News

Manga, anime, live-action adaptation. The holy trinity of Japanese movie exploitation. Not very different in the case of “Babanba Banban Vampire”. Based on the 2021 manga series written and illustrated by Hiromasa Okujima, Studio Gainax picked up the subject in early 2025 to produce 12 animated episodes for TV Asahi, which are now globally streamed on Netflix. Originally planned to be released in parallel with the airing of the TV series, Shinji Hamasaki‘s live-action adaptation was postponed due to public turmoil surrounding the film’s main actor, Ryo Yoshizawa. “Babanba Banban Vampire” will now have its North American Premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival, only one week after its release in Japan.

Babanba Banban Vampire is screening at New York Asian Film Festival

So, what’s the franchise all about? The family-run Koi Bathhouse has a long history of over 60 years and is the workplace for the ancient vampire Ranmaru Mori,...

The official website for the upcoming live-action movie Babanba Banban Vampire announced today that Ryo Yoshizawa , who is cast as the protagonist Ranmaru Mori, will sing a character song for Ranmaru, alongside posting a new trailer featuring the song itself. The clip begins with Yoshizawa's voice saying “Babababababa Vampire~♪" and shows Ranmaru in the middle of Shibuya, spreading his cape and calling out his own name with great enthusiasm, "Ranmaru Mori Ranmaru Mori Ranmaru 450 years old~♪" This song is also featured in the film during one of Ranmaru's symbolic scenes. Babanba Banban Vampire Ranmaru Mori Character Trailer Yoshizawa describes his first impression of this song as, "I thought it was such a cool song! Since it was a comedy, I thought the song would be more cute or comedic, but it was a cool song like a musical song, so I wondered if I could really sing it." He also...

After the announcement on January 14 that the film would be postponed, the live-action adaptation of Babanba Banban Vampire has locked in a new premiere date: July 4. Alongside the announcement, a new trailer giving us a peek at the upcoming paranormal bathhouse antics has been revealed. Check out the brand new trailer packed with action, romance and whatever is going on in Ranmaru Mori's mind in general: Babanba Banban Vampire Live-Action Film Trailer Related: Baban Baban Ban Vampire Live-Action Movie Reveals Teaser Trailer, Visual Shinji Hamasaki directs the live-action adaptation of Babanba Banban Vampire , which stars Ryo Yoshizawa (Sougo Okita in the Gintama live-action films) as 450-year-old vampire Ranmaru Mori and Rihito Itagaki (Norman in The Promised Neverland live-action film) as Rihito Tatsuno, whom Ranmaru is after for his blood. The film is based on Hiromasa Okujima's Bl ("bloody love-comedy") manga of the same name. Netflix streams the anime adaptation of the manga,...

The 48th Japan Academy Film Awards ceremony took place on March 14, 2025 at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14, 2025, with free announcer Shinichi Hatori and actress Sakura Ando hosting the show.

“A Samurai in Time” continued gathering awards after the three it netted from Nikkan Sports, Michihito Fujii cemented his place on the top of the current directors, while Yuumi Kawai highlighted that she is the next super star of the local industry. “Kingdom 4″ Return of the General” expectedly won the majority of the technical awards. Here is the full list

Best Picture

A Samurai in Time Fantasia Film Review: A Samurai in Time (2024) by Junichi Yasuda

Best Animation Film

Look Back Anime Review: Look Back (2024) by Kiyotaka Oshiyama

Best Director

Michihito Fujii – Faceless

Best Screenplay

Akiko Nogi – Last Mile Film Review: Last Mile (2024) by Ayuko Tsukahara

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Ryusei Yokohama – Faceless

Best...

The award ceremony for the 48th Japan Academy Film Prizes was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14. From the five nominees in the animation category, Look Back won the Best Animation of the Year award. Additionally, the eight main animators of Look Back were also selected for the Creative Contribution Award, which was newly established this year to honor engineers who have made particularly outstanding contributions to the films selected for the awards. The eight animators were: Kiyotaka Oshiyama , Toshiyuki Inoue , Yuka Geshi , Takuya Ninuma , Katsuhiko Kitada , Shuichi Ohara , Tasan , and Ayako Hata . Among them, Oshiyama also served as the director, screenplay writer, and character designer of the film. Meanwhile, actor Yuumi Kawai , who voiced one of the film's two protagonists, Fujino, won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role award for her role as An Kagawa in the Yu Irie-directed...

The 48th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes, also known as Japan Academy Awards, has revealed its nominees for Excellent Animation Award on Jan 21, 2025, with Look Back, Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, and 3 other anime films among the contenders.

