Live-Action Manga-Based Saru Lock's 5 Minutes Posted

posted on 2010-01-26 12:44 EST

Hayato Ichihara reprises teen lock-picker role in February 27 film

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The Eiga.com website has begun streaming a five-minute video from the live-action film adaptation of Naoki Serizawa's Saru Lock action comedy manga series on Tuesday.

In both the film and the earlier live-action television drama series, Hayato Ichihara (Rookies, Onmyoji II, Wild Life) plays Yatarō "Saru" Sarumaru, an ordinary high school boy who daydreams about idols but otherwise has no luck with girls. However, this silver-haired son of a locksmith also happens to be a lock-picking genius, and there is no lock that "Saru" (literally, "monkey") cannot open.

The original manga has been running in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine since 2004, and the first 21 compiled book volumes have sold 4 million copies. The film will open in Japan on February 27 with a cast that includes Sousuke Takaoka, Sei Ashina, Gota Watabe, Manami Higa, Manami Konishi, Ken Mitsuishi, Masahiko Nishimura, and Jun Kunimura.