Entertainment
31 October 2022
Link copied to clipboardThe global streaming and theatrical release has been set for Call Me Chihiro, co-produced by Netflix and Asmik Ace. The film will premiere worldwide on Netflix as well as at the Musashino-kan Shinjuku theater on February 23, 2023.
Based on the manga Chihiro-san, published in manga magazine Elegance Eve from 2013 to 2018, Call Me Chihiro tells the story of a former sex worker named Chihiro who works at a small bento shop in a seaside town. There, she interacts with people whose mental scars and struggles leave them unable to live happily, and her words and actions influence each person’s way of living.
Chihiro will be played by Kasumi Arimura, making this her first Netflix production, and directed by Rikiya Imaizumi (Just Only Love, His, and Little Nights, Little Love) one of today’s most influential Japanese directors.
Here are the star-studded cast that will play the charming characters surrounding Chihiro!
Hana Toyoshima will play Kuniko Seo (nickname: Okaji), a second-year high school student who secretly takes pictures of the free-spirited Chihiro until she gradually forms a connection with her and comes out of her shell. Toyoshima previously acted in numerous popular works including NHK morning dramas Umechan Sensei, Amachan, and Gochisosan, the NHK drama Yae no Sakura, and she also garnered attention for her performance as the main character’s daughter Uta Omameda in the 2021 drama My Dear Exes.
Eight-year-old Tetta Shimada will play Makoto Satake, a boy in third grade who lives with a single mother and forms a bond with Chihiro after pranking her in a neighborhood park out of loneliness. Shimada has previously appeared in a McDonald’s commercial advertising a Happy Meal with edamame and corn, and also in the 2022 film Love Life.
van will play Basil, Chihiro’s beautiful transgender friend who works as a singer at a show pub. This will be van’s first acting role after gaining fame as a model and Japan’s representative in Miss International Queen 2019.
Lily Franky of Shoplifters (2018) and Prior Convictions (2022) fame will play Utsumi, the former boss of the massage parlor where Chihiro worked.
Legendary Japanese actress Jun Fubuki will play Tae, the wife of the owner of Noko Noko Bento, the shop where Chihiro now works. Tae lost her eyesight due to an illness and became close with Chihiro while in the hospital.
Famous actor Mitsuru Hirata will take on the role of Bito, the owner of Noko Noko Bento.
Toshie Negishi, who has a long career of acting in film, television, and on stage, will play Nagai, a part-time worker at Noko Noko Bento.
Popular actor Ryuya Wakaba, who has charmed audiences in Rikiya Imaizumi films including Over the Town and Just Only Love, will play Taniguchi, a construction worker who comes into contact with Chihiro due to certain circumstances.
Yui Sakuma will play Makoto’s single mother Hitomi, who works at an overpriced bar located near a station. Sakuma first entered the spotlight for her role in the NHK morning drama Hiyokko, and gained fame for her first starring role in I Was a Secret Bitch (2019) and her role in the drama Love With a Case.
Itsuki Nagasawa of Haw (2022) and Ai no Yukue (2023) fame will take on the role of Chinatsu Ube (nickname: Becchin), Okaji’s truant classmate.
Musician Keiichi Suzuki, who also appeared in Imaizumi’s 2020 film his, will play an old vagabond.
Miwako Ichikawa utilizes her distinct presence cultivated across film and stage to play another woman named Chihiro, who encounters the titular character when she is young and greatly impacts her life.
Film Credits
Cast: Kasumi Arimura,
Hana Toyoshima, Tetta Shimada, van,
Ryuya Wakaba, Yui Sakuma , Itsuki Nagasawa, Miwako Ichikawa,
Keiichi Suzuki, Toshie Negishi, Mitsuru Hirata,
Lily Franky, Jun Fubuki
Based on the manga: Chihiro-san by Hiroyuki Yasuda (published by Akita Ladies Comics Deluxe/Akita Publishing)
Director: Rikiya Imaizumi
Screenplay: Kaori Sawai, Rikiya Imaizumi
Produced by: Netflix, Asmik Ace
Production: Asmik Ace, Digital Frontier
Distribution: Asmik Ace