The latest installment of Shion Miura’s “Mahoro Eikmae” novel series, Mahoro Eikmae Kyoso-kyokuis set to get a live-action adaptation.
In 2011, Tatsushi Omori directed a movie adaptation of the original novel titled Tada’s Do-It-All Housestarring Eita and Ryuhei Matsuda. Hitoshi Ohne then followed it up with a TV drama adaptation of the second novel, Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi, which aired on TV Tokyo earlier this year.
Omori will return to direct the second movie, which is set to begin filming in February 2014. Eita and Matsuda will once again star along with new cast additions Kengo Kora andYoko Maki.
The two leads’ recent success combined with the fact that the original film was a sleeper hit have led to added enthusiasm from both staff members and fans alike. Since the original installment’s release, both Matsuda and Eita have both seen their popularity rise considerably. Eita starred in Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Wild Seven, Train Brain Express, and Monsters Club. He also won “Best Actor” at the 76th Television Drama Academy Awards for his performance in the Fuji TV drama Saikou no Rikon. Matsuda has starred inPhone Call to the Bar, A Chorus of Angels, and won the “Best Actor” Japan Academy Prize for his performance in Yuya Ishii’s The Great Passage.
The new film is set in the fictional Tokyo suburb of Mahoro, where Eita’s character Tada runs an odd-job/handyman operation along with his partner Gyoten, a freeloading friend from his high school days.
“Mahoro Eikmae Kyoso-kyoku” is slated for release in fall 2014. Distributor Little More will team up with Tokyo Theatres Company to get it released in about 200 theaters nation-wide.