You refresh X and there it is: an image, two names, a date. The announcement was a thunderclap in a quiet newsroom. I want to tell you what matters and what you should watch for.
The Incredible Story of Link Click Is Set To Return in the Live-Action Format
On Fuji TV’s X account a formal notice landed with a premiere date and production partners listed.
You already know the donghua — Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang solving mysteries by stepping into photos — but the headline now is: a live-action drama has been greenlit. Fuji TV is producing the series in collaboration with China’s bilibili and Tokai Television, and the first episode is scheduled to air on April 11, 2026. If you follow cross-border adaptations, that combination of Japanese broadcast muscle and Chinese streaming influence is a rare signal.
When does the Link Click live-action premiere?
The first episode will air on television on April 11, 2026. Streaming partners and platform release windows have not been announced, so you should expect more official updates — and a trailer — before the broadcast date.
Casting: Two names that matter
The official announcement named Kanata Hongou and Taiki Sato as the leads.
Kanata Hongou will play Cheng Xiaoshi; you may remember him from Netflix’s live-action YuYu Hakusho. Taiki Sato, leader of Fantastics from Exile Tribe, is set as Lu Guang. The pairing is a magnet for attention. I’ll say this plainly: casting choices will shape whether the show feels faithful to the source or like a different story wearing familiar clothes.
Who are the lead actors in the Link Click live-action?
Kanata Hongou — credited for theatrical and recent streaming projects — takes Cheng Xiaoshi, the actor who moves into photographs. Taiki Sato, known for his music career with Fantastics from Exile Tribe, plays Lu Guang, the observer and memory-keeper. Their profiles suggest Fuji TV aims for both dramatic credibility and pop-star draw.
How the donghua’s mechanics could translate to live-action
The original series built an audience through tight episodic mysteries and a photo-based time device.
You know the setup: Cheng Xiaoshi can enter a photo and assume the photographer’s perspective; Lu Guang tracks the past and pieces the truth together. That central mechanic is cinematic by design, but it asks for careful direction, visual effects, and an editor who understands rhythm. Production partners with cross-border reach — Fuji TV, bilibili, Tokai Television — bring resources, but execution will determine whether the show keeps the donghua’s moral complexity or smooths it into procedural beats.
Where will the Link Click live-action stream?
At the moment, Fuji TV will broadcast the first episode on April 11, 2026. International streaming platforms and schedules were not announced with the initial reveal. Keep an eye on Fuji TV’s and bilibili’s official channels for the trailer and streaming details.
For viewers who loved the donghua’s emotional weight and its small, precise mysteries, this adaptation is worth watching closely — not because every adaptation succeeds, but because the ingredients here make it a real bet. Will the live-action honor the source and reach beyond it, or will it rewrite the parts fans guarded most jealously?