The Seven to premiere its first feature film "BAKA’s Identity" in Japan

Having wowed global audiences with the Netflix hit "Yu Yu Hakusho", The Seven's producer Akira Morii has teamed up again with actors Takumi Kitamura and Go Ayano on The Seven’s first theatrical release: "BAKA’s Identity" ("A Fool’s Identity") that will open in Japanese movie theaters on Friday October 24 and is distributed by The Seven and Showgate.

Adapted by Japan Academy Award-winning screenwriter Kosuke Mukai based on Jun Nishio’s 2019 prize-winning novel of the same name, "BAKA’s Identity" is directed by Koto Nagata, known for her complex human dramas. The film is an exhilarating chase thriller, it explores the dark underbelly of modern Japan and its devastating impact on the lives of three young men caught up in its web.

In the story, Takuya (Takumi Kitamura) and Mamoru (Yuta Hayashi) are two young men from disadvantaged backgrounds who’ve been sucked into Japan’s criminal underworld. Their job involves posing as women on social media to exploit isolated men and sell their personal identities. When they’re not working, they’re just ordinary friends who like hanging out together and sometimes letting loose. But when Takuya turns to Kajitani (Go Ayano)—a big brother figure who introduced him to the world of underground crime—to help him and Mamoru escape, they discover it isn’t so simple.

Takumi Kitamura ("Let Me Eat Your Pancreas") commented: “It felt like a relay of emotion across three generations. From Go to me, and from me to Yuta, whose performance as Mamoru is key to the story. It absolutely needs to be experienced on the big screen.”
Go Ayano ("Let’s Go Karaoke!") added: “This is a story about people who have lost all hope, people who have had their hope taken away, and people who make their own hope. It’s one film you won’t want to miss.”

Yuta Hayashi ("Invisible Us") said: “So many people gave Mamoru a place to belong during the making of this film. Wanting to do for others what someone once did for you is what gives life meaning. That’s what this film taught me.”

Speaking about the film adaptation of her book, author Jun Nishio commented: “Now, thanks to Koto Nagata, the film’s director, many people will get to meet the characters that I have created—seeing them brought to the big screen still feels like something out of a dream.” She added this message for fans: “I hope audiences will come to see for themselves this story about the choices made by these young men, as they waver between good and evil, desire and despair.”

Nagata, for her part, said she was drawn to the project after reading the novel. “In recent years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the extreme poverty and crime young people in Japan are experiencing. I’d been searching for a story that captures that, and when I encountered Jun’s novel. This was a passion project for me, one that lays bare Japan’s social realities while delivering genuine entertainment.”

Producer Akira Morii spoke about the young people depicted in the film and the social issues they face in today’s Japan: “Their lives and struggles take place out of sight from the rest of us. But they’re right there beside us. It could happen to you, or to someone in your family.” Looking ahead to the release of the film, he commented:“I hope people will watch it with an open mind and embrace it warmly.”