live action anime
New Footage From LUPIN III Is Online
Moviegoers in Japan can expect director Hiyao Miyazaki’s 1979 Lupin III film, The Castle Of Cagliostro, to be re-released with a new digital remastering as soon as May 9, with other territories to follow suit. This week, however, it was during a recent exclusive TBS morning broadcast that the first footage from Azumi (2003) director Ryuhei Kitamura‘s own upcoming live action adaptation of the initial Monkey Punch manga went public, featuring lead actor and fellow Azumi co-star Shun Ogiri in the title role.
The teaser footage also comes after roughly a year of some heavily active speculation regarding the possibility of the acclaimed filmmaker returning to helm a much-desired sequel to his 2000 cult favorite, Versus. I’ve been a fan of Kitamura since college, and I can’t wait to see what happens next with his career in directing. And by all means, if Kitamura still supports the idea of an American remake of said film, that’s fine by me, but as long as he’s the one in the director’s seat. Until then, I’ll take what I can get, and I look forward to Lupin III when it comes out following its Japan release beginning August 30.
Lupin III also reunites Kitamura and Ogiri with fellow Azumi scribe Mataichiro Yamamoto for the screenplay, and also stars Tetsuji Tamayama as Daisuke Jigen, actress Go Ayano as Goemon Ishikawa, actor Tadanobu Asano as Detective Kōichi Zenigata, and Meisa Kuroki as Fujiko Mine. Jerry Yan, South Korean singer Kim Joon and Thailand actor Thanayong Wongtrakul round out the cast.
SYNOPSIS:
Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko, and Zenigata come together for the first time as Lupin and his crew attempt to steal the “Crimson Heart of Cleopatra” which is held in a giant high-security safe called the “Ark of Navarone”.
H/T: Oricon Style, Anime News Network, Eigapedia, Twitchfilm
Live-Action Casting And Anime Feature Updates For ATTACK ON TITAN
One of the most phenomenal manga and novel properties to come to life in the last several years has been the work of author Hajime Isayama whose 2009 publication, Shingeki no Kyojin – otherwise known as its more commercialized international title, Attack On Titan, has become a highly popular franchise among genre fans of Japanese entertainment. And on the heels of its hugely successful launch on television through anime last year, Attack On Titan was officially announced in December of 2013 to get feature-length live action treatment by way of Toho, with Yuusuke Watanabe providing the script under director Shinji Higuchi.
This week, there are two new important pieces of information involving the live action film, and the anime: Actor Haruma Miura (pictured above) has been officially added to the film, which centers around the character Eren Jaeger who sets out to join a team of legionaires to hunt down giant human-consuming monsters in order to protect what is left of mankind after the death of his mother, altough it has not been confirmed which of the three main characters he will play; Miura will be part of the TBA cast and crew filming undetermined portions of the movie on the deserted island of Hashima (also known as Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island – located off the coast of Nagasaki) to illustrate the world’s only walled-in city protecting what is left of the human race.
Attack On Titan is slated for a 2015 release, which will also add more to the fanfare surrounding the televisied anime which is now being reported to get two full-length movies recompiled from the animated series, with new dubbing and a 5.1 remastering, and will feature voice actors reprising their roles from the animated series. The first film, titled Attack On Titan: Crimson Bow And Arrow, will cover episodes 1 through 13 and will release this winter, with the second, Attack On Titan: Wings Of Freedom, spanning episodes 14 through 25 and releasing in 2015, both directed by series helmer Tetsuro Araki.
I personally haven’t had the chance to watch the series, but its subsequent success since 2009 seems very telling, so it’s no wonder why the creators are taking this phenomenon to new heights. And as often skeptical as people are with live-action transitions are with certain titles, with Isayama overseeing production on Higuchi‘s new film, there is reason to be optimistic, at best. Meanwhile, Funimation will be releasing season 1 on Blu-Ray on June 23, 2014.
Stay tuned for more news on Attack On Titan!
H/T: Orends Range
THE NEXT GENERATION -PATLABOR- Gets A First Full Trailer!
Following the development of the humanoid work machines called Labors, technology propelled forward at a high speed, eventually resulting in the use of Labors in all facets of society.
