Hayato Ichihara stars in "Wild Life" drama, movie

[Tokyograph News]

Masato Fujisaki's popular manga series "Wild Life" is being turned into a television drama and a live-action movie, both starring young actor Hayato Ichihara.

The manga tells the story of a veterinarian named Tessho who uses his extraordinary hearing to save animals' lives. It began serialization in Shonen Sunday in 2003 and ended last month. In 2006, it won a Shogakukan Manga Award.

Movie distributor GAGA initially had plans for a film adaptation, and they teamed up with NHK to first create a television version. Filming took place at the end of last year and included locations in Thailand and China. Three episodes were originally planned, but the death of a giraffe led to the cancellation of one of them. The other two episodes, dealing with an elephant and a panda, will air on NHK's Hi-Vision satellite channel on March 24-25.

The movie starts shooting next year and is scheduled for theatrical release before the year ends. Africa and the North Pole are said to be possible locations for the film.

For the television drama, Ichihara's supporting cast includes Riisa Naka, Tetsuji Tamayama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, and Akira Emoto.

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