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Live-Action Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe Show's 3 New Episodes Premiere on December 27-29
posted on by Alex Mateo
NHK announced on Thursday that the three new episodes of the live-action mini-series of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai), Hirohiko Araki's spinoff manga for his JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga, will premiere on December 27-29 for three consecutive nights at 10:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. EST) on the NHK General channel. The company also unveiled a new visual:
Issei Takahashi (Whisper of the Heart, live-action Ikebukuro West Gate Park, March comes in like a lion) reprises the title role from the first three episodes that aired last December. Marie Iitoyo (anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes) is also returning as Kyoka Izumi, Rohan's editor. The new cast members are Shō Kasamatsu in episode 4, kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke IV (One Piece) in episode 5, and Rio Uchida (Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw, Kamen Rider Drive, Princess Jellyfish) in episode 6.
Kazutaka Watanabe (Only Yesterday live-action special) is returning to direct the series, with scripts once again by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime writer Yasuko Kobayashi. Naruyoshi Kikuchi (Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt) is also returning to compose the music. Isao Tsuge (Attack on Titan, Yatterman) is back as character design supervisor, and Naoko Saitō, Keisuke Tsuchihashi, and Daisuke Hiraga are production coordinators. NHK Enterprises, NHK, and P.I.C.S. are producing.
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is a series of Hirohiko Araki's manga one-shots starring his Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable character Rohan Kishibe, who is also Araki's fictional alter ego. Shueisha published the first compiled book volume of the different Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai stories in November 2013. The manga's latest installment, titled "Episode 10: The Run," debuted in February 2018 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
The first three live-action episodes won a Galaxy Award in the television category for January.
The anime studio david production adapted two Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan stories as original anime DVDs. The "Fugō Mura" (Millionaire Village) episode was available for people who purchased all 13 DVD or Blu-ray Disc volumes of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable anime in 2017. The "Mutsukabezaka" (Mutsukabe Hill) episode was bundled with the manga's second volume in 2018. Crunchyroll screened the overseas premiere of "Fugō Mura" at its Crunchyroll Expo event in August 2019.
The studio david production then produced two new episodes, "Zange-shitsu" (Confessional Room) and "The Run," which played at nine screenings at six cities in Japan between last December and this March.
Netflix began streaming the anime globally in February with lead actor Landon McDonald.
Sources: NHK, Comic Natalie
