And here we go again.

Maybe I can stall by just writing gibberish, so you won’t notice that I know absolutely knowing about Japanese Manga and I dread the days when movie studio’s greenlight such huge movies based on this kind of material because I don’t have any opinion or knowledge.

The following comes from Variety…

Warner Bros. will turn anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s six-volume graphic novel masterwork “Akira” into two live action feature films, the first of which is being fast tracked for release in summer 2009.

Each feature will be comprised of three of the books in Otomo’s series. The drama takes place in “New Manhattan,” a metropolis that was rebuilt after being destroyed 31 years ago.

First time Irish helmer Ruari Robinson will direct the feature described as BLADE RUNNER meets CITY OF GOD (yup, I would see that!). His background is in short animated films, winning an Oscar nom for his short FIFTY PERCENT GREY.

WB have paid a seven figure sum to secure the rights in what was described as a “spirited bidding battle” with rival studios. WB actually held the rights some years prior but let their deal on the picture expire, back in the days when movies based on comic books and graphic novels weren’t making the money they are now.

The hugely popular Manga series created by Katsuhiro Otomo ran for 8 years between 1982 and 1990, but has since become extremely popular in the Western world after Dark Horse Comics reprinted them in the English language at the beginning of the Millennium. It’s popular too because of the 1988 animated movie based on the series that Otomo co-wrote and directed which remains to this day as one of the most popular animated Manga movies ever made…