This just in, Yoko Taro’s manga series with Moriyama Daisuke “Thou Shalt Not Die // Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare” (TSND) is coming to the stage at the end of the year!
** This is breaking news, so I will continue to update this post with additional information. Beware of possible YoRHa / NieR spoilers. **
The Story
Entering the 21st Century,
“Special Abilities” have become commonplace.
As a country forbidden to wage war itself,
the decision to pursue military might in the form of
“Special Ability Users” instead of actual armaments.
Since these abilities only appear in young boys and girls,
the nation established a new educational institute.
In order to choose the best junior high students for the initial class of the institute,
a large number of junior high students gathered in the training facilities
within the Self-Defence Forces.
By name alone, this was merely dubbed combat training;
however, in actuality, it was to determine the limitations
of their “special abilities”.
Catch Phrase
Live longer just to die. But to die, we must first live in the present.
From the shock of the first scene to “that”,
when boys and girls are thrown onto the battlefield…
Translated from Daily Entertainment Clips
Many returning names from the YoRHa stage play, mostly the staff, are also coming back for this performance. There will be a total of 9 shows from Wednesday, December 21 to Sunday, December 25.
There will also be some pre-order bonuses: a live photo and a 300 yen off coupon for merchandise.
Ticket pre-orders go on sale at 10am to 7pm Sunday, September 24-27. Regular sales will open from October 2 at 10am.
An ODD Production “Thou Shalt Not Die // Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare – Zero”
Official Site: http://www.odd-inc.co.jp/stage/kimishini/index.html
Date: Wednesday, December 21 – Sunday, December 25
Location: Shinjuku Mura LIVE
S seats: 7,000 yen
A seats: 5,800 yen
Balcony: 6,000 yen
Student (A seat only): 4,800 yen
Cast (in Japanese alphabetical order):
- Imade Mai (今出舞) – Sakura
- Endo Ruka (遠藤瑠香) – Kuchiba * No2 in the YoRHa stage play
- Ooshima Ryo (大島崚) – Hakuji
- Kitamura Yuu (北村悠) – Usuki ★
- Kuryuu Mina (栗生みな) – Botan ★
- Kurofuji Yuuki (黒藤結軌) Mizukaki ★
- Nagayoshi Asuka (永吉明日香) – Hajizome
- Masaki Kohei (正木航平) – Kouji
- Maruyama Naoyuki (丸山直之) Sumi ★
- Mirai Miki (未来みき) – Tsutsuji
- Mondo Ukai (鵜飼主水) – Shinbashi
- Igara Keisuke (五十嵐啓輔) – Suou
- Tajima Yurika (田嶌友里香) – Kariyasu
- Tatemichi Riona (立道梨緒奈) – Akasumi
- Fujisaki Arisa (藤嵜亜莉沙) – Susutake
- Takano Kohei (高野光平) – Kurenai
- Joe Hori (堀丞) – Chigusa
- Mondo Ukai (鵜飼主水) – Urumi
- Watanabe Kazuhiro (渡辺和洋) – Ensamble
- Omori Masashi (大森将) – Ensamble
★ Returning characters from the manga. The rest are original characters for the play.
* Notice that there is one returning actress from the YoRHa stage play: the main character, YoRHa No2!
** Also notice that Kuroi & Mashiro do not seem to be in the play. Descriptions state that the main cast are junior high students, so in the timeline of the story, this puts the play anywhere between 3-6 years before the events of the manga. The four returning characters are in the same graduating class. It makes sense that Kuroi isn’t in the picture yet because he didn’t “find” her until entering HS. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for further speculations.
*** Lastly, it appears that all of the characters are named after specific colors. I had to do a little digging to find out more, but the majority of them are listed at The Traditional Colors of Japan.
The location will be at Shinjuku Mura LIVE, the same venue where the YoRHa Ver.1.1 stage play was performed.
Available Merchandise available from the show:
Pamphlet, 24 color pages – 2,500 yen
T-Shirt, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge – 2,500 yen
Character Photo Set, 4 Large Photos – 1,000 yen
Trading Cards, Random, some signed – 300 yen
Pin, Random – 500 yen
DVD, Including Shipping / Pre-order – 6,000 yen
Repeater Bonuses
Come to 3 shows and receive one, large photo of the cast from the dress rehearsal
Come to 6 shows and receive one, 2L sized -Not For Sale- Portrait photo
Come to all 9 shows and receive a Polaroid photo with a cast member
After Talk Show Cast Appearances:
■ Thrusday, December 22 – 2:00pm
Sakura – Imade Mai
Hakuji – Ooshima Ryo
Hajizome – Nagayoshi Asuka
Kouji – Masaki Kouhei
Tsutsuji – Mirai Miki
Suou – Igara Keisuke
■ Friday, December 23 – 1:00pm
Botan – Kuryuu Mina
Usuki – Kitamura Yuu
Kuchiba – Endo Ruka
Mizukaki – Kurofuji Yuuki
Sumi – Maruyama Naoyuki
Shinbashi – Mondo Ukai
Source: ODD Productions
* SPECULATION & POTENTIAL SPOILERS *
The following includes significant speculation and potential spoilers for the
majority of Yoko Taro’s works, including TSND, NieR, YoRHa, and NieR:Automata.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I have been speculating for a long time that this manga *does* in fact take place within Yoko Taro’s overall DOD / NieR timeline. He’s set up so much information and history in this universe, than any number of side-stories could be told to potentially connect and flow into any of his other works.
Before we begin here, please take a look at the previous posts that I made some pretty significant points of speculation:
The actual date that TSND takes place is unknown, but given the events that take place in it, I would speculate that it takes place in 2016. The first mission that the kids go on to Brazil is mentioned in the overall timeline that was printed in the DOD 10th Anniversary -World Inside- book and is labelled as the “First Crusade”. What’s important to point out here is that the Crusades were intended to fight the Legion, but nothing definitively Legion-esque has appeared. We cannot forget, though, that the Legion are supposed to resemble normal humans… so native soldiers the kids fight in Brazil could potentially be early-stage Legion.
We know the drug Luciferase was supposedly intended to slow the effects of the While Chlorination Syndrome… but we learn that it has the ability to cultivate special abilities not dissimilar to magic. This is exactly like the drugs that the kids take in the manga that give them special abilities.
The original character “Kuchiba” in the TSND play is the only returning cast member from the YoRHa stage play… and she just so happens to have played the lead role of No2, the same android who had memories similar to Kaine’s past of growing up on a farm with her grandmother. Let’s just say that my hunch that No2 = Kaine, then it wouldn’t be that far of a leap to also speculate that Kuchiba is the “original” Kaine before the whole Gestalt/Replicant fiasco. Of course, only time will tell… xD