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Anohana's Mari Okada Writes Her 1st Live-Action Film

A live-action film adaptation of Rikako Akiyoshi's Ankoku Joshi (Girls in the Dark) horror mystery novel has been green-lit, with anime screenwriter Mari Okada penning the script as her first live-action project. The film is slated for spring 2017.

The novel is set at a school named the Virgin Mary Girls Academy, where Itsumi Shiraishi, the beautiful daughter of the school's director, recently died. Whether the death was an accident, a suicide, or a murder remains a mystery, known only to the lily that Itsumi clutched in her hand as she died. Rumors begin to circulate that the members of the literature club that Itsumi supervised were responsible for her death. With leadership of the club transferring to Sayuri Sumikawa, the club members continue their practice of reading short stories they wrote to each other. One week, they meet to read stories with theme of "Itsumi Shiraishi's death," with each of the five members intent on using their own story to discover who among them murdered Itsumi.

Fumika Shimizu, Marie Iitoyo, Nana Seino, Tina Tamashiro, Riria Kojima, and Yūna Taira are starring in the film, and Saiji Yakumo is directing.

Okada has written and overseen scripts for such anime as anohana, Toradora!, A Lull in the Sea, and Hana-Saku Iroha. Her most recent works include The Anthem of the Heart film, and the Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Kiznaiver, and The Lost Village television anime.

Akiyoshi initially serialized the story in Futabasha's Shōsetsu Suiri magazine and Futabasha published the story in a novel in June 2013. Futabasha also digitally published a two-volume manga adaptation by Yuna Anisaki in March 2015.

Source: Animate Times