300 people cast in "20th Century Boys(20世紀少年)" movies

The trilogy of "20th Century Boys(20世紀少年)" live-action films (directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi) is set to be one of the biggest undertakings ever in the Japanese movie industry. The project not only has a budget of 6 billion yen, but it was revealed on Sunday that it will feature a cast of 300 people.

The movies are adapted from Naoki Urasawa's sci-fi manga of the same name about a man and his friends who try to save the world from destruction by a mysterious organization. An earlier announcement revealed that Toshiaki Karasawa is starring as the protagonist Kenji, while Etsushi Toyokawa and Takako Tokiwa play two of his friends, Otcho and Yukiji.

Because the story spans a period from the 1960s to the 2010s, many of the characters are being played by 3 people at different ages (elementary school, middle school to high school, adulthood). Counting only cast members with spoken lines, a cast of 300 actors and actresses are being assembled for the three films. Approximately 200 of them will appear in the first installment.

34 more names have been announced as part of the cast including Teruyuki Kagawa (as Yoshitsune) and Hitomi Kuroki (as Kenji's sister Kiriko).

The full list:

Announced cast:

Toshiaki Karasawa - Kenji
Etsushi Toyokawa - Otcho
Takako Tokiwa - Yukiji
Teruyuki Kagawa - Yoshitsune
Hitomi Kuroki - Kiriko
Hidehiko Ishizuka - Maruo
Takashi Ukaji - Mon-chan
Hiroyuki Miyasako - Keroyon
Katsuhisa Namase - Donkey
Fumiyo Kohinata - Yamane
Kuranosuke Sasaki - Fukube
ARATA - Masao Tamura
Nana Katase - Mika Shikishima
Chizuru Ikewaki - part-time worker Erika
Mirai Moriyama - mangaka Kameda
Yu Tokui - convenience store employee
Miyako Takeuchi - Setsuko Ichihara
Yoriko Doguchi - Mitsuko Kido
Kenichi Endo - bloody man
Ken Mitsuishi - Yama-san
Shiro Sano - Yanbo-Mabo
Bengaru - Oriko president
Tomiko Ishii - Chiyo Endo
Raita Ryu - Cho-san
Renji Ishibashi - Manjoume Inshuu
Katsuo Nakamura - Kami-sama

Cast members in unknown roles:

Takashi Fujii
Hanako Yamada
Takahiro Suzuki (Taka and Toshi)
Toshikazu Miura (Taka and Toshi)
Atsuhiko Nakata (Oriental Radio)
Shingo Fujimori (Oriental Radio)
Fumiya Fujii
Naoto Takenaka
Tamotsu Ishibashi
Toshikazu Fukawa
Masato Irie