Believe it! Naruto live-action stage play returns, shows off huge new cast and costumes【Photos】

First new Live Spectacle Naruto production in four years adapts Pain’s Invasion, Five Kage arcs.

The Naruto manga reached its finale in 2014, and the anime adaptation wrapped in 2017. But that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the perpetually positive ninja and his friends and foes. Among the franchise’s spinoff projects is the Live Spectacle Naruto live-action stage play series, which has just released in-costume photos of the cast for its newest installment.

Titled Live Spectacle Naruto–The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki, the production is the fourth in the series, and the first new Naruto play since 2017. While a number of actors from the previous plays are reprising their roles, Naruto himself will be played for the first time by Masaki Nakao, whom tokusatsu fans might recognize from his role as Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger’s protagonist Yamato Kazakiri.

Sasuke, on the other hand, continues to be portrayed by Ryuji Saito, as he has for all previous Live Spectacle Naruto plays. The same goes for Yui Ito as Sakura and Yuki Kimisawa as Kakashi.

Live Spectacle Naruto–The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki will be drawing its story from the original manga’s Pain’s Invasion and Five Kage arcs, and so of course we’ll see Pain (played by Teruma).

There’s also some impressively villainous costume/makeup work for Zetsu (Ryunosuke Kawai)…

…and Madara (Daiki Ise).

Actually, let’s let Hinata (Senaa) wash away some of that evil aura.

A benefit of being both an adaptation of one of the biggest anime/manga hits of all time and the fourth production in a successful stage play series is that it allows the producers to be very ambitious in terms of scale, as we’re not even halfway through the announced cast so far!

▼ Tsunade (Cecile Daigo)

▼ Killer Bee (Shin Koyanagi)

▼ Konan (Yuka Kobayashi)

▼ Jugo (Koki Emoto)

The prop designers get to flex their creative muscles with the weapons and armor of Suigetsu (Ryutro Maeda)…

…A (Keigo Kitamura)…

…Sai (Fuma Sadamoto)…

…and Shizune (Sari Kojima).

Finally, rounding out the collection of characters who’ll do battle on the stage are Karin (Kanon Nanaki)…

…Gaara (Takeru Naya)…

…Shikamaru (Kazuaki Yasuke)…

…Minato (Ryo Kitazono)…

…and Nagato (Yuki Tamaki).

Live Spectacle Naruto–The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki opens at Tokyo’s Nippon Seinenkan Hall on December 4 and will run until December 13, after which the production will move to Osaka’s Mielparque Hall Osaka from December 25 to January 2. Tickets start at 8,000 yen (US$73) with online reservations opening on November 6 here.

Source, images: Press release
©Masashi Kishimoto Scott/Shueisha
© Live Spectacle Naruto Production Committee 2021
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