Anime fans in America will be happy to learn that Takashi Miike‘s live-action adaptation of the manga and anime film Blade of the Immortal will be coming to the United States.
Magnet, a subsidiary of Magnolia Pictures that specializes in Asian cinema, will be bringing the story of the cursed samurai Manji to the United States. Former boybander and prolific actor Takuya Kimura plays Manji, who becomes immortal after a battle and will have to constantly face threat after threat in an effort to regain his soul. When he crosses paths with young Rin (Hana Sugisaki), he promises to help her avenge her parents by taking on a band of warriors led by the ruthless Anotsu Kagehisa (Sota Fukushi).
Hayate Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Ebizo Ichikawa co-star in the film. Tetsuya Oishi (Blood Heat) wrote the screenplay based on the manga by Hiroaki Samura. The film is also the 100th film by Miike, a Japanese auteur who may be known in the west for his horror films, but he is versatile and as of late, has dabbled in more live action adaptations, including the upcoming Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, which comes to Japan this August.
A release date in the United States for Blade of the Immortal has not been announced, but it looks likely that it will be later this year.
WorldFilmGeek 