MBS revealed on Thursday that it is producing a live-action adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s Apollo’s Song (Apollo no Uta) manga, which will premiere on the “Dramaism” programming block on MBS and TBS on February 18. This new series will present a modern take on the 1970 dark fantasy tale.
The cast includes Shōri Satō, a member of the idol group Timelesz and known for his role in the live-action Haruchika – Haruta & Chika, as the lead character, Shōgo Chikaishi.
Shōgo is a college student who despises love due to the trauma caused by his relationship with his mother. Akari Takaishi, who has appeared in The Colors Within, Baby Assassins, and the Demon Slayer stage play, portrays Shōgo’s childhood friend, Hiromi Watari, who aspires to become a singer while working at a bar.
In this modern retelling, Shōgo lives with a woman he has no romantic feelings for and relies on her financially. He inadvertently causes Hiromi’s death, and in response, a goddess curses him to be reincarnated repeatedly, experiencing unrequited love in each of his lives.
The series is being directed by Ken Ninomiya, known for the live-action films Chiwawa-chan and Tonkatsu DJ Agetarō, who is also writing the scripts. The production company Geek Sight is responsible for bringing the series to life.
Apollo’s Song Manga
Kodansha USA Publishing re-released the Apollo’s Song manga in 2022. The story is described as follows:
Apollo’s Song traces the tragic journey of Shogo, a young man whose abusive upbringing has fostered such a deep hatred for love that he reacts with violence when witnessing any form of intimacy or affection, whether between humans or animals.
His loathing is so intense that the gods intervene, cursing Shogo to experience love through multiple lifetimes, only for it to be torn away from him each time. From the horrors of World War II to a dystopian future filled with human cloning, Shogo repeatedly loses his heart, ultimately healing the psychological wounds of his childhood hatred.
Master storyteller Osamu Tezuka’s Apollo’s Song is a powerful exploration of the human spirit, the destruction of hate, and the ultimate triumph of love.
Tezuka originally serialized the manga in Shonengahosha’s Weekly Shonen King magazine from April to November 1970.
