Anyone who’s been around the last twenty years with a keen eye on Japanese cinema is well aware of director Sato Shinsuke – an artist more than worthy of praise for his efforts in film and television.
Last year was a banner year for The Princess Blade and I Am A Hero helmer who drew more appeal with Inuyashiki from Toho, and the Netflix release of Bleach. With Toho further keen on tapping into the fervor with Sato’s latest effort, Kingdom, the studio is ripe for the occasion once more as the film’s April 19 Japan release nears.
Set in ancient China during i the Warring States Period, the comic ‘KINGDOM’ by Yasuhisa Hara and published by Shueisha tells on a grand scale the tale of a war orphan, Shin who dreams of becoming a great general, and the young king Ei Sei (later the first emperor of Qin) who aims to unite a country. The series began its run within ‘Weekly Young Jump’ magazine in January of 2006 and has since been published into 52 collected volumes selling over 38 million copies (as of October 2018).
The campaign for this film has been ongoing since late last year with Sony Pictures handling the film internationally. Hence, the new subbed trailer in the player above is certainly a step in the right direction until we can actually break some news on its stateside release.
Yamazaki Kento, Yoshizawa Ryo, Nagasawa Masami, Hashimoto Kanna, Hongo Kanata and Osawa Takao star.
