A live-action film adaptation of an episode from Hirohiko Araki’s Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe manga series, “At a Confessional,” will open in Japanese theaters on May 23, 2025. The film’s official website and X (formerly Twitter) opened, releasing a teaser trailer and two teaser visuals.
Teaser visual 1
Teaser visual 2
As the first episode of the spin-off series to Araki’s representative work, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, “At a Confessional” was published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1997, then was included in the manga’s first tankobon volume released in 2013. The series centers on Rohan Kishibe, one of the main characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable. Rohan, a manga artist, encounters a series of strange happenings at his research sites. The live-action drama series featuring Issei Takahashi as Rohan was broadcast on NHK in 2020, 2021, 202, and 2024. A feature film Rohan at the Louvre (Rohan au Louvre) released in Japan in May 2023, making 1.25 billion yen (7.91 million USD) from its total domestic run.
Issei Takahashi reprises his role as Rohan Kishibe once again. Marie Iitoyo also joins as Kyoka Izumi, a female editor at Weekly Shonen Jump who is in charge of Rohan. “It is a precious experience for me as an actor to be able to live with a character for such a long time, and I feel very fortunate to be able to do so,” said Takahashi. “Whether you are a fan of the original manga, a fan of the world of Rohan as I have played him up until now, or even those who are just beginning to see it, this is a work that everyone can enjoy. The new actors who have joined the cast are all a pleasure to work with. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.”
Kazutaka Watanabe, who worked on the live-action series including the feature film Rohan at the Louvre, serves as director on a screenplay by Yasuko Kobayashi (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime series). Original episodes were added by Kobayashi to the film’s story.The entire film was shot in Venice, Italy, including some of the city’s most famous landmarks, such as Piazza San Marco, San Rocco Church, Pescaglia Market, Punta della Dogana, Barbarigo Minotto Palace, Pallozzo da Mosto, and Santi Giovanni e Paolo Square, which also appears in the original manga. VIZ Media releases the English edition of the original manga, and describes the story:
Rohan has freed himself of Josuke Higashikata, but that doesn’t mean his life is going to be easy! No, now the supernatural has come knocking, and Rohan must contend with an all-new level of bizarre adventure…
Source: “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: At a Confessional” live-action film official website, X (formerly Twitter)© 2025 “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: At a Confessional” Production Committee © LUCKY LAND COMMUNICATIONS/SHUEISHA
