BLOOD: The Last Vampire Live-Action Movie (June 2009)
A live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime BLOOD: The Last Vampire featuring actress "Gianna Jun" as the demon-killing vampire-halfling; Saya? [via AICN] Who is "Gianna Jun"? What's this movie about? And does the Japanese schoolgirl-uniform still rawk? ~ CLICK THRU to find out :)
WHAT-IS: Blood: The Last Vampire [www / IMDB] is a live-action adaptation of the Production I.G 2000 anime . Produced by EDKO Film, Pathé & Production I.G., and directed by Chris Nahon (The Empire of Wolves, Kiss of the Dragon) - the Japanese-language movie stars actress Gianna Jun as the demon-killing 400 year-old vampire-halfling "Saya" - and currently have a release date (stated on the Pathé website) of 12th June 2009.
[Stills / Images via ShockTillYouDrop.com-gallery]
PLOT SUMMARY: "On the surface, Saya is a stunning 16-year-old, but that youthful exterior hides the tormented soul of a 400-year-old "halfling." Born to a human father and a vampire mother, she has for centuries been a loner obsessed with using her samurai skills to rid the world of vampires, all the while knowing that she herself can survive only on blood like those she hunts. When she is sent onto an American military base in Tokyo by the clandestine organization she works for, Saya immediately senses that this may be her opportunity to finally destroy Onigen, the evil patriarch of all vampires. Using her superhman strength and her sword, she begins to rid the base of its evil infestation in a series of spectacular and elaborate showdowns. However, it is not until she forms her first human friendship in centuries with the young daughter of the base's general that Saya learns of her greatest power over Onigen may well be her ability for human connection..." [via ShockTillYouDrop.com]
[Current image on Japanese movie website]
WHO-IS: Playing "Saya" is "Gianna Jun" [IMDB] - who is actually South Korean actress and model Jeon Ji-hyun (Ji-hyun Jun) - known to most Asian fans for her repertoire of Korean rom-coms and tear-jerkers - most notably "Il Mare", "My Sassy Girl", "Windstruck" and "If I Were Superman". She has apparently changed her name to "Gianna Jun" for this flick + Hollywood. Does she rawk the Japanese schoolgirl-uniform? Hard to discern as most stills seen so far are upper-body / facial close-ups, innit?
Heck, I was so
[Click on posters above to view larger live-action "Saya"]
"Blood: The Last Vampire (ブラッド ザ ラスト ヴァンパイア, Buraddo Za Rasuto Vanpaia?) is an anime film produced by Production I.G and Aniplex and directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo. The film premiered in theaters in Japan on November 18, 2000.
A single-volume manga sequel, Blood: The Last Vampire 2000 written by Benkyo Tamaoki, was published in Japan in 2001 by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English by Viz Media in November 2002 with the title slightly modified to Blood: The Last Vampire 2002. Three Japanese light novel adaptations have also been released for the series, along with a video game. It also spawned a fifty-episode anime series, Blood+, which is an alternate universe story." [wiki]
WHO-IS: "Saya (小夜, Saya?) hunts chiropterans using a katana. It is implied that she is the last remaining vampire and called "the only remaining original". Saya has no weakness to sunlight, although it is unknown if she has any of the other vulnerabilities often attributed to vampires. She does, however, become distressed when she encounters religious paraphernalia and angry when people mention God in her presence. Saya displays superhuman senses and strength, as well as cunning, resourcefulness, and skill. The manga series suggests she was a human-vampire hybrid. Her age is unknown, but a picture of her with nine other people is shown in the movie with the date 1892 and the word "vampire" attached to it. Though she holds most humans in contempt, she seems to have some sort of respect for David. Voiced by Yoki Kudo." [wiki]
["Girl's Mission" 1/6-figure as potential Saya-kitbash base but she needs to have
"pig-tails", so am a tad stuck to proceed ... DML-Linh scalp-transplant?]
[Ji Hyun in a commercial for Giordano / another Giordano-ad / Printer-ad / Tea-ad]
