Tokyo Broadcasting System has unveiled two additions to its 2008-09 line-up. The first is "Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit," a sci-fi thriller based on a comic by Motoro Mase about a future society in which 1,000 men are randomly selected by the government to die by poison capsules, to invigorate an apathetic population.

Helmed by Tomoyuki Takimoto and starring Shota Matsuda, Takayuki Yamada, Takashi Tsukamoto and Riko Narumi, the pic is set for a late September bow.

The net is also producing "Pandemic," a medical thriller about an infectious bug that causes panic in Japan.

Helmer Takeshisa Zeze wrote the original script after 18 months of research with epidemiologists. Satoshi Tsumabuki and Rei Dan are starring, with shooting skedded to start in late June. Release by Toho is penciled in for January.

Also on the TBS Cannes line-up is "After School," the second pic by Kenji Uchida, whose twisted dramedy "A Stranger of Mine" scooped four awards after screening in Critics' Week in 2005.

Meanwhile, Nippon Television Network will screen promo reels of four pics at Cannes. The biggest is "Sky Crawlers" by toon auteur Mamoru Oshii ("Ghost in the Shell" and "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence").

Set in an alternative universe, the story focuses on teenage fighter pilots who battle each other in a never-ending war -- and never seem to age until their fiery ends.

The pic's spectacular dogfight sequences, as seen on the trailer now circulating on the Web, underscore Oshii's claim that the new pic is not his usual deep-think essay on the human condition, but mass-aud-friendly entertainment. Warner will release nationwide Aug. 2.

NTV is also showing a clip of "20th Century Boys," the first of a trilogy, based on a comic by Naoki Urasawa, about a convenience store manager who tries to stop a former classmate -- now a cult leader -- from using his deadly gift for making his prophecies realities. Toho will bow the first installment, helmed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, on Aug. 30.

Finally, Nikkatsu will unveil a promo reel for "Yatterman," Takashi Miike's live-action adaptation of an iconic 1970s TV toon. The budget is a career-high $20 million for Japan's prolific King of Cult. Release is set for next spring.

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