While the lead actress of the film "Shoutai" remains unknown, the appearances of Yoshioka Riho, Morimoto Shintaro (SixTONES), Yamada Anna, and Yamada Takayuki have been announced.

■A super teaser visual and super special trailer have been released, revealing the protagonist’s Shoutai!

It has been decided that Somei Tamehito’s masterpiece novel “Shoutai” will be made into a movie. It has been announced that it will be released nationwide on November 29th. In addition, it has been announced that the four main cast members “other than the lead” will be Yoshioka Riho, Morimoto Shintaro (SixTONES), Yamada Anna, and Yamada Takayuki. The super teaser visual and super trailer have been released.

■A superb suspense entertainment directed by Michihito Fujii!
This superb suspense entertainment is directed by Michihito Fujii, whose film “10 Years Left to Live” (2022) became a social phenomenon with box office sales exceeding 3 billion yen, and whose latest film, “Youth 18×2: The Road to You,” is currently a huge hit not only in Japan but also in various Asian countries.

Unusually, the lead actor’s Shoutai remains unknown, but the rest of the main cast has been revealed. The main cast surrounding the unknown lead actor includes Yoshioka Riho, Morimoto Shintaro, Yamada Anna, and Yamada Takayuki, a luxurious cast of “leading actors” who were eager to appear in this film. This will be the first time for all of them to appear as actors in Fujii’s group.

The protagonist, Kaburagi, goes on the run across Japan, repeatedly disguising himself and hiding, for 488 days. Filming took place across the country in the summer of 2023 and the winter of early 2024.

■A wanted criminal with five faces, hiding out all over Japan and on the run. Four people meet him, believe in him, doubt him, fall in love with him, and pursue him.
The protagonist, Kaburagi, was arrested as a suspect in a murder case that shocked the entire country of Japan and sentenced to death, but escaped and continues to go into hiding.

Sayaka, played by Yoshioka Riho, helps Kaburagi, a freelance writer in Tokyo, when he is homeless and lives with him, realizing that he is a wanted criminal but believing in his innocence. Kazuya, played by Morimoto Shintaro, is a day laborer in Osaka who works with Kaburagi on a construction site and becomes close friends with him, but suspects that he may be the culprit. Mai, played by Yamada Anna, meets Kaburagi, who works at a care facility in Nagano, and falls in love with him. Detective Matanuki, played by Yamada Takayuki, pursues Kaburagi as he travels across Japan, hiding out in various places.

However, the Kaburagi they met was completely different for each of them. What is Kaburagi’s true identity, as depicted from each of their perspectives? Is he a dangerous criminal, or an innocent young man?

■An unprecedented super teaser visual and super special trailer have been released, revealing the protagonist’s Shoutai
Both the Super Teaser Visual and the Super Special News feature a back shot of Kaburagi as he runs away, and express the relationships between Kaburagi and the four others: Yoshioka who “believes,” Morimoto who “doubts,” Yamada Anna who is “in love,” and Yamada Takayuki who is “chasing.”

Who will be playing the unreleased main character, Kaburagi? That mystery is expected to be revealed soon.

■ Comment from the original author, Somei Tamehito
First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your efforts in making my work into a film.
It’s amazing how a small fantasy of a man who suddenly became a writer can transform into such a big project.
To borrow a line from the story, “life is a mysterious thing.”
Well, I was in contact with the director Michihito Fujii and the lead actor even before filming began.
At that time, I felt the respect that the two of them had for their Shoutai and their extraordinary determination, and I was convinced that this would definitely be a great movie.
I look forward to the release with great anticipation to see what Shoutai will be portrayed on the big screen.

■ Comment from Director Michihito Fujii
Working with Yamada Takayuki, which had been my goal ever since I was a producer on the film “Day and Night,” was a special time in my filmmaking career.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to encounter the true essence of the monster that is Yamada Takayuki, who lives his role under extraordinary tension.
Then came the exciting days of filming with Riho Yoshioka and Anna Yamada, something I had always longed for.
Meeting a new talent: Morimoto Shintaro.
We were able to capture all of that charm in this “true identity.”
With the lead actor now revealed, please look forward to the film “Shoutai”.

