A live-action film adaptation of Akiko Higashimura‘s (Princess Jellyfish, Tokyo Tarareba Girls) autobiographical josei manga series Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey (known as Kakukaku Shikajika in Japan) is set to release in Japan on May 16, 2025.Mei Nagano (Red Blood Cell in the Cells at Work! live-action film) plays the protagonist, Akiko Hayashi, who is based on Higashimura herself, and Yo Oizumi (Shou Tucker in the Fullmetal Alchemist live-action film) plays Kenzo Hidaka, a teacher she meets at an art school she visits to apply for art school. The film’s official website has opened with a teaser trailer introducing the two.
Higashimura’s original manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Cocohana magazine from 2012 to 2015, and won the Grand Prize of the Manga Grand Prize 2015 and the Manga Category of the 19th Japan Media Arts Festival.Seven Seas Entertainment, which released the manga’s English edition, describes the synopsis:
High schooler Akiko has big plans to become a popular mangaka before she even graduates, but she needs to get much better at drawing if she ever wants to reach her goal. Looking for an easy fix, she signs up for an art class, thinking all her problems will soon be solved. She’s in for a surprise: her new instructor is a sword-wielding taskmaster who doesn’t care about manga one bit. But maybe this unconventional art teacher is just what she needs to realize her dreams!
Kazuaki Seki, known for his music video works for YOASOBI, Perfume, and RADWIMPS, serves as the director. Meanwhile, the manga author Higashimura herself works on a screenplay.Higashimura had always turned down offers to make a live-action adaptation of this manga. “But when I heard that Mei Nagano-san was going to play the role of Akiko, I was convinced that If Nagano-san, who is a great actress, is going to play Akiko, it should be a very good film, and I accepted the offer because I wanted to be fully involved in the production for that purpose,” said Higashimura.”I asked Yo Oizumi-san to play the role of Hidaka-sensei at my casting request. Director Kazuaki Seki shot the scenery of the painting class centering on these two in a truly fresh and eternal memory-like image. I also took a break from the serialization works to participate in everything from location scouting to filming. I supervised the art for all the drawings and paintings in the film. It was a lot of work, but I did it because I wanted to see Mei Nagano’s Akiko.”She has also posted an illustration featuring the two lead actors.
Source: “Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey” live-action film official website / X (formerly Twitter)©Akiko Higashimura/ SHUEISHA ©Movie “Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey” Production Committee
