Kimutaku to star in Blade of the Immortal live-action film directed by Takashi Miike
Oona McGee
2 hours ago
When one of Japan’s most controversial directors teams up with one of its sexiest actors to make a film about the manga world’s most cursed samurai, the ripples of excitement that usually surround a live-action movie announcement turn into a veritable tidal wave.
The upcoming film adaptation of Hiroaki Samura’s manga Blade of the Immortal is set to be one of the most anticipated films of 2017. Until then, fans of the original manga series will have to wait to see what lies in store when 42-year-old boy band member and heart-throb actor Kimutaku takes on the role of a masterless samurai living in an immortal body.
Blade of the Immortal, known in Japan as Mugen no Junin (lit. The Inhabitabt of Infinity) is set in the middle of Japan’s Tokugawa Shogunate period (1603–1868) and follows the story of Manji, a cursed rōnin warrior on a mission to kill 1,000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. While the manga was adapted into a TV anime series in 2008, the upcoming live-action movie will be the first time real-life actors breathe life into the dark characters of the series.
Takuya Kimura, affectionately known throughout Japan as Kimutaku, is one of the country’s most well-known celebrities, and is not especially known for having a dark side. He’s been a member of boy band SMAP for 27 years, a leading man in dozens of TV dramas and the star of a number of movies. As far as period films go, this will be Kimutaku’s first since 2006’s Love and Honor, directed by Yōji Yamada.
Takashi Miike, on the other hand, is right at home when it comes to telling dark stories. While Miike’s Visitor Q is shocking for its bizarre storyline and disturbing, sexually twisted scenes, his 2001 movie adaptation of the manga Ichi the Killer was so gory that audiences at the Toronto International Film Festival received promotional barf bags to accompany the film. More recently, his instalment in the Masters of Horror television series was deemed so disturbing it was removed from the broadcast lineup.
Miike personally selected Kimutaku to star as Manji so it will be interesting to see what type of live-action film springs forth from the unlikely partnership. With Japan’s golden boy playing a cursed samurai under the guidance of Miike, the master of gore, this is one film we can’t wait to see!
Source: Comic Natalie
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Insert Images: Wikipedia, Manga Reader, Manga Reader (edited by RocketNews24)
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