Made-in-Japan manga goes global with Webtoon, Deadpool

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video has doubled down on its investment in Japan with six local originals greenlit and an additional foray into live boxing. At an event in Tokyo on Wednesday, Amazon revealed a reboot of “Takeshi’s Castle,” the iconic game show starring Kitano Takeshi that aired on terrestrial network TBS from 1986-1989. The reboot, with the working title “Takeshi’s Castle Project' will bow in 2023.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentHamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Drive My Car” is now making headlines in Japan after winning the best international feature Oscar. The film is only the second from the country to take the prize, the previous one being the 2008 “Departures.” Released domestically in August, “Drive My Car” had earned only $250,000 by the end of 2021, despite winning three awards at Cannes, including best screenplay for Hamaguchi and co-writer Oe Takamasa.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car scooped the International Feature Film Oscar tonight, becoming the second movie from Japan to take a competitive prize in the category formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film (it’s the fifth for Japan if we count honorary awards given out in the 1950s).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGlobal streamer Netflix has expanded its slate of unscripted entertainment programming in Japan. The company says it has 15 shows in the comedy, reality television and documentary genres in different stages of development.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBruce Tuchmann-backed Rialto International has launched a branded on-demand streaming service in Japan, focused on independent film, and housed on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels platform.Rialto Channel launched in 1999 in New Zealand, where it was initially branded as The Sundance Channel. It established itself as an award-winning and industry-leading indie film destination for over twenty years.In Japan, the Rialto-branded venue will feature current and iconic independent films.

Christopher Vourlias At a time when he was both his country’s most celebrated novelist and a journalist struggling to make ends meet, “Zorba the Greek” author Nikos Kazantzakis set sail for Japan on a formative journey that would shape the latter half of his career – and ultimately lead to his untimely death.Based on the written account of his travels in the Far East, “Last Voyage,” by journalist and documentary filmmaker Aris Chatzistefanou, examines that journey while using it as a framework to explore how the period between the two World Wars shaped what would come to be known as the “Japanese Miracle.” Produced by Kyriakos Chatzistefanou for Moviementa Productions, the film premieres this week at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Greece’s greatest modern writer occupies a singular place in the country’s literary canon.

A tsunami alert has been triggered in Japan after a huge earthquake rocked the country today.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFree Stone Productions has added a quartet of new Japanese film titles to its sales slate for this week’s virtual edition of Hong Kong FilMart. The female-led company is selling romance “Leave in Summer” and drama film “Yes, I Can’t Swim” both of which will release later this year.Directed by Igashi Aya, “Leave in Summer” is a tale of a lost soul and his spiritual guide. It depicts a man washing up in a seaside town at the end of the season and seeking to stay so that he can reconnect with his recently deceased wife.

Stray Kids have unveiled an energetic teaser for the music video of ‘Maniac’, the lead single off their upcoming mini-album ‘ODDINARY’.In the new visual, member Felix breaks through a layer of glass with a drill. The boyband explore various locations in a deserted ghost town, which seemingly sits on the edge of the world, by an open cliff face.“Maniac, going crazy, like I have a loose screw, maniac / Spinning, going crazy, maniac / Laugh like I have a loose screw, maniac,” they chant, stomping and shaking their heads in the accompanying choreography.‘Maniac’ is the lead single of the boyband’s upcoming mini-album ‘ODDINARY’, which arrives this Friday (March 18) at 1PM KST.

In its sophomore outing, Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman kept a firm grip on the international box office, dropping just 42% to add $66.6M from 76 offshore markets. That brings the overseas cume through Sunday to $224.7M for $463.2M global. As the Robert Pattinson-starrer heads to $500M worldwide this week, in like-for-like markets and using today’s exchange rates, it’s currently tracking 132% ahead of pandemic comp Godzilla Vs Kong and is 44% above Wonder Woman, 36% ahead of The Dark Knight and 24% over Justice League.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTwo feature films from Ukraine will this month be given special screenings in Tokyo, Japan, as part of a fund- and awareness-raising initiative about Russia’s war in Europe.Both films “Atlantis” and “Reflection” were made by director Valentyn Vasyarovych. They played at the Venice film festival but have not been licensed to Japan or released commercially there.However, under the banner of the Ukrainian Filmmaker Support Screening Association, former Tokyo International Film Festival programmer Yatabe Yoshi, has arranged special permission for the benefit screenings to go ahead.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“The Batman” is nearing a significant box office milestone.The newest superhero adventure, starring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader, has generated $463 million globally, putting the Warner Bros. film within striking distance of $500 million, an important benchmark given its $200 million price tag. In non-COVID times, half-a-billion dollars would be an expected and relatively insignificant threshold for a big-budget comic book adventure.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentHamaguchi Ryusuke’s Oscar-nominated “Drive My Car” took eight prizes at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony, held on Friday at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takawana in Tokyo.In addition to the best picture award, the film won best director (Hamaguchi), best screenplay (Hamaguchi and co-writer Oe Takamasa) and best actor (Nishijima Hidetoshi). The film also scooped prizes for cinematography, lighting, editing and sound recording.Meanwhile, best actress went to Arimura Kasumi for her work in the hit romantic drama “We Made a Beautiful Bouquet.”Best animation honors were awarded to Watanabe Ayumu’s “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,”  a heart-warming coming-of-age film set in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentToho Cinemas, Japan’s largest cinema chain, is under investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission for possible violations of Japan’s anti-trust law. According to reports in the Japanese media, the company, a subsidiary of local industry giant Toho, has pressured local film companies to allow only Toho Cinemas to screen their films.

Stray Kids have announced their second world tour, ‘Maniac’, which will kick off in South Korea this spring.The JYP Entertainment boy band will hit the road in support of their upcoming EP ‘ODDINARY’, which will be released later this month.Although venues for the tour have yet to be revealed, Stray Kids unveiled the first dates and cities they will perform in on the ‘Maniac’ tour earlier today (March 6). Following an opening performance in Seoul, the group will then visit Japan and the US, before returning to Tokyo at the end of the run.An official tour poster shared on the band’s social media accounts hinted that other cities would be added to the itinerary soon, with “and more” written at the bottom of the flyer.Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) 2nd World Tour "MANIAC" ✅ Pre-Save and Pre-Order <ODDINARY> now! https://t.co/hVvEkDsyoZ #StrayKids #스트레이키즈#StrayKids_2ndWorldTour#ODDINARY#MANIAC #MANIAC_SKZ#StrayKidsComeback#YouMakeStrayKidsStay pic.twitter.com/VHnpISmy7U— Stray Kids (@Stray_Kids) March 6, 2022Stray Kids will play: April 2022 30 – SeoulMay 2022 1 – Seoul 11 – Kobe 12 – Kobe 18 – Tokyo 19 – TokyoJune 2022 29 – Newark, NJJuly 2022 1 – Chicago, IL 3 – Atlanta, GA 6 – Fort Worth, TX 9 – Los Angeles, CA 12 – Oakland, CA 14 – Seattle, WA 26 – Tokyo 27 – TokyoFurther information about ticket sales and venues is expected to be announced soon.Last month, Stray Kids shared a thrilling trailer for ‘ODDINARY’, which featured member Felix entering a building called ‘Ordinary’ before being transported to a different dimension.