Award-winning manga My Broken Mariko is getting a live action film adaptation, directed by Yuki Tanada and starring Mei Nagano as protagonist Tomoyo Shiino. Today, as per a report by Anime News Network, the film’s remaining cast was revealed.
Joining Nagano will be Honda Nao (known professionally as Nao), who will play the titular role of Mariko, the best friend of Tomoyo. Masataka Kubota (Tokyo Ghoul) will be cast as Makio, a boy who meets Tomoyo during the course of her journey. Toshinori Omi and Yō Yoshida will round out the cast as Mariko’s father and step-mother, respectively.
My Broken Mariko, originally written by Waka Hirako, tells the story of close friends Tomoyo and Mariko, the former of whom is a bright light in the life of Mariko, whose life is otherwise plagued by abuse and neglect. When Mariko takes her own life, Tomoyo floods with shock and guilt over being unable to save her friend. Determined to make amends, Tomoyo ventures off with Mariko’s ashes in tow to share one final journey together before setting Mariko free.
The My Broken Mariko manga received the 2020 Bros. Comic Awards, and ranked fourth on the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook’s list of top 20 manga for female readers. Waka Hirako was also awarded the 24th Japan Media Arts Festival New Face Award for her creation of the manga.
Director Yuki Tanada won the grand prize at Japan’s 2001 Pia Film Festival with her independent film Moru, and her 2008 film One Million Yen Girl won her the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award.
The My Broken Mariko film will release in the fall later this year.
