Live-Action News, Part 2 of 3

Here we go with part 2 of a look at upcoming live-action adaptations of anime/manga. You can read part one here.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that there would be a live-action prequel to the Death Note films. So far it is untitled but has a working title of L. In addition to Ken’ichi Matsuyama, who will be reprising his role as L, 13-year old Mayuko Fukuda (Grave of the Fireflies 2005 live-action) has been selected to play Maki described by ANN as being “a mysterious ‘genius girl’”. Fukuda-san beat out over 300 other candidates for the role.

The film is scheduled to open on February 9, 2008. It will be the first Japanese film to open in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on the same day. It is possible, according to the producers, that the film could open in other countries on that day as well.

The film has an official website which has a trailer for the new film in addition to usual information about the movie…one caveat is that the site is in Japanese.

ANN Story:
Death Note’s L Film’s Heroine, 4-Nation Debut Revealed

Japanese Sources:
Sankei Sports
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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When Cicadas Cry…though the English DVD release of the anime by Geneon is called When They Cry – Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni) will adapted as a live-action movie scheduled for release sometime in 2008. It will initially be a limited release, shown at two theaters in Tokyo.

The suspense/thriller series began as a (sound novel) game in 2002 for the PC by 07th Expansion which was later ported to the PS2 platform and developed by Alchemist (2007). From 2005 on, there were adaptations made in the form of manga, light novels, regular novels, 2 anime series, and drama CDs.

The film will be directed by Ataru Oikawa (Tomie live-action movies). The cast, according to a famitsu article, will feature Maeda Gouki (Keiichi Maebara), Matsuyama Airi (Rena Ryugu), Asuka Rin (Mion Sonozaki), Ono Erena (Satoko Hojo), & Aika (Rika Furude). The chart below may or may not be helpful, but it is an interesting comparison between the different looks of the various 2-D characters (from game, manga, anime, etc.), plus the film actors, and (I’m guessing here) the seiyu:

It was originally from a 2ch thread and re-posted by umehiko of the bonkurasu brigade.

ANN Story:
Higurashi no Naku Koroni Live-Action Film in 2008 (Updated)

Japanese Source:
animeanime.jp

There is an interesting side note. According to Canned Dogs, some fans of the (guessing again) anime or perhaps the game, are upset about the movie. They have even started a petition to have the movie stop production. The petition they are using is also interesting. It is called “letter to the chairman”. Quoting Canned Dogs:

“The site owner will take action depending on the amount of support for each petition and send their concerns to the chairman of the organization that they’re petitioning against.

If 20 people support the notion, a letter is sent to the organization. If 50 people support it, a phone call is made. And if more than 100 people support it, they will arrange for an interview with the chairman. Currently support for the petition against the higurashi movie stands at over 350 people.”

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The promotional sleeve wrapper for the third volume of Natsumi Konjoh’s manga, Mousou Shoujo Otaku Kei, announced that a live-action adaptation would be released in the fall in Japan. The story, according to Baka-Updates, is that:

“It’s a shoujo-style romantic comedy about a quadrangle of two fujoshi (i.e. otome, female otaku) and two straight (though very bishounen) guys. The story is about a yaoi fangirl who tries to hide her otaku fetishes, while having lots of yaoi daydreams while imagining about the boys in her class.”

On a related note, distributer Media Blasters announced at Otakon 2007 that it had licensed the manga for North America.

ANN Story:
Manga About Yaoi Fan Remade for Live-Action This Fall

Japanese Source:
Ultimatum
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Going from quasi-boys-love to actual boys-love…a live-action film will be made based on the series of boys-love novels, Takumi-kun, by Shinobu Gotouand and Kazuma Ohya. The announcement was made in the September issue of Kakokawa Shoten’s Asuka Ciel magazine. The title role will be played by Tomo Yanagishita (The Prince of Tennis musical). The movie will tentatively cover the first novel, Soshite, Harukaze ni Sasayaite (And Whispering in the Spring Breeze).

Here is a story synopsis from Blu:

“Far away from the city, deep within the mountains, sits the all-boys high school, Shidou Academy. In years past, this school housed only the sons of the most elite families in the country, but these days it welcomes all into its historic halls. Takumi, a boy from humble origins, prepares to begin his second year at the school. Held back by psychological issues, Takumi’s indifferent attitude has garnered him no friends and the reputation as a cold fish. Then along comes Gui, a wealthy and charismatic student born in America. Gui is the only person who doesn’t see Takumi as odd, and the two become friends. But how will the two cope when Gui confesses his love to Takumi? And can the couple survive the revelation of the secret behind the psychological problems that plague Takumi?”

Incidentally, boys-love publisher Blu (whose distributor is Tokyopop) has licensed the Takumi-kun manga (which is marking its 15th anniversary) and will start releasing an English edition in September.

ANN Story:
Takumi-kun Boys-Love Novels Made into Live-Action Film

Japanese Source:
Chuosha
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Interestingly enough, another boys-love, live-action project was announced by publisher Frontier Works. Keiko Konno’s Ai no Kotodama will be adapted into a live action movie that will open this fall. Here is a synopsis of the story from the North American licensor, Juné Manga (part of Digital Manga Publishing) which calls the series Words of Devotion:

“After graduating from high school, Tachibana and Otani have finally confessed their love for each other and are living together. However, their co-habitation is totally ruined when they run into an old high school buddy, Yuki. Otani has always been suspicious of the friendship between Tachibana and Yuki. And honestly, his suspicions may not be that far off…”

The movie is based on the 2-volume manga. The announcement also included cast information:

Top to bottom, this is the character info for Shinya Otani, Miyako Tachibana, and Yukiko Zusawa (aka Yuki).

ANN Story:
Words of Devotion Yaoi Manga Inspires Live-Action Movie

Japanese Source:
Ultimatum
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Now, from shounen-ai to just shounen…there will be another live-action treatment of Takeshi Konomi’s The Prince of Tennis manga. Past adaptations include an anime TV series (2001-2005), several OVAs and movies (2005-present), video games, musicals, and a live-action movie (2006).

In October, China will start shooting a new TV series in Shanghai. It is scheduled to start airing in June 2008. Since this is shortly before the Beijing Olympics (August 2008), there has been speculation that the show will have a ratings boost.

Very little information is available about the production. However, it is known that different methods for the cast auditions were used including the use of audience participation via the internet. A reality TV program was used to chose the final cast.

ANN Story:
Prince of Tennis Adapted as Live-Action Drama in China

Japanese Source:
Nikkan Sports

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I was going to insert some news about the upcoming Dragonball Z live-action movie, but the news is in a bit of flux right now (Sept. 5) with 20th Century Fox refusing to confirm reports about the film. From IGN:

“20th Century Fox has informed IGN that this report cannot be confirmed as neither start dates nor locations are locked in at this point.”

If things clear up soon, I’ll include it in Part 3…otherwise I will include it in a regular Anime News article.

Live-action News, Part 1 of 3.