Ashida Mana and Miyamoto Nobuko star as best friends in 'BL Metamorphosis' live-action film

Ashida Mana and Miyamoto Nobuko reunite after 10 years in the live-action film adaptation of Tsurutani Kaori's manga, BL Metamorphosis. The plot centers on an unusual friendship between a young lady and a 75-year old woman as they bond over BL manga. The manga won the New Face Award in 22nd Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in 2019. It also topped the list of female manga of Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Guidebook and ranked sixth in the 12th Manga Taisho on the same year. It has recently ended in October 2020.

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Miyamoto Nobuko plays as Ichinoi Yuki, a 75-year old woman who is allured into buying a Boys' Love (BL) manga due to its beautiful cover. Initially unaware of its contents, she starts being engrossed with what she finds inside. Ashida Mana portrays Sayama Urara, a high school girl working at a bookstore. She is, in fact, a seasoned BL fan and is bad at socializing. Their story unfolds as they meet at a BL corner when Yuki returns for another volume. Just as Urara recognizes a budding BL fan in Yuki, an unexpected friendship will also blossom through this encounter.

In 2011, Miyamoto Nobuko and Ashida Mana starred in Hankyu Railways - A 15-Minute Miracle. They closely worked together when Ashida portrayed Miyamoto's grandchild. Miyamoto states that she is very happy to work again with Ashida. She remembers when Ashida's small hands used to fit with hers. Ashida expresses the same sentiments about working again, but this time, as a friend. Ashida also comments that she is impressed with how Miyamoto worked on the scene and how everything comes naturally when they act side-by-side. She feels that Miyamoto evokes Urara's feelings with ease.

When Ashida received the offer, she read the manga. The more she read the story, the more she feels it is warm-hearted and bright and makes her want to envelop it in a loving embrace. At first, Miyamoto did not know BL. Upon learning about the project, it was the first thing she asked. As Miyamoto read the story, she found Tsurutani's illustrations as warm, gentle and wonderful. She thinks Ichinoi Yuki is a charming character, and she desires to portray her as closest as possible to Okada Yoshizaku's script.

Tsurutani Kaori is delighted to receive the proposal of the live-action. Upon reading the plot and script, she was able to understand that a film is something that is made and continuously altered through people's ingenuity. She looks forward to seeing what kind of work the project will end up as.

© 2017 Tsurutani Kaori / Kadokawa

BL Metamorphosis live-action movie adaptation is directed by Kariyama Shunsuke (Blue, Painful and Brittle). Okada Yoshizaku, who also worked on Hankyu Railways - A 15-Minute Miracle, is the screenwriter. Kawano Hidehiro, Tanito Yutaka, and Ogura Hiroko produced the film.

BL Metamorphosis is announced to be released in Japan in early summer 2022.

Source: Natalie.mu