A live-action drama adaptation of the legendary manga "The Flowers of Evil" (Aku no Hana / 惡の華) by the masterful Suhōshin Oshimi is set to premiere in April 2026. It will be broadcast on TV Tokyo and receive an exclusive, all-you-can-watch streaming release across Asia on Disney+.

The Story

The story is set in 1998 in the town of Hikari, Gunma Prefecture. Takao Kasuga, a second-year junior high school student feeling trapped in his mundane life, finds solace in Charles Baudelaire's poetry collection "Les Fleurs du Mal." He believes this makes him different from his classmates. One evening, he impulsively steals the gym clothes of his crush, Nanako Saeki, only to discover that the class troublemaker, Sawa Nakamura, witnessed the entire act.

The next day, Nakamura blackmails Kasuga into a "contract" to keep his secret. As Kasuga becomes increasingly dominated by Nakamura and her bizarre demands, he is plunged into despair and a crisis of identity. His life becomes a tumultuous struggle, further complicated when he unexpectedly begins dating Saeki, tormenting him with feelings of love and guilt. Caught between Nakamura and Saeki, Kasuga hurtles towards a dramatic climax at a local festival.

Cast and Characters

The drama features a dual lead performance:

• Fuku Suzuki plays Takao Kasuga, a boy with unfounded confidence who tends to escape from reality when things get difficult. This is Suzuki's first leading role in a TV Tokyo drama.
• ano plays Sawa Nakamura, a girl filled with frustration towards society and the "hypocrites" around her. She lives by her own desires and is seen as an incomprehensible troublemaker. This marks ano's first leading role in a terrestrial broadcast drama.

Production Details and Visuals

Based on the hit manga with over 3.25 million copies in circulation worldwide, this adaptation promises to be a intense coming-of-age story delving into the "anxiety," "conflict," and "pain" of adolescence. The producers state that the drama will use detailed direction to deeply express the characters' relationships, with thrilling developments in each episode.

A key visual and a special illustration drawn by the original manga author, Suhōshin Oshimi, have been released. The key visual mysteriously captures the unstable hearts of the two leads and their master-servant dynamic. The commemorative illustration, featuring Suzuki and ano as their characters, has been praised by both actors.