How prescient is the world. Right after I finished writing about how volume two of Ooku blew my mind and broke my heart, Tokyograph reported on the upcoming live-action movie, which is due out in October 2010.
The film will star Kazunari Ninomiya, a member of J-boy band Arashi, as Mizuno, the main character (in the first volume). Even if you don’t follow these groups, you may be more familiar with Ninomiya than you might think: he played Saigo in the Hollywood flick Letters from Iwo Jima, voiced the lead Black in Tekkonkinkreet, and he’s also going to play Kei Kurono in the 2011 live-action Gantz movie.
Joining Ninomiya is Kou Shibasaki, who played Mitsuko in Battle Royale, Reina in the 2006 Fist of the North Star: Raoh Gaiden Junai no Shou, and Dororo in, um, Dororo.
Other news on the movie: the budget is ¥1 billion (about $11 million USD), it will cover the first five volumes of the manga, and it maaaaay even wind up turning into a series of movies, if it’s popular (read:profitable) enough.
You guys don’t tend to comment a lot on these live-action plans, but I am really, really excited for this film now. Anyone with me?
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