Amazon’s Prime Video is in production with ‘The Silent Service,’ which will be Japan’s first original film for the streaming platform.
Separately, Amazon has confirmed that it has acquired the rights to the Japan national team’s game at the upcoming 2023 World Baseball Classic.
“Silent Service” is a popular manga by Kaiji Kawaguchi that was serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Morning from 1988 to 1996 and sold a total of 32 million copies.
The story is set in Japan’s first nuclear submarine, and depicts the unpredictable actions of its captain, Kaieda Shiro, as he tries to realize his ideal world. A story that makes you think about true peace in the midst of complicated international relations.
The director is Kohei Yoshino (“Anime Supremacy” last year), and the lead is Takao Osawa (“The Kingdom”). Osawa also serves as a producer, presenter, and liaison with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Production is handled by Credius Co., Ltd. (“Kingdom” and “Gintama”), and CEO Shinzo Matsuhashi is the producer of this work. Powerful distributor Toho plans to release the finished film theatrically in Japan on September 29th.
“We are truly grateful to have been entrusted with the live-action adaptation of one of Kawaguchi’s most famous works,” said Takayuki Hayakawa, Prime Video’s Head of Japanese Originals.
“The legendary comic ‘Silent Service’, which was said to be impossible to make into a live-action film, has finally been made into a live-action film. [for] Over 30 years,” says Osawa. I will play Shiro Kaieda, the main character who escapes from Japan’s first nuclear submarine and confronts the threat of nuclear weapons to the world.
Prime Video will live stream every game of the Japan National Team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. This will begin with the first round on March 9 and his two matches in his pre-tournament warm-up. Prime Video’s commentary team will feature Japanese baseball legends such as former Japan national team manager Atsuki Inaba, former Japan national team players Tomoya Satozaki, Kosuke Fukudome, Hirokazu Ibata and former Japan national team manager Hatsuhiko Tsuji. Kazumi Saito (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting) will give a live commentary.
The WBC’s programming roster includes specially commissioned programs such as Sasaki and Yamamoto’s trip to the United States, “Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the WBC Final Site,” during their stay in the United States.
