The official website for Shinji Higuchi‘s upcoming kaiju TV drama MM9 (short for Monster Magnitude 9) has been updated with a 30-second TV spot. Unfortunately, there are no actual monsters to be seen, but you gotta love Anna Ishibashi‘s delayed thumbs up at the end.

Based on a story by sci-fi writer Hiroshi Yamamoto, the show centers around a special “living creatures” division of the Japan Meteorological Agency which predicts the appearance of monsters. When an attack does occur, a team of monster specialists called “Kitokutai” is sent to the front lines, even if the Japan Self-Defense Force is unavailable. As ordinary public servants, these unsung heroes have no weapons, and must rely only their skills, knowledge, and experience to minimize the damage caused by monsters.

Ishibashi (17) and Machiko Ono (28) are the show’s two main stars. Ishibashi plays Sakura Fujisawa, a rookie member of the team, and Ono plays Mikazuki, the member responsible for Fujisawa’s training.

Higuchi, who’s probably best known for his work on the Heisei era Gamera trilogy, is supervising production of the show. The screenplay was written by Kazunori Ito (Patlabor, Gamera) and some of the directors include Tomoyuki Furumaya (Bushido Sixteen), Kiyotaka Taguchi (Gehara), and Ataru Oikawa (Tomie).

The drama will begin airing in Japan next week, from July 7th.

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Shinji Higuchi (44), known as the “Heisei special effects king” for his work on the Heisei era Gamera trilogy, is supervising the production of his first TV drama. The show is called MM9 (Monster Magnitude 9) and is set in an alternate version of modern-day Japan in which monster attacks are the norm and are treated as another form of natural disaster. The show is based on a story by sci-fi writer Hiroshi Yamamoto which was originally serialized in Tokyo Sogensha’s “Mysteries!” from 2005-2006 and published as a book in 2007.

The project was first hinted at through an April Fools joke which presented it as a “sci-fi epic” called XX9. Higuchi released a photo of the cast dressed up in traditional sci-fi outfits and wielding futuristic rifles.

The show centers around a special “living creatures” division of the Japan Meteorological Agency which predicts the appearance of monsters. When an attack does occur, a team of monster specialists called “Kitokutai” is sent to the front lines, even if the Japan Self-Defense Force is unavailable. As ordinary public servants, these unsung heroes have no weapons, and must rely only their skills, knowledge, and experience to minimize the damage caused by monsters.

Anna Ishibashi (17) and Machiko Ono (28) are the show’s two main stars. Ishibashi plays Sakura Fujisawa, a rookie member of the team, and Ono plays Mikazuki, the member responsible for Fujisawa’s training. The rest of the cast includes Issei Takahashi, Yasuhi Nakamura, Satoru Matsuo, Sarutoki Minagawa, Takako Kato, and Yutaka Matsushige.

The show’s screenplay was written by Kazunori Ito (Patlabor, Gamera) and some of the directors include Tomoyuki Furumaya (Bushido Sixteen), Kiyotaka Taguchi (Gehara), and Ataru Oikawa (Tomie).

The late-night MBS drama will begin airing weekly in Japan from July 7, 2010.

Sources: Sports Hochi, Official website

Big thanks to Hiroshi Sagae, a designer and sculptor who’s a member of the show’s crew.

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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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Sandwiched between ads for a plethora of recently released kaiju and yokai-related Blu-ray titles you’ll find in this clip an extended teaser trailer for Kadokawa’s upcoming “Daimajin Kanon” TV series.

The show 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 cast members.

“Daimajin Kanon” will air in Japan in Spring 2010.

Source: Kadokawa Anime Channel

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18-year-old Idoling!!! member Erika Yazawa will be turning heads in an unapologetically bizarre new show called The Ancient Dogoo Girl this fall. She stars as an ancient girl who’s revived after 10,000 years to fight evil in modern-day society while capturing the heart of a socially withdrawn teenager named Makoto (Masataka Kubota).

Noboru Iguchi wrote and directed the premiere episode and even makes a cameo in the show. Other directors include Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on) and Ryuta Miyake (Ju-on: Shiroi Rojo), among others. Special models (including Dogoo’s clay bikini!) were provided by Yoshihiro Nishimura and visual effects were handled by Tsuyoshi Kazuno (The Machine Girl, RoboGeisha, et al.)

MBS (Mainichi Broadcasting System) will begin airing “The Ancient Dogoo Girl” on October 7, 2009.

Source: Official website via Spotted Productions blog

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