Live-Action Bubblegum Crisis Movie!

Looks like the numbers of popular animes adapted into live-action movies had just increased by another — and this time its the ladies in futuristic battle suits of the Knight Sabers! Japan’s Anime International Company (AIC) signed a basic agreement with Singapore’s Cubix International PTE Ltd. (Zodiac: The Race Begins) for a proposed live-action film adaptation of the Bubblegum Crisis anime franchise on October 30. AIC made the agreement through its Anime International Co. Asia PTE Ltd. subsidiary. The defunct ARTMIC studio created the original 1987-1991 video anime series about four women who protect a cybernetic future Tokyo with powered armor.

Cubix is planning a budget of several billion yen (several tens of millions of dollars) for the project. Along with AIC, the company is aiming for a 2011 release in the United States and elsewhere. The two studios intend to consult with former ARTMIC staffers Shinji Aramaki (screenplay and mechanical design) and Kenichi Sonoda (character design) to maintain a connection with the world concepts of the original series.

Time to speculate, my fellow BBG fans: Who’s gonna act as Sylia Stingray?