BADBOYS:"JO1" to be made into a movie for the first time in 12 years starring Issei Mamehara (full comment)

It has been announced that "BADBOYS", a manga about delinquents by Hiroshi Tanaka, which was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and has been adapted into film many times, will be made into a movie and will be released on May 30th. The protagonist, Kiriki Tsukasa, will be played by Issei Mamehara of the popular boy band "JO1", who will be making his first film debut, and photos of him wearing a special attack uniform for the first time in his life have also been released. "I think it's a cool movie where the feelings of men collide, so I hope everyone will look forward to it," he said.

The original work is a hugely popular manga serialized in Young King magazine from 1988 to 1996, with a total of 55 million copies in circulation. It is a legendary work that has been adapted into film countless times, including a TV drama and film adaptation 12 years ago starring Kento Nakajima as "BAD BOYS J," and a film adaptation in 2011 starring Miura Takahiro.

Kiriki Tsukasa (Mamehara), the only son of a wealthy family, decides to run away from home to become independent from his overprotective parents and become a man like Murakoshi, the legendary delinquent who helped him when he was young. He applies to join the most powerful group, "BEAST," but gets beaten up. However, on his way away, he happens to meet Yoji, Hisao, and Eiji, who he hits it off with and they start hanging out together. Eventually, Toshi, the seventh generation leader of "Gokurakuchou," asks Tsukasa and his friends to join him in a fight against "Hiroshima Night's," and everyone except Tsukasa joins the team with mixed feelings. And so the fight with the Knights begins... This is the story. The film is directed by Nishikawa Tatsuro, who has also directed the TV drama "Gekikarado."

◇Comment from Issei Mamehara

When I was asked to play my first lead role in a movie, I felt both happy and nervous. I had a lot of action practice before filming began, and then I got to filming. It was the first time in my life that I put on a special attack suit wrapped in a cloth, and I was a little nervous, wondering if it would work, but I was also excited. The moment I started up the engine of the motorcycle that Tsukasa was riding on, I felt like I was back in my childhood, full of dreams.

The character I play, Kiriki Tsukasa, is straightforward and always does what he decides to do. He is a man who faces difficulties while maintaining his own core, even though he is conflicted because of his honesty. He is cool, and I played the role while thinking that I want to be a man like Tsukasa. I think it is a cool movie in which the feelings of men collide, so I hope you will look forward to it.