K-20

About the Cast

Detective Kogoro Akechi (Toru Nakamura)
The calm and cool detective is K-20's worthy opponent. With high social standing and a prestigious career, Akechi is popular among the masses. He is also engaged to Duchess Yoko Hashiba.

Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro)
A brilliant circus acrobat who is set up by K-20. In order to prove his innocence, he disguises himself as the phantom thief to track down the real K-20.

Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu)
Duchess Yoko Hashiba is the heir to Hashiba Enterprises, and K-20's next target. After she's threatened by K-20, Heikichi rescues her, gaining both her and Akechi's support.

Genji (Jun Kunimura)
A master prop-maker at the circus and Heikichi's closest ally.

Kikuko (Reiko Takashima)
Genji's wife. Retired now, she was a brilliant swindler. Along with Genji she lends Heikichi support.

Yoshio Kobayashi (Kanata Hongo)
Kogoro Akechi's assistant. He works to uncover the truth about K-20.

K-20
With over twenty different disguises, K-20 is a master phantom thief whose true identity is unknown.

Shinsuke (Yuki Imai)
One of the circus kids. He looks up to Heikichi like an older brother.

Mystery Man (Takeshi Kaga)
The man who hires Heikichi to take secret photos of the engagement ceremony between Akechi and Yoko.

About the Director

Shimako Sato – Writer & Director
Through the efforts of the entire crew, the screenplay became a movie beyond my imagination. It may say sound strange to say it myself, but I'm amazed at the budget we had, the level of craftsmanship, and how entertaining the final film is. As someone who loves big mainstream movies it's always been a dream of mine to make a film like this, so I'm extremely happy I was able to direct K-20: Legend of the Mask.

This is the third production I've made featuring the character of Kogoro Akechi and I had also previously worked on a number of screenplays featuring another famous Japanese detective, Kosuke Kindaichi, but K-20: Legend of the Mask was by far the most challenging.

At first, the screenplay followed the novel closely but with the permission of Soh Kitamura and Rampo Edogawa's grandson Kentaro Hirai it became more of a high-flying action drama. Rather than concentrating on whether to remain faithful to the novel or include original elements, I aimed to write an entertaining story.

Takeshi Kaneshiro is the type of actor who likes engaging in discussions with the director when he makes a film. We both had a similar view of how the character of Heikichi should be played and had a great rapport.

Although it's the tale of a hero, I didn't want the character to only be handsome and dashing. When Takeshi Kaneshiro asked me whether Heikichi was "cool or funny" I immediately said "funny!" A lot of his ideas and improvisations made their way into the movie. Takeshi Kaneshiro made the character his own as only he could.

What I wanted to express with this movie was that no matter how unfortunate a situation may seem, if people think positively they can lead a happier life. Heikichi Endo is my ideal character because he embodies this belief.

K-20: Legend of the Mask couldn't have been made in Hollywood. It's an original movie that could only come from Japan and I believe it'll entertain audiences in a way they haven't experienced before. From children to the baby boom generation who grew up with "Kaijin Nijumenso (The Fiend With Twenty Faces)", I hope people everywhere enjoy it.