once, will work.
As a member of this work, I would like to give my full support and enjoy acting.
Please look forward to!
■Original work/screenplay: Osamu Suzuki Comments
This work is a very important piece of work that I created as a reading drama, and I really wanted to make a video version of it before I quit the scriptwriting industry. That’s why I wrote this script with great care one month before I retired from being a broadcast writer.
Moreover, I am very happy that I will be able to shoot mainly in my hometown of Chiba Prefecture.
A coming-of-age story about four boys that takes place in a village in Japan, with the theme of what if you could use magic just once in your life… I would be happy if I could make many people shed kind tears.
■Director: Masato Kimura Comments
The period between the ages of 18 and 20 is an important time when one’s heart is shaken the most and it is said to be a moratorium on life. The dazzling and ephemeral scenes of four young men facing their friends, families, and themselves through the extraordinary “magic that can only be used once” and desperately trying to move forward while struggling are deeply moving. The delicate fluctuations of the hearts of the fresh actors, led by Yagi-san, Inoue-san, Sakurai-san, and Tsubaki-san, are gathered together, with plenty of beautiful scenery and the flow of the wind, as well as warm blue images. I would like to carefully weave it. I hope that the heart of everyone who watches this movie will be touched by the heart-wrenching, warm emotions and tears that the feelings of “people’s feelings for others” and “small happiness” bring to them, just as they were to me when I read the script for the first time. I’m happy.

Movie information

“We can only use magic once in our lives.”
Nationwide release in 2025
Original story/screenplay: Osamu Suzuki
Director: Masato Kimura
Cast: Yusei Yagi (FANTASTICS)
Yuki Inoue, Umion Sakurai, Taiga Tsubaki (IMP.) *In alphabetical order
Planning & production production: Kyodo TV
Distribution: Pony Canyon
(C)Movie “We Can Use Magic Only Once in Our Life” Production Committee

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