Masashi Kishimoto might be officially moving on from the Naruto franchise and exploring his new series Samurai 8, but there’s no doubt that his first series has left a lasting impact on fans. With live-action anime adaptations increasingly becoming the norm, fans are wondering if Naruto will ever get that same treatment. And even more so, are wondering whether or not it could actually work. Japan has taken up the challenge, and proves that a live-action Naruto will (at the very least) look fantastic.
The popular Naruto live-action stage play, Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki, will be returning for another run in Japan after it’s first successful run in 2017 and showed off more of the cast for the play in the latest issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump.
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[Start Gallery Call-to-Action Key=7767] Joining the previously confirmed Kodai Matsuoka as Naruto Uzumaki, Ryuji Sato as Sasuke Uchiha, and Shinji Rachi as Itachi Uchiha are Yui Ito as Sakura Haruna, Yuki Kimisawa as Kakashi Hatake, Rei Fujita as Yamato, Fuma Sadamoto as Sai Yamanaka, and Seshiru Daigo as Tsunade. Other than Sadamoto as Sai, the cast members of the stage play’s previous run will be returning for the follow up. You can check out the full line up of currently revealed costumes in the gallery.
Written and directed by Akiko Kodama with music composed by Shunsuke Wada, Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki is gearing up to have 17 cast members in total and covers up to the 27th volume of Masashi Kishimoto’s original Naruto manga. The musical will be running in Japan starting this Fall with an initial run in Osaka from October 25th through November 4th, and follow up runs in Tokyo from November 8-10 and November 15-December 1.
The musical originally premiered in Japan in 2017, and even had a performance in Singapore. Though high demand definitely ushered in its big return. Keep an eye out on ComicBook.com for any future updates on the play’s costumes!
Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.
via Comic Natalie
