Poster for cell phone novel adaptation "Tenshi no Koi" get yanked for being too racy

by Chris MaGee

Back in June we reported on how the cell phone novel "Tenshi no koi (Angel of Love)" was being adapted into a feature film by Gaga Communications and 25-year-old director and Shunji Iwai protege Yuri Kanchiku. The story follows a 17-year-old girl named Rio whose mind and heart are opened up after meeting a 35-year-old University professor.

Well, "Tenshi no Koi" is set to be released in on November 7th, but in advance of that the chirashi, the double-sided mini-posters used in to promote films in Japan, for it (above left) were sent out to movie theatres to help spread the word. The only problem was that the poster features 21-year-old model-turned-actress Nozomi Sasaki as Rio nude from the waist up, but with her back to the camera. Theatre owners felt a bit nervous about the display of bare skin, plus the reverse side of the poster shows Sasaki in a passionate kiss with 37-year-old actor Shosuke Tanihara who stars as her amorous teacher. That double whammy has had the posters yanked from theatres, and made the "Tenshi no Koi" chirashi a hot collector's item, especially with teen girls who were fans of the original cell phone novel.

Check out the 30-second teaser trailer for "Tenshi no Koi (Angel of Love)" below for your daily dose of soap opera romance, and thanks to CinemaCafe.net for the details on this story.