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The performances of Live Spectacular Naruto will kick off in Tokyo on March 21. From there this gigantic project will travel to Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sendai, and after that to Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Visuals of the performers as their respective characters have been releasing ahead of the performances and are a hot topic for their shocking likenesses. Adding to the lineup this time are visuals of three characters: Kabuto Yakushi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Just like those released before, the visuals this time have a wondrous polish that fans will no doubt be talking about.
Playing Kabuto Yakushi is Tatsunari Kimura. Kimura debuted in the 2012 musical The Prince of Tennis as Kaoru Kaido. A special skill of his is doing backflips, which makes him capable of playing ninjas and other agile characters. He can also speak English, meaning he’s a young actor who’s a bit of an intelligentsia.
Playing Jiraiya is Yoshiaki Umegaki. Umegaki succeeded in giving a unique portrayal of the witch of the forest Rose in 2014’s Faust - Swordsmen of Love.
Playing Orochimaru is Hiro Yumi. Yumi originated from the Takarazuka Revue where she was a star and played the tallest characters of anyone at Takarazuka due to her tall statue of 179 centimeters. There, she played the character Oberstein in Legend of the Galactic Heroes @Takarazuka. She left the group after 2013’s Gone with the Wind and now mainly acts in stage plays. Though Orochimaru is a male, Yumi is taking on the role.
Naruto is a smash hit manga with more than 200 million volumes in print around the world. This stage play is one part of the “Naruto Shinjidai Kaimaku Project,” which began at the same time the long-running serialization concluded. Coming alongside screenings of the Naruto film and the holding of a Naruto exhibit, this stage play adaptation of the series will be the first stage play to be performed at the new AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo, which has been revamped as a theater specializing in 2.5D musicals. The story will be based on that of Volumes 1-27 of the manga. Everything from the early days of Naruto and the others to The Valley of the End will be vividly performed in the play.
Live Spectacular Naruto
Original Work: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto (published by Shueisha Jump Comics)
Writer/Director: Akiko Kodama
Music: Toshio Masuda
[Performers]
Kodai Matsuoka (Naruto Uzumaki)
Ryuji Sato (Sasuke Uchiha)
Yui Ito (Sakura Haruno)
Kenta Suga (Gaara)
Yuki Kimisawa (Kakashi Hatake)
Kazuhiro Hirakawa (Third Hokage)
Hidekazu Ichinose (Iruka Umino)
Tatsunari Kimura (Kabuto Yakushi)
Asahi Uchida (Zabuza Momochi)
Miho Imamura (Haku)
Anju Inami (Ino Yamanaka)
Tsubasa Hattori (Shikamaru Nara)
Ryu Kato (Choji Akimichi)
Yuta Iiyama (Kiba Inuzuka)
Shinichiro Ueda (Hinata Hyuga)
Yoshiaki Umegaki (Jiraiya)
Hiro Yumi (Orochimaru)
Others
[1st Tokyo Performances] Saturday, March 21 (holiday) - Sunday, April 5 | AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo
[Fukuoka Performances] Friday, April 10 - Sunday, April 12 | Canal City Gekijo
[Osaka Performances] Friday, April 17 - Sunday, April 19 | Umeda Arts Theater Main Hall
[Miyagi Performances] Thursday, April 23 - Saturday, April 25 | Tagajo City Center Great Hall
[2nd Tokyo Performances] Wednesday, April 29 (holiday) - Sunday, May 10 | AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo
[Macau Performances] Friday, May 22 - Sunday, May 24 | Venetian Theater
[Malaysia Performances] Saturday, May 30 - Sunday, May 31 | Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Center
[Singapore Performances] Saturday, June 6 - Sunday June 7 | Resort World Theater
Live Spectacular Naruto
© Masashi Kishimoto Scott / Shueisha Inc.
© 2015 Live Spectacular Naruto Production Committee
Source: animeanime
Source article written by Hiromi Ko
