On January 28th, it was revealed that actor Takayuki Yamada will star in the Netflix series "National Quiz," a live-action drama adaptation of the manga by Reiichi Sugimoto and Shinkichi Kato. Yamada will play the host, Takayuki Yamada K. Ii, who is the face of the overwhelmingly popular quiz show "National Quiz."
"Kokumin Quiz" is a legendary, cult-popular manga that was serialized in 1993 and once became difficult to obtain, but due to strong demand from fans, a reprint (Ohta Publishing) was published. The drama will be directed by Teruyuki Yoshida, known for his work on the NHK Asadora drama "Amachan," the variety show "Salaryman NEO," and the historical drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun," and the script will be written by Director Yoshida in collaboration with actor Maggie.
"National Quiz," hosted by K.I. Kiichi, played by Yamada, is the highest organ of national sovereignty as defined by the Japanese Constitution, and is a quiz show in which any wish can be granted by the government if you win the quiz. It is also the ultimate death game in which "if you win, your wish will be granted, and if you lose, you will be fined according to your wish, or sent to harsh forced labor or conscription as the price of your desire." An organization that plans to destroy National Quiz comes into contact with K.I. Kiichi, and the madness centered around him begins...
Yamada said, "When making a live-action version, it is very important that the original manga is interesting, that it is entertaining to the viewer, and the sense of reality in conveying that is important, so I am involved in writing the script however small my contributions may be. We will all work together to deliver an exciting and heart-wrenching work. Please don't follow me, it's dangerous."
Sugimoto, the original author, commented, "In the past, there have been several adventurous producers who have planned to turn 'National Quiz' into a movie. However, they all gave up, retreated, or dispersed. I guess they came to their senses somewhere along the way. As anyone who has read the original manga will know, turning it into a live-action version is a completely reckless idea. This time, Netflix is seriously going to make it into a drama. The original author is still skeptical, but that's the spirit, and we hope it will become an interesting series. It takes courage."
Illustrator Kato expressed his expectations, saying, "I sincerely hope that 'National Quiz,' which has been transformed from a manga into a live-action drama, will be transformed into a fruitful and colorful work!"
