With guys like Chris MaGee around over at the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow I barely have to lift a finger; he's done all the work for me. But seriously now, Chris is a good friend of mine and he wanted to make sure that the Twitchees knew about the upcoming adaptation of- wait for it- Osamu Tezuka's 1976- here it comes- manga "MW" to the big screen. Osamu Tezuka of course was the Father of Anime and creator of classics like Astro Boy and Metropolis.
A diligent and efficient bank employee, Yuuki Michio, has another side: that of a brutal kidnapper who commits horrible crimes, one after the other. Yuuki frequently visits Father Garai at his church, repenting for his sins each time he commits a crime. The two had witnessed a terrible event on Okinomabune Island in the neighboring of Okinawa Island fifteen years ago. During the incident, all the island's residents were killed by a poisonous gas (called "MW," a secret chemical weapon), which leaks from the storage area of foreign military forces on the island. Yuuki also goes mad under the effect of the gas. While taking revenge on criminals who cover up the event, Yuuki finally locates the whereabouts of MW. Knowing that he has little time left, as his brain and heart are increasingly affected by MW, he plans to release the toxic gas all over the world when he dies, to bring the whole human race to extinction. Wikipedia entry
Tamaki Hiroshi [Midnight Eagle and Water Boys] on the left plays Michio and Takayuki Yamada [Crows Zero and Maiko Haaaan!!!] on the right plays Yutao. The film will be directed by Hitoshi Iwamoto.
Oh and I also prefer what I've read of BUDDHA and DORORO.
My favourite is Fenix! no doubt about it.