The movie “Liar Game -Saisei-” (-Reborn-), starring Matsuda Shota and Tabe Mikako, opened in theaters on March 3rd. The cast of the movie attended a stage greeting in Tokyo to celebrate its opening day.

Matsuda has been playing the role of the protagonist ‘Akiyama’ since the drama adaptation in 2007. He commented, “So far the genius Akiyama always was able to keep this composed and triumphant look on his face, but this time he’s reaching his limit. Nevertheless I still tried to keep his composed expressions, which I hope will be reflected on the screen.”

Child actress Ashida Mana is going to make her first appearance in the “Liar Game” series. The subtitle of the movie is “Reborn” and she was asked, what or who she’d like to become if she was reborn. “If I was born again,” she exchanged glances with Matsuda, “I’d like to become Akiyama. He’s so cool and so smart!”

Matsuda was very charmed by her glance and kindly thanked her. “Wow,” he replied, “I’m really falling in love with her.”

Takahashi George interrupted the two, “This is wrong! Look at the age difference! The age difference! 7 and 26? You can’t do that!” However, Matsuda raised his finger and pointed out that Takahashi’s own wife, Mifune Mika, is 24 years younger than him, upon which he immediately became silent again. Later, Takahashi once again surprised everyone and caused Tabe Mikako to blush, when he revealed that she looks exactly like his first love from junior high school.

The audience enjoyed the interaction between the cast on stage and thanked them with applause and laughter.

“Liar Game -Saisei-” is the second “Liar Game” movie after “Liar Game: The Final Stage” (2010), which grossed 2,360,000,000 Yen (28.84 million USD). It will feature one of the most popular games from the manga, the musical chairs game.

The stage greeting was also attended by Hamada Mari, Kaname Jun, Arai Hirofumi, Funakoshi Eiichiro, Nonami Maho, Suzuki Kosuke, and director Matsuyama Hiroaki.

Sources: eiga.com, CinemaToday, MantanWeb

On July 14th, Fukuda Saki and Gouriki Ayame attended a press conference for their upcoming drama ‘IS ~Otoko demo Onna demo nai Sei~‘. Fukuda showed off her new hair-do to the press during the event, explaining, “This is the first time in my life I’ve gone short. I was extremely nervous the day I cut it. We cut about 20cm off. By cutting my hair I think I was able to naturally become my character, Haru, and I really like it.”

Fukuda plays the role of ‘Hoshino Haru’, a person born as an ‘IS’ (an intersexual being). The story of the drama surrounds Haru’s life, family, love, and relationships with people surrounding her. Fukuda learned of the term ‘IS’ through this starring role, and commented, “I think it’s very hard to understand everything, but I believe that everyone has their own personalities that make them shine, and plus, who has the right to deny others? I think it’s okay to be different. I hope that more people become aware about ‘IS’ and that ‘IS’ can live happily.”

Gouriki was originally a fan of the comic books, and said, “I believe that everyone has some kind of worry inside of them, and I feel that it’s okay to be different. Having your own personality and uniqueness is a great thing. I hope that message can be conveyed.”

Other cast members for the drama include Nishida Naomi, Inoue Masahiro, Irie Jingi, Nishimura Masahiko, Takahashi George, Osugi Ren, and Minami Kaho. The drama starts airing on July 18th.

In the meantime, check out photos from the press conference below:

Source: ORICON