Live-Action Saki Project

The Live-Action Saki Project is a live-action adaptation of the mahjong manga Saki and its spinoff Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A.

Saki adaptation
The live-action adaptation of the Saki manga consists of a live-action series and a film. The series has four 30-minutes-episodes as well as a television "special". The series premiered on MBS on December 4, 2016, on TBS on December 6, 2016, and on Amazon prime on December 7, 2016. Other stations aired the series at later dates: NBC (Nagasaki Broadcasting) December 15, IBC (Iwate Broadcasting) and TUY (TV-U Yamagata) December 20, TUF (TV-U Fukushima) January 6, 2017.

The special aired on MBS on January 8, 2017, and on TBS on January 10, 2017. The adaptation was released on DVD and Blu-ray in a regular and a special version on January 11, 2017.

The film had an early premiere on January 18 and opened in Japan on February 3, 2017. The opening Kimi ni warutsu and ending No more cry by the five actresses of the Kiyosumi mahjong club as well as the soundtrack with music composed by T$UYO$HI was released on February 1, 2017. The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray in a regular and a special version on July 5, 2017.

Cast

 * Kiyosumi High School:
 * Minami Hamabe as Saki Miyanaga
 * Nana Asakawa as Nodoka Haramura
 * Aika Hirota as Yuuki Kataoka
 * Seika Furuhata as Hisa Takei
 * Anna Yamada as Mako Someya


 * Ryuumonbuchi High School:
 * Mai Kikuchi as Koromo Amae
 * Mariya Nagao as Touka Ryuumonbuchi
 * Kyōka Shibata as Hajime Kunihiro
 * Ena Koshino as Jun Inoue
 * Rie Kaneko as Tomoki Sawamura


 * Kazekoshi Girls' High School:
 * Rena Takeda as Kana Ikeda
 * Mami Kamura as Mihoko Fukuji
 * Aya Yoshizaki as Miharu Yoshitome
 * Mizuki Hoshina as Sumiyo Fukabori
 * Yuzu Higuchi as Seika Bundou


 * Tsuruga Academy:
 * Natsumi Okamoto as Yumi Kajiki
 * Ano as Momoko Touyoko
 * Aguri Ōnishi as Satomi Kanbara
 * Marina Nagasawa as Kaori Senoo
 * Mari Yamachi as Mutsuki Tsuyama


 * Adults
 * Natsuna as Yasuko Fujita
 * Hinako Sano as Takako Kubo
 * Yuki Tamaki as Hagiyoshi
 * Tomoharu Hasegawa as Kai Miyanaga

Production Staff
Yūichi Onuma is directing, while Hiroyuki Ishikawa is co-directing. Hayashi Mori is penning the script. T$UYO$HI (The BONEZ) is composing the music. The opening theme Kimi ni Waltz is composed by Mimi Meme Mimi and performed by the five actresses Minami Hamabe (Saki), Nana Asakawa (Nodoka), Aika Hirota (Yuuki), Seika Furuhata (Hisa), and Anna Yamada (Mako). The ending theme song is Hello Goodbye performed by the band Frederic.

Other staff members include:


 * Photography: Yasutaka Nagano
 * Lighting: Jun Kodama
 * Art: Shūji Yamashita
 * Recording: Takeshi Kobayashi
 * Props: Yū Yamamoto
 * Editing: Etsuko Kimura, Shiori Kawamura
 * VFX Supervisor: Junji Munakata
 * Costumes: Miyuki Katō
 * Costume Production: Bandai Apparel
 * Hair & Makeup: Chieko Uchijō
 * Sound Effects: Keisuke Shibuya
 * Mahjong Consultants: Kenneth Tokuda, Masao Kuroki, Hirokazu Baba, Babylon
 * Casting: Keiichi Anda
 * Production: Naomichi Imai
 * Line Producer: Akio Motojima

Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A adaptation
On September 15, 2017, an adaptation of the spinoff-manga Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A was announced in issue 19/2017 of the magzine Young Gangan. The adaptation will consist of a four episodes live action series, a special, and a film.

The series will begin airing on MBS on December 3, 2017, and on TBS on December 5, 2017. Additional channels will follow in January 2018, namely RKK on January 4, HBC on January 7, and IBC on January 9, 2018. The special is scheduled for January 7, 2018, on MBS and for January 9, 2018, on TBS. The series will be published on DVD and BD on January 17, 2018. The movie will open in Japanese theatres in January 20, 2018.

On December 3, 2017, the opening Egao no Hana by the five actresses of the Achiga mahjong club was released as a digital single. The opening and the ending Spring will be published as an audio CD on January 17, 2018.

Cast
The main cast except Teru Miyanaga was announced on October 4, 2017, more actors on November 17, 2017, and December 2, 2017. Nana Asakawa returns as highschool student Nodoka Haramura, but the younger Rena Suzuki will play her role as elementary school student.


 * Achiga Girls' Academy:
 * Yuri Tsunematsu as Kuro Matsumi (Kanon Matsuzawa in middle school)
 * Koume Watanabe as Yuu Matsumi
 * Momoka Itou as Ako Atarashi (Moka Mineta in elementary school)
 * Riko Nakayama as Arata Sagimori (Kokoro Hirasawa as child)
 * Hiyori Sakurada as Shizuno Takakamo (Miyuu Okazaki in elementary school)


 * Other Achiga childrens mahjong club members:
 * Sara as Sakurako Gibbard
 * Rin Shigihara as Yoshiko Sasaoka
 * Erena Takeshita as Mirai Yoneda
 * Hina Morita as Rin Kirita


 * Bansei High School:
 * Mio Kudou as Hatsuse Okahashi
 * Jun Amaki as Yae Kobashiri
 * Arisa Sonohara as Noriko Maruse
 * Yui Kitamura as Ryouko Ueda
 * Asuka Kawazu as Yuka Tatsumi
 * Momoko Okazaki as Hyakka Kurumai


 * Senriyama Girls' High School:
 * Nao Sakura as Toki Onjouji
 * Manami Arai as Izumi Nijou
 * Mizuha as Sera Eguchi
 * Rino Shimazaki as Hiroko Funakubo
 * Yuuka Ogura as Ryuuka Shimizudani


 * Shiraitodai High School:
 * Minami Hamabe as Teru Miyanaga
 * Mikoto Hibi as Sumire Hirose
 * RaMu as Takami Shibuya
 * Karen Iwata as Seiko Matano
 * Yuumi Shida as Awai Oohoshi


 * Shindouji Girls' High School:
 * Yuuka Yano as Kirame Hanada
 * Rio Kotomi as Yoshiko Yasukouchi
 * Haruka Iwasaki as Hitomi Ezaki
 * Riho Takada as Mairu Shirouzu
 * Sae Okazaki as Himeko Tsuruta


 * Kentani High School


 * Koshigaya Girls' High School
 * Asuka Ōgame as Tamago Utsugi


 * Adults:
 * Nao Minamisawa as Harue Akado
 * Ayu Higashi as Sukoya Kokaji
 * Satomi Kawaguchi as Kouko Fukuyo
 * Anna Yano as Nozomi Atarashi