It was announced today that actress Kitagawa Keiko will be starring in the live-action TV adaptation of the award-winning manga, “Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni“, by mangaka Fumiyo Kono. The manga won the ‘Prize of Excellence in the Manga Division’ back in 2009 at the Japan Media Arts Festival. It tells the story of a family trying to resume their lives in the city of Kure, Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped. Kitagawa plays the bright and earnest ‘Urano Suzu’, who marries the upright ‘Hojo Shusaku’ (Koide Keisuke), a naval officer of the military court in the Kure Naval District. Armed with a positive attitude, Suzu aims to start a new life with Hojo and his family in Kure. Kitagawa’s character, Suzu, soon adapts to her new life in Kure after leaving her hometown, and is able to make a new friend, ‘Rin’ (Yuuka). However, Suzu learns that Rin had a secret relationship with Shusaku in the past, and just when things seem tense, her old classmate and first love ‘Mizuhara’ (Hayami Mokomichi) suddenly shows up in town. Memories of war are weaved into this complicated love story, which gives the manga a poignant touch. For example, Suzu’s older brother was killed in action and she also lost her adorable niece and her right arm when the two of them happened to encounter an unexploded bomb from the March 1945 air-raids. Kitagawa commented, “I was very surprised when I read the story for this drama for the first time. I always wanted to try out a period drama, but when I actually received the offer I was frightened: ‘Will I really be okay for this role?” She added, “When I got to read the original, I automatically became a fan of the respective characters, and that’s why I want to put all my effort into this drama. It would be great if I could express Suzu’s charm, just like in the original.” The wonderful cast will also include actress Ryo as Suzu’s sister-in-law, actor Shinoda Saburo as her father-in-law and Ichige Yoshie as her mother-in-law. Popular child actress Ashida Mana will also make an appearance as Suzu’s cousin, a war orphan. Concluding, Kitagawa expressed her hopes for the drama special, saying, “I want this to become a drama that will help the new generation learn about the realities of war; it also gives the opportunity to help us to carefully examine the future of Japan.” The 2-hour-long drama special is scheduled to air on NTV on August 5th. Source: Mantan-Web, Tokyohive
