Content Warning: Descriptions of Watsuki’s buying child pornography from his confession, includes comments from his deposition.
I’m wonder if Watsuki’s wrist is sore from the slapping it got earlier this year?
Earlier today, news outlets reported that a stage play based on Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin is in the works. The production, titled Romantic Act Rurouni Kenshin, will début in Tokyo’s Shinbashi Enbujō theater on October 11.
The major cast, as well as details on the crew and run dates were revealed. We break the details down below.
Key Visual
A visual, which features headshots of the major cast members, was revealed. The image features a red background, with a white border that has a checkerboard motif.
Staff
Shūichirō Koike is directing the play and penning the script. Takeshi Ōta was tapped to score the soundtrack.
Cast
The production will star the following:
- Kenshin Himura: Seina Sagiri
- Kaoru Kamiya : Moka Kamishiraishi
- Kanō Sōzaburō: Mitsuru Matsuoka
- Hajime Saitō: Yūsuke Hirose
- Aoshi Shinomori: Ryosuke Miura
- Takeda Kanryū: Ryuji Kamiyama
Miura played Sawagejō Chō in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin movies.
Headshots of the actors were also revealed, which you can check out below:
Dates
The production will run at the following venues:
- Shinbashi Enbujō (Tokyo): 10/11/2018 – 11/7/2018
- Shōchikuza Theater (Osaka): 11/15/2018 – 11/24/2018
Rurouni Kenshin‘s “Hokkaido Arc” manga was officially suspended in November, after Nobuhiro Watsuki was arrested for possession of child pornography. The artist was sentenced and assessed a 200,000 yen ($1,847.40 USD) fine in February for a “Simple Possession of Child Pornography” charge.
The title will return to Jump SQ in their June 4 issue. The Jump SQ editorial board apologized for “the inconvenience to their readers” for the suspension
Nobuhiro Watsuki was charged with Simple Possession of Child Pornography in November 2017. According to investigators at the time, Watsuki possessed numerous DVDs, which contained nude footage of girls as young as their early teens. He stored the discs in a Tokyo office, with authorities confirming that he maintained the collection at the office through October 2017.
This investigation comes on the heels of a second unrelated child pornography investigation, which saw investigators searching the author’s home. Watsuki was under suspicion that he had purchased child pornography. During this first investigation, authorities found several DVDs.
In his deposition, Watsuki stated that he “liked girls aged from late elementary school to the second year of junior high school.” Sankei News notes that Watsuki also stated “I like the nudity of children, I bought it.”
Nobuhiro Watsuki, real name Nobuhiro Nishiwaki, was born on May 26, 1960. The author is best known for his work on Rurouni Kenshin, which ran from 1994 through 1999 in Weekly Shonen Jump, and sold over 60 million copies across the globe. The series inspired a 95-episode anime series, which ran from January 1996 through September 1998, as well as numerous anime films and OVAs. A live-action film trilogy was also produced, which hit Japanese theaters from 2012 through 2014.
Watsuki launched a new arc of the Rurouni Kenshin manga with his wife, Kaoru Kurosaki, in September 2017. The ongoing series launched in September, and was receiving an English simulpub from Viz Media. The arc has since been been suspended by Shueisha, due to the charges against Watsuki.
Source: Comic Natalie
Rurouni Kenshin Gets Stage Play in October – Samantha Ferreira
