Iconic Japanese Baseball Anime Remade in India Featuring Cricket
In September 2012, Jiji Press reported: “The world of Kyojin no Hoshi (Star of the Giants), a famous Japanese TV anime series, will be adapted for modern-day India and feature cricket, India's favorite sport, instead of baseball. Titled Rising Star, the cricket version is jointly created by Japan's TMS Entertainment, Ltd. and Indian anime studios. While the sport is different, the storyline of a protagonist who undergoes a tough training program designed by his father to become a star player at the professional level remains the same.[Source: Jiji Press, September 7, 2012]
Titled Rising Star, the cricket version is jointly created by Japan's TMS Entertainment, Ltd. and Indian anime studios. While the sport is different, the storyline of a protagonist who undergoes a tough training program designed by his father to become a star player at the professional level remains the same. [Ibid]
Kyojin no Hoshi is about the life of Hyuma Hoshi, a promising baseball pitcher born into a poor family in Tokyo who strives to become a top professional ballplayer with the Yomiuri Giants under the grueling training of his father, Ittetsu. Based on a popular comic series published by Kodansha Ltd., the TV anime was aired in the 1960s and 1970s. [Ibid]
Similar to the original story, which is staged in Japan's post-World War II period of high economic growth, the Indian remake depicts the growth of Suraj, a boy living in a Mumbai slum who hopes to become one of the best professional cricket players. In the Indian story, Suraj's father, Shyam, is a rickshaw driver who once came close to playing for India's national cricket team. Mitsuru Hanagata, Hyuma's rival, becomes Vikram, a scion of a rich family who plays for a cricket team in New Delhi. The Indian channel will air 26 episodes, each 21 minutes long. [Ibid]
"Today, India is in the middle of an economic evolution that is similar to the one Japan experienced when it was in a high-growth period. Dashing sports dramas like Kyojin no Hoshi could be a relatable subject [for Indians today]," said Sam Yoshiba, an executive director of International Business Division at Kodansha Ltd., the original manga publisher of Kyojin no Hoshi. Yoshiba produces the anime adaptation project in India. [Source: Aiko Komai, Yomiuri Shimbun, October 19, 2012]
Rising Star will reportedly include familiar scenes from Kyojin no Hoshi, including a training gear similar to the Major League Training Uniform that was invented by protagonist Hyuma Hoshi's father Ittetsu to tone his muscles, as well as "magical effects" for Hyuma's pitching. Fans of the original show are also eager to see how the popular "chabudai gaeshi" scene will be adapted for Rising Star. In the scene, an irritable Ittetsu loses his temper and flips over a chabudai dinner table. "Flipping a table could be seen as violent in India. Also, it's a no-no to handle foods roughly," Yoshiba said. [Ibid]
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