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Hiroshi Motomiya's Katsu Fūtarō!! Manga About Buddhist Monk Gets Live-Action Film
posted on by Egan Loo
A movie press conference at Tokyo Comic Con announced on Sunday that a live-action film adaptation of Hiroshi Motomiya's Katsu Fūtarō!! manga has been green-lit for next winter.
The website for Shueisha's Grand Jump magazine describes the manga:
Fūtarō is an ascetic Buddhist scholar living in a temple deep in the mountains. Although he studies every day, he is one day filled with the desire to descend the mountain and apply what he's learned to society. So he learns what he can from the common people, and breathes new life into an unfair world. But what truth of Buddhism will Fūtarō find on his thrilling journey?
The film stars actor Hayato Ichihara (All About Lily Chou-Chou, Blade of the Immortal, Baton, center left in photograph) as the title character, along with actor Tom Fujita (Kamen Rider Amazons, live-action Hell Girl, far left) as a movie-original character who did not appear in the manga and actress Ayano Kudō (Thriller Restaurant, Limit, center right). Ichihara appeared in his character's costume at Tokyo Comic Con. Keisuke Shibata (Hitomazu Susume; Ai ga, Soide, Koi, far right) is directing the film.
Motomiya launched the manga in Grand Jump in 2013, and ended the series in the same magazine in March 2016. Shueisha published the manga's fifth compiled book volume in April 2016.
Motomiya debuted as a manga artist in 1965. Many of his other manga — such as Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daisho, Ore no Sora, and Otokogi — have inspired live-action and anime adaptations.
Motomiya's popular Salaryman Kintaro manga has been running on and off in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump magazine since 1994. He restarted the series as a web manga in April of 2005, and has launched several spinoff series in the Weekly Young Jump since 2009. NTT Solmare's ComicFriends Facebook-based service briefly offered the manga in English, though the service closed in 2012. The manga has inspired a live-action film directed by Takashi Miike, several live-action drama series, and a 2001 anime series that Arts Magic released in North America.
Motomiya launched a new manga titled Good Job in Shueisha's Young Jump magazine on June 21. Motomiya is also serializing Kōun Ryūsui [Jofūku] in Grand Jump.
Source: Tokyo Comic Con press conference
