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King of Thorn Film to Hold World Premiere in Spain (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The Sitges Film Festival announced on Friday that its Anima't program will screen the world premiere of Kazuyoshi Katayama's anime film adaptation of Yuji Iwahara's King of Thorn manga. The fantasy film festival will run from October 1 to 12. King of Thorn's story follows Kasumi, a girl who was infected by a pandemic virus along with her twin sister Shizuku. Kasumi — but not Shizuku — was chosen to be among 159 other people who were placed into cryogenic suspension until a cure is found. The 160 wake up in the dark future populated by monsters, and Kasumi must survive while she searches for clues on what happened to the world and her sister.
Katayama (Appleseed video, The Big O, Doomed Megalopolis) is directing off a script co-written by himself and Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Bastard!!, Blue Submarine No.6, Yukikaze). Hidenori Matsubara (Ah! My Goddess, Sakura Wars, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo) is designing the characters, while Kenji Andou (Brigadoon, Karas, Origin ~Spirits of the Past~) is designing the monsters. Tokyopop published the sixth and final volume of the manga in North America last year. According to the English trailer, the film will have a worldwide release in 2010.
Mizuho Nishikubo's Musashi: The Dream Of The Last Samurai and Takashi Miike's live-action Yatterman film are competing in the Sitges Film Festival's Official Fantastic Film Competition. The Official Fantastic Panorama Section will screen Miike's live-action Crows Zero II film and Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars. Yukihiko Tsutsumi's second and third live-action 20th Century Boys films join Kazuaki Kiriya's live-action Goemon in the Orient Express-Casa Asia program. My Neighbor Totoro, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, and Yona Yona Penguin are part of the Anima't Nens section. The King of Thorn film itself will run in the festival's Anima't program along with Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha), First Squad The Moment of Truth, and Genius Party Beyond. The live-action films Tetsuo: The Bulletman, Samurai Princess, Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl, and Yamagata Scream complete the lineup of films from Japan.
Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers film won three awards at the festival last year. Other past winners from Japan have included The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, The Book of the Dead, the live-action film versions of the Mushishi and Dororo manga, and Tekkonkinkreet.
Source: animeanime.jp
Update: Kasumi's name corrected. Thanks, Pandadice.
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