Apple Releases Midnight, an Adaptation of Osamu Tezuka

Live-action anime adaptations are becoming a big deal in the entertainment world, with Netflix finding success in One Piece and Lionsgate announcing that a live-action Naruto movie is in the works. In a surprise move, Apple is the latest company to share a live-action adaptation of a classic anime story. Osamu Tezuka’s Midnight has been brought to life by Apple from a legendary Japanese director, using only an iPhone 15 Pro to film it.

Director Takashi Miike hasn’t just oversaw countless movies in Japan, but has lent his talents to quite a few anime and manga adaptations during his career. These movies include JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Chapter 1, Blade Of The Immortal, Terraformars, Ichi The Killer, and more. Most recently, Miike assisted Netflix by directing the animated adaptation of the Capcom video game, Onimusha. 

Live-Action Midnight: Watch

If you’re unfamiliar with Osamu Tezuka, the legendary mangaka was responsible for creating some of the biggest properties in the anime world during his career. Aside from being responsible for Astro Boy, Tezuka also forged manga such as Kimba The White Lion, Phoenix, Dororo, and Black Jack. You can check out the new live-action short from Apple below. 

If this is your first time hearing about the manga story known as Midnight from legendary creator Osamu Tezuka, the official website for the mangaka breaks it down as such, “This is a suspense drama depicting odd passengers that a taxi driver encounters while making his midnight rounds. The night has a myriad of different faces, and there is a man who peers into them one by one. His name is Midnight. Starting with this prologue, each independent episode tells us about the strange passengers that the central character Midnight encounters.”

The description continues, “Midnight drives a specially built taxi: it has a fifth wheel underneath the chassis that enables him to navigate any roads. The taxi and Midnight are one being, and no one but Midnight can drive it. But why does he choose such a lonely occupation? He works as a taxi driver because at one point, when he was leading a motorcycle gang, he caused an accident while he was driving with a girl named Mari. Because of the accident, Mari went brain dead, becoming a vegetable. Midnight drives his taxi in the wee hours of the morning, looking for passengers that will earn him money for Mari’s treatment.”