Suehiro Mauro's infamous 1984 erotic-grotesque manga, "Shōjo Tsubaki," has finally gotten its green light and is ready to be on the big silver screen. Now, fans have been given a sneak peak of the upcoming live-action film, as the most recent news noted that its long-awaited trailer is making the rounds on the web.
On April 12, Tuesday, a new steamy trailer of the upcoming live-action movie began streaming in Natalie, a Japanese news website. The trailer reveals the film's theme song, "Ano Ko no Jinta" by Charan-Po-Rantan, and additionally features some segments from its animated film counterpart.
The 90-seconds long trailer unveils the erotic, candy-colored life of the 14-year-old protagonist named Midori, played by Risa Nakamura, who joins the so-called "Aka Neko circus troupe." After joining the said circus troupe, the film's titular character seemingly experience untimely adventures and memorable mishaps.
After losing her parents, Midori has been sold to a carnival show. She has been humiliated, sexually abused and forced into slavery by all the show's member, until the arrival of Wanda Masamitsu (Shunsuke Kazama), a dwarf magician-hypnotist, who accidently joins the same carnival show.
Maruo's Ero guro nansensu manga has been published in the United States in 1993 under the title of "Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show." It was then later adapted into an animated theatrical film by director Hiroshi Harada, where it was shown in several film festivals outside Japan with the subtitle "Midori."
The said animated film, however, is viewed as halfway lost as it has been banned by the Japanese Government to air outside the country. In addition, it has been reported that a few portions of the film were destroyed entirely due to its gruesome and disturbing imagery.
The manga's title seemingly alludes to the recurring stock girl character in "Kamishibai" performances amid the Shōwa era in Japan. Other film stars include Motoki Fukami, Misake Morino, Minoru Torihada, Takeru, Daichi Saeki, Miyuki Torii and Akihiro Nakatani, Anime News Network reported.
With Japanese director TORICO helming the project, the live-action movie is scheduled for release in Japan on May 21, 2016.
Check out "Shōjo Tsubaki's" live-action movie trailer below: