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Get ready for the next phenomenon as Nakoi Urasawa’s hit manga finally hits our screens as a live-action trilogy… (more…)

The first of Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s three-part adaption of Nakoi Urasawa’s 20 million copy selling 2oth Century Boys is released today – check it out! (Sorry, no English Subs!)

You can read our review of 2oth Century Boys here »

A solid, good looking action film with great fight sequences by choreographer Corey Yuen, but plot inconsistencies and a baffling conclusion don’t make the best for Chris Nahon’s live-action adaption… (more…)

Long regarded as one of the best examples of Anime, Blood: The Last Vampire is set to ignite screens alight with a whole new live-action version. Directed by Chris Nahon, responsible for the only decent Jet Li US vehicle Kiss Of The Dragon and featuring fight choreography by Li favourite Corey Yuen (So Close, Fong Sai Yuk), the film has a seriously good pedigree making it one of the most anticipated live-action adaptations of any anime ever produced.

Check out the trailer and see what you think!

We were just talking about that subway scene from the original Anime, weren’t we? And here is the new version – the opening clip from Chris Nahon’s live-action remake starring Gianna Jun. As you can’t have missed, Blood: The Last Vampire opens in UK cinemas tomorrow… Check it out, pretty close, but with a new twist. Enjoy!

(I promise – next week I won’t mention Blood. Not once…honest!)

But don’t forget the DVD and t-shirt Competition!

More clips and trailers coming soon…!

It’s been creating a buzz of anticipation since its production was first announced in late-2006, and now the Japanese movie event of the decade, 20TH CENTURY BOYS, is finally here.

Based on the hugely successful, award winning manga series created by Naoki Urasawa (Yawara; Monster), 20TH CENTURY BOYS is the first instalment of the mind-blowing, three-part live-action adaptation of the epic sci-fi fantasy adventure originally inspired by the T. Rex song of the same name.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Sushi King Goes To New York; Happily Ever After; Keizoku: The Movie) and starring Toshiaki Karasawa (Casshern), 20TH CENTURY BOYS’ epic storyline spans 50 years and several continents, factors that necessitated a budget of 6 billion yen for the trilogy – an unprecedented figure for the Japan film industry.

Japan, 1973. Elementary school kid Kenji Endo (Toshiaki Karasawa) and his small gang of young friends pass the long, boring summer days fantasizing about fighting world-threatening super villains and then recording their fictional crime-fighting exploits in their own ‘Book of Prophecies’.

Almost thirty years later, and now adults with families, jobs and responsibilities that have caused them to drift apart, their lives are turned upside down when one of the former friends dies mysteriously and an entire family from Kenji’s local neighbourhood goes missing. Further afield, a bizarre religious cult is growing in popularity and appears to be connected to a strange chain of catastrophic events that unbelievably appear to be duplicating the imaginary events recorded in the ‘Book of Prophecies’ decades earlier. Disturbed by what he initially believes could only be a coincidence, Kenji reunites the group of childhood friends and attempts to unravel the mystery. The investigation reveals a shocking and sinister conspiracy that seeks to fulfil a doomsday prophecy on the eve of the new millennium. As their renewed friendship is tested in a world gripped by global terrorism and hysteria, Kenji and his companions find themselves involved in a spectacular showdown as a giant robotic machine threatens the city of Shinjuku!

And that’s merely the start of the compelling three-part saga in what has become one of the most highly anticipated, must-see sci-fi movie trilogies since “The Matrix” series.

A national phenomenon in Japan and a huge hit internationally, Urasawa’s 24-volume sci-fi fantasy manga has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with the film attaining similar success by becoming one of the country’s biggest box office hits of 2008.

20TH CENTURY BOYS (cert. 15) will open at selected UK cinemas on 20th February 2009.

Long regarded as one of the best examples of Anime, Blood: The Last Vampire is set to ignite screens alight with a whole new live-action version. Directed by Chris Nahon, responsible for the only decent Jet Li US vehicle Kiss Of The Dragon and featuring fight choreography by Li favourite Corey Yuen (So Close, Fong Sai Yuk), the film has a seriously good pedigree making it one of the most anticipated live-action adaptations of any anime ever produced.

Blood: The Last Vampire is released in UK cinemas on 26 June 2009 by Pathe.

Enter our cometition and win a DVD and t-shirt!

Well done to three lucky entrants to our 2oth Century Boys competition are going to receive a fab prize in the post: the full limited edition 2-disc DVD, a poster AND t-shirt!

And if you’re jealous now – well, you gotta be in it to win it, as they used to say on those Lotto commercials. Stay tuned for some very exciting competitions coming soon…

Well done to everyone who entered our Blood: The Last Vampire competition. Five lucky entrants will be winning a t-shirt and DVD of the original Anime, with five other entrants geting just the t-shirt. You’ll be receiving your prizes in the post soon…

For those that missed out, don’t fear, we’ll have another competition soon – so stay tuned!

Congratulations to the three winners of the Chanbara Beauty DVD competition we ran last month – hope you enjoy the film! To those who didn’t win anything, stay tuned, as we’ll be launching a new competition this Friday…

A solid live-action version of a manga starring Battle Royale’s Tatsuya Fujiwara that thankfully doesn’t quite replicate the amoral tone of the original manga – but be prepared to wait for the sequel! (more…)

Chris Nahon’s live-action remake of anime Blood: The Last Vampire comes to DVD and Blu-ray on 12 October 2009, released by Manga. Detalis TBC.

