“Kikoku” is based on the 1955 short story “Saipan Kara Kita Ressha,” written by the late author Hiroshi Muneta. Kuramoto originally adapted it last year for a theatrical version, but he is writing a new script for the drama.

The fantasy story starts when a unscheduled train arrives at Tokyo Station, carrying the ghosts of a group of soldiers who died honorably during World War II and dropping them off in present-day Tokyo. Kitano plays one of the soldiers, a private first class, who visits his younger sister, but he becomes violent upon witnessing her current misery.

Oguri plays a former musician who was sent to war, leaving behind his girlfriend Yoko (played by Horikita). When he returns to see her, 60 years have already passed. Kaoru Yachigusa will play the older Yoko.

Other cast members include Takashi Tsukamoto, Osamu Mukai, Yoichi Nukumizu, Yuya Endo, Katsuhisa Namase, ARATA, and Koji Ishizaka. TBS plans to air the drama on August 14, the day before the anniversary of Japan’s surrender.

@Tokyograph

Official site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/program/kikoku.html

The original long mystery novel already got released in 1999 and sold over 1.8 million copies. Yukiho is a very beautiful woman who eventually ends up losing any hesitation in tricking other people into great misfortune due to some murders that happened during her childhood. At the day of the interview they were filming a freshman party for the new members at the social dance club. Yukiho joined this club in order to get closer to Shinozuka (played by Kyo Nobuo), a senior at college and son of a distinguished family owning a major pharmaceutical company.

Kachou Hironobu established the Kachou no Miya in 1929 and in 2006 it became a national tangible cultural property. It provides a great location for films, but the general public is able to check out the outdoor garden potion as well. Horikita and her friend Midori Yurie (19), who also plays the best friend of Yukiho in the film, appeared on the set wearing some nice afternoon dresses.

They filmed various scenes like Eriko (Midori) looking after Yukiho. Midori doesn't yet seem to be used to be all dressed up and still looked a bit unsteady on her feet. Overall the filming happened in a very relaxed atmosphere and when a Japanese nightingale suddenly decided to disturb the filming with a song, both of them just smiled at each other. Horikita is said to be a big fan of the original novel and had some thorough discussion with director Fukagawa Yoshihiro prior to the filming. "We talked a lot about Yukiho and Ryoji (played by Kora Kengo). The director listened to my subjective opinions about the roles and I listened to his objective opinions. I'm looking forward to what kind of movie it will become." She spoke about the trust between Fukagawa and her.

She also talked about the role itself, her first ever role as a wicked woman. "There are a lot of things within the 30 years of her life we can't portray in the movie. It's really difficult to convey her mental state with so many years missing in between. You always worry whether it was right to portray her emotions like that and what would be the right way to make it an interesting story." While talking about the role and the new challenge that is coming with it, it became pretty obvious that Horikita is sincerely trying to put in her best efforts.

What's the difference when playing a wicked woman compared to the roles she usually played so far? – "Up until now I always tried to made people laugh and raise their spirits with my play, but this time I can't think that way. This isn't a movie with the intention to make you feel happy, you are supposed to feel sad after watching it. I'm playing this role with the thoughts of making you feel down at the end." She said with great ambition and resolution.

Besides Kanagawa the filming will also take place in Chiba, Tokyo, Nagano and several other places. They plan to wrap up the filming by the end of June. Not mentioned above but also appearing in the movie are Funakoshi Eiichiro, Toda Keiko, Tanaka Tetsushi and more. WOWOW Films and GAGA plan to release the movie sometime in spring 2011.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: eiga.com
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Enough talking, here now the wonderful pictures:

Not my scans!

A movie staff on the issue: "Well, she seems to be quite restless lately… That's a rather strange behavior and probably not that easy for her considering that she's currently filming 2 movies at the same time." Is it really that surprising for her to ignore the rules and wanting to date despite being in high demand for movies, doramas and commercials, or are people simply forgetting that she's just a woman in her early twenties as well?

"She really wants a boyfriend and she doesn't even try to hide it anymore. She often asks her co-actors and the staff out for a group date." A production staff mentioned in a conversation. Homaki wanting to go on a group date. Some might be shocked and surprised, but let's not forget that she will already turn 22 this year. Maybe it first started as a frivolous phrase and as a joke and then she realized that she actually really wants to be with someone…

"Kuroki Meisa, from the same agency, freely hangs out with other people like Nakamura Shido and often creates rumors here and there. The thing is that the female president of that agency is really generous towards her and trusts her a lot. After all it was her who scouted Kuroki, so in her eyes she would never do something wrong. On the other hand she seems to be very strict towards Horikita. Maybe that's what makes her even more determined to go against the rules and find herself a boyfriend?"

Maybe she's already aiming for her "Byakuyako" co-star, Kora Kengo (22) as well? Ganbatte ne!

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Shukan Taishu (via entameblog)
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On 18th May, Horikita Maki unveiled NTT DoCoMo's new service, the 'i Bodymo' which touts a healthy lifestyle through using a mobile phone.

