What do you get when you cross classic fairytales with a mystery twist to it? Netflix's new Japanese drama, Once Upon a Crime, is exactly that. Who is part of the Once Upon a Crime cast that brings to life these characters? You can check them out here.
Once Upon a Crime is a Japanese fantasy movie with a touch of quirkiness to it. The official synopsis of the film reads:
"In this comedy mystery movie, Little Red Riding Hood becomes a detective to solve a tough case that occurs in a world of fairy tales! Along her journey, a girl called Little Red Riding Hood (Kanna Hashimoto) meets the downtrodden and unkempt Cinderella (Yuko Araki). After a witch transforms their clothes into beautiful dresses, they set out to attend a fancy ball.
However, when their pumpkin carriage hits and kills a man, they hurriedly hide the corpse and head to the ball at the castle. Just as Cinderella and the prince (Takanori Iwata) fall in love, the corpse is discovered and the ball is canceled. Faced with a desperate situation, the girls meet a series of quirky characters as they work to uncover the real killer. Little Red Riding Hood boldly uses her natural deductive skills to tackle the case!"
So who stars in Once Upon a Crime? Here's the list:
Kanna Hashimoto as Red Riding Hood
The lead character in Once Upon a Crime is played by Kanna Hashimoto. She stars as the crime-solving Little Red Riding Hood who's ready to solve mysteries in their land. Once Upon a Crime is a film told from Red Riding Hood's point-of-view.
Hashimoto started acting when she was only 11 years old. She also holds the title of the youngest actress to have won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Newcomer.
From 2011 to 2017, Hashimoto became part of the girl group, Rev. from DVL. A fan-taken photo of her performing went viral on social media, which caused her popularity to skyrocket.
Ever since then, Hashimoto has starred in numerous shows such as Time Travel Tantei, Kamen Teacher, and Waratte Iitomo! She also gained popularity after starring in Kong: Skull Island.
Yûko Araki as Cinderella
Next up, we've got Yûko Araki who stars in the film as Cinderella. But unlike the classic fairytale, Cinderella's story doesn't end when she meets and falls in love with the prince.
Instead, it goes deeper as she helps solve the mystery of the murder.
Apart from Once Upon a Crime, Araki has starred in other films like Galileo Forbidden Society, Hitman in Love, Roppongi Class, and many more. She also voiced Gabby Gabby in the Japanese dub of the famous animation, Toy Story 4.
Araki also served as the exclusive model of non-no magazine in 2014.
Takanori Iwata as The Prince
Of course, it wouldn't be a fairytale without the presence of a Prince Charming. And in Once Upon a Crime, this role is filled by Takanori Iwata. The Prince falls in love with Cinderella.
That's what we know about the show so far but with regards to Iwata, the actor is also famous for being a dancer. He performs with J-Pop groups, Exile and Sandaime J Soul Brothers.
As an actor, he is famous for his roles in Sherlock: Untold Stories, Even If You Don't Do It, Hitotsubashi Kiriko's Crime Diary, and many more.
Supporting Cast
The rest of the cast members of Once Upon a Crime include:
- Tsuyoshi Muro
- Miki Maya
- Natsuna Watanabe
- Yumi Wakatsuki
- Mizuki Yamamoto
- Midoriko Kimura
- Mirei Kiritani
- Masaki Kaji
- Tomoharu Hasegawa
- Atsuhiro Inukai
We don't know yet what their roles are in this film. But we'll update this post once more information comes out.
In the meantime, check out our other articles on Japanese Drama here.
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