For all of you fans of Japanese animation who are dreading the live-action Akira movie and other similar projects, you can now add another one to the list.

Warner Brothers is now developing a live-action version of the hit manga/anime Bleach. The studio has brought in Dan Mazeau, who recently worked on the Clash of the Titans sequel, Wrath of the Titans, to adapt it into screenplay form.

Warner Brothers is already in the business of adapting Japanese manga into live-action feature films having acquired the rights to Katsuhiro Otomo’s cherished Akira, and possibly even hiring the Hughes Brothers to direct (Read: The Hughes Brothers To Direct Two-Part Live-Action “˜Akira’ Movie). But the studio isn’t stopping there; it’s being reported that WB is currently working to obtain the rights to Bleach.

The manga, which is written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, revolves around a teenage boy named Ichigo Kurosaki who can see ghosts and one day accidentally obtains the abilities of a Soul Reaper (the Japanese personification of death, much like the Grim Reaper). With these new found abilities — similar to our own superhero stories — he must learn how to use them, protect the innocent from evil spirits known as Hollows, and guide spirits safely to the other side.

Last week Radical Publishing halted the production of its American Manga series Incarnate as accusations of plagiarism arose against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons [read Nick Simmons Accused Of Plagiarism For “˜Incarnate’ Comic; Publication Halted].

Simmons issued a statement via representative today responding to the allegations, claiming that his work was “meant as an homage” to the artists that inspire him. He also apologized to Manga fans and artists who may have thought he’d gone too far in his intentions.

Radical Publishing has halted production on its American Manga series Incarnate while they investigate claims of plagiarism against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons.

Radical Comics launched the series, which Simmons wrote and penciled, back in August and released three single issues, which were to be sold later this year in a collected volume. Read their full official statement regarding the allegations here below.

Earlier this week, accusations arose against Simmons on the GameFAQ forum stating that his artwork on Incarnate was copied from popular manga titles like Tite Kubo’s Bleach, which has sold over 50 million volumes worldwide. The Bleachness fan site posted side-by-side comparisons of the artwork from both titles to show similarities, and even superimposed the images. There’s also word balloons that show similar dialogue between the new comics.

The image at top is one of the examples from the Bleachness site [note, we do not have either source material to verify the claims]: on the left is a panel from Bleach; the center is a panel from Incarnate; the image on the right is a both of these images superimposed.