BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Returns With New Anime Series Next Month
Mangaka Hiroaki Samura’s Blade Of The Immortal is back in the mix with a new anime on the way streaming the first two episodes October 10 on Amazon Prime Video.
blade of the immortal
Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Gets A Stylish New U.S. Poster
I’ve written plenty on this adaptation and having gotten the gist of reactions since the film’s release in Japan and subsequent festival rounds, I’m eager to see it myself. I probably won’t review it though since there are probably plenty of pieces online to go by, but I await my own judgement nonetheless on Miike’s heralded 100th film.
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Lands A December U.K. Release
Arrow Films is releasing the film theatrically on December 8. The trailer looks something a bit similar from the international pitch from months earlier but still delivers the desired effect. Enjoy, and set the date!
The U.S. Trailer For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Arrives, Drenched In Blood, Body Parts And Brutalizing Fun!
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Opens In U.S. Theaters This November
Spring and summer have been much ado with acclaimed director Miike Takashi, now making waves at Fantasia this summer following his most recent theatrical Japan release, Blade Of The Immortal back in April from Warner Bros. Japan. Its Cannes premiere in May led to some terrific news for folks in North America tracking the film and with none other than Magnet Releasing snagging the rights for a U.S. release to be announced.
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Wields A Deadly New English-Subbed Trailer!
Miike Takashi’s new movie, Blade Of The Immortal, is screening at Cannes on Thursday and with more deals to be made on its distribution after inking a North American deal with Magnet Releasing. In the meantime, we finally have an English-subtitled trailer to share from HanWay Films who are representing the film internationally for buyers.
The film, produced by Jeremy Thomas, Misako Saka, and Shigeji Maeda in association with Warner Bros Japan, takes from Samurai Hiroaki’s popular manga of the same name; Oishi Tetsuya’s screenplay centers a young woman who, following the murder of her family and devastation of her dojo at the hands of a bloodthirsty martial arts school, desperately seeks vengeance with the help of an afflicted, immortal swordsman with a vendetta of his own.
Actor Kimura Takuya leads the cast along with Sugisaki Hana, and also stars Fukushi Sota, Toda Erika, Ichikawa Ibizo, Tanaka Min and Yamazaki Tsutomu.
Screendaily exclusively made the trailer debut on Thursday, and I have to say, as spoilery as a only few bits and pieces here may be, I’m still eager to see this one myself. Check it out below!
New International Sales Art For BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Keeps Score
I don’t quite know everyone’s tastes in music, but recording artist MIYAVI’s title track for Miike Takashi’s latest, Blade Of The Immortal, feels like music to my ears. It’s only on the heels of excellent news of its forthcoming U.S. release from Magnet Releasing as well and I can’t wait to share that experience in theaters provided it gets a decent rollout.
In the meantime, the film which opened theatrically in Japan at the tail end of April has an Out-Of-Competition premiere on Thursday at Cannes while sales continue to move forward with HanWay Films representing, and best believe it has some nifty sales art for buyers to take a gander at. Front and center of course are actor Kimura Takuya and actress Sugisaki Hana in roles inspired by Samura Hiroaki’s hit manga of the same name.
Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle.
Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu.
The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine… the 100th film by master director Takashi Miike.
Check out the poster below and stay tuned!
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Lands At Magnet For U.S. Release
HanWay
It’s probably some of the best news you’ll hear of it and with any luck it’ll mean a wider release granted than other titles from various distributors and their ridiculous event screenings, but the word now is that Miike Takashi’s 100th film, Blade Of The Immortal now has U.S. distribution over at Magnolia Pictures’s genre arm, Magnet Releasing in a deal with HanWay Films.
The film premiered in Japan on April 29 from Warner Bros. Japan and is currently slated as an Official Selection presentation at Cannes this week. Magnet is an especially good shingle for the film to reside at especially considering the film is home to, among its other cult titles, the first two installments of Kitano Takeshi’s Yakuza crime trilogy, Outrage and Beyond Outrage.
Based on the famous manga, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL follows the deeds of Manji, a skilled samurai in the Shogunate era who is cursed with immortality after a legendary battle.
Haunted by the murder of his sister, Manji knows that only by fighting evil will he be able to regain his soul. After Manji crosses paths with a young girl named Rin, he promises to help her avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by the ruthless warrior Anotsu.
But this mission changes Manji in ways he could never imagine.
