Genkina Hito
映画男！！！
After numerous rumours of a live-action adaptation of the Ruroni Kenshin manga the project has officially been confirmed with Takeru Sato taking the lead role.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/genkinahito/5881122202/" title="SatoKenshin by Mercury Rex, on Flickr"></a>
Synopsis
<em>The story takes place during the early Meiji era and focusses on a wanderer named Himura Kenshin who was once an elite assassin during the final years of the Edo period as the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end. Walking away from a life of violence he now offers protection to those in need in order to atone for his actions. His travels lead him to meet various characters including new friends and enemies from his past.</em>
The film stars 22-year-old Takeru Sato and is being directed by Keishi Ōtomo who handled last year’s popular NHK historical television series Ryomaden which featured Sato. Sato, who has starred in recent films like BECK and Rookies, has stated that he was "a huge fan of the original manga when he was in elementary school" and that there is "a very high hurdle in living up to the image of the iconic character".
Based on Watsuki Nobuhiro’s manga which was serialised by Weekly Shonen Jump from 1994 to 1999, the manga has sold over 28 million copies and been translated and published in 23 countries worldwide. As well as the manga, it has also been adapted into a TV series which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and two OVA projects and a film which Aniplex is releasing as Blu-ray Discs this year. Further to this is the new Ruroni Kenshin anime project announced earlier this year in the June issue of Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine. This will be the first live-action film.
According to Warner Bros. the possibility of a live-action film adaptation had been raised many times but it was difficult to visualise how to adapt all 28 original volumes.
Warner Brothers Pictures Japan has aimed to increase their production presence in the Japanese market and have worked increasingly to distribute films such as the recent live-action Paradise Kiss and Death Note as well as anime like Summer Wars. Studio Swan who worked on the recent live-action Paradise Kiss is in charge of actual production. The film’s executive producer William Ireton stated that Ruroni Kenshin has the potential to become a series like Harry Potter. Filming for Ruroni Kenshin is scheduled to begin in July with a planned release scheduled for 2012. The production company also hope to release the film internationally to take advantage of overseas popularity and use it as a spring-board to make a series.
<a href="http://eiga.com/news/20110628/1/">Source</a> <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2011-06-27/sankei-sports/rurouni-kenshin-manga-gets-live-action-film">Source</a> <a href="http://animeanime.jp/news/archives/2011/06/post_1616.html">Source</a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/genkinahito/5881122202/" title="SatoKenshin by Mercury Rex, on Flickr"></a>
Synopsis
<em>The story takes place during the early Meiji era and focusses on a wanderer named Himura Kenshin who was once an elite assassin during the final years of the Edo period as the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end. Walking away from a life of violence he now offers protection to those in need in order to atone for his actions. His travels lead him to meet various characters including new friends and enemies from his past.</em>
The film stars 22-year-old Takeru Sato and is being directed by Keishi Ōtomo who handled last year’s popular NHK historical television series Ryomaden which featured Sato. Sato, who has starred in recent films like BECK and Rookies, has stated that he was "a huge fan of the original manga when he was in elementary school" and that there is "a very high hurdle in living up to the image of the iconic character".
Based on Watsuki Nobuhiro’s manga which was serialised by Weekly Shonen Jump from 1994 to 1999, the manga has sold over 28 million copies and been translated and published in 23 countries worldwide. As well as the manga, it has also been adapted into a TV series which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and two OVA projects and a film which Aniplex is releasing as Blu-ray Discs this year. Further to this is the new Ruroni Kenshin anime project announced earlier this year in the June issue of Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine. This will be the first live-action film.
According to Warner Bros. the possibility of a live-action film adaptation had been raised many times but it was difficult to visualise how to adapt all 28 original volumes.
Warner Brothers Pictures Japan has aimed to increase their production presence in the Japanese market and have worked increasingly to distribute films such as the recent live-action Paradise Kiss and Death Note as well as anime like Summer Wars. Studio Swan who worked on the recent live-action Paradise Kiss is in charge of actual production. The film’s executive producer William Ireton stated that Ruroni Kenshin has the potential to become a series like Harry Potter. Filming for Ruroni Kenshin is scheduled to begin in July with a planned release scheduled for 2012. The production company also hope to release the film internationally to take advantage of overseas popularity and use it as a spring-board to make a series.
<a href="http://eiga.com/news/20110628/1/">Source</a> <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/news/2011-06-27/sankei-sports/rurouni-kenshin-manga-gets-live-action-film">Source</a> <a href="http://animeanime.jp/news/archives/2011/06/post_1616.html">Source</a>
