Here’s the first teaser for Toshio Lee‘s Box!, which is based on a novel by Naoki Hyakuta. In the interest of full disclosure, logboy actually sent me a link for this one on Sunday, but my intense hatred of Hayato Ichihara and his stupid, stupid face made me avoid checking it out until now. As it turns out, the rest of the cast is actually filled with people I don’t hate at all!

Plot: Yoshihei Kaburaya (Ichihara) is a sub-par high school student in Osaka with a natural talent for boxing. His childhood friend Kitaru (Kengo Kora) is a genius student well on his way toward moving on to a prestigious university. However, he’s been a weakling and lacked physical confidence since he was a child. Wanting to become strong like his friend Kaburaya, Kitaru joins him in their school’s boxing club and the pair become both partners and rivals in training.

“Box!” will be released by Toho in Japan on May 22, 2010.

Source: Official website

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After getting the boot by her talent agency in 2008 and getting arrested on drug charges in early ‘09, gravure idol Minako Komukai (24) has somehow managed to get a new gig. She’ll be playing the lead role in Yusuke Narita‘s Hana to Hebi 3 (tentative title), the third in a series of erotic S&M films based on the work of author Oniroku Dan.

Hana to Hebi, aka Flower & Snake, was first adapted as a 1974 Nikkatsu Roman Porno film by Masaru Konuma. In 2004, Takashi Ishii made a new version starring the highly controversial and uber sexual former pop idol Aya Sugimoto (41) as a frustrated house wife and former dancer named Shizuko Tooyama who gets kidnapped, humiliated, and raped as part of an ill-conceived plan by her husband to train her to become sexually submissive. Sugimoto and Ishii reunited for a largely derivative Paris-set sequel in 2005.

In the third film, Komukai will play Shizuko as a budding cellist living in Italy. Predictably, she has her forbidden desires unlocked by a brand new batch of men. Komukai’s portrayal of Shizuko is said to be radically ramped up from Sugimoto’s version, which was already pretty extreme in the sexuality department.

Typically, roles like this are only taken by girls who are already in the adult video industry or by older actresses with nothing to lose, so it makes sense that someone with Komukai’s troubled past may have seemed appealing—she’s still relatively young, somewhat high profile, and hasn’t been “tainted” by porn. Win-win-win.

Distribution is being handled by Toei Video, but a release date has not yet been announced.

Source: Nikkan Sports

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Here’s the recently-released teaser for the upcoming film trilogy in the Cho Den-O series entitled Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider The Movie: Cho Den-O Trilogy. The individual films are titled simply “Episode Red”, “Episode Blue”, and “Episode Yellow” with direction by Osamu Kaneda, Kenzo Maihara, and Takayuki Shibasaki, respectively.

As you can tell from the trailer, Episode Red (out 5/22) will focus on Kamen Rider Zeronos, played by Yuichi Nakamura; Episode Blue (out 6/5) will focus on Kamen Rider New Den-O, played by Dori Sakurada; and Episode Yellow (out 6/19) will focus on Kamen Rider Diend, played by Kimito Totani.

All three films will be theatrically released nation-wide in Japan by Toei on the dates listed.

Sources: Official website, Wikipedia

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Kadokawa has posted a longer trailer for its upcoming Daimajin Kanon special effects TV series which will begin airing on TV Tokyo on Friday, April 2, 2010.

The 26-episode series is based on Daiei’s classic film trilogy about an ancient stone guardian which springs to life and goes on a rampage to defend innocent villagers against oppressive samurai and tyrannical warlords.

70-year-old tokusatsu veteran Tarou Sakamoto will be one of the directors involved in the series. 21-year-old idol Yuka Rikuna and Hidekazu Mashima (33) are listed as the main cast members.

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The official website for Junji Sakamoto‘s Zatoichi: The Last has been updated with a trailer. According to various news reports last year, the title is very literal and this film will indeed mark the end of the franchise.

Say what you will about the casting of a 33-year-old pop idol in lead role, but to put things in perspective, Shintaro Katsu himself was also quite the crooner in his day and he was only 30 when he picked up the cane sword for Zatoichi’s first live-action incarnation. I don’t know if that really matters either way, but I’d at least suggest holding off on any snap judgments or jaded mockery until the movie actually comes out.

Plot: After years of traveling, blind swordsman Ichi (Shingo Katori) decides to give up his life of bloodshed to begin a peaceful life in his hometown with his young wife, Tane (Satomi Ishihara). Ichi puts aside his cane sword and becomes a farmer, taking up temporary residence in the home of his old friend Ryuji (Takashi Sorimachi). However, their village is ruled by the cold-blooded Tendo family, who make a habit of tormenting local farmers. Knowing of Ichi’s unparalleled skill with the blade, the other farmers beg for his help in dealing with them. Needless to say, his retirement from killing is short-lived.

Toho will be releasing “Ichi: The Last” in Japan on May 29, 2010.

via Twitch

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