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Oricon: Gakuen Hakkenden Boys-Love Anime in the Works
posted on by Egan Loo
The Oricon entertainment news source reports on Sunday that a second stage play and an anime adaptation are in the works for Gakuen Hakkenden, Kō Amami and Aki Kuruwa's fantasy romance boys-love manga. In this multimedia project, scriptwriter Amami re-imagines Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, Kyokutei Bakin's famous epic novel about eight samurai who serve the Satomi clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku (Warring States) era.
Just as in traditional kabuki plays, male actors are auditioning for all of the roles in the second play — including all of the female characters. Already casted in the first play are several veterans of The Prince of Tennis musical, such as KENN (Miracle Train - Ōedo-sen e Yōkoso, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monster GX), Yuki Tsujimoto, and Ryuko Isogai.
STC Jimukyoku collaborated on a stage musical adaptation of Idea Factory's female-oriented Hiiro no Kakera visual novel game before working on the stage versions of Gakuen Hakkenden. Masatsugu Takase (The Last Samurai) is serving as the plays' action director. The first play will run in Tokyo's Ikebukuro Theater Green from July 14 to July 19, while the second play will run in Tokyo's Shinagawa Rikkōkai Hall in December.
The original Hakkenden novel already inspired the Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors video anime series (Geneon Entertainment) and the 1999 science-fiction television anime re-imagining, Shin Hakkenden.
The original Gakuen Hakkenden manga just launched in Kobunsha's Purial magazine this past April, and the first compiled book volume is slated for next year.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history