Category: Movies

Additional cast to join the Gantz movies

by Fiona

Last October, it was revealed that Hiroya Oku’s sci-fi manga “GANTZ” is being adapted as two live-action films, starring Kazunari Ninomiya (26) and Kenichi Matsuyama (24). It has now been announced that actress Yuriko Yoshitaka (21) is taking on the heroine role.

The story revolves around two young men named Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) who should have died in a train accident, but a mysterious entity known as GANTZ brings them back to life and sends them on missions to hunt down alien beings.

Yoshitaka will play the role of Tae Kojima, Kurono’s classmate at university. A pure romance develops between the two characters, contrasting with the brutal violence that Kurono and Kato engage in for their missions under GANTZ. Yoshitaka will also participate in some action scenes (including wire-action).

Both of the “GANTZ” movies are scheduled for 2011.

From Tokyograph

News coverage/preview:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UreacL3O2tc

Yoshitaka-san seems to be a very good fit for the Tae’s role, I’m sure she will portray the character wonderfully.

I seriously cannot wait to see this, what can be more exciting than Nino+ action + romance, ne! It has been so long since our Prankster-chan has appear in a drama/movie with romantic aspects. Though, I adore all of his roles (especially the challenging ones), but I still long for a lovey-dovey Nino…hehe.

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Ninomiya Kazunari – First Gantz Trailer Revealed

by Fiona

Back in October word got out that Hiroya Oku’s hyper-violent ongoing sci-fi manga “Gantz” would be entering the realm of live-action features with a two-film franchise directed by Shinsuke Sato and written by Yusuke Watanabe. Now, a 15-second teaser has hit the Web, giving fans a brief look at what the future might hold for the film series.

“Gantz” follows a cynical Tokyo college student after his apparent subway tunnel death and subsequent reanimation at the hands of a mysterious black sphere. He and others like him are gathered in an anonymous room in the city, provided with weapons and loosed on bizarre alien-kiling missions. Very few are successful.

While the teaser posted on YouTube doesn’t reveal much about the film, there’s a quick shot of stars Kazunari Ninomiya (“Letters From Iwo Jima”) and Ken’ichi Matsumaya (“Death Note”) in their black combat suits, which appear to be pretty faithful to the source material.

There’s also more conversation than alien-hunting going on, and no sign of the series’ trademark weaponry aside from the superpower-enabling suits — but it’s worth noting that this very well could be the first time the actors have appeared in costume to date.

Dark Horse Comics’ manga import, along with ADV’s anime series collections have familiarized many American fans with the story, which originally wrapped in 2004 in its native Japan. The manga is currently nearing its 30th volume.

The series of films are rumored for Spring and Winter 2011 releases in Japan. At this time there’s no word on official English or other language localizations.

From MTV

Here’s the 15 second CM:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhz5XOIwS0Y

Awesome, ne! Just the glimpse of Nino and Kenichi-kun in their suits, makes you want to see more. This is going to be one of the biggest anticipated movie!!

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Ninomiya Kazunari to stars in Ooku adaptation

by Fiona

Kyaa~~ it has been finally confirmed!!

Kou Shibasaki (28) and Arashi member Kazunari Ninomiya (26) have been chosen to star in Fuminori Kaneko’s “Ooku,” a live-action film adaptation of the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. This will be the first jidaigeki film that either has starred in.

Yoshinaga’s “Ooku” is a historical fiction set during the Edo period. A mysterious disease strikes Japan’s male population, reducing their numbers to a fraction of the female population. As a result, the traditional gender roles are overturned, with women becoming the dominant members of society and men becoming valued for their ability to produce offspring.

In the story, the shoguns of the time are actually women, and the “ooku” (the “inner chambers” of the shogun’s castle) consists of thousands of men rather than women. Shibasaki plays the role of the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, while Ninomiya plays a young man named Mizuno who enters the ooku.

The movie, said to have a budget of 1 billion yen, covers only the first of the 5 manga volumes released so far. However, producers are considering turning “Ooku” into a series of films.

“Ooku” opens in theaters on October 1, 2010.

From Tokyograph

The official website and CM has been released:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1EdvqNRbbE

Looks intensely dark and awesome! I especially intrigued by the plot and the Samurai period (have become an growing interest to me since I watched The Last Samurai). Who can resist a man with a blade, ne! I’m also quite fond of Kou Shibasaki’s acting and now she’s co-starring in a drama special and movie with our two beloved Arashi boy, definitely a dream come true. Just cannot wait to see Nino is a historical costume and looking forward to the series of films.

Now off I go searching for the Ooku manga, just one more series that I need to read along side with Gantz. Our Mr. Prankster is going to be mecha busy next year with two movies, ganbatte!!

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