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Live-Action Nisekoi Film Casts 15-year-old Rookie Actress Natsumi Ikema as Kosaki Onodera

The staff of the live-action film of Naoshi Komi's Nisekoi - False Love manga revealed on Friday that 15-year-old rookie actress Natsumi Ikema will play Kosaka Onodera in the film. Ikema said she was a fan of the manga, stating "Back when I was reading the manga I never would have imagined this would happen. I want to go back and tell this to myself from that time."

Ikema recently starred in a commercial for Shiseido's Sea Breeze product.

Sexy Zone idol group member Kento Nakajima (Silver Spoon, Bad Boys J, Kazoku no Uta, left in visual below) stars as Raku Ichijō, while Ayami Nakajō (Anonymous Noise, Lychee Light Club, Fatal Frame, right) stars as Chitoge Kirisaki.

Hayato Kawai (live-action My Love Story!!, Ani ni Aisaresugite Komattemasu) is directing the film. FINE Entertainment is producing the film, and TOHO will open the film in Japan on December 21.

Viz Media publishes the manga in North America, and serialized chapters of the manga in its English version of Weekly Shonen Jump. The publisher describes the story:

It's hate at first sight... rather, a knee-to-the-head at first sight when Raku Ichijo meets Chitoge Kirisaki! Unfortunately, Raku's gangster father arranges a false love match with their rival's daughter - who just so happens to be Chitoge!

However, Raku's searching for his childhood sweetheart from ten years ago, with a pendant around his neck as a memento, but he can't even remember her name or face!

Komi drew the original "Nisekoi" one-shot manga in Shueisha's Jump Next! magazine in early 2011, and turned it into a manga series in Weekly Shonen Jump in November of the same year. The manga ended in August 2016. Shueisha published the manga's 25th and final compiled book volume in October 2016, and Viz Media published the 25th volume on January 2. The manga has more than 12 million copies in print in Japan.

The series inspired two television anime seasons. The anime's first season premiered in Japan in January 2014 with 20 episodes. The 12-episode second season premiered in Japan in April 2015. Crunchyroll streamed the first series, and Aniplex of America streamed the second series on the Aniplex Channel, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Daisuki services. Aniplex of America released both seasons on home video.

Source: Oricon News via Hachima Kikō