Story explores main characters' changing feelings as they confront emotions they had not previously recognized
Image via Kakao Entertainment's website © Kakao Entertianment
Kakao Entertainment announced on Thursday McQueen Studio's romance webtoon Aquaman is being adapted into a Japanese live-action series by Fuji TV . The 10-episode series will premiere simultaneously in Japan and South Korea on December 25 through Fuji TV 's streaming service and Wavve , a Korean streaming platform, respectively.
The original webtoon ran from 2016 to 2019 and recorded approximately 200 million cumulative views on Kakao Page . It follows longtime friends whose relationship becomes complicated as the boundaries between friendship and romance blur.
The now-defunct service Spottoon had previously released the series in English and describes the story:
Jump into the life of twenty-something Naru as he navigates through the confusing world of modern dating. He's faced with familiar moments we've all been through such as “should I add that smiley face at the end of the text?” or “why haven't they responded to my text?” But the added challenge for Naru? He's never dated, doesn't use a cellphone and most importantly someone's out there to sabotage his dating life!
The series is a joint adaptation project between Kakao Entertainment and Fuji TV . Kakao Entertainment provided the original intellectual property and participated in the planning and development, while Fuji TV is handling the Japanese production in collaboration with production company AOI Pro.
Haru Kashiwagi stars as Naru Shintani, based on the original character Naru Shin. Noritaka Hamao plays Kazunari Ikeda, adapted from Sung-joon Choi, while Karen Ōtomo portrays Sora Hoshino, based on Sora Choi.
Junichi Kanai is directing the series, with Erika Seki writing the screenplay. New episodes will premiere every Friday following the December 25 debut.
Currently, an official English version of the webtoon is not available.
A North American release of the live-action series is not yet confirmed.