Shopping Guide
The master Leiji Matsumoto is one of the most influential people in the history of Japanese anime. His work Galaxy Express 999 is considered the representative sci-fi anime, and now, a project is well underway on the movie version of the work that struck the hearts of many young men: Space Pirate Captain Harlock. The film has a staggering total production cost of $30 million (the highest of any Toei Animation work to date), and it’s being worked on by many of Japan’s top creators who are challenging themselves by expanding the film to a global market. On May 10, the release date for the movie was announced to be Sept. 7.
Also announced were two of the movie’s cast members. Jun Oguri will be playing Captain Harlock and Haruma Miura, who makes his voice acting debut, will be playing a new character named Yama. Yama is a young assassin who is sent by the government to kill Captain Harlock. He infiltrates Harlock’s airship Arcadia as a comrade and secretly plots to take his life.
In the distant future, man has extended to the end of the galaxy. No longer having a frontier to explore, humanity returns to reclaim Earth, and a long war ensues. Four Death Shadow class battleships are built for the war as a trump card to ensure humanity’s victory. The captain of the fourth battleship is Captain Harlock. However, after the war the hero Harlock vanishes. He reappears in a cursed battleship to revolt against the government. What made Harlock turn against his own people and become a pirate? Now, and assassination plan against Harlock has been given the green light...
Regarding the film, Matsumoto had this to say: “This work’s quality is astonishing. I’m so happy I could cry. I want to convey my gratitude to the production staff.” Look forward to the rebirth of Captain Harlock this September!
Captain Harlock Movie Official Site:
http://harlock-movie.com/ (Japanese)
© Leiji Matsumoto / Captain Harlock Film Partners
