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Column by Scott Green

Production I.G has launched a trailer and site for Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai.
An movie animated by the people behind the Ghost in the Shell anime, written by the man who directed the Ghost in the Shell Movies, depicting a legendary figure of chabara lore, it should be something to interesting AICNers.

The Mamoru Oshii film will detail the life of "Sword Saint" duelist and Book of Five Rings author Miyamoto Musashi. The life of the historical/semi-historical samurai has previously been depicted in 36 films, including Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy, in which he was portrayed by Toshirô Mifune, and in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi," which in turn inspired Takehiko Inoue's manga Vagabond.

From Production I.G's description of the film

Overview
Maverick filmmaker Mamoru Oshii is the mastermind behind the original concept for this project, in collaboration with Production I.G - the team that brought you cutting edge anime such as Patlabor: The Movie (1989), Patlabor: The Movie 2 (1993), Ghost in the Shell (1995), Innocence (2004) and The Sky Crawlers (2008).

This new full-length feature film entitled, Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai (Japanese title: Miyamoto Musashi - Soken ni Haseru Yume) is slated in Japanese theaters for summer 2009.

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was an unrivalled swordsman in the days when internal wars in Japan had virtually ended. Nevertheless, he wrote a master treatise on military strategy, The Book of Five Rings and sought "the way" to enlighten his spirit and cultivate his mind. But could this image have been manufactured by the generations that followed...?

Mamoru Oshii will take on an unusual portrayal of this legendary and aloof warrior, between spectacular duels and a tragic life in pursuit of greatness. With The Book of Five Rings as his guide, Oshii will unsheathe the true vision of the greatest swordsman in Japanese history! Medieval chivalry, horsemanship, swordsmanship and the essence of The Book of Five Rings will be pure entertainment!

The impressive production staff includes director Mizuho Nishikubo (also known by his alias Toshihiko Nishikubo) who has worked on numerous Oshii films including Ghost in the Shell (1995), Innocence (2004) and The Sky Crawlers (2008). He also directed the TV series Otogi Zoshi and Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato. Kazuto Nakazawa, director of the mind-blowing animation segment in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and creator of innovative characters as seen in Samurai Champloo (2004), will design the characters for Musashi. The animation is supervised by Kazuchika Kise, the chief animator in Ghost in the Shell, Innocence and Blood: The Last Vampire.

MAIN STAFF
Original Concept / Screenplay: Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers)
Director: Mizuho Nishikubo (Innocence, The Sky Crawlers, Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato, Otogi Zoshi )
Character Design: Kazuto Nakazawa (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Samurai Champloo, Asience: Hairy Tale)
Animation Director: Kazuchika Kise (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire)
Art Director: Shuichi Hirata (Innocence, xxxHOLiC - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Asience: Hairy Tale)
CG Animation: Makoto Endo (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Le Chevalier D'Eon)
Animation Studio: Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, The Sky Crawlers)

© 2009 Production I.G/Musashi Production Committee

Speaking of Oshii and swords, keep an eye out for this dueling anthology KIRU ~ KILL

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