The BS Shochiku Tokyo channel and AOI Pro announced that they will produce a live-action series based on the office comedy manga Kariage-Kun. The series will be inspired by Masashi Ueda’s four-panel comic series titled Kariage-Kun. Upon release, the weekly series will premiere on the BS Shochiku channel on January 7th, 2023.
Junki Tozuka (Yamazaki Sagaru from the live-action adaptation of Gintama) will play the titular character Kariage. He is described as not chancing his facial expression and pranks the section chief and even the president. In regards to his newest role, Tozuka went on to say, “I think it’s difficult to balance what he’s doing with his poker face and easygoing expression because he’s a genius at harassing people. I don’t think it’s bad, and I can’t even look like a good person. The elusiveness of not being able to read his facial expressions and actions is part of Kariage-kun’s charm, so I want to play him delicately.”
“Kariage-Kun”‘s Life Action: An Old Comedy Still Running
Yohei Osabe and Masashi are directing the series in collaboration with creator Masashi Ueda. The story of Kariage-Kun is currently described as;
Ueda first launched the Kariage-Kun. manga in Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine in 1980. In 1999, the manga then moved to Manga Town and Manga Town Original magazine. Kariage-Kun then ended its Manga Town serialization and began running in Weekly Taishu.
Currently, the manga is still ongoing with 67 volumes as of 2022. This marks 42 years of serialization.
At the same time, Masashi Ueda’s Kariage-Kun manga inspired a 1989 television anime adaptation. It also inspired a film and OVA series. Currently, there is nowhere to watch or read Kariage-Kun officially. It is also unknown if the Western distribution will pick up the Kariage-Kun live-action.
