On September 1st, it was revealed that director�Tsutsumi Yukihiko ('TRICK', '20th Century Boys', 'SPEC') is going to adapt Tokyo Seleccion Deluxe's most popular play, 'Kuchizuke' ('Kiss') into a movie starring actress Kanjiya Shihori.

The original play by Tokyo Seleccion Deluxe, who announced their breakup in 2012, was performed in four major cities in 2010 and was sold out for every day. The writer of the play, actor Takuma Takayuki, was able to create a story that tugs at your heartstrings like no other work, even though he was only inspired by a tiny newspaper article he read more than 10 years ago. Of course, he didn't let anyone other than himself write the screenplay for the movie adaption as well.

'Kuchizuke' is set at a group home named "Himawari Sou" (Sunflower Cottage), where 'Uyan' (Takuma) and similar people whose intelligence is stuck at the level of kindergartners are living together in harmony. The staff that cares for them are also living there as well as the manga artist 'Aijou Ippai Sensei' (Takenaka Naoto) and his daughter 'Mako' (Kanjiya), who's just like 'Uyan' and the others.

The Sunflower Cottage has never been a place of desolation, but the addition of 'Mako' makes everyone a bit excited. Soon faint feelings of love sprout between 'Uyan' and 'Mako', which is new and strange for both, but her father isn't so sure whether he should let her explore this further.

Takuma explained that he wasn't too sure if it's possible to make it into a movie even though he received some offers for the adaptation. He said,"The moment when the filming actually began was even more moving than when I received the offer." He realized that it's really happening and that he now has to trust the director with his baby. He commented, "The director really seems to love this story, and therefore, he's basically going the exact same direction as I would."

Director Tsutsumi had seen the play, and stated, "It's not just a nice story. There is so much depth to it. This play touched me deeply." He continued, "When I received the offer, I thought that it would be nice to make a movie about sociality. 'Kuchizuke' is all about sociality. It's the kind of story you shouldn't miss out on by any means."

Kanjiya's feelings about the story are the same as the director's, which is why she was a bit anxious about playing the starring role. She expressed, "Those people who did the casting, director Tsutsumi, who I haven't seen in a long time, and all my beloved co-stars, they all gave me enough confidence to believe in myself." Now that the filming is over, she said, "This movie is full of so many great individuals, including my character Mako. It's such a funny, adorable, and heartrending movie. Everyone should see it. Really, you should!"

Aside from Kanjiya, Takuma, and Takenaka, you can also look forward to the appearances of Tabata Tomoko, Hashimoto Ai, Okamoto Rei, Shimada Kyusaku, Aso Yumi, and Hirata Mitsuru.

'Kuchizuke' is slated for a release sometime in spring 2013.

Source: eiga.com