Osamu Tezuka's youkai (goblin) manga DORORO will be made into a live-action film for the first time. Actor Satoshi Tsumabuki(24) will be playing protagonist Hyakkimaru, and Kou Shibasaki(24) has been cast in the role of Dororo. Filming will take place in New Zealand, and will cost an estimated 16 million dollars.

DORORO was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine in the 1960s, and while a live-action version has been rendered impossible, the recent development in computer technology has made this project a reality.

Hyakkimaru was born face and limb-less -- for want of power, his father had promised 48 parts of his unborn son to 48 demons. Put into a tub and washed down the river, the newly born Hyakkimaru is picked up by physician Jukai, who creates make-shift body parts for him so that he at least looks like a normal boy. He grows up to learn that his body parts can be retrieved by defeating the 48 demons, and thus starts his quest to get his body back. Dororo is a young girl (in the guise of a boy) that he meets and eventually takes with him on his journey.

In the film adaptation, the role of Dororo is enacted by Kou Shibasaki -- the reason for portraying Dororo as an older girl is for the better depiction of tension between the adolescent boy and girl, and to add an extra touch to the plot.