Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider Den-O, Bloody Monday) – Rurouni Kenshin aka Hitokiri Battōsai.
Emi Takei (Taira no Kiyomori, Aysuko Match!) – Kaoru Kamiya.
Yuu Aoi (Hana and Alice, Honey and Clover) –  Megumi Takani.
Munetaka Aoki (The Last Message Umizaru, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) – Sanosuke Sagara.
Taketo Tanaka  - as Yahiko Myōjin aka Yoshi.

The movie is scheduled to be screened in Japan on 25 August 2012. Enjoy the trailer below!

Source: jetfusion

You can watch the second full trailer below.

Both of the new trailers feature the theme song “2012 Spark” by Porno Graffitti.

Some of the scenes look fairly familiar – I did play the game on the Nintendo DS before, hope they’ll show the movie in Singapore when it’s out ^^.

Source: ANN

Actor Shota Matsuda (Hana Yori Dango) will reprise his lead role as the genius Akiyama, while Mikako Tabe (Kimi ni Todoke) will play the heroine Yuu in a new game. As previously reported, the main actress of the 2 TV seasons and 1st movie was Erika Toda, but she won’t be reprising her role in the 2nd movie.

Does it not feel stranger without baka Nao?

The film will premiere in Japan on 3 March 2012. Hopefully Singapore will get the film distribution rights too!

Source: ANN

Some of you may recall that earlier in the year, there was an announcement that Kimi ni Todoke is becoming a live-action film. Well now, you get to catch a glimpse of it! A teaser trailer has been released for your viewing pleasure!

So what do you guys think of it?? Ok? Disappointed? I personally felt that the actor for Sawako nailed Mamiko Noto’s voice pretty well, though I do not remember Sawako being such a cheery girl… As for Kazehaya, he seems like a totally different guy from the anime. Even if we put the looks and the voice aside, his character just does not feel the same.

Maybe I am a little too sensitive about this? Maybe this is a common issue in film adaptation? I dunno… But I really love the anime series and manga, so that is why I really want to see this movie succeed.

For those of you who are interested, you can visit the movie’s official website here. It will be released in Japanese theatres on 25 September 2010.

The Live Action Film has been given the green light, as seen in the February issue of Bessatsu Margaret. Also, the next issue of Bessatsu Margaret will include a message from manga creator Karuho Shiina regarding the news.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the Live Action film. I believed there are some who look forward to the film, while some believed the film may not live up to expectations. Only time will tell, and I gotta say, it’s the chibified version of Sawako that made the anime series so enjoyable. Will the producers be able to achieve that in the film?

Source: ANN

The movie will have two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 just opened last Saturday in Japan. Part 2 will open on April 17 2010. Meanwhile, enjoy the trailer below!

Source: ANN

The Official Website has began streaming a 33 second trailer. The movie will be out in Japan on March 6 2010!

Some information about Liar Game(for folks who didn’t catch the drama):

The Liar Game: The Final Stage film is set after the second television season based on the manga. In the story, a woman named Nao Kanzaki (Death Note’s Erika Toda) is caught in a dangerous high-stakes competition known as “Liar Game,” and a genius con artist named Shinichi Akiyama (Hana Yori Dango’s Shota Matsuda) comes to Kanzaki’s aid. In the film, Kanzaki teams up with Akiyama and a former rival named Fukunaga for a final round.

Source: ANN

In a recent poll it has been unveiled that the majority of Japanese disapprove of Live action adaptions of manga. The majority, 64.8%, complained that in live action movies “The cast felt out of place,” “They often don’t treat the image of the original work properly” and “There’s a limit to what you can express in film.”The  35.2% that did approve, quoted reasons such as “It’s possible to enjoy the casting choices,” and “It can promote a title to a wider audience.”

While I don’t know what series are being released as live action in Japan, there is currently a very long list of American live action adaptions planned, or at least rumored to be in the works~ Even though they have larger budgets than their Japanese counter parts… you always have to worry about what sort of “Americanization” will happen to the plot.

• Akira
• Battle Angel Alita
• Cowboy Bebop
• Death Note
• Full Metal Panic
• Ghost in the Shell (Close Enough)
• Monster
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Ninja Scroll
• Paradise Kiss
• Priest
• Robotech
• Voltron

While some of the series on this list do have a lot of potential (I think a live action Monster would be amazing…), some of them leave me feeling unsure. For instance, here is an example of what COULD happen to the Akira live action movie:

Also, the poll also states that only 68.5% of Japanese approve of manga to anime adaptions. They list reasons such as “The voices differed to my image of them” and “A manga worldview is hard to convey through anime.” Besides these reason I would have to argue that my favorite manga are never finished when adapted to an anime.

Shinsuke Sato is directing the films, which have reportedly been given a budget of 4 billion yen, with lots of CG involved. It is said that producers are aiming to make the film suitable for general audiences, which means that it may likely lack the violence of the original manga.

I have heard of Gantz before, but never bothered to check it out =3. So here is a little more information of Gantz for folks who don’t know either ^^”:

“GANTZ” has been serialized in Young Jump since 2000. Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) are two young man who should be dead after a train accident, but they are summoned back to life by an entity known as GANTZ. Under GANTZ’s orders, the two are repeatedly sent on missions to fight against alien beings. So far, 26 volumes of the manga have been released in Japan, selling more than 10 million copies combined.  [TokyoGraph]

Expect the catch the first movie in Winter 2011, and the second movie in Spring 2011.

Any folks who caught the manga or anime of Gantz before? Is it good?

Anyone else a fan of Epic Mind *uck anime Akira? Are you a fan of Hollywood adaptions of anime? In the off chance you’re both you’ll be very happy to know that the Live Action Hollywood adaption of this legendary franchise is infact not canceled. Apparently script writers have been so busy trying to Americanize the plot they went into a temporary media coma. They are now ensuring the suspenseful fans that Japanese Boy Akira will no longer grow up in Post-Apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, but Manhattan USA. He will keep his famous motorcycle though.

From what I could gather, the movie is still a priority for the studio, and if the script meets with approval from key people, the movie could go into production in 2010 with a release date in 2011. Also, this isn’t going to be some mid-range budget movie. If the film goes into production, it’s going to be one of those BIG event movies.

You can read more about it here. The source is still unofficial, but this is the first we’ve heard of this project since rumors were floating around that the movie was canceled completely.

Almost two years ago Leonardo DiCaprio had shown interest in producing this movie, but the proposition was met with both curiosity and dread from fans. After the Dragonball live action movie I had believed that any future live action adaptions of animated franchises would be doomed.

Besides Akira, at this time there are reasonable rumors and facts floating about  Ghost in the Shell, Death Note, Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, and Full Metal Panic! Live action adaptions.  I’m personally a fan of the long lived Evangelion Live action movie rumor myself xD
Only the future can tell.