Oshi ga Budokan Manga Is Getting a Stage Play
Auri Hirao’s beloved comedy manga If My Favorite Pop Idol Made it to the Budokan, I Would Die is getting a stage play. The production will run in Aichi Prefecture and Tokyo beginning in February.
In a fitting touch, the official account for the play announced that real, active idols will be cast as members of the story’s fictional idol group, Cham Jam. Full casting details and more information were set to be revealed shortly after the announcement.
The story is an affectionate comedy about a superfan known as Eripiyo, who is utterly devoted to Maina, the shy and lowest ranked member of a small underground idol group based in Okayama.
Her love runs so deep that one performance even leaves her with a dramatic nosebleed, and she vows to keep cheering Maina on until the group can one day perform at the famous Budokan.
It is a story that clearly understands idol fandom from the inside, which makes casting genuine idols for the stage feel like an especially clever choice.
My take: Putting real idols on stage to play idols is a wonderfully fitting idea for this particular series. Eripiyo’s over the top devotion is so endearing that I can picture it translating beautifully to live theater.
