entertainment

Takashi Miike’s live-action 'Terra Formars' anime adaptation casts its lead actor

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By Casey Baseel, RocketNews24

As Japan’s biggest anime and manga hits become increasingly mainstream in their popularity, more and more of them are getting live-action adaptations. One of the latest series tapped for the transition is "Terra Formars," the sci-fi action manga from writer Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana.

The first major news about the project came in February, when it was announced that Takashi Miike will direct, and now the live-action "Terra Formars" has found its star.

The "Terra Formars" manga and anime center on an international team of super powered human/bug hybrids who travel to Mars to fight other humanoid bugs. Its protagonist, though, is Japanese, and so is the live-action "Terra Formars’" lead actor, Hideaki Ito, who will be playing Shokichi Komachi.

Ito and Miike have worked together multiple times in the past. The actor starred in the Miike-directed sukiyaki Western "Django" as the film’s nameless gunman, and also as the murderous high school teacher of 2012’s "Lesson of the Evil." Most recently, the two collaborated on the 2014 horror film "Over Your Dead Body," titled "Kuime" in Japan.

The established relationship between the two artists played a significant part in convincing Ito to take on the role. The actor recalls: “At first, the idea of ‘going to Mars’ was just too much, and for a moment I thought about turning it down. But since Miike is directing, and also because the original work is interesting, I really wanted to do it.”

But while Ito has an obvious respect for Miike, who’s also helmed live-action adaptations of "Ace Attorney," "Crows Zero," "Ichi the Killer" and "Yatterman," the 39-year-old actor might find himself wishing for some of the superhuman strength of the character he’ll be portraying. “Miike does filming from morning to night, with no time to sleep. He’s an uncompromising director, and thinking about having that kid of schedule again…Honestly, I hate it,” he said with a laugh, “but I’m really looking forward to it.”

"Terra Formars" is scheduled to start filming this month, with its release slated for 2016.

Source: 2016 Terra Formars Movie Production Committee

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Evangelion and Attack on Titan directors team up to create 2016 Godzilla movie -- Fan creates cosplay bag from favorite anime series by attaching severed heads of its characters -- The 10 best anime of the fall season, according to Japanese otaku

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I simply can not wait for this, it brings the kid out of me, I'll definitely get Yoshiaki to post me both the Blu Ray and DVD versions when its released.

Keep up the good work guys. Love Anime and live action adaptations simply complements the anime. I have 20 new and still sealed Ni No Kuni ps3 game. (Collector, better than collecting stamps) lol

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Takashi Miike's movies are pretty wild. Some good, others bad but always a ride with twists and turns.

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