Based on the award-winning novel “Dive!!” by Japanese author Eto Mori, the story centres around the teenaged divers of the Mizuki Diving Club in their trials and tribulations as they train hard in their sport – acrobatic springboard diving – all with the goal of aiming to be selected to represent Japan in the Olympic Games. The series received an anime adaptation that aired for the summer season (July – end-September) in 2017; and riding on its yet-to-cool-down popularity, a live-action 2.5D stage adaptation was announced in early 2018.

©「DIVE!!」The STAGE!! Production Committee

Theatrical “Dive!! The Stage!” aims to challenge the production norms and qualms of re-enacting an acrobatic diving sport on a live-action stage, without the one important element – the pool. Director and scriptwriter Naohiro Ise believes it is possible as long as there is a balanced mixture of imagination combined with the latest staging technologies; as well as the acting prowess of the cast. After months of laying the preparation groundworks and careful selection of the actors, the production finally revealed its very first full-cast key-visual (pictured above).

Let’s take a look at the cast that consists of a gathering of the rising-stars young 2.5D actors of the Japanese theatrical world:

Tomoki Sakai (main character) – played by Takeru Naya
Yoichi Fujitani (main character) – played by Hikaru Makishima
Shibuki Okitsu (main character) – played by Takuma Zaiki
Ohiro Ryo – played by Taishi Sugie
Reiji Maruyama – played by Kensuke Takahashi
Coach Kayoko Asaki – played by Kaori Nazuka
Coach Keisuke Fujitani – played by Mitsuru Karahashi
Atsuhiko Yamada – played by Yuto Adachi
Jiro Hirayama – played by Koudai Miyagi
Kiyotaka Matsuno – played by Yusuke Seto
Toshihiko Tsuji – played by Taisei Nishino

Along with the announcement of the full cast, the production also revealed a longer promotional video which included the comments from the three actors of the main cast Takeru Naya, Hikaru Makishima and Takuma Zaiki:

“Dive!! The Stage!” will commence performance run in Tokyo’s Theatre1010 on 20 September 2018 until 30 September 2018; then head west for a special 2-days run in Osaka’s Morinomiya Piloti Hall on 6 – 7 October 2018. Tickets are priced at JPY 9,800 each for premium seats; and JPY 7,800 each for normal seats. More information on the production is available on their official website.