<Happy End> features one of the most pitiful characters, the principal. As soon as he bought his long-dreamed yellow sports car, the Nissan Fairlady, it was stood up vertically by delinquent students. No matter how much authority has declined, isn't this too much? This car, which also appeared in <The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift> (2006), is a two-seater, and the principal's preference for the Nissan Fairlady over large sedans like Lexus or Rolls-Royce makes him quite an interesting character. But the setting of a 'principal who likes the Nissan Fairlady' is only possible because the actor playing him is Sano Shiro, known as Japan's representative 'otaku actor'. Who would be the most pained to see the Nissan Fairlady turned upside down the next morning? It would be Sano Shiro.
As a film actor, Sano Shiro's past is enough to mention the films of two directors with different styles, Hayashi Kaizo and Kitano Takeshi, who represented Japanese cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. He appeared in the debut works of both directors. Born in 1955, Sano Shiro, who graduated from an art school, became a full-time actor through theatre activities and built a wide-ranging career by appearing in numerous films and dramas. He made his film debut in Hayashi Kaizo's feature debut <To Sleep So as to Dream> (1986), playing the role of Detective Uotsuka, who is hired to find a kidnapped daughter. This film, which paid homage to silent films with its film noir style and dreamy black-and-white screen, was enthusiastically received by many cinephiles. Sano Shiro is the protagonist of the beautiful black-and-white scene where a man in a suit carries a woman in a kimono on his back through a cherry blossom-filled street, a scene familiar to fans of classic Japanese cinema.
In Kitano Takeshi's feature debut <That Man is Dangerous> (1989), where Kitano also starred and directed, Sano Shiro played the role of Yoshinari, the police chief and superior of Detective Azuma (Kitano Takeshi), who has a mentally ill sister. He constantly clashed with Azuma, who frequently caused trouble with his reckless violence, saying, "Don't cause any trouble while I'm working here!" Over the years, he also appeared in Korean films. He played the father of Tatsuo (Odagiri Joe) in Kang Je-gyu's film <My Way> (2011), set during the Japanese occupation.
In 1992 and 1993, he became a big star through the TBS dramas <I Have Always Liked You> and <I Can't Tell Anyone>. The character Fuyuhiko (Sano Shiro), who was a supporting character in <I Have Always Liked You>, became so popular that the story was changed to make Sano Shiro the protagonist in the sequel <I Can't Tell Anyone>. His unique acting, hiding madness behind a gentle and neat appearance, became representative of his character. For example, in <Happy End>, when the principal hands sushi lunch boxes to students occupying the principal's office, instead of thinking 'temporary peace has arrived', one might wonder 'is there poison in it?'.
Adding to this is his aspect as an otaku actor. He is known as a representative 'Godzilla fan' among Japanese celebrities. He appeared in the series as Professor Miyasaka of CCI (Crisis Control Intelligence) in <Godzilla 2000 Millennium> (1999) and as a broadcasting station manager in <Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack> (2001). He even conducted a dialogue with director Honda Ishiro, the root of Godzilla, for a research book on the first <Godzilla> made in 1954. Besides, as a fan of <Ultraman>, the <20th Century Boys> series, and tokusatsu and sentai shows, he played the final boss Balma in <Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger VS Space Sheriff Gavan> (2012) and <Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger the Movie: Time Slip! Dinosaur Panic!!> (2019). Perhaps because of this, he is knowledgeable about monsters, yokai, and even ghost stories and science fiction novels, often appearing as a panelist on related entertainment programs.
We cannot leave out the popular Fuji TV drama <Galileo> that started in 2007. It is a detective drama where genius physicist Yukawa Manabu (Fukuyama Masaharu) and rookie detective Utsumi Kaoru (Shibasaki Kou) solve strange cases, based on Keigo Higashino's novels 「Detective Galileo」 and 「The Devotion of Suspect X」, which was also made into a film in Korea under the title <Suspect X> (2012). The series is called the 'Galileo series' by adding these works. Did Sano Shiro appear in the films or dramas of this series? No, but the original author Keigo Higashino said he modelled the character Yukawa Manabu after Sano Shiro. In fact, Sano Shiro wrote the paperback review for 「Detective Galileo」. Besides, he also does music. As a guitarist, he has participated in the Fuji Rock Festival with his band, and his current Instagram profile picture (@sanovabitch) is of him holding a guitar.
In April 2021, he unfortunately had to leave the TBS drama <Rikokatsu> due to health deterioration. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and had to quit the drama he was appearing in. Fortunately, he focused on treatment and was discharged in December of the same year, marking his return by appearing in the music video for the rock band Quruli's 'Lovelies' released in March 2022. Since then, he has been actively continuing his career as before. The proof is <Happy End>. According to director Neo Sora, who had an interview with Cineplay during his visit to Korea, there was a reason for casting him as the 'otaku principal' in <Happy End>. "The overall tone of the film is blue, a blue world, so we went with a noticeably yellow sports car. The actor who played the principal has a bit of a childish side. He likes 'Ultraman'. (laughs) So, I thought even people in power like the principal have a childish side inside them."
