It has been revealed that the film "Shinigami Barber" (directed by Shinji Imaoka), starring actress Hinako Sakurai, will be released in early summer 2026. The story is set in a beauty salon called "Meiku Aifu (Makeup)" run by the Grim Reaper, and Sakurai will play the main character, a hairdresser who is given a prognosis by the Grim Reaper that she has only a short time left to live.
Miho Saeki (played by Sakurai), a former hairdresser, ends up spending her final few days at Meiku Aifu due to a misjudgment by Sakuma, a rookie hairdresser and grim reaper at Meiku Aifu. This human fantasy tells the story of Miho, who, in the time she has left, reexamines her own life through her encounters and partings with people who have just died. Based on a proposal submitted by Yoichi Umeki as an assignment for a class at Nihon University College of Art, a drama series is set to be produced in 2023 starring Reika Sakurai and Kenta Kiguchi, directed by Imaoka.
The script is written by Kohei Taniguchi, who also wrote the film "This video cannot be played THE MOVIE," and the theme song is "Taiyo ni Naretara," a newly written song by singer-songwriter Furui Riho. Filming is scheduled to be completed in 2025, with a nationwide theatrical release planned, starting with early summer at Shinjuku Musashinokan and other theaters.
◇Comment from Hinako Sakurai
Shinigami Barber is a mysterious beauty salon that gives deceased people one last chance to meet those they miss. I play Saeki Miho, a hairdresser who is told by the Grim Reaper that she has only a little time left to live. During filming, I was confronted with the theme of "death," something that will inevitably happen someday, but which we try to avoid thinking about as much as possible. In director Imaoka Shinji's worldview, I believe this is a light-hearted and gentle film that will encourage everyone who lives their lives to the fullest every day. I hope you will look forward to the release.