The nominated anime films are:

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle Case Closed: The Million-dollar Pentagram Look Back Give It All

In addition to the animated categories, Asuka Saito, Anna Yamada, and Rihito Itagaki, known for their roles in the live-action adaptations of Oshi No Ko, Golden Kamuy, and Cells At Work! respectively, are all nominated for the Best New Actor category.

In the Outstanding Supporting Actress category, Mana Ashida has earned a nomination for her role as Niko Urushizaki in the live-action adaptation of Cells at Work!.

Go Ayano has been nominated for Outstanding Actor for his role as Kyouji Narita in the live-action film adaptation of Yama Wayama’s Let’s Go Karaoke!

The official accounts and website for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Hiromasa Okujima's Babanbabanban Vampire comedy manga series released a main trailer and visual today on December 12 . The trailer introduces the film's theme song " IIyu Dana 2025 imase x mabanua Mix" by singer-songwriter imase for the first time. Babanbabanban Vampire Live-Action Movie Main Trailer Main visual "Iiyu dana," literally meaning "This hot water is so good," was originally performed by Japanese chorus group Duke Aces in 1966. The song gained even wider recognition when a cover version by the comedy group The Drifters used it for decades as the ending to their own television shows. Imase covers the Showa-era classic with a relaxed and comfortable rhythmic arrangement. "When this song is played at the end roll of this film, I believe it will give you such a comfortable feeling as if you are in a really warm public bath while taking a breather,...

The official accounts for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Hiromasa Okujima's Baban Baban Ban Vampire comedy manga series announced three new cast members today. Gordon Maeda (Yatota Yaguchi in the Blue Period live-action film) plays the role of Nagayoshi Mori, a vampire who is the elder brother of Ranmaru Mori and holds a long-standing grudge against him. Mori Nagoyoshi played by Gordon Maeda Shinosuke Mitsushima (Heki in the Kingdom live-action film) plays the role of Umetaro Sakamoto, the homeroom teacher of Rihito Tatsuno and Aoi Shinozuka, who has been pursuing Ranmaru as a vampire hunter at night for many years. Umetaro Sakamoto played by Gordon Maeda Mandy Sekiguchi (former member Generations from Exile Tribe and Exile) plays the role of Ken Shinozuka / Franken, Aoi's older brother who is the leader of a gang of school delinquents. Ken Shinozuka / Franken played by Mandy Sekiguchi Related: Baban Baban Ban Vampire Live-Action Movie Reveals Teaser Trailer,...

The official accounts for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of Hiromasa Okujima's Baban Baban Ban Vampire comedy manga series released a teaser trailer and visual today introducing the three main cast members. Ryo Yoshizawa (Sougo Okita in the Gintama live-action films) plays 450-year-old vampire Ranmaru Mori. Rihito Itagaki (Norman in The Promised Neverland live-action film) plays Rihito Tatsuno, whom Ranmaru is after for his blood. Nanoka Hara (Suzume Iwato in Suzume ) plays Rihito's first love, Aoi Shinozuka. Baban Baban Ban Vampire Live-Action Movie Teaser Trailer Teaser visual The site also confirmed that the Shinji Hamasaki -directed adaptation will open in Japan on February 14, 2025. Shinji Hamasaki has been active as a commercial director since the mid-2000s, and this is his second feature film directorial work, following Ichido Shindemita ("I Died Once") in 2020, in which Ryo Yoshizawa also appeared. "I honestly spent many days trying to figure out what the right...

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Akane Shimizu's manga series Cells at Work! released a main trailer today featuring the theme song "50%" provided by the four-piece Japanese rock band Official Hige DANdism . Official Hige DANdism was formed in 2012 and is known for their theme song works among anime fans for Tokyo Revengers and Spy x Family (2022). Official Huge DANdism released a comment for the movie: Last year, we pushed our bodies too hard and were unable to perform live for a while. We are fine now, but "health comes first," when the phrase that we should be tired of hearing stuck with us, we received this offer, then we were flooded with ideas. Live every day while working on yourself with about 50% effort, Only at those moments when you can't compromise or when it's important, do your best or have fun. We put 100% of our passion into this song,...

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Akane Shimizu's manga series Cells at Work! today announced nine additional cast members, which include: Helper T Cell played by Shota Sometani Hepatocytel played by Kyoko Fukada Junior Red Blood Cell played by Rihito Itagaki Senior Red Blood Cell played by Ryo Kato Shin Takeda played by Seishiro Kato Pneumonia Coccus played by Ainosuke Kataoka Streptococcus Pyogenes played by Shinya Niiro Staphylococcus Aureus played by Maju Ozawa ???? played by Fukase Among them, Fukase 's role is the only one not yet revealed. The character is introduced only as “the strongest enemy for the cells." This will be the second film appearance for Fukase, vocalist of the Japanese rock band Sekai No Owari , as an actor. He made his acting debut with the role of a serial killer in the 2021 suspense film Character , where he won the 45th Japan Academy...

