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Live-Action Fly Me to Saitama Sequel Resumes Filming After Gackt's Return
posted on by Egan Loo
Saturday's airing of the live-action film of Mineo Maya's Tonde Saitama (Fly Me to Saitama) manga announced that the film's sequel has been rescheduled from this year to next year. Lead actor Gackt (Gakuto Ōshiro) also confirmed in a message on Saturday that the sequel's production has resumed filming.
Gackt went on an indefinite hiatus in September 2021 due to an early onset neurological disease that was progressing into a "life-threatening condition," resulting in dysphonia (disorder of the voice). The Glab Entertainment agency announced this past May that Gackt is steadily recovering physically and is aiming to slowly return to some entertainment industry activity within the year.
The Kyushu Regenerative Medicine Center, Kōgekai Medical Corporation, and Syu Cell Clinic noted in May that Gackt's current immunodeficiency and autoimmune condition were still affecting Gackt with dermatitis and alopecia, and he was currently undergoing stem cell treatment. He was also still suffering from impaired liver and respiratory function, fever, pain, and impaired usage of vocal cords.
The tentatively titled Tonde Saitama II (Fly Me to Saitama II) film had put its production on hold following Gackt's announcement.
Gackt is the former vocalist of a visual-kei band named Malice Mizer. In 1999, he left the band and made his solo debut. He has contributed theme songs to franchises such as Fist of the North Star, Final Fantasy, and Mobile Suit Gundam. He appeared in the Sket Dance anime playing a character modeled after himself, and also voiced the villain character The Fiend With Twenty Faces in the 2016 Trickster anime. He has also voiced roles in such anime as Shiki, Tono to Issho, and Supernatural: The Anime Series. Aside from his music and voice acting career, Gackt has also acted in a number of live-action and theatrical productions.
In the first film's story, those who live in Saitama Prefecture are ruthlessly persecuted by those who live in Tokyo, so the citizens of Saitama Prefecture hide this fact from others. High school student Momomi Dannoura (Nikaidō) is the son of the governor of Tokyo, and he is also the student council president at Hokuhodo Academy, the top high school in Tokyo. One day, he meets Rei Asami (Gackt), a mysterious transfer student who has returned from America. Rei and Momomi are captivated by each other, but Momomi knows Rei is from Saitama Prefecture. The manga tells the story of two people split by a prefectural border, a Saitama "Romeo and Juliet." The couple try to elope and start a revolution to liberate Saitama Prefecture.
The first film opened in Japan in February 2019. The movie sold 191,000 tickets for 259,038,800 yen (about US$2.33 million) on in its opening weekend to top the Japanese box office.
Maya originally launched the one-volume manga in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine in 1982. Takarajimasha published a new compiled version of the manga in 2015 titled Kono Manga ga Sugoi! comics Tonde Saitama. The manga has over 660,000 copies in print. Maya also created the Patalliro! comedy manga that inspired several anime projects.
Source: Comic Natalie
