Trailer - MW

The full trailer for the live-action adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s MW is finally out, and it’s actually looking pretty good. With source material like MW, the obvious risk is that some of the grittier aspects might be glossed over or dumbed down for the sake of appealing to a mass audience, but Hiroshi Tamaki’s own inability to emote might actually help him seem appropriately amoral and sociopathic while doing terrible things. Gay undertones: check (I think?). I’ve been doubtful, but we might have a winner here.

Plot: When a top secret chemical compound called MW infects an island near Okinawa, the military is sent in to kill all the victims and cover up the incident. A survivor named Michio Yuki (Tamaki) grows up to become a highly-successful banker, but he is slowly being driven mad by the effects of MW. After committing a series of ruthless crimes to get revenge against the people responsible for the cover-up, he decides that the only way to truly get revenge is to unleash MW on the world and exterminate the entire human race. Takayuki Yamada stars as Father Garai, a priest desperately trying to save Michio’s soul—and possibly his own in the process—but not necessarily doing much to stop the crime spree.

Gaga Communications will be releasing MW in Japanese theaters on July 4th. NTV is handling sales.

Official website