Saki Fukuda in live action drama IS Intersexual

Rokuhana Chiyo’s award-winning manga “IS ~Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei~” is being turned into a live-action series on TV Tokyo, co-starring actresses Fukuda Saki (20) and Goriki Ayame (18). This will be Goriki’s first lead role in a drama series.

“IS” stands for “intersexual,” a term referring to people who cannot clearly be classified as male or female, and who may biologically possess characteristics of both sexes. Rokuhana’s manga primarily deals with the troubles faced by the young Hoshino Haru (played by Fukuda), an intersexual who was registered as a girl at birth but has been raised as a boy.

Goriki plays Aihara Miwako, a mysterious classmate who tries to get close to Haru. Inoue Masahiro has been cast as Ibuki Kenji, a member of the soccer club whom Haru begins having feelings for. Nishida Naomi and Minami Kaho play Miwako’s and Haru’s mothers, respectively.

TV Tokyo has scheduled “IS” for a Monday 10:00pm time slot this summer, beginning in July.

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Japan Saki Fukuda in Tsubaki Tokitobi film

Actress Saki Fukuda (19) is taking on the lead role in a play at the famous Meijiza theater in Tokyo next year. This will be only her second performance in a stage production, and her first time starring in a jidaigeki work.

Titled "Tsubaki, Tokitobi," the play is based on a sci-fi novel by author Shinji Kajio (61). Fukuda plays the part of Tsubaki, the daughter of a samurai in the Kumamoto Domain during the late Edo period. Using a "time machine," she travels through time and meets a science fiction writer in the present day, played by Masaru Nagai (31).

Other cast members include Hiroshi Katsuno (60), Takatoshi Kaneko (31), Erina Mano (18), and Jun Shibuki (41). Yutaka Narui is writing and directing. The play will be performed at the Meijiza from August 11 to August 29, 2010.

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