A live-action feature film adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura’s slice of life comedy manga series Saint Young Men (known as Saint ☆Oniisan in Japan) is set to release in Japan on December 20, 2024, following the launch and announcement on the film’s official website. The Japanese title is Saint☆Oniisan THE MOVIE ~Holy Men VS Akuma Gundan, literally translating to Saint Young Men THE MOVIE ~Holy Men vs Devil’s Army.
Teaser visual
The manga featuring Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, who live in an apartment together in modern-day Tokyo, is serialized in Kodansha’s Morning Two monthly magazine. 21 tankobon volumes have released in Japan to date, with 17 million copies total in circulation.The manga was previously adapted into a live-action TV drama series for three seasons from 2018 to 2020. While the drama series had a limited-theatrical run, this is the first time that an all-new live-action feature film will be produced. Kenichi Matsuyama (L in the Death Note live-action film series) and Shota Sometani (Shinichi Izumi in the Parasyte live-action film series) are confirmed to reprise their roles from the drama series as Jesus and Buddha, respectively. Yuichi Fukuda (Gintama live-action film series) is also back in the director’s chair.
In the three-person roundtable video streaming on the film’s official website, Fukuda stated he initially thought that a feature film was impossible because the original manga was entirely a collection of short stories. So he asked Nakamura, the original manga’s author, if she could draw a new story for the film so he could direct it. Nakamura drew a feature-length episode, “Long Way to the Screen,” which is featured in the manga’s 144th to 149th chapters in 2021, and its film adaptation got the green light. New information on the film will be released sequentially on the 23rd of each month.
Source: “Saint Young Men” live-action film official website / Twitter(C) Hikaru Nakamura / Kodansha (C) 2024 “Saint Young Men” Film Partners
