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Saburō Nagai's Smells Like Green Spirit Manga Gets Live-Action Series

MBS revealed on Friday that it is producing a live-action series adaptation of Saburō Nagai's Smells Like Green Spirit manga that will premiere on MBS' "Dramafil" programming block on September 19. Towa Araki (seen below) plays protagonist Futoshi Mishima.

The series will premiere on MBS and TV Kanagawa on September 19, on TV Saitama on September 23, on Gunma TV on September 24, on Tochigi TV on September 25, and on Chiba TV on September 26.

The manga is set in a sleepy rural town during the Heisei era, and centers on Futoshi Mishima. Long bullied and teased for "looking gay," Mishima has also decided to wear lipstick and cross-dress in secret to comfort himself. One day, he spots Kirino, the leader of a group of his bullies, in possession of lipstick that Mishima had lost. Mishima sees Kirino on the school rooftop, trying to apply the lipstick to himself.

Ikuko Sawada is directing the series. Yūka Arai is penning the script.

Nagai published the manga in Fusion Product's Comic Be magazine from 2011 to 2012, and it had two compiled book volumes labeled "Side:A" and "Side:B." The manga also has a spinoff manga titled Shintan Kairō, which ran for five volumes.

SuBLime published Nagai's Boys, Be Ambitious! (Shōnen yo, Taishi toka Iroiro Idake) manga in English in 2013.

Sources: Smells Like Green Spirit live-action series' website, Comic Natalie