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Manga Creator Usamaru Furuya Collaborates With Photographer Hirokazu Kobayashi for Live-Action 'Project' Starting With Amane Gymnasium Photo Book

Manga creator Usamaru Furuya announced on Tuesday that he and photographer Hirokazu Kobayashi will launch a project to adapt Furuya's manga into live-action form.

The first phase of the project will be the release of the Amane Gymnasium concept art book, which will feature photographs. The project is based on Furuya's manga of the same name. The announcement did not state if the overall project will involve a screen adaptation such as live-action film or television series.

Shown below are some images from the art book, featuring Shōhei Hashimoto as Felix (second picture below) and Hisanori Satō as Johanne (third picture). The pictures were taken at the Bebenhausen Monastery in Germany.

The manga centers on a doll maker named Amane Miyakata, as well as her seven ball-jointed dolls who are all themed around a gymnasium (used here in the German sense of a prep school, similar to The Heart of Thomas). One day, the dolls begin to move, and act out the setting laid out for them.

Furuya launched the manga in Kodansha's Morning two magazine in January 2017. Kodansha published the manga's fourth compiled book volume last December.

Furuya's other manga works include Teiichi no Kuni, No Longer Human, 51 Ways to Save Her, Genkaku Picasso, and Lychee Light Club. DC Comics' CMX Manga announced 51 Ways to Save Her, but did not release it before shutting down in 2010. Viz Media released Genkaku Picasso in English, and Vertical released Lychee Light Club and No Longer Human in English.

Sources: Usamaru Furuya's Twitter account, Comic Natalie