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Takashi Murakami's Jellyfish Eyes Film's Teaser Streamed

The Japanese film news website Cinema Today began streaming a teaser trailer on Monday for contemporary artist Takashi Murakami's Mememe no Kurage (Jellyfish Eyes) film. Murakami is making his live-action directorial debut with the film. He is also in charge of the original story for the film and the character design, and is serving as executive producer. Jun Tsugida is in charge of the film's screenplay alongside Yoshihiro Nishimura, who is also acting as producer and assistant director. The video features the livetune and Hatsune Miku song "Last Night, Good Night" written and composed by Kz.

The fantasy film will star Takuto Sueoka, HIMEKA Asami, Shouta Sometani, Masataka Kubota, Takumi Saitō, Mayu Tsuruta, and Kanji Tsuda.

In the film, Sueoka stars as Masashi, an elementary school student who transfers schools after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. In his new house, Masashi discovers that he can see "friends," mysterious jellyfish-like beings that adults cannot see. The film will incorporate more than 900 cuts of CG animation.

Murakami wrote on the film's website that the Jellyfish Eyes project began more than 10 years ago as a full CG-animated film that was eventually shelved. Murakami then created an artistic piece with the same title in 2004, but it was only after Murakami met Nishimura on another project that he decided to create the live-action film.

The film is slated to open across Japan on April 26, 2013. Murakami is already working on a sequel to the film, which will take place two years later. Murakami noted that his main ambition for the project is to "create a work for those children who are today being born into a world full of challenges." Murakami added that he wants to "give [those children] the encouragement to live with passion and confront the adult world head on."