If you
thought that the industry no longer dared to animate stories with crazy
premises and full of good fan service, you were wrong. During the prestigious
Cannes Film Festival, the production company K2 Pictures came
kicking in the door to announce that its new investment fund will finance a
couple of projects that no one saw coming. The highlight for the otaku community
is, without a doubt, the official confirmation that Gigant, the
bizarre and spectacular manga by Hiroya Oku, will have an anime
film adaptation.
This
announcement is a historic milestone for the production company, as it marks
its very first foray into the making of animated feature films. And the truth,
they chose a work that is going to give a lot to talk about, mixing the life of
an adult film star with pure, hard and uncensored science fiction. But K2
Pictures' wallet didn't close there; they also confirmed that, as part of the
celebrations for the centenary of Osamu Tezuka himself, they
will produce a live-action musical film of The Book of
Human Insects (Ningen Konchuuki), which will be directed
by Ken Ninomiya.
Two cult
gems that promise to shake up the billboards
Although we
are still on tenterhooks without exact release dates or confirmed animation
studios for Gigant's film, knowing that these stories will
have the cinematic treatment they deserve is already more than enough reason to
celebrate. Oku's work swept sales and popularity in Big Comic Superior magazine
until its grand finale in 2021, while Tezuka's psychological and erotic
thriller (which already had its own TV series in 2011) promises to give us an
incredibly dark vision of the entertainment and journalism industry.
Synopsis
of Gigant and The Book of Human Insects
In Gigant,
we follow the curious life of Rei Yokoyamada, a high school student who dreams
of directing his own films. Her world takes a 180-degree turn when she
discovers that Papico, a stunning and famous adult film actress, lives in the
same neighborhood. What begins as an innocent attempt to protect the woman's
identity after tearing down some defamatory posters, ends up dragging Papico
into a supernatural event that gives her the power to grow to titanic
proportions, forcing her to fight against strange threats.
For its
part, The Book of Human Insects introduces us to Toshiko
Tomura, a young woman in her twenties who seems to have it all: literary
prestige, design awards and a past as a lead actress. However, behind this
façade of absolute success hides a murky mystery. When a stubborn paparazzi manages
to track her down to an abandoned house in the countryside, he discovers a
disturbing side of the star, revealing a cold, calculating, and lethal
protagonist who manipulates a world plagued by corrupt men at will, proving
herself to be a full-fledged antiheroine.
