Actor Toshiaki Karasawa appeared at a preview screening of his starring film "Mystery Arena" (directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, opening May 22) held in Tokyo on April 22.
Karasawa described the character he played, Momotaro Kabayama, a quiz show host, as "a role I've never played before. He's a really terrible man. He's beyond redemption until the very end." When director Tsutsumi revealed that Karasawa had suggested "How about an afro?" during a costume fitting, Karasawa replied, "The image of the character in the original work is that of a terrible man, so it wouldn't be interesting unless I was thoroughly terrible. If I was going to do it, I decided to go all the way," and then made everyone laugh by saying, "The afro was so hot (with sweat) that my head shrunk."
Finally, he sent a message saying, "The movie itself is really fun, so please enjoy watching it. I think everyone will hate my character. But without a character like that, the other actors wouldn't be able to shine."
Mana Ashida, Toko Miura, So Okuno, Toru Nomaguchi, Tetsuji Tamayama, Yuko Asano, director Tsutsumi, and original author Reiichiro Fukamizu were also in attendance. Triendl had announced that she had given birth on February 22nd, and this was her first public appearance. Tamayama delighted those around him by promoting the film, saying, "In terms of mystery, it might have surpassed (Detective Conan)."
The original work is the novel of the same name by Reiichiro Fukamizu (Kodansha Bunko), which has been ranked in numerous lists, including first place in the "Top 10 Authentic Mysteries" (2016). "Mystery Arena" is a hugely popular live mystery quiz show hosted by Momotaro Kabayama (played by Karasawa). No one has been able to solve the seemingly impenetrable mystery questions for several consecutive weeks, and the prize money has rolled over to 10 billion yen. The question presented this time is "A murder that occurred in an isolated Western-style mansion during a storm." Can the six hand-picked contestants, who are confident in their deductive abilities, solve this mystery...?
