is a 2016 Japanese

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

directed by

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, b ...

and based on the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series of the same name by Yū Sasuga & Kenichi Tachibana. It was released in Japan on Friday, April 29, 2016. The film is set at the end of the 26th century, and depicts an attempted

colonization of Mars 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

. Humanity had previously released

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the Order (biology), order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known Pest (organism), pests. Modern cockro ...

es on the planet, and the would-be colonists encounter resistance by giant

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

cockroaches.

Plot

In the 21st century, to combat overpopulation, Earth plans to colonize Mars. To terraform the planet, the surface is seeded with moss to create a more tolerable atmosphere and surface temperature. Cockroaches were also introduced to spread the moss. 500 years later, in the year 2599, a crew is sent in the BUGS 2 to clear out the cockroaches. The crew is a group of misfits and criminals taking part in the mission in exchange for pardons. Entering the new atmosphere, the crew find the terraforming to have been successful and release a roach bomb. Upon leaving the ship they find no trace of the original cockroaches, but instead find human-sized, club-wielding anthropomorphic cockroaches. The evolved roaches quickly kill two crew members with their superior strength and speed. In order to combat the creatures, the team is given DNA infusions designed to give them special powers. God Lee is transformed into a fire-breathing miidera beetle ('' Pheropsophus jessoensis''). However, the cockroach survives the fire blast and kills him. A cockroach climbs on top of the spacecraft breaks through its transparent shell, killing two more crew members. Captain Dojima transforms into a strong bullet ant (''

Paraponera clavata ''Paraponera clavata'', commonly known as the bullet ant, is a species of ant known for its extremely painful Insect bites and stings, sting. It inhabits humid lowland rainforests in Central America, Central and South America. Etymology The Spe ...

'') and kills the giant cockroach. An expedition team prepares to scavenge BUGS 1, the vessel from the previous mission, for parts to get BUGS 2 into shape and return to Earth. As dozens of cockroaches close in, Tezuka transforms into a

rove beetle The rove beetles are a family (biology), family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousand ...

, sits on the back of the

Mars rover A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place them ...

, and blows a jet of fire out to simultaneously propel it and kill cockroaches. The captain and Ichiro remain on BUGS 1 to defend it. Ichiro transforms into a sleeping chironomid (''

Polypedilum vanderplanki ''Polypedilum vanderplanki'' or the sleeping chironomid, is a dipteran in the family Chironomidae (non-biting midges). It occurs in the semi-arid regions of the African continent (e.g. northern Nigeria and Uganda). Its larvae are found in small t ...

'') then vents air from the vessel to asphyxiate the cockroaches. Meanwhile, as the rover approaches a large wave of cockroaches, Osako and Mary exits it to help Tezuka. Osako transforms into a durable black weevil ('' Pachyrhynchus infernalis'') while Mary becomes a rainbow stag beetle ('' Phalacrognathus muelleri'') with optical camouflage capabilities. Together they protect Tezuka as he propels the rover through the second wave. However, when the vehicle rolls over, the three are thrown from the vehicle, overwhelmed and killed. The rover continues its journey. The surviving expedition members reach the BUGS 1 and it already attempting to send something back to Earth. Outside two more members of the team are shot by giant cockroaches wielding large firearms. It is revealed that Ko Honda, the mission director, is communicating with the roaches, who appear to have human intelligence. As they prepare for battle, Shokichi Komachi transforms into a deadly

Asian giant hornet The Asian giant hornet (''Vespa mandarinia''), also known as the northern giant hornet, and the Japanese giant hornet, is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, mainland Southeast Asia, and par ...

while Jim Muto becomes a

desert locust The desert locust (''Schistocerca gregaria'') is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found primarily in the deserts and dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, Arabia, and ...

with powerful melee attacks and flying ability. Mina Obari transforms into an

orchid mantis ''Hymenopus coronatus'' is a mantis from the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is known by various common names, including walking flower mantis, orchid-blossom mantis and (pink) orchid mantis. It is one of several species known as '' flowe ...

