Japanese television Holdings announced Friday that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Walt Disney Japan. The two companies will jointly develop various content for the global market, such as live-action series, anime, and variety shows.
As part of the partnership, Disney+ will broadcast the next adaptation of the series live from Fumiya Sato and Seimaru Amagithe detective manga The Kindaichi Case Files (Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo) globally, under the English title Young Kindaichi’s Files. The stream will mark the first worldwide release of a NTV serialized live action series.
The series will premiere on April 24 and will air on NTV Sunday at 10:30 p.m. NTV and Disney will announce the show’s debut date on Disney+ at a later date.
Naniwa Danshi member Shunsuke Michieda is the fifth actor to play the titular detective Hajime Kindaichi, and this will be his first solo role in a live-action series. Mocha Kamishiraishi will play Miyuki Nanase and Ikki Sawamura will play Isamu Kenmochi. Bishonen and Johnny’s Jr.’s Taisho Iwasaki will play Ryuta Saki, a high school freshman who enjoys shooting videos.
Yuuko Kawabe (episodes of ErgoProxy, Tweeny Witches: The Adventures) and Tetsuya Oishi (Tegami Bachi: Letter Beelive action Death threat and Immortal’s Blade) write the scripts, and Hisashi Kimura (live action Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo: Hong Kong Kyūryū Zaihou Satsujin Jiken, Nagasawa-kun) directed. NTV presents the series in collaboration with Crescendo Desk. Johnny & Associates’ Naniwa Danshi will perform the theme song “The Answer.”
The Kindaichi Case Files the manga centers around a high school student named Hajime Kindaichi who generally seems boring. However, when there is a case, he demonstrates an IQ of over 180 and remarkable deductive skills inherited from his famous detective grandfather. He solves crimes with his childhood friend Miyuki Nanase and Inspector Isamu Kenmochi.
The new series will adapt selected cases and place them in today’s Japan.
Sources: NTV, Animation Company Diary (Tadashi Sudō), by Mainichi Shimbun Mantan Web
