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Japan's cultural influence grows as Blumhouse Television acquires rights to Hi No Ko novel
Shusuke Shizukui's novel has sold more than 770,000 copies since it was published and now it is coming to American TV audiences.
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It isn’t just manga and anime that are getting Hollywood’s attention for live-action adaptations. Just days after the Gundam movie started filming in Australia, Blumhouse Television has announced it has acquired the rights to the psychological thriller Hi No Ko (Sparks) by best-selling Japanese author Shusuke Shizukui.
The original Hi No Ko novel is about a serial murder suspect who moves next door to the retired judge who acquitted him two years prior. He wins over the judge’s family through gifts and a charming smile, but the façade slowly unravels, and his true nature is revealed. A deadly cat-and-mouse game unfolds between the killer and the judge's daughter-in-law. The novel has sold more than 770,000 copies since it was released and has already been adapted into a hit Japanese TV miniseries in 2016. Now Blumhouse Television is bringing it to the English-speaking world.
It was announced this week that Blumhouse has acquired the rights to the novel and has tapped Wolf Pack and The Purge producer Krystal Houghton Ziv to write and executive produce the series based on Shizukui’s original novel. At this early stage, it is unclear how closely the TV series intends to stick to the source material. Shusuke Shizukui is not currently reported to be involved in the adaptation.
This is the latest sign that Japan’s cultural influence is rapidly growing around the globe. Not only is the anime industry expanding and Japanese music becoming more prevalent in the West, but Hollywood is realizing that Japanese literature has many remarkable stories that will translate well for American audiences.
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