Yusuke Urameshi
| Takumi Kitamura 北村 匠海 | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 November 1997 (age 24) Tokyo, Japan |
| Other names | Takumi |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Actor – Singer – Model |
| Years active | 2007 – Present |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
Takumi Kitamura has been acting since 2007. He was scouted by his agent when he was just a third grade elementary school student. Since then, Takumi has taken on increasingly difficult roles. He played a leading role in the adaptation of Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. Then was thrusted into prominence in the smash hit movie Tokyo Revengers. He played the leading role of Takemichi Hanagaki. The film went on to be the highest-grossing live-action film of 2021. He has also won multiple awards for his performances.
Outside of acting, Takumi is also an accomplished musician. Takumi plays the guitar and does vocals for the pop/rock band DISH.
“I am happy to be able to deliver the historical masterpiece ‘YuYu Hakusho’ as a live-action series, as I thought that Japan needs to send out more and more messages to the world … I wish for the further spread of Japanese entertainment and to create a work that people around the world can enjoy.”
”This work has been serialized for more than 30 years. I am sure that many of you have many feelings for this work, and there are many different interpretations … We are all working together to create this work with everything that we can express in this day and age in Japan.”
Kurama
| Jun Shison 志尊 淳 | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1995 (age 27) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2011 – Present |
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Jun Shion joined the D2 actor group in 2011. Soon after, he debuted in his first role as Mukahi Gakuto in the Price of Tennis stage play.
Shun had his first live-action starring role in 2015 when he played the role of Minohara Keigo. The adaptation was from another manga series called Senpai to Kanojo.
In 2019, Jun won the newcomer of the year award at the Elan d’or Awards.
“I had watched and loved ‘YuYu Hakusho’ when I was a student, so I never thought I would be offered the chance to play the role … Of course I was happy, but at the same time I felt pressure to play the character of Kurama in this work that has many fans around the world”
“We spent about 2 to 3 years working together on the visuals alone, going through trial and error to find the finest details, the sheer size of the set, the scale of what we put into each scene and each cut. It was all new to me, and it was an experience that reminded me of my beginnings. This shoot, where we are all exploring creativity with the theme ‘From Japan to the World,’ has been very fulfilling, and I don’t want it to end.”
Hiei
| Kanata Hongō 本郷 奏多 | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 15, 1990 (age 31) Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
| Other names | Kacchan – Kannaty |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Actor – Model – Voice actor |
| Years active | 2002 – Present |
| Height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) |
Kanata Hongo is an accomplished actor, model and voice actor. He has appeared in several music videos, magazines, movies and TV shows since his 2002 debut.
His major breakthrough role was in the live-action film adaptation of The Price of Tennis. He played the role of Ryoma Echizen to great success. Kanata went on to play Shin in Nana 2 and Armin Arlert in the feature film adaptation of Attack on Titan.
“I have tried to create a fighting style that makes use of speed, a cool but actually companionable personality, and a sense of Hiei’s character so that even those who like Hiei will be satisfied with my work.”
Kazuma Kuwabara
| Shuhei Uesugi 上杉 柊平 | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1992 (age 30) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2015 – Present |
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
Shuhei Uesugi debuted in 2015 on the television series Hotel Concierge. He is most well known for his roles in One Week Friends, A.I. Love You and Followers.
Interestingly, Shuhei’s hobbies as listed on his official site include “plant appreciation” so we expect he will get along with Kuwabara just fine.
The design of Kuwabara’s hairstyle is perhaps the most controversial of the live-action series. Gone is Kuwabara’s iconic pompadour, instead replaced by a more contemporary design. This change may be the biggest indicator yet to a modernization of the manga. The pompadour was once seen as a symbol of delinquency and rebellion in Japan. These days that association has been lost and replaced with hairstyles similar to that as shown in the live-action promo. The production team are making changes but are trying to capture the originally intended feeling of Togashi’s work.
“I never thought that I would be able to play a role in a work that I read in elementary school, and I was very happy to be able to play the role of Kazuma Kuwabara, the coolest character I have ever felt as an adult, who is honest, rugged, full of love, and straight ahead in what he believes in.”
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