Kenji Miyazawa's "Night on the Galactic Railroad" is being adapted into a live-action film (it was previously adapted into an animated film in 1985). The main character, a young boy named Giovanni, will actually be played by a female - 16-year-old actress Mitsuki Tanimura. The film is scheduled to open on October 21.

Read Tokyograph's new feature article, "Tales from Ghibli: Ged and Goro."

Anime News Service reports that the October issue of Newtype in Japan confirms a new movie series for Neon Genesis Evangelion. There will be four films in total, with the first being released in the summer of 2007.

The series is meant to be a fresh remake, rather than simply a re-creation of the original. The content will be significantly changed, and it will be made more accessible to the average viewer. The goal is that the movies will be enjoyable to all viewers, whether or not they are familiar with the original series.

Mangaka Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go, Death Note) was arrested on Wednesday for violation of the Guns and Knives Control Law. He was pulled over in his car in the Nerima ward of Tokyo at around 12:45am for driving with his headlights off. The officer found him in possession of a folding army knife with an 8.6cm blade length, which exceeds the maximum 6cm as dictated by the law.

According to fansite BoA's House, a Korean news source has reported that pop star BoA is preparing for an acting career. Although she is currently studying on her own, she is scheduled to begin taking lessons from a specialist in October. She is expected to appear in romance dramas and dramas with female leads. BoA will debut as an actress early next year.