The Look Back anime movie, based on the critically acclaimed one-shot manga by Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, will very shortly make its East Coast premiere at the 2024 Japan Cuts Film Festival in New York City. The film festival will also serve as the international premiere for the live-action Blue Period movie.

Per a press release, the Japan Cuts Film Festival will screen the animated Look Back movie as well as the live-action Blue Period movie at the Japan Society in New York. Look Back will be screened on July 14, 2024, just two weeks after the film makes its domestic debut in Japan on June 28. The 2024 Blue Period movie will premiere in North America on July 13, 2024, before even its public Japanese release on Aug. 9.

Related Oshi no Ko Live-Action Gets Debut Trailer and Release Date Reveal for Prime Video

Oshi no Ko fans get a first look at the upcoming live-action,...

The official YouTube channel for Japanese rock band Bump Of Chicken has posted a collaboration music video for "Kaikou" ( Encounter ), the theme song for Onmyoji 0 , a new live-action film inspired by Baku Yumemakura's historical fantasy novel series. As their 21st digital single, the song released on April 15, ranking #1 in Oricon's daily digital single charts on its first day. The clip is composed of scenes from the film selected by Shimako Sato , who wrote and directed the film, and includes plenty of VFX scenes by the renowned video production company Shirogumi ( Godzilla Minus One ). Bump Of Chicken "Kaikou" × "Onmyoji 0" Collaboration Music Video Bump Of Chicken profile photo Related: Onmyoji 0 Live-Action Film Releases Full Trailer Featuring Bump Of Chicken Theme Song The film opens in Japan today on April 19, 2024. The novel series features Abe no Seimei, a real-life sorcerer/leading specialist of Onmyodo from the Heian period (a Japanese sorcery.

The official website for Onmyoji 0 , a new live-action film inspired by Baku Yumemakura's historical fantasy novel series Onmyoji , released a full trailer today featuring its theme song "Kaikou" ( Encounter ) performed by Japanese rock band Bump Of Chicken. The film is set to release in Japan on April 19, 2024. Poster visual Related: Onmyoji 0 Live-Action Film Posts New Teaser Trailer for April 2024 Release The main cast for the movie includes: Abe no Seimei played by Kento Yamazaki Minamoto no Hiromasa played by Shota Sometani Queen Yoshiko played by Nao Hegurino Sadafumi played by Masanobu Ando Tachibana no Yasuie played by Nijiro Murakami Emperor played by Rihito Itagaki Kamono Tadayuki played by Jun Sonomura Koremune no Korekuni played by Kazuki Kitamura Fujiwara no Yoshisuke played by Kaoru Kobayashi Bump Of Chicken band photo Bump Of Chicken made their major debut in 2000 and have provided theme songs for many popular anime franchises, such as...

"Maybe we're supposed to help each other." GKids has revealed an official US trailer for a Japanese anime film titled Lonely Castle in the Mirror, set to play in US theaters this summer. More and more Japanese films are getting a proper theatrical release, as they're noticed there is a good audience for this and they can actually bring people out to the cinema. From acclaimed director Keiichi Hara and based on the bestselling novel by Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a heartfelt drama about the pains of growing up and the unlikely bonds that can bring people together. Seven teens wake to find their bedroom mirrors are shining. They are pulled from their lonely lives to a wondrous castle. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But...

Gkids has picked up the North American distribution rights to the Lonely Castle in the Mirror anime pic from Japanese director Keiichi Hara.

The film, adapted from the novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, is set for a summer release theatrically in its original Japanese language and a new English-dubbed version.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror portrays a shy outcast teen, voiced by Ami Touma, who is avoiding school when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and is transported to an enchanting castle with six other students who are together invited by a girl in a wolf mask to play a game to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them — and anyone breaking the rules will be eaten by a wolf.

The film, with animation from the A-1 Pictures, has a Japanese voice cast that includes Takumi Kitamura, Sakura Kiryu, Rihito Itagaki, Naho Yokomizo,...

Gkids has snapped up North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror, after serving as the distributor in the territory for his past animated features Summer Days with Coo and Miss Hokusai. The film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, featuring animation from A-1 Pictures, is slated for a theatrical release in both its original Japanese language and an all-new English dub this summer.

Reuniting Hara with collaborators including screenwriter Miho Maruo, composer Harumi Fuuki and artist Ilya Kuvshinov, Lonely Castle in the Mirror follows shy outcast Kokoro, who has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. And when a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game,...