Young actor Araki Toba, much admired for his boyish good looks and often touted as one of the most gifted actors of his generation, has launched his 2021 calendar.

Araki made his screen debut as a child actor before going on to win acclaim for the many roles he has played since his childhood. He has often played the main character, thanks to his handsome good looks, charisma and acting ability. He is perhaps best known for playing Soichi, the mysterious lead character in the 2019 film "Your Turn To Kill -Counterattack."

A launch party for his calendar was held at HMV Shibuya in Tokyo on Saturday 31st October. Araki, said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was the first time in about a year that he’d been able to greet his fans in person. “I'm really looking forward to today because I’m going to see some familiar faces,” he told waiting journalists.

The launch party was held with current virus prevention guidelines very much in mind. Numbers were limited, and social distancing was respected at all times. Despite the restrictions on handshakes, Araki did all he could to make guests and fans feel welcome, smiling, waving and signing autographs.

When a fan told him that she’d been following his career since seeing him in ‘Anaban’, he was seen to smile bashfully before saying “Thank you!” and humbly moving on to greet another group of waiting fans.

Araki’s calendar captures the young man’s transition from boyhood to the first signs of manhood, a vulnerable yet promising time of life of which Japanese have traditionally been extremely fond.

The transition is not without its pitfalls, of course, as Araki told the press at his launch party. “I especially like the scar that I got when I fell off my bicycle,” he said with a good-natured laugh. “I was cycling alongside a bus when we were on a location shoot. The whole thing made a big impression on me.”

Fans will be pleased to know that Araki already has a slate of exciting productions lined up for 2021, including the movies "Rurouni Kenshin Final Chapter: The Beginning" and "Rurouni Kenshin Final Chapter: The Final."

Araki Toba’s 2021 calendar is published by Kadokawa. It was released on 23rd October 2020 and is available in all good bookstores, priced ¥2000 (excluding tax).

It’s also available on Amazon.

For more details, see here the calendar's official product page on Kadokawa.