More Chihayafuru, be it live-action or anime, is always a good thing.
Earlier today, the official live-action Chihayafuru movies’ website updated with details on the upcoming third film. The new movie, titles Chihayafuru: Musubi (Chihayafuru: Conclusion), will hit Japanese theaters on March 17, 2018.
The site updated with a teaser trailer and a poster visual to promote the film, which you can check out below:
Trailer
The 30-second teaser features a series of clips from the film, with character dialogue highlighting the major story beats.
Poster Visual
The new poster features a headshot of Chihaya (played by Suzu Hirose), partially hidden behind cherry blossom petals.
Chihayafuru: Musubi is set two years after the events of the second film. Producer Naoki Kitajima previously confirmed that this film would be the last, due to the actors’ ages. Director Norihiro Koizumi is returning to the director’s chair for the project.
The major cast members from the first two films return to reprise their roles. Moreover, new character Hisashi Suou will be played by Kento Kaku.
The full cast includes:
- Chihaya Ayase: Suzu Hirose
- Taichi Mashima: Shūhei Nomura
- Arata Wataya: Mackenyu
- Kanade Ōe: Mone Kamishiraishi
- Yūsei Nishida: Yūma Yamoto
- Tsutomu Komano: Yūki Morinaga
- Akihito Sudō: Hiroya Shimizu
- Shinobu Wakamiya: Mayu Matsuoka
- Taeko Miyauchi: Miyuki Matsuda
- Harada Hideo: Jun Kunimura
- Hiro Kinashi: Ryōtarō Sakaguchi
- Chitose Ayase: Alice Hirose
- Hajime Wataya: Masane Tsukayama
- Hisashi Suou: Kento Kaku
The first two Chihayafuru live-action films hit Japanese theaters in March and April 2016, respectively. A third film was confirmed at a stage show to promote the second film, titled Shimo no Ku.
The Chihayafuru manga also inspired a pair of anime series from Madhouse, which ran for a combined 50 episodes. Morio Asaka (My Love Story!!) directed the title, while Kunihiko Hamada (My Love Story!!, Nana) provided character designs. Digimon Fusion composer Kousuke Yamashita was in charge of the show’s music.
Sentai Filmworks currently holds the rights to the Chihayafuru anime. They describe the show as:
Chihaya Ayase is a beautiful and headstrong young woman with a passion for karuta, a card game inspired by classical Japanese poetry. As a child, Chihaya was introduced to the game by a quiet, gifted transfer student named Arata, and she was instantly drawn to it. Now in high school and reunited with her childhood friend Taichi, Chihaya dreams of finding Arata and the three resuming their love of karuta, only to discover that Arata has quit the game due to personal reasons. Determined not to let Arata’s passion go to waste, Chihaya and Taichi form the Mizusawa High School Karuta Club, where they learn that in karuta – as in life – working toward your dreams is the key to winning, even when what you want seems just out of reach.
Source: Twitter (chihaya_koshiki)