It’s been creating a buzz of anticipation since its production was first announced in late-2006 and now 20TH CENTURY BOYS, the first instalment of the epic live-action trilogy adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s hit manga series, is finally coming to DVD.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Sushi King Goes To New York; Happily Ever After; Keizoku: The Movie) and starring Toshiaki Karasawa (Casshern), 20TH CENTURY BOYS’ epic storyline spans 50 years and several continents, factors that necessitated a budget of 6 billion yen for the trilogy – an unprecedented figure for the Japan film industry.

Japan, 1973. Elementary school kid Kenji Endo (Toshiaki Karasawa) and his small gang of young friends pass the long, boring summer days fantasizing about fighting world-threatening super villains and then recording their fictional crime-fighting exploits in their own ‘Book of Prophecies’.

Almost thirty years later, and now adults with families, jobs and responsibilities that have caused them to drift apart, their lives are turned upside down when one of the former friends dies mysteriously and an entire family from Kenji’s local neighbourhood goes missing. Further afield, a bizarre religious cult is growing in popularity and appears to be connected to a strange chain of catastrophic events that unbelievably appear to be duplicating the imaginary events recorded in the ‘Book of Prophecies’ decades earlier. Disturbed by what he initially believes could only be a coincidence, Kenji reunites the group of childhood friends and attempts to unravel the mystery. The investigation reveals a shocking and sinister conspiracy that seeks to fulfil a doomsday prophecy on the eve of the new millennium. As their renewed friendship is tested in a world gripped by global terrorism and hysteria, Kenji and his companions find themselves involved in a spectacular showdown as a giant robotic machine threatens the city of Shinjuku!

And that’s merely the start of the compelling three-part saga in what has become one of the most highly anticipated, must-see sci-fi movie trilogies since “The Matrix” series.

A national phenomenon in Japan and a huge hit internationally, Urasawa’s 24-volume sci-fi fantasy manga has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with the film attaining similar success by becoming one of the country’s biggest box office hits of 2008.

Special Features include: 24-page “Book of Prophecies”; Japan Premiere Documentary (64 mins approx); Paris Premiere Featurette (20 mins approx); Cast Interviews (22 mins approx); UK Trailer (2 mins approx); Japanese Trailers (5 mins approx).

20TH CENTURY BOYS (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£19.99) by 4Digital Asia on 4th May 2009.

Based on the enduring 1960s manga series by the legendary Osamu Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy) and its subsequent anime television series adaptation, DORORO finally gets a big-budget, big-screen treatment as a live-action feature starring Japanese singing and acting superstar Kou Shibasaki (Memories Of Matsuko; One Missed Call; Battle Royale) in the title role.

Directed by Akihiko Shiota (Canary; Harmful Insect), co-starring Satoshi Tsumabuki (The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift), Eita (Memories Of Matsuko) and Anna Tsuchiya (Sakuran; Kamikaze Girls), and featuring action choreography by Hong Kong action maestro Siu-Tung Ching (Curse Of The Golden Flower; House Of Flying Daggers; Hero), this epic, supernatural fantasy proved to be a major box office smash in Japan, topping the movie charts for an unprecedented six consecutive weeks.

Fearing the imminent decline of his clan, samurai warlord Daigo Kagemitsu makes a deal with a circle of 48 demons who offer him the power to conquer and rule the world in exchange for the body parts of his future unborn son. When the child is eventually born as nothing more than a limbless torso and an eyeless, earless head, Daigo wants to kill it but instead agrees to his wife’s request to place it in a floating basket and set it off down the river. The deformed orphan is soon discovered and rescued by a mystical physician who creates artificial organs and body parts for the boy, before naming him Hyakkimaru and raising him as his own.

Years later, having reached adulthood, Hyakkimaru embarks on a quest to seek out and destroy the 48 demons that made the pact with his natural father, thereby reclaiming his real body parts so he can become fully human. Early into his journey he crosses paths with a sassy young thief, an orphan who adopts the name Dororo. A girl who was raised as a boy by her parents in order to make her emotionally stronger in a troubled and uncaring world, Dororo has a vengeful quest of her own to fulfil and joins Hyakkimaru on an adventure that will reveal to them many dangers and unexpected surprises.

Beginning with echoes of “Frankenstein”, “Edward Scissorhands” and “Pinocchio” before switching gears to become something akin to a comedy-horror movie as directed by Akira Kurosawa, DORORO is a fun and energetic romp packed with inventiveness, a countless array of colourful demons, acrobatic martial arts action and plenty of humour.

DORORO (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by MVM on 7th September 2009. Special Featues include: “Road To Dororo” featurette; deleted scenes; trailer gallery; stills gallery; Japanese Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio options; optional English subtitles; scene selection.

We talk exclusively to Chris Nahon, director of Kiss Of The Dragon and the new live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire, released Friday… (more…)

We chat to Gianna Jun, who plays the lead Saya in the new version of Blood: The Last Vampire, released this Friday… (more…)

Out on DVD today – the first in Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s fabulous three-part adaption of Naoki Urasawa’s popular manga 20th Century Boys. You can read our review of the film here »

And don’t forget, there’s still a chance to win this DVD as part of our special prize giveaway – click here to enter!

To celebrate the upcoming release of the live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire we have five DVDs of the original Anime and t-shirts to giveaway AND five t-shirts! (more…)

To celebrate the release of Blood: The Last Vampire on DVD and Blu-ray, we have three copies to give away… (more…)

To celebrate the release of the first installment of the epic live-action version of Naoki Urasawa’s hit manga series 20th Century Boys, we have three very special sets to give away! (more…)

Babes, bikinis, blades, guns and zombies – what more could you want? And you can win a copy on DVD…! (more…)

An enjoyable live action Manga from director Kenta Fukasaku that enters similar territory to Battle Royale, but let’s see some more yo-yo action next time… (more…)