Ai to Makoto | |
愛と誠 | |
---|---|
Manga | |
Written by | Ikki Kajiwara |
Illustrated by | Takumi Nagayasu |
Published by | Kodansha |
Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | 1973 – 1976 |
Volumes | 16 |
Audio drama | |
Station | Nippon Broadcasting System |
Original run | April 8, 1974 – October 8, 1974 |
Live-action film | |
Directed by | Shigeyuki Yamane |
Released | July 13, 1974 |
Runtime | 89 minutes |
Television drama | |
Original network | TV Tokyo |
Original run | October 4, 1974 – March 28, 1975 |
Episodes | 26 |
Live-action film | |
Zoku Ai to Makoto | |
Directed by | Shigeyuki Yamane |
Released | March 15, 1975 |
Runtime | 91 minutes |
Live-action film | |
Ai to Makoto Kanketsu-hen | |
Directed by | Hideo Nanbu |
Released | September 23, 1976 |
Runtime | 91 minutes |
Live-action film | |
Ai to Makoto | |
Directed by | Takashi Miike |
Studio | Kadokawa Pictures, Toei Company |
Released | May 2012 |
Ai to Makoto (愛と誠, tran. Love and Truth) is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Takumi Nagayasu. It was adapted into a live-action television series in 1974 and into four live-action films in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 2012.[1][2][3]
Makoto Taiga is a young delinquent that Ai Saotome happens to meet in the Tateshina Highlands of Shinshu. When he was young, he saved Ai's life but got a scar on his forehead and destroyed his parents and life in the process. As compensation, he is transfers to a high school in Tokyo to rehabilitate, but he is angry at having been hurt and plots to rule the school with violence. However, Ai's actions prevent him from doing so, he transfers to Hanazono Jitsugyuō, the most delinquent high school in the Kantō region. Ai and Hiroshi Iwashimizu, a man who loves and supports her from the shadows, also transfer to the school. There is a confrontation between Yuki Takahara, who rules the school, Gonta Zaō, and Shun Sadoya. Sadoya is defeated by Makoto, determined to sacrifice his life to reunite with his mother who abandoned him. Ai's father is then embroiled in a corruption scandal and arrested, and her mother returns to her family home and finds herself in a predicament. Makoto, who sets out to solve the case alone, beats up the masterminds of the case. Eventually, the prosecutors arrest the prime minister who was responsible. Sadoya appears with a knife and stabs Makoto, who drags his injured body to the beach were Ai waits. Their short-lived happiness with each other comes to an end.
A film adaptation directed by Shigeyuki Yamane and starring Hideki Saijo, Ai Saotome, and Masami Naka was released in July 1974. Saijo negotiated directly with Ikki Kajiwara, the author of the original work, to receive the role.[4] However, fans of the work sent letters to Kajiwara and Weekly Shōnen Magaziner rejecting Saijo, who was at the peak of his popularity, saying that Ai to Makoto should not be a singer's work and it would ruin the work's image. The staff also had difficulty casting an actress to play Ai Saotome because all actresses refused for reasons such as not wanting to antagonize Saijo's fans; they then had an open call for the role.[5] Ai Saotome, who used the heroine's name as her stage name, got the role.[6] The film was a box office success and grossed ¥900 million.[7]
A second film adaptation again directed by Shigeyuki Yamane and starring Kōji Nanjō as Makoto and Ai Saotome as Ai Saotome, reprising her role from the first film, was released in March 1975. Initially planned to again star Saijo and Saotome and release during Golden Week,[8] due to scheduling conflicts, they re-cast the role of Makoto with an open call, with Nanjō winning the part.[9] Due to Saotome's school commitments, filming took place over 23 days. Yamane complained about the schedule, saying that he was overworked, and the prioritizing of the schedule ruined his work.[10] It was more violent and an extreme delinquent film.[11][12]
A third film adaptation directed by Hideo Nambu starring Ryū Kanō as Makoto and Ai Saotome as Ai Saotome, reprising her role from the previous two films, was released in September 1976. It became an unusual series with more delinquency in each installment along with the involvement political masterminds.[11]
Main article: For Love's Sake (film) |
The 2012 film version, directed by Takashi Miike, was alternatively titled For Love's Sake[13] in English. This time, it is done in the form of an experimental musical film similar to Bollywood, with song numbers to highlight the story further
The basic plotline sees a cross-class love story between Ai (Emi Takei), the daughter of a well-respected Tokyo family, and delinquent Makoto (Satoshi Tsumabuki) who is seeking the leader of a female gang.