, a carnivorous insect. They then discover giant pyramids on the surface of Mars. Aboard the BUGS 2, Asuka Moriki is in emerald cockroach wasp. She revives Ichiro with water and they launch the BUGS 2 back toward Earth with a giant cockroach egg on board. The egg hatches and the giant cockroaches inside resist Asuka's manipulation and kill her. Surprised at the new evolutionary advantage of the giant cockroaches, Ko Honda commands the BUGS 2 to fall back to the surface of Mars. The cockroaches aboard the BUGS 2 call for the assistance of the cockroaches on the surface, who sprout wings and ascend into the sky to soften the landing of the BUGS 2. Back on the surface they face the remaining members of the human expedition team, all of whom inject another dose of DNA to transform and do battle with the hordes of cockroaches. Over the course of the battle they discover that taking a second dose will create an enhanced transformation with increased powers. Jim injects a third time, causing irreversible transformation. Shokichi attempts to defend him and is injured. Nanao appears, transformed into a silk moth, and spreads her dust over the cockroach horde. A cockroach fires a weapon at her, causing an explosion that destroys the cockroach horde as well as Nanao. Jim and Shokichi escape the explosion and fly away, only to fall back to the surface where Jim dies in his permanent insect form. Shokichi, after sparing the life of the cockroach leader, boards the BUGS 2 again and confronts Ichiro, who saves him from a cockroach attack then suggests that they return to Earth quickly on a two-person spacecraft. As they blast off, the leader of the cockroaches decides against flying after them because Shokichi spared his life. Back on Earth, Sakakibara fears what the reaction will be when Earth learns of their actions. Ko Honda admits that it would be their downfall and suggests preventing the vessel from returning to Earth and then disappearing from Japanese society. She attempts to shoot him but he stops the bullet and tosses a spider at her which releases a toxic purple spray and kills her. The film ends with Ichiro and Shokichi in the small vessel discussing their plans for the future. Shokichi plans to build graveyards for Nanao and every member. Besides, he decides to return to Mars.

Cast

Hideaki Itō is a Japanese actor. Biography Ito is best known for starring in the hit franchise ''Umizaru'' film series, which consistently topped the Japanese box office of the year. He has also head-lined many other major Japanese films such as Takashi ...

as Shokichi Komachi *

Emi Takei is a Japanese actress and model. Biography Takei was born in Nagoya. Aspiring to become a model, she declared to her parents on her entry to junior high school that she would become a model within three years. In 2006, she entered the 11th Japa ...

as Nanao Akita *

Tomohisa Yamashita , also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host. Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998). He made his musi ...

as Jim Muto *

Takayuki Yamada is a Japanese actor, singer, and producer. He is best known for his role as Sakutaro Matsumoto in TV drama ''Socrates in Love'' and as Densha Otoko in the Densha Otoko (film), 2005 film of the same name. Yamada gained international popularity th ...

as Ichiro Hiruma *

Kane Kosugi is an American actor and martial artist of Japanese and Chinese descent. The son of Japanese martial arts film star Sho Kosugi, Kane began his career as a child actor starring opposite his father in films like '' Revenge of the Ninja'' and ' ...

as God Lee *

Rinko Kikuchi is a Japanese actress, and was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in '' Babel'' (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include '' Norwegian Wood'' (2010), which screened in competition ...

as Asuka Moriki * Masaya Katō as Keisuke Dojima *

Eiko Koike is a Japanese actress. Biography Koike starred in Kunitoshi Manda's film '' The Kiss''. She appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2012 television drama ''Penance,'' and co-starred in Junji Sakamoto's ''A Chorus of Angels'' with Sayuri Yoshinaga. She ...

as Mina Obari *

Mariko Shinoda is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A. Career In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Shor ...

as Sorae Osako * Ken'ichi Takitō as Shunji Tezuka *

Rina Ohta Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name) Rina is a feminine given name with multiple origins. In Japanese kanji, it could be written as (里奈, 璃奈, 莉愛, 璃菜, 利奈, 理名, 莉菜, 里� ...

as Maria Renjo * Ken Aoki *

Rila Fukushima is a Japanese fashion-model and actress best known for her comic book roles in film and TV and has appeared in projects such as the superhero film '' The Wolverine'' (2013) as Yukio, the TV series ''Arrow'' as Tatsu Yamashiro, and ''Ghost in th ...

as Sakakibara *

Shun Oguri is a Japanese people, Japanese actor and Voice acting in Japan, voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor. He started in small roles as extra in the works ...

as Ko Honda

Production

Filming took place in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Terra Formars 2016 films Films set in the 26th century Warner Bros. films 2016 science fiction films Colonization of Mars Films directed by Takashi Miike Japanese science fiction films Live-action films based on manga Mars in film Overpopulation fiction Fiction about terraforming 2010s Japanese films Films about cockroaches