Japanese public broadcaster NHK has revealed that actor Hayate Ichinose (Kishiryū Sentai Ryusoulger) will play male protagonist Tatsuki Manabe in the upcoming live-action television adaptation of Yūki Kodama's manga Ao no Hana Utsuwa no Mori (Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels). Ichinose stars alongside former idol and actress Rena Matsui (Ultimate Otaku Teacher), who was previously announced in the lead role of Aoko.
A Quiet Romance in Nagasaki's Pottery Capital
Scheduled to premiere this fall within NHK's late-night "Yorudora" programming block, the series is set in Hasami, a town in Nagasaki Prefecture renowned for its traditional pottery. The story traces the romance between Aoko, a craftsman who paints intricate designs on ceramics, and Tatsuki, a mysterious young visitor whose arrival deeply affects her life and work in the artisan community.
Kodama serialized the manga in Shogakukan's monthly magazine Flowers from March 2018 until its conclusion in March 2022, with the publisher collecting the narrative into 10 tankōbon volumes. The author is best known for creating Kids on the Slope (Sakamichi no Apollon), which inspired a critically acclaimed 2012 anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe on Fuji TV's Noitamina block, as well as a 2018 live-action feature film. Her current ongoing manga, Wolf's Daughter: A Werewolf's Tale (Ōkami no Musume), launched in Flowers in late 2022.