Oishi Tetsuya (Death Note, Death Note: The Last Name, Higanjima) adapted the screenplay inspired by the popular Samura Hiroaki manga which stars Kimura Takuya (Space Battleship Yamato), Sugisaki Hana (Mozu: The Movie) and Fukushi Sota (Library Wars trilogy) along with Ichihara Hayato (Yakuza Apocalypse), Toda Erika (Death Note: Light Up The New World), Ichikawa Ebizo (Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai), and Tanaka Min (Rurouni Kenshin 2 & 3). Blade Of The Immortal is currently one of two Miike-directed titles circulating among acquisition headlines in the past week with the other being Emperor Motion Pictures’s latest remastering and re-release grab of his mindbending 2001 cult crime horror manga adaptation, the controversal Ichi The Killer.
Check Out Two Cannes Promos For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL
I suppose what bugs me most is that there’s yet to be any decent poster art going online except for the same mobile viewing of the official home webpage for Miike Takashi’s Blade Of The Immortal. The trailers and TV spots have all proven awesome though as the film looks amply solid as one might hope, and especially thanks in part to J-rocker MIYAVI’s added touch.
As such, Cannes attendees can expect to catch the film next month for its forthcoming out-of-competition screening, as posed by Warner Bros. Japan with two short TV promos for the film which opens this Friday. The film is inspired by Samura Hiroaki’s famed manga with Kimura Takuya and Sugisaki Hana leading the tale of a martial arts school heiress and her quest for vengeance with the help of an afflicted, immortal samurai with his own intentions.
CJ Entertainment, who was also reportedly involved in the film’s early production stages, has also backed the film thus granting it releases in several territories throughout Asia via its subsidiary, CGV Cinemas. Also starring are actresses Toda Erika and Kuriyama Chiaki, and actors Fukushi Sota, Ichihara Hayato, Tanaka Min and Ichikawa Ebizo among the cast.
Check out the promos below and let’s hope we’re not waiting too long for some acquisition news toward Western audiences. We love these movies too!
Kimura Takuya Has Hundreds Of Men To Kill In The Official BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Trailer!
Live-action approaches to popular manga and anime properties continue to be tested as always, such are nothing new for director Miike Takashi to tackle as he’s taken on quite his fair share. His latest one whose IP is loved by many a manga reader, titled Blade Of The Immortal and now on par for an April 29 release from Warner Bros. Japan.
Samura Hiroaki’s hit 1993 Monthly Afternoon publication lays the groundwork for this new affair with actor Kimura Takura starring as Manji, an afflicted immortal swordsman whose help is desperately sought by a young woman eager to avenge her parents and their fencing school, destroyed at the hands of the “itto ryu”. Actress Sugisaki Hana stars as our heroine bent on seeking revenge opposite actor Fukushi Sota who plays one of the film’s several deadly principal villains.
Follow Miike’s career long enough and it appears you’ll prosper, because the official trailer below has arrived and while I’m not at all familiar with the manga, I’m immediately thrownback to my viewing of 13 Assassins just a few years back. Clearly Miike knows how to speak the language of chanbara and he does so with sheer excellence.
Official artwork is abound so stay tuned in the meantime and check out the trailer below.
[UPDATED] The Announcement For Miike Takashi’s BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Teases Kimura Takuya As A One-Man Army!
UPDATE: Watch the full 30-second teaser now!
Miike Takashi To Helm Hit Manga BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL
Miike Takashi‘s Yakuza Apocalypse is heading to U.S. theaters this weekend, marking a delightful opportunity for moviegoers to introduce himself to his work. In the meantime, with the current production of his new intergalactic creature thriller, Terraformars, comes news forwarded by Crunchyroll of his latest addition to the roster of manga adaptations.
For this, we look toward Samura Hiroaki’s 1993-2012 manga publication, Blade of the Immortal, from Dark Horse. Japanese pop band SMAP’s own Kimura Takuya (Howl’s Moving Castle, Space Battleship Yamado) is set to star in the title role with a story centered on a lone swordsman in feudal Japan whose only means of freedom from immortality and misery is through the spilled blood of one-thousand evil men. The role marks Kimura‘s roughly ten-year return to the period genre following Yamada Yoji’s 2006 film, Love And Honor.
If you know Miike, whose credits include an adaption of Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django to name a few, you know this is right up his alley. This one is expected to arrive in 2017, so chalk this one up as a priority through next year as we await Terraformars and learn more about Miike‘s celebrated return to kickass Japanese action with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Stay tuned for more info.