Among other features, entering data into the phone enables you to check if your calorie intake is balanced. "By keying in what you eat, you can control your diet. It will tell you what nutrients you lack and prove to be useful in managing your health daily," said Horikita. 'i Bodymo' also has a 'Motion Support' feature, which can record the number of steps taken as you walk or the distance you have jogged, enabling users to chart their daily physical activity.

Okada Masaki also attended the presentation.

cr: unleashthegeek

The play will tell the story of the 19 year-old girl who led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century. Unlike previous works it won't describe her as a fanatic woman, instead it will focus more on the human side of Jeanne d'Arc and how her faith is giving her strength. "The innocent and strong Horikita-san is the perfect woman to play the strong-willed savior of France," the production team underlined their casting choice.

Horikita is quite motivated for the new challenge. "Jeanne d'Arc's actions are very interesting. I'm going to study her a lot and would like to play the role and convey the story to the best of my efforts," she said. "Of course I'm nervous, but I will be happy as long as at least one person comes to watch me tackling this new challenge."

Actor Ito Hideaki (34) will co-star as Charles VII of France. The play will be performed at the Tokyo Akasaka ACT Theater and last from November 30 till December 19, 2010.

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo
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Veteran actor and suspense dorama specialist Funakoshi Eiichiro will play detective Sasagaki Junzo, the same role his colleague Takeda Tetsuya played in the dorama adaption in 2006. "In the dorama adaption Sasagaki was portrayed a bit different compared to the original novel and I think I'm going to play him a bit more different for the movie as well," he commented.

Actor Kora Kengo ("Solanin", "Box!") will play the male lead Kirihara Ryoji. As mentioned in the first announcement, the story is about a boy who kills his father to protect a girl while the girl kills her mother to protect the boy. The producer explains why Kora was the best choice for the role of that boy. "Kora has a sensitive image like Kirihara and exposing his hidden inner madness will make him able to perfectly synchronize with his character."

Kora is a popular and busy young actor this year. "Solanin" and "Box!" (May 22nd) were already mentioned, but he is also going to appear in "Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni" (June 12th) and "Norwegian Wood" (December 11th). "When I first read the script I actually thought that Kirihara would be a really tough guy, but after a few talks with the director I realized that he's actually more human than I thought. It's a character suffering from all kind of hardships. Now I fully understand the directors believe in the role and would like to play it to the best of my abilities," he talked about his role.

The movie is planned for a release in early spring of 2011.

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Written by: Pori-Chan
Sources: Oricon (Thanks to Salim V.Knight for the tip!)
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Within the story, Ninomiya is playing the young Samurai Mizuno, who falls in love with a simple girl named Onobu, impossible for fate to connect. She is played by Horikita Maki, who has conveyed her enthusiasm for the shooting of it.

Within the dorama, love and hate are swirling through the scenes, with Horikita responsible for a very refreshing part of this romance. From the very first day of the shooting, she wore colorful clothes with patterns. "It was great to have been at the venue from the very first day on.", Horikita said. "It's the role of a girl in love. Although I am not a girl in love myself, I would like to portray this skillfully. And it would be great to bring across that she is a very pure girl, who is very single-minded about her love. She is a very lively girl, therefore I would love to speak really quickly, but I thought I should test how well I can do without stuttering. I stumble over word often", Horikita repeated.

In 2008, Horikita had been playing in the NHK Taiga dorama "Atsu Hime" and she said with a smile about her first historical dorama since then: "The wig feels kind of new and the clothes are also very cute. There are lots of girl-y colors and I'd be happy to wear a lot of those."

cr: asianfanatics.net

Horikita Maki decided to challenge that novel by Higashino Keigo.

A few days ago they've started with the filming and began with the senior high school days. The photo shows her as a female high school student.

Maki is playing the main character Karasawa Yukiho. She is being referred to as a "wicked woman". That's a first for her and I think you will be able to see a new Horikita. The movie will open next spring.

Don't miss it.

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Please don't post this translation anywhere else!

The story is about a boy who kills his father to protect a girl while the girl kills her mother to protect the boy.. They have to keep it a secret until the statute of limitations. Many people already used the mystery novel that sold over 1.8 million copies as basis for new productions. In 2005 there was a stage adaption, in 2006 Ayase Haruka (25) and Yamada Takayuki (26) starred in the dorama adaption and last year South Korea turned it into a k-drama as well.

Horikita will play Karasawa Yukiho, a woman who hides her wickedness behind her beautiful face. She tricks others into misfortune for her own advantage, like using her classmates and close friends to attack other people and to murder the lover of her own mother. Horikita used to have a rather innocent image up to now and almost only played roles that would go along with that. Recently she started to choose more mature and unusual roles and the producers of the movie are sure to have chosen the right actress for the role. "There is some great strength and courage hidden behind Horikita-san's pure and innocent image. That's exactly the image of Yukiho," he said.

She also read the novel during her senior high school days and became a huge fan of Higashino. "The tricks behind Yukiho's schemes are impressive and very interesting to read," she said. About playing such a role for the first time she added: "It will be a lot of fun. I also think it might help me to discover new things about myself."

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Written by: KawaiiJoyuu
Sources: Sanspo (Thanks to SalimV.Knight for the initial tip!)
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