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Mugen Shinshi Mystery Manga Gets Crowdfunding Campaign for Live-Action Film

The Beach Walker's Collection production team launched a crowdfunding campaign on Wednesday to film a live-action adaptation of Yousuke Takahashi's Mugen Shinshi mystery manga. The campaign on the MotionGallery crowd-funding platform is also streaming the pilot video for the film project, which Takahashi has authorized.

The stories, set in the early Showa era of Japan, center around the detective Mamiya Mugen and his butler Alucard who solve bizarre supernatural mysteries together. The film will specifically adapt the "Ningyō Jigoku" (Doll Hell) arc of the Mugen Shinshi Kaiki-hen manga, which Takahashi launched in 1984 in Tokuma Shoten's Medium magazine. In Mugen Shinshi Kaiki-hen, Takahashi drew protagonist Mamiya Mugen as a young man.

The campaign aims to raise 1.4 million yen (around US$11,250) by Thursday, November 5 at 11:59 p.m. JST. Rewards for backers include an invitation to a private screening, the backer's name appearing on the film's credits, DVD copies of the film, copies of the script autographed by the cast, production stills, invitations to observe the film's shooting, and props from the film.

As of press time, the campaign has earned 207,000 yen (around US$1,666).

Misako Unakami will direct the film, and is also writing the script and editing the film. Takashi Suganuma will co-direct the film, and is also credited as scriptwriter alongside Kazuhiro Kokage and Ayumi Satō. The final film's runtime will be around 70-80 minutes.

Takahashi launched the original manga in Asahi Sonorama's Manga Shonen magazine in 1981, spawning multiple spinoff manga and novels since then.

Source: Internet Watch