This 2018, popular manga titles released as live action films include Inuyashiki (Kinashi Noritake and Sato Takeru) , Bleach (Fukushi Sota), Marmalade Boy (Sakurai Hinako and Yoshizawa Ryo), Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (Tsuchiya Tao and Suda Masaki), and more. However, only one made it to the list of this year’s highest-grossing Japanese films at the box office and it’s Gintama’s sequel Okite wa Yaburu Tame ni Soko ni Aru (Rules Are Made To Be Broken) which grossed 31.7 million US dollars in Japan.
2019 comes with another exciting lineup of highly anticipated Japanese live-action movies. Here are 5 of them:
Kubota Masataka reprises his role as the half-human half-ghoul hybrid Kaneki Ken. The first live action was surrounded by controversy due to its female lead’s retirement from the entertainment industry. For this sequel, Yamamoto Maika will replace Shimizu Fumika as Kirishima Toka. The movie will also introduce another popular character from the series. Matsuda Shota will play Tsukiyama Shu also known as the Gourmet.
【ヲタクに恋は難しい／一迅社宣伝】#ヲタ恋
7月31日発売の6巻発売にて、遂に700万部突破！
全国の『ヲタ恋』ファンの応援に感謝いたします！
そして、実写映画化企画を進行中です！
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▼一迅社PV完全版はコチラ▼https://t.co/5fZn6xT83h pic.twitter.com/PkXi7D5OA6— 一迅社の宣伝課です。 (@ichijinsha_info) 2018年7月26日
The anime adaptation of Wotakoi just finished airing in June 2018 but it’s quickly being turned into a live action film starring Yamazaki Kento as gamer Nifuji Hirotaka and Takahata Mitsuki as fujoshi (girls who enjoy the boys’ love theme) Momose Harumi. The movie centers on their relationship as childhood friends turned otaku couple and is directed by Gintama live action’s Fukuda Yuichi.
After appearing together in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, popular actors Yamazaki Kento and Yoshizawa Ryo reunite in the live action adaptation of the historical fantasy manga, Kingdom, by Hara Yasuhisa. Set in the Qin dynasty, the story follows Yamazaki Kento as the young orphaned boy named Shin in his goal of becoming a great military general. Yoshizawa Ryo plays both Hyo (Shin’s childhood friend) and Ei Sei (the 31st king of Qin) who aims to unify China.
The movie was mostly filmed in Hengdian World Studios with a whopping 2 billion Yen budget under the direction of Shinsuke Sato who also directed Gantz, Bleach,and Inuyashiki live action.
Based on the manga series Archimedes no Taisen by Norifusa Mita, Masaki Suda plays Tadashi Kai, a mathematical genius in the 1930s. As the Imperial Japanese Navy tries to build its biggest battleship, Kai discovers that the cost for building it doesn’t add up prompting him to discover some military conspiracies. The movie is written and directed by Yamazaki Takashi, the director of Space Battleship Yamato and the Parasyte live action movies.
Tonde Saitama is set at a time when people are judged based on the prefecture they’re from and the ones from Saitama are particularly hated by those from Tokyo. It’s a Romeo and Juliet kind of story between Tokyo governor’s son Momomi Dannoura and transfer student from Saitama Rei Asami. The casting news for this live action movie based on Mineo Maya’s manga was talked about for having 45-year-old pop-rock star Gackt play a high school student and 24-year-old actress Nikaido Fumi play a male character. The movie is directed by Takeuchi Hideki, the director of live action comedies Nodame Cantabile and Thermae Romae.
It seems that the live action trend will continue for a long time but Japan certainly won’t have any problems with that since aside from having some really talented actors, the country has copious manga source materials to get inspiration from.
Which live action movie are you looking forward to watch next year?