Kodansha announced on Wednesday that Boichi’s Origin manga will be adapted into a live-action Hollywood film. Production company Majestic Limited will handle the film. Boichi is best known as the artist of the popular manga Dr. Stone.
The film will be directed by Majestic founder Josh Boon. “We are extremely proud to partner with Kodansha and Boichi on Origin,” Majestic Limited co-founder Darius Shahmir told Variety. This project will redefine the boundaries of manga and entertainment while bringing an unforgettable experience to fans around the world. We believe this partnership will leave an indelible mark on the industry and enable new ancillary avenues to be opened along the way.”
Origin was serialized in Kodansha’s seinen Weekly Young Magazine from 2016 to 2019. The manga consists of 87 chapters compiled into 10 volumes. It received the Grand Prize in the manga category at the 2019 Japan Media Arts Festival, beating other series such as Space Battleship Tiramisu by Satoshi Miyakawa and Kei Ito, Nagi no Oitoma by Misato Konari, Momo & Manji by Sawa Sakura and To Twilight by Nazuna Saito. Kodansha USA announced the English license for the Origin manga in both digital and print formats during Anime NYC 2022. It has since released the first volume, with Volume 2 to be released on January 16 year 2024.
The Japan Media Arts Festival describes the story as follows: It is the year 2048 Tokyo, now a metropolis with a high crime rate. Every night, murders are committed by ultra-high-performance humanoid AI robots, and they face Origin, a robot prototype integrated into human society. While working at the international corporation AEE under the name Jin Tanaka and constantly being upgraded, he fights his brothers created by a scientist they call “Father”. Origin has no emotions and acts according to its AI program. However, the robot leaders confronting him are starting to develop feelings and they attack him in revenge, something Origin does not understand. He is always rational but hopes to one day be emotional too. This dualism can be seen as an important factor that raises questions about the origin and meaning of human emotions. Using a Japanese sword made of super-alloy tungsten carbide weighing more than 20 kg, Origin attacks his enemies and is sometimes physically destroyed. His battles are illustrated with exceptional drawing and characterization skills. The science fiction setting with such detailed drawings and tough worldview strongly attracted readers.
Nguồn: Oricon©︎Boichi, Kodansha 2019
