NP 21

Full in-costume cast shown together for the first time.

The Naruto stage play still has a long way to go before it matches the 15-year longevity of the manga that kicked off the franchise, or the 14 years and counting of its anime adaptation. Still, after a successful run last spring, the Live Spectacle Naruto production is coming back for new performances this summer.

NP 20

While it isn’t completely brand-new, the relationship between this year’s iteration of the play and last year’s is similar to like the one between an anime Blu-ray box set and its TV broadcast version. This summer’s Live Spectacle Naruto will have spruced up visuals and a new soundtrack (although the same main theme from last year’s play will be used).

It’ll also mark the live-action debut for one member of the Naruto pantheon, and a pair of returning characters will be portrayed by new actors. The series’ core quartet, though, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata, are still played by Kodai Matsuoka, Ryuji Sato, Yui Ito, and Saki Takahashi.

NP 1

NP 2

NP 3

NP 4

Appearing for the first time on stage will be Rock Lee, played by Yugo Sato.

NP 5

Taking over existing roles are Kaoru Fujiki as Ino Yamanaka…

NP 6

…and Tatsuya Kobayashi as Shikamaru Nara.

NP 7

The rest of the character/actor pairings are unchanged, which means the return of Yuta Iiyama as Kiba Inuzuka…

NP 8

…Shinichiro Ueda as Shino Aburame…

NP 9

… Yoshiaki Umegaki as Jiraiya…

NP 10

… Miho Imamura as Haku…

NP 11

…Tatsunari Kimura as Kabuto Yakushi…

NP 12

… Hidekazu Ichinose as Iruka Umino…

NP 13

… Kazuhiro Hirakawa as The Third Hokage…

NP 14

…and Yuki Kimisawa as Kakashi Hatake.

▼ Even with that mask, true fans would have known if they’d switched actors.

NP 15

Rounding off the cast, and serving as canvases for some impressive displays of talent by the production’s makeup artists and hair stylists, are Kenta Suga as Gaara…

NP 16

…Ryo Kato as Choji Akimichi…

NP 17

…Asahi Uchida as Zabuza Momochi…

NP 18

…and, finally, Hiro Yumi as Orochimaru.

NP 19

The play opens on July 30 at the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka, with its run at the venue scheduled to end on August 7. From August 13, the show moves to the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo in the Japanese capital’s Shibuya neighborhood, before the curtain falls for good on August 28. The vast majority of tickets are priced at 7,800 yen (US$73), although if you’re willing to sit in the back two rows of the Umeda Arts Theater or the back three of the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo, you can save yourself 2,000 yen with the discounted tickets for those far-off seats.

▼ Seating charts for the Osaka (left) and Tokyo (right) performances, with reduced-price seats marked in blue.

NP 22

Tickets go on sale May 29 at 10 a.m., at which time they’ll be available here through the Lawson Ticket website, or directly inside Lawson or Mini Stop convenience stores.

Related: Live Spectacle Naruto website
Source: Live Spectacle Naruto via Comic Natalie via Anime News Network
Top image: Live Spectacle Naruto
Insert images: Live Spectacle Naruto (1, 2, 3, 4) (edited by RocketNews24)