RUROUNI KENSHIN 2 And 3 Wrap Prinicipal Photography
Sources at Anime News Network forwarded a new photo from Comic Natalie announcing that principal photography has officially wrapped for director Keishi Otomo‘s forthcoming second and third installments of the live-action Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy, following the release of the first film in 2012. The news comes as a fresh new teaser and set pictures and stills for both sequels, Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc and Rurouni Kenshin: The End Of A Legend Arc have already made their way online, including a new photo highlighting the elite swordsmen known as the “Jupponagata” (Ten Swords), headlined by the main villain, Makoto Shshio, played by actor Tatsuya Fujiwara, which you can view below.
Based on the work of manga author Nobuhiro Watsuki, Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc and Rurouni Kenshin: The End Of A Legend Arc will star Fujiwara opposite actor Takeru Satoh returning for the title role in both films. Other cast members, returning and new, include Emi Takei, Yusuke Iseya, Munetaka Aoki and Yuu Aoi and Yosuke Eguchi, with Min Tanaka, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Kaito Oyagi, Maryjun Takahashi, Ryosuke Miura and Lisa Ulliel.
Both films are on track to release theatrically in Japan on their respective dates set for August 1, 2014 and September 13, 2014, courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan.
Check out the most recent teaser below. Click HERE for the English-subbed version.
H/T: Orends Range
New Photos And Scene Details From The RUROUNI KENSHIN Sequels Set
Eigapedia recently forwarded details of a scene from the upcoming release of director Keishi Otomo‘s next film, Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc, involving lead actor Takeru Satoh and co-star Ryunosuke Kamiki. The page detailed the on-location scene and setting, illustrating the assassination of historical Japanese statesman, Okubo Toshimichi, played Kazufumi Miyazawa (lead singer and songwriter of Japanese band, The Boom), leading up to a confrontation between lead character Himura Kenshin and Seta Sojiro, played by Satoh and Kamiki, respectively.
The New RUROUNI KENSHIN Dual Sequel Teaser Gets English Subs
In addition to an original un-subbed teaser for Warner Bros. Japan’s upcoming dual sequel releases of director Keishi Otomo‘s period epic samurai thriller Rurouni Kenshin film franchise, a new English-subbed version of the teaser has also gone viral and you can now check out that version below.
THE NEXT GENERATION -PATLABOR- Series Gets New Release Dates
Following earlier announcements of the upcoming live-action series reboot of the classic Japanese property for The Next Generation -Patlabor- and further announcements within the past year, Anime News Network has forwarded the latest dates for the pending seven-part series leading up to the production of the feature film by 2015. The dates are as follows, kicking off the live action series at Japan’s Shinjuku Piccadilly theater:
Eleven Arts Announces Limited U.S. & Canada Dates For SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO
The official website for Eleven Arts is announcing via press release that the intergalactic space thriller, Space Battleship Yamato is officially making its way to theaters in North America and Canada in the next few months. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film initially released in Japan theaters on December 1, 2010, based on the classic 1974 manga and anime from author and creator Leiji Matsumoto, and animator, the late Noboru Ishiguro.
Space Battleship Yamato was adapted for the screen by Shimako Sato and stars Takuya Kimura, Meisa Kuroki, Toshiro Yanagiba, Naoto Ogata, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Maiko, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Reiko Takashima, Isao Hashizume, Toshihiko Nishida and Tsutomu Yamazaki. The film is set for limited releases begining October 19, 2013 in Los Angeles/San Francisco, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, followed by select theaters in Canada on November 11.
SYNOPSIS:
The story is set in the year 2199. The Gamilas, a mysterious alien enemy, has been decimating the Earth to unlivable and irradiated conditions for the past 5 years. Humankind now lives underground to escape the radiation, but with only a year until extinction. One day while roaming the surface of Earth, former pilot Susumu Kodai (Takuya Kimura) comes across a capsule sent from the planet Iskandar that reveals there is technology that has the power to eradicate the radiation from Earth. A chosen crew of Space battleship Yamato takes off on the long trip to Iskandar with hopes to save the Earth.
CLICK HERE FOR THE 2010 TRAILER, and stay tuned for further updates.
New Teaser For GATCHAMAN
The film was helmed by Toya Sato and written Yūsuke Watanabe, about a team of five agents working for the International Science Organization who must harness the power of a mystical crystal that will grant them the powers they need to take on Galactor, a technologically advanced terrorist group bent on Earth’s destruction by seizing its natural resources. The film will star Tori Matsuzaka Go Ayano, Ayame Goriki, Tatsuomi Hamada and Ryōhei Suzuki. Toho has slated the film for a domestic theatrical release on August 24th.