Martial artist and aspiring actress Honoka Tsujii is leveling up from the fighting ring to a whole new arena as of this week. To this, the word as of Monday now brings forth the news of pre-production for Tsujii’s lead acting debut in Rain, the new film from director Courtney LeMarco (A&E series “Hoarders”).
Rain is described as “a psychological sci-fi thriller rooted in atmosphere, dread, and an unshakeable sense that the world is not what it appears to be.” The movie follows Sachiko (Tsujii), a 19-year-old at the edge of something she cannot yet name — a young woman whose instinct to protect the people around her sets her on a collision course with forces far larger than herself.
LeMarco’s film is also billed as the inaugural installment of the The Shinsei Saga cinematic universe – a six-project endeavor that takes place in a near-futuristic Japan, with production taking place entirely in-country with a Japanese cast and crew. The saga, produced by Tokyo-based The LeMarco Group GK, will span a world-building array of feature films and vertical series, one where the architecture of power — corporate, technological, and political — is quietly dismantled by those society has overlooked. At its center are young Japanese women who refuse to disappear, according to the announcement.
Tsujii is also prolific on social media with a following of up to 545,000, myself included, and has competed in notable Japanese promotions like Rise and KROSS×OVER. Additionally, Tsujii, whose handle is @hoonoka2142 has a kyokushin background, and her reels and demos are equally fantastic to consume.
“Honoka doesn’t just play Sachiko — she is Sachiko,” said LeMarco. “What she carries into every room — the focus, the controlled power, the silence before the strike — is exactly the energy this story demands. She’s going to be extraordinary.”