Ichi Live-Action Movie Licensed By FUNi

There's still no press release of this on FUNimation's website at the time of writing, but according to the company's twitter update tonight (via ANN), FUNi has acquired the live-action movie Ichi, originally from late 2008. Yep, it's a fresh one, and it's already planned for screening stateside starting from April 3 (and April 6) at the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF); and again on April 11 at the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles.



The movie's lead character Ichi is a re-imagining of the blind swordmaster Zatoichi, except in a most alluring female version played by Haruka Ayase. The movie was directed by Fumihiko Sori - whose most recent accomplishment was writing and directing the CG film Vexille (and previously contributed to the first Appleseed).

The official website features 3 trailers, and you can see them by clicking the third link in the pink side-menu. I also ripped the photos below from there, but they really don't do the movie justice, action wise - so better watch those trailers as well, especially the last one. It's no Blood: The Last Vampire, but it still has some cool looking swordfights.




Update: The press release eventually arrived, confirming the above and adding this here synopsis.

"In ICHI, Haruka Ayase stars as the blind musician Ichi who leads a life of solitude as she wanders from town to town. When a village she is passing through becomes hostage to two opposing clans, Ichi must reveal her deadly sword fighting skills to protect the villagers. Sori's film pays tribute to the long-running and immensely popular ZATOICHI franchise, but by making the main character a blind swordswoman instead of a blind swordsman, Sori adds his own intriguing twist to the ever popular franchise."