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Gainax Co-Founder's Sinking of Japan Comes to UK DVD
posted on by Mikhail Koulikov
On February 12, British video distributor Tartan Video plans to release an English-subtitled DVD of Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan, Shinji Higuchi's 2006 version of the classic 1973 disaster novel Japan Sinks. Higuchi, one of the founders of the anime studio Gainax, worked as a storyboard artist on many of the studio's films and series, served as the animation director for Aim for the Top! Gunbuster, and wrote the script for episodes 17 and 18 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. (The main character of Evangelion, Shinji Ikari, was named after him.) He then moved into special effects in live-action movies, starting with 1995's Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. In 2005, Higuchi directed his first live-action film, Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean.
Sakyo Komatsu's original Japan Sinks novel has already been made into a movie once, in the same year it was released. Higuchi's 2006 version stars SMAP singer Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and actress Kou Shibasaki (Battle Royale, Dororo). Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hataraki Man creator Moyoco Anno, and actress Mayumi Shintani (Cutie Honey's Scarlet Claw) all make cameo appearances. There are also references to the original story in Gainax' Otaku no Video and Gunbuster.
