A musical adaptation of the globally popular “Naruto” franchise will premiere this March in the new AIIA 2.5 Theatre Tokyo in the capital’s Shibuya Ward.
The Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association and AIIA Corp. will jointly operate the playhouse to offer musicals based on manga, anime and video game titles.
The official title of the “Naruto” musical has not been revealed, but the ninja manga series seems to be more than enough to attract attention and theatergoers and commemorate the new start for the theater.The two entities are beefing up efforts to collaborate with tourism businesses, set up a subtitle system and implement other plans.
The original “Naruto” manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto ended its 15-year run in the Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology on November 10. The manga started officially on September 21st 1999, after its pilot chapter ran in 1997. Since its kickoff, it has been one of the most popular mainstream manga and anime of the past decade. Though the series may have ended, Naruto is not losing steam. In addition to a feature film adaptation titled “The Last: Naruto the Movie,” which hit Japanese cinemas earlier in December, opening at number one in the Japanese box office, a special exhibition is scheduled for 2015.
The high profile exhibit launches in Tokyo in the spring, then moves to Osaka in the summer. Meanwhile, the stage musical opens in March with a cast that includes Koudai Matsuoka as Naruto, Ryuuji Sato as Sasuke, Yui Ito as Sakura, Yuuki Kimisawa as Kakashi, and Kenta Suga as Gaara.
Check out the trailer for "The Last: Naruto the Movie" below.
