On April 16th, it was revealed that Jiro Sato will be appearing in the movie "Bomb" (directed by Satoshi Nagai), starring actor Yuki Yamada. Sato will play Suzuki Tagosaku, a middle-aged man who predicts explosions. The release date has also been set for October 31st, and an ominous Teaser trailer video in which Suzuki Tagosaku announces "It will explode in an hour" and a front and back teaser visual of an interrogation room have been released.
The original work is a bestselling novel of the same name by Wu Sheng-hao (Kodansha). This popular work won first place in both the domestic editions of "This Mystery is Amazing! 2023 Edition" and Hayakawa Mystery Magazine's "I Want to Read Mystery 2023 Edition". A mysterious middle-aged man gets drunk and assaults a vending machine and its clerk, and is taken to the police. The man, who calls himself "Suzuki Tagosaku," claims to have psychic powers and predicts the existence of bombs planted in Tokyo. Starting with the explosion in Akihabara, he predicts that there will be three more explosions every hour. Then, while dodging the detectives' questions, he gradually begins to ask mysterious "quizzes" about the bomb... This is the story.
Yamada plays Ruike, a negotiator at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division who confronts Suzuki Tagosaku, while Ito Sari plays Koda, a police officer working at the police box who is busy searching for the bomb, Sometani Shota plays Todoroki, a local detective who is investigating Suzuki Tagosaku's past, and Watabe Atsuro plays Kiyomiya, Ruike's boss who also negotiates with Suzuki Tagosaku.
Sato said that he himself came up with the idea for Suzuki Tagosaku's distinctive "10-yen baldness," and created it without using special makeup. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Wu Seung-ho, who brought Suzuki Tagosaku into the world," he said, introducing the character, saying, "Charismatic evil characters are always characterized by a philosophy, but Suzuki Tagosaku doesn't have that. He looks like an ordinary old man, and is just like me, a person who likes red lanterns."
Sato said he had read the original novel before he was cast, and felt it was fate because he found many similarities with Suzuki Tagosaku. Yamada, who plays the protagonist Ruike, who faces off against Suzuki Tagosaku, said, "I think the appeal of 'Bomb' lies in Suzuki Tagosaku." Commenting on his impression of acting with Sato, he said, "It made me think that I have to become an actor like that. I think he's a monster."
The Teaser trailer, which was also released, begins with a scene of negotiators Ruike and Suzuki Tagosaku laughing fearlessly together. Ruike, who has a trademark of natural curls and round glasses, begins his interrogation of the bombs that were planted in Tokyo with a completely emotionless air. Suzuki Tagosaku, on the other hand, says, "The next one will explode in an hour," as if it's not a big deal. Even in front of Ruike, who calmly declares, "I'll win if I can find all the bombs," Suzuki Tagosaku seems unable to stop laughing with excitement, giving off an inexplicable sense of fear. Ruike also faces him with an extraordinary aura, saying, "You'll regret meeting me one day. So much so that you won't be able to sleep at night." The metronome-like sound effects that ring out in the background stir up a sense of unease, making for a tense video.
A teaser visual showing the two of them together has also been released. Next to Ruike, who is smiling enigmatically, appears a defiant line: "Let's get started, Suzuki-san. Let's get rid of the monster." Meanwhile, Suzuki Tagosaku has a taunting smile and says, "But it doesn't really matter if it explodes, does it?" If you look closely, you can see that he has a "10-yen bald spot" on his head, making for a visual that conveys how strange Suzuki Tagosaku is.
