Japan’s Menstrual Comic Book Hero Is Getting a Live-Action Film

Good news: Japan’s making a live-action movie about an anthropomorphic period. Its name is Seiri-chan, and it comes in the form of a pink heart-shaped creature with dead, unblinking eyes, voluptuous red lips, red pants, and a cross-shaped nose. The sentient menstrual cycle is already a big hit in Japan, according to SoraNews24, after Ken Koyama’s manga series of the same name was released to huge fanfare last year. So naturally, filmmakers are capitalising on that popularity and taking Seiri-chan to the big screen.

The premise of the manga is more or less as follows: once a month, secondary female characters are visited by Seiri-chan, who painfully withdraws massive amounts of their blood with a giant, syringe-like appendage. This often leaves the characters feeling tired and weak. But in some cases, they welcome Seiri-chan’s arrival.

In one chapter, for example, Seiri-chan pays a long-awaited visit to a woman named Kaori, who’s recently slept with a married coworker without the use of contraception. “Men who don’t use a condom are the worst,” Seiri-chan declares sagaciously, and gives Kaori a hug. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up today,” replies Kaori, clearly relieved that she isn’t pregnant as a result of her one-night fling.

In another volume, Seiri-chan takes a slightly more violent approach: punching a man in the face while shouting “Menstrual punch!” and injecting him with a drug that makes him have periods as well. On the back cover of the first volume, meanwhile, the supposedly benevolent creature can be seen punching a woman in the stomach.

Details regarding the live-action adaptation are as yet unclear—although SoraNews24 reports that it will feature real-life Japanese actresses alongside the eponymous star. Kadowaka, the publishers behind the Seiri-chan print series, were pretty tight-lipped in their announcement of the film, which featured in the latest issue of Comic Bean.

“Will Seiri-chan be CG? Will the movie be in the zombie action genre?! We’re sure you have many questions, but because the movie is still in the middle of production, please look forward to further announcements,” they state.

Until then, go read up on the wild adventures of your new favourite comic book hero.

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