Kanna Hashimoto
Little Red Riding Hood
Overview
While at the royal ball with Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood finds herself in the middle of a mystery. Can she solve the case before midnight strikes?
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readFairy Tales with a Side of Murder: When Whimsy Meets Whodunit
I’ll admit it: the moment I heard Once Upon a Crime described as “Little Red Riding Hood as amateur detective,” I was sold. Not because I expected a masterpiece, but because the idea of a fairy-tale heroine trading picnics with grandma for crime-scene deductions felt like the kind of delightful nonsense cinema should indulge in more often. Yuichi Fukuda’s 2023 Netflix film delivers exactly that—a campy, colorful romp where Cinderella and Red Riding Hood stumble into a murder mystery at the royal ball.
The question isn’t whether it’s good, but whether its ambition outpaces its execution. And honestly? It’s a mixed bag, but one I’m glad exists.
The film’s premise is its strongest asset. Little Red Riding Hood (Kanna Hashimoto) and Cinderella (Yuko Araki) are en route to the prince’s ball when they discover the royal hairdresser, Hans, dead in the woods. Rather than scream and flee, Red—channeling her inner Miss Marple—decides to hide the body and solve the crime herself.
It’s a clever twist on familiar characters, turning them from passive victims of circumstance into active participants in their own stories. The murder-mystery angle injects urgency into what could have been a straightforward fairy-tale retelling, and the film leans into the absurdity of its premise with a wink. This isn’t Knives Out in petticoats, but it doesn’t need to be.
The joy comes from watching these characters navigate a genre they were never meant to inhabit.
Fukuda’s direction is unapologetically campy, embracing the kind of over-the-top humor that feels like it was ripped from a live-action anime. The film’s aesthetic is a mishmash of fairy-tale whimsy and detective-noir tropes, with vibrant costumes and exaggerated character reactions. Red Riding Hood, in particular, is a standout—Hashimoto plays her as a no-nonsense sleuth, all sharp observations and dry wit.
There’s a moment early on where she sizes up the crime scene with the kind of focus usually reserved for seasoned detectives, and it’s hard not to root for her. Cinderella, by contrast, is more of a traditional damsel, though Araki imbues her with a quiet resilience that keeps her from feeling like a mere prop. The supporting cast, including a prince who’s more bumbling than charming and a stepmother who’s delightfully over-the-top, rounds out the film’s self-aware tone.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports"Once Upon a Crime" (2023): A Fairy-Tale Whodunit with a Japanese Twist
Yuichi Fukuda’s Once Upon a Crime (2023) reimagines classic fairy tales as a murder-mystery romp, blending fantasy, comedy, and crime into a uniquely Japanese cinematic experience. latestnetflix.com's take is that Starring Kanna Hashimoto as Little Red Riding Hood and Yuko Araki as Cinderella, the film promises a fresh take on familiar characters—this time, with a detective twist.
A Fairy Tale Meets Crime Fiction
The film adapts Aito Aoyagi’s novel Akazukin, Tabi no Tochū de Shitai to Deau, which merges the worlds of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella 
. Instead of passive heroines, the story thrusts them into a murder investigation at a royal ball. Little Red Riding Hood, now an amateur sleuth, races against the clock to solve the crime before midnight—adding urgency to the whimsical premise 
. Fukuda, known for his playful genre-blending, directs the film as a "fantasy comedy crime mystery," a label that hints at its tonal balancing act .
Cast and Characters: Familiar Faces, New Roles
The ensemble cast brings star power to the fairy-tale reboot:
- Kanna Hashimoto (Kingdom, Gintama) plays Little Red Riding Hood, a character reimagined as an investigative protagonist .
- Yuko Araki (Alice in Borderland) takes on Cinderella, though her role in the mystery remains unclear from the snippets .
- Supporting players include Takanori Iwata (NiziU), Natsuna Watanabe (Rurouni Kenshin), and Tsuyoshi Muro (Terrace House), suggesting a mix of drama and comedic talent .
The film’s premise—fairy-tale characters solving a murder—echoes Western projects like Shrek or Into the Woods, but Fukuda’s direction leans into Japanese humor and pacing. Whether the blend of slapstick, fantasy, and crime pays off remains to be seen, but the concept alone has piqued curiosity.
Behind the Scenes: Novel to Screen
Once Upon a Crime marks another collaboration between Fukuda and Hashimoto, who previously worked together on Gintama (2017) [unconfirmed; no direct evidence in snippets]. The adaptation of Aoyagi’s novel suggests a faithful but cinematic expansion of the source material, though details about changes or creative liberties are scarce .
Production details—budget, filming locations, or challenges—are notably absent from the available snippets. Rumors of on-set chemistry or improvisation by the cast (particularly Hashimoto and Araki) circulate in fan circles, but without verified sources, these remain speculative.
Reception and Expectations
As of the snippets provided, critical reception or box-office performance isn’t mentioned. The film’s hybrid genre—part comedy, part mystery, part fantasy—could either charm audiences or risk tonal whiplash. If Fukuda’s past work (Hentai Kamen, Chasing My Girl) is any indication, Once Upon a Crime will prioritize humor and eccentricity over traditional fairy-tale sentimentality [no direct evidence; inference from Fukuda’s filmography].
For now, the biggest draw is its premise: a murder mystery starring Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, set against a royal ball backdrop. Whether it delivers on its promise of clever twists or leans too heavily on gimmicks will depend on execution—something the snippets don’t reveal.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.