A Teaser trailer for the film "Glory Back Home" (directed by Jun Akiyama, set to premiere on November 28th), which depicts the life story of former Hanshin Tigers player Shintaro Yokota, has been released. Former high school baseball player and rookie actor Takaya Matsutani plays Yokota, co-starring with Kyoka Suzuki, who plays his mother.
The film is based on "The Miracle Back Home," written by Yokota before his death, and the non-fiction book "The Glorious Back Home: Yokota Shintaro, Eternal Number 24" (both published by Gentosha Bunko) by Yuriko Nakai. Gentosha's president Toru Misato is the executive producer, and this is the first film produced by Gentosha Films.
Yokota graduated from Kagoshima Jitsugyo High School and joined the Hanshin Tigers as the second draft pick in 2013. He was a promising young player. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor during spring training in 2017, and after being hospitalized and receiving treatment, he worked hard on rehabilitation in order to return to active duty, but retired in 2019. His arrow-like return throw from center field to the catcher in his retirement game at Hanshin Naruohama Stadium (Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, a Western League official game against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks) is still talked about today as the "miraculous back home." He passed away on July 18, 2023.
Yokota and Matsutani, whose fathers were both professional baseball players, have been friends for several years, and Yokota gave each other a glove and Matsutani a gift of the first costume he wore as an actor. After Yokota entered the hospice, Matsutani stayed overnight in Osaka and stayed by Yokota's side.
The theme song is "Eiko no Hashi" by Yuzu, which was Yokota's entrance song and was a source of emotional support during his illness. On September 14, 2023, at the game (against the Yomiuri Giants) at Koshien Stadium where Hanshin won the league championship for the first time in 18 years, 40,000 spectators sang the song for Yokota in heaven.
The Teaser trailer shows Yokota's long battle with brain tumor after he turned professional and started to play an active role as a young hope, and how his family came together to support him. The trailer concludes with a video of Yokota, played by Matsutani, making a "miraculous return home."