Comment from Riho Yoshioka
What if you met someone by chance, fell in love with them, cared about them, and thought you wanted to be with them forever, only to find out that they might be a serial killer? It’s a nightmare-like situation that you never want to happen in your life. How would you feel if you were in that situation, and how much would you be able to believe what that person said? I thought about that from the time I was offered the role until the end of filming.
Thanks to Director Michihito Fujii’s careful guidance and his gentle sensibility and thought process, I was able to persevere and face the book without looking away. The staff members were also able to run through that harsh environment with professional skills and mental strength, and I thought they were a very cool elite force. I can’t wait for everyone to see the film!

(About the lead actor and protagonist, who have not yet been revealed)
The young man whose true identity is revealed in this work is kind, pure, fragile and sad. There is something about him that makes him hard to ignore (of course, from the perspective of Sayaka, who I played). I thought that the way he risks his life to face his own challenges could give a little bit of positivity and the will to try again tomorrow to those who are feeling a wavering flame of strength in their lives.

■ Comment from Shintaro Morimoto
I was very nervous because it was my first time working with Fujii’s team, but I found everything about it very stimulating, such as the way everyone approached the work and their trust in the director, and it was a site where I wanted to continue learning. And I had a fun and fulfilling time. I filmed with trial and error while getting advice from Director Fujii, and I feel like my range of expression has expanded, and I think the director showed me a new side of myself that I didn’t know existed.
I believe that the experience I gained from participating in Fujii Group will have a great influence on my future acting career.

(About the lead actor and protagonist, who have not yet been revealed)
The filming with the lead actor “he” was a lot of fun, but he was also a bit elusive. That overlapped with the play itself, and he really pulled me in not only with his acting but also with our conversations on set. He looked like a completely different person on set, and I wondered who he really was. He blended in with the atmosphere of the town, and I admired how everything changes when you get into a role like that. I was very happy to have been able to work with him, witnessing his demeanor as the leader of the troupe and his incredible acting.

■ Anna Yamada Comment
As the story depicts the subtleties of human, honest emotions, how will Mai change after meeting Kaburagi, and will she have some kind of influence on Kaburagi? I had a lot of fun acting, taking in each and every thing that happens in front of me every day with a fresh feeling. I had always wanted to join Fujii’s team, so I was very happy when I was approached. Fujii told me that Mai is very close to the viewers. He told me that he wanted me to express the honest feelings of an “ordinary girl” who lived an unchanging daily life, with Kaburagi’s incident as a story on TV, and the confusion and various emotions that come when it suddenly becomes a person involved rather than someone else’s. It was a very luxurious shooting period, where he listened to me with empathy and took his time to seriously face the role and the play.

(About the lead actor and protagonist, who have not yet been revealed)
This was my first time working with him, but I got the impression that he was a very honest person, seeing him suffer and struggle with his character, and then rejoice. As one of the people who met Kaburagi, I was influenced by him as a character. And more than anything, I was really saved by his straightforwardness and the way he looked at me.

■ Comment from Takayuki Yamada
The importance of believing. The danger of believing. The importance of doubting. The horror of doubting. I want you to ask yourself what it means to believe and what it means to doubt. Always.

Movie Information

『Shoutai』
Nationwide release on Friday, November 29th

Original work: Somei Tamehito’s “Shoutai” (Kobunsha Bunko)
Starring: Starring (unreleased) Riho Yoshioka, Shintaro Morimoto (SixTONES), Anna Yamada / Takayuki Yamada
Director: Michihito Fujii
Screenplay: Kazuhisa Kodera, Michihito Fujii
Distributor: Shochiku
(C)2024 “Shoutai” Film Production Committee

Movie “Shoutai” production site
https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/shotai-movie