Here’s how the silver-haired samurai and his cohorts will look in their real-world debut.
Along with a penchant for mixing genres and a snarky creator, the Gintama anime/manga franchise is known for its self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek marketing, in which the series’ handlers imply that no one really likes it. That’s not true at all, of course, since the Gintama manga is still being published over a dozen years after its debut, and the anime had enough support for over 300 TV episodes, plus two theatrical anime, to be produced.
And then there’s the latest feather in Gintama’s cap: it’s upcoming live-action film adaptation. The movie’s core casting choices were announced last summer, and now come the first photos of the stars in-costume.
In the lead role is Shun Oguri, which means that in the live-action world, master thief Lupin III and lethargic-looking samurai Gintoki Sakata are the same person.
▼ Oguri and the manga Gintoki
▼ Oguri, as he’ll appear in the live-action Gintama movie
Oguri went through two months of specialized action scene-oriented training to develop the physique and movements necessary to play Gintoki, a disaringly competent fighter. Joining him for the adaptation will be Kanna Hashimoto, who’s most famous as an idol singer, but has dabbled in acting as part of projects such as the live-action film adaptation of hit anime Assassination Classroom.
Hashimoto , who will play Kagura, one of Gintoki’s two assistants, seems to have foregone a wig, instead dying her hair a vibrant orange while filming.
Finally, rounding out the principal trio of characters is actor Masaki Suda as Shinpachi Shimura, Gintoki’s remaining underling.
A notedly snappy dresser, Suda received the 2016 Best Dresser award from Men’s Fashion Unity association. Fittingly, despite Shinpachi’s reserved personality, his outfit looks well out-together in his first promotional still.
In addition to Oguri, Hashimoto, and Suda, a half-dozen other performers are already attached to the project, so we’ll likely be seeing photos of them in their costumes sometime in the near future, ahead of the live-action Gintok’s vaguely scheduled 2017 premiere.
Source: IT Media
Featured image: Twitter/@gintama_film
Top image: Gintama live-action film official website
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he feels a kinship with Gintoki because of their wavy hair.