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Rurouni Kenshin, Parasyte, Tokyo Tribes Nominated for 9th Asian Film Awards
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The Asian Film Awards Academy (AFA Academy) announced the nominees for the ninth Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Takeru Satoh is nominated for Best Actor for his role as Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (Rurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen) live-action film. He is competing against Fan Liao (Black Coal, Thin Ice), Ryo Kase (Hill of Freedom), Ching-wan Sean Lau (Overheard 3), Ethan Ruan (Paradise in Service), and Min-sik Choi (Roaring Currents).
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends is the third film in Keishi Ōtomo's live-action film trilogy based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's samurai manga. The film premiered in Japan on September 13 on 434 screens and sold 717,958 tickets for 919,479,200 yen (about US$8.57 million). It beat the previous Rurouni Kenshin film to earn biggest live-action opening in 2014. The film also placed #5 in the highest-grossing Japanese films of the year. Its prequel, Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, placed #3.
Director Takashi Yamazaki is nominated in the Best Visual Effects category for the live-action adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaaki's science-fiction manga Parasyte. He is competing against Rick Sander and Christoph Zollinger (Gone With the Bullets), Ka-wai Tong, Ken Law, Randy Tse, and Lucky Tracy Hannah (The Midnight After), Jong-ik Kang (The Pirates), and Wook Kim (The Taking of Tiger Mountain).
The manga takes place in a world where alien beings called Parasites come to Earth and start taking over humans by entering in through their noses and ears and attaching themselves to their brains. One alien called Migi is only able to take over high school student Shinichi Izumi's right arm, and is unable to control Shinichi completely. Migi and Shinichi learn to co-exist, and the two battle other Parasites who see humans only as food.
The film debuted at #1 (by tickets sold) at the Japanese box office when it opened in November. A second film based on the series is slated for April 25.
Composing artists BCDMG (Big Crow Music Group) are collectively nominated for their work on the Tokyo Tribes live-action film. They are competing against Jian Cui and Yuan Liu (Blue Sky Bones), Ghibli's Joe Hisaishi, Yilin Zhang, Peng Dou, George Acogny, and Nan Shu (Gone With the Bullets), Mikey McCleary (Margarita, With a Straw), and MOWG (The Fatal Encounter).
Sion Sono's adaptation of Santa Inoue's Tokyo Tribe 2 (Tokyo Tribes) manga follows the struggles of street gangs in a near-future version of Tokyo.
XYZ Films is representing the film internationally. The film made its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The film premiered in Los Angeles on October 4.
Also nominated in the Best Newcomer category is Hiroomi Tosaka for his role as the juvenile delinquent Hiroshi Haruyama in director Takahiro Miki's live-action adaptation of Taku Tsumugi's Hot Road shōjo manga.
He is competing against Kyung-soo Doh (Cart), Huiwen Zhang (Coming Home), Ivana Wong (Golden ChickenSSS), and Huaiyun Zhan (Meeting Dr. Sun).
The film opened in Japan on August 16.
Japan's other nominees include The Light Shines Only There (Best Film, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenwriter), Fires On The Plain (Best Director), Pale Moon (Best Actress), Wood Job! (Best Supporting Actor), The Little House (Best Supporting Actress), My Man (Best Cinematographer), Takashi Miike's Over Your Dead Body (Best Production Designer, Best Costume Designer), and One Third (Best Editor).
The winners will be announced at the The Venetian Theatre in China on March 25.
