Zowie. We've been tracking the development of manga adaptation 20th Century Boys around here for some time now, not only because of the fascinating plot line of the original manga - which features a group of friends trying to save the world from destruction by a mysterious organization over a fifty year period - but also thanks to the involvement of director Yukihiko Tsutsumi, whose Sword of Alexander I have nothing but praise for here. Now, for a man who does most of his work on television, Tsutsumi clearly has the respect of his peers and the industry at large as he's just been handed one of the largest production budgets in Japanese history for his trilogy of films but big doesn't even begin to capture the scale of the latest announcement to come from the set.

Counting only speaking parts, Tsutsumi has just cast approximately three hundred actors to appear over the span of the three films. My initial reaction to this has been swinging between "Wow, that's ambitious." to "Wow, that's insane." and it looks as though the insane side is winning out. Why? Do the math. Assuming that each of the three films clocks in at about the two hour mark that gives a total running time of three hundred and sixty minutes for the complete trilogy. That means Tsutsumi must introduce a new speaking actor, on average, every minute and ten seconds or so. Now, I've got a good memory and all, and a decent attention span - or so I like to think - but my brain's already starting to hurt just thinking about trying to keep up with that pace ...