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The story
Eiga Natalie reported that the teaser trailer for “Katai,” starring Erika Karata and Chie (former KARA member Ji-young), has dropped, with the film set for release this February. Based on a novel by Shiho Tanimura, the film has drawn attention for its reversed casting — Karata plays a Korean character, while Chie plays a Japanese one. Reactions on the thread were initially dominated by confusion (“makes no sense”), but once it became clear the story revolves around a mixed-up fertilized egg, many came around to understanding the reasoning behind the casting. At the same time, plenty of commenters focused on the cast members themselves — from Karata’s career comeback after her past affair scandal to surprise at how natural Chie’s Japanese sounds.
Erika Karata to Play a Korean, Chie to Play a Japanese in Film “Katai,” Out This February — Based on a Novel by Shiho Tanimura (Comments / Teaser Video Included) – Eiga Natalie
September 8, 2026, 7:00 AM
Eiga Natalie Editorial Team
Source: youtube.com / Original article here
What people said
her ASD role in Reel Beat was great too
but I'm not watching anything Korea-related
if anything she's clearly more popular now than before the affair scandal
She was a teenager when they met (legal adulthood was 20 back then)
honestly, if someone like that came onto you, hard to say no
she's just good-looking, which is also the same as her affair partner
that girl?
why would they even need to do this?
she's got great Japanese and she's gorgeous
just for the buzz?
the only effect is getting picked up by web media like this
I thought it was that male action-type actor with a similar name
I looked up "who is this actress?" and was shocked to find out she's Ji-young from KARA
her Japanese is honestly native-level, I thought she was a Japanese actress
apparently she was signed to a Japanese talent agency back when she was trying to make it big in Japan, so she must've studied Japanese really hard — pretty impressive
lol there are still people saying "bukkomi" (slang for "shoving something in") unironically
Background and Points of Discussion
“Katai” is based on a novel by Shiho Tanimura and appears to center on a mix-up involving fertilized eggs. Given that premise, the swapped casting — Karata playing a Korean character and Chie playing a Japanese one — carries more meaning than a simple publicity stunt, though the teaser trailer alone doesn’t convey that context well, which is why confusion dominated the thread at first. Chie made her Japan debut in 2007 as a member of KARA and has spent the years since building up her Japanese, so her language skills drawing attention isn’t new — it’s come up repeatedly before. As for Karata, her career comeback since the 2020 affair reports tends to get brought up, but it’s worth noting this story is specifically about the casting for her new film, not new information confirming the details of that past reporting.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Movie] Erika Karata to Play a Korean, Chie to Play a Japanese in Film “Katai,” Out This February — Based on a Novel by Shiho Tanimura (.”
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