Happy weekend, everyone.
I hope you are all well.
It’s raining in my neck of the woods and I think I am coming down with a cold, this just before I take a teaching course to refresh my English language teaching skills. I’ll power through, regardless.
This week I managed to watch a bunch more 80’s horror movies as I tick of titles from a list of films I haven’t seen. I published a preview of the Japanese films for this year’s edition of the London International Animation Festival and a review for the Kyoto Animation film A Silent Voice.
What is released this weekend?
Until Rainbow Dawn 
虹色の朝が来るまで 「Niji Iro no Asa ga Kuru Made」
Release Date: November 20th, 2019
Duration: 63 mins.
Director: Mika Imai
Writer: Mika Imai (Screenplay),
Starring: Eri Nagai, Haruka Kobayashi, Ren Kikukawa, Nozomu, Yuki Takemura, Yuna Sato,
Synopsis: A human drama depicting the story of LGBTQ deaf people. Hana and Ayumi are both deaf and meet in a sign language group. Their meeting leads to Hana feeling attracted to a person of the same sex for the first time but this leads to conflict with her mother. Ayumi tries to solve things by introducing Hana to a group for LGBTQ deaf people.
The 47 Ronin in Debt 
決算！忠臣蔵 「Kessan! Chushingura」
Release Date: November 22nd, 2019
Duration: 125 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Writer: Yoshihiro Nakamura (Screenplay), Hirofumi Yamamoto (Novel)
Starring: Shinichi Tsutsumi, Takashi Okamura, Gaku Yamada, Satomi Ishihara, Yuko Takeuchi, YosiYosi Arakawa, Satoshi Tsumabuki,
Synopsis: When Lord Takuminokami Asano is ordered to kill himself due to a scheme by Kozukenosuke Kira, his loyal samurai plan an attack but they need the help of the accountant Chosuke Yato (Takashi Okamura) because but they don’t have enough in their budget.
Rise of the Machine Girls 
爆裂魔神少女 バーストマシンガール 「Bakuretsu Machine Shoujo Burst Machine Girl」
Release Date: November 22nd, 2019
Duration: 76 mins.
Director: Yuki Kobayashi
Writer: Yuki Kobayashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Himena Tsukimiya, Kanon Hanakage, Tak Sakaguchi, Rie Kitahara, Toshie Negishi, Kokone Sasaki, Taro Yabe, Ryuju Sumikawa, Yuya Ishikawa,
Sushi Typhoon was an outfit that took America by storm with its line-up of splatter films in the early 2000s. One film stood out above all other titles, Noboru Iguchi’s Machine Girl (2008) which is now getting a reboot thanks to a new director.
Synopsis: Ami and her sister Yoshie find themselves mortal enemies of the criminal enterprise known as the Dharma Family. Yoshie is kidnapped by the Battle Bust Sisters, female killing machines designed by Dharma Aoyama, and is turned into a human cyborg programmed to kill Ami who has had her arm cut off and decided the best way to rectify the situation is to attach a machine gun to the stump. Bullets and carnage are the only way to take her sister Yoshie back!
Sea 
海抜 「Kaibutsu」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2019
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Kensei Takahashi
Writer: Kensei Takahashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Satoshi Abe, Shin’ichi Hirose, Misaki Matsuzaki, Arisa Sato, Masato Mori, Yurie Saegusa, Seiya Okuda, Yoshiki Natori,
This film was winner of the Nippon Visions Jury Award at the 2019 edition of Nippon Connection.
Synopsis: Hiroshi has led a troubled life ever since he witnessed the rape of his classmate Rie by two class bullies. Seeing them again as an adult makes him snap…
Fragtime 
フラグタイム 「Furagu Taimu」
Release Date: November 22nd, 2019
Duration: 59 mins.
Director: Takuya Sato
Writer: Takuya Sato (Script), Sato (Original Creator)
Starring: Miku Ito (Misuzu Moritani), Yume Miyamoto (Haruka Murakami), Chika Anzai (Yukari Kobayashi),
Animation Production: Tear Studio
Synopsis: Misuzu Moritani has a special power, the ability to stop time for three minutes a day. Nobody knows about it. She could use it for crime but she follows her heart by sneaking a peek up the skirt of the class idol, Haruka Murakami. While trying to observe Haruka’s panties Misuzu discovers Haruka observing her since it turns out she is immune to Misuzu’s power…
Yayoi Kusama∞INFINITY 
草間彌生∞INFINITY 「Kusama Yayoi ∞INFINITY」
Release Date: November 22nd, 2019 (Japan)
Duration: 76 mins.
Director: Heather Lenz
Writer: Heather Lenz, Keita Ideno (Screenplay),
Starring: Yayoi Kusama
Synopsis: Yayoi Kusama is one of the world’s most famous female artists and this film tracks her journey to such a lofty status, from a conservative upbringing in Japan to the explosion of her fame in America during the 1960s and the continued growth of her international fame as she has entered her 80s even while she has spent the last 30 years living in a mental institution in Japan.
The Gossip Gang 
お口の濃い人 「Okuchi no koihito」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2019
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Masato Oki, Kenichi Ebisawa
Writer: Masato Oki (Screenplay),
Starring: Kyoko Toyama, Takuya Fujisaki, Yoshiko Sugawara, Ryo Mukuta, Yukimi Soma, Yoshio Soma, Kohei Kuroda,
Synopsis: A slapstick comedy based at a bar where a diverse group of people including otaku meeting for the first time in the flesh, a women’s association with only two people and a debt collector and the debtor are all gathered…
Shana-o: Oedo no Kyandi 3 
遮那王 お江戸のキャンディー3 「Shana-ou Oedo no Kyandi- 3」
Release Date: November 22nd, 2019
Duration: 85 mins.
Director: Leona Hirota
Writer: Leona Hirota (Screenplay/Original Work),
Starring: Kenta Suga, Ryosuke Miura, Yuu Imari, Takuma Zaiki, Shinichi Wagao, Naoto Takenaka,
Synopsis: The “Edo Candy” series depicts a world similar to the Kamakura period where there are only ultra stylish men with tales based on the history of the Genji and Heike clans. The prosperous Heike clan live on the surface of the earth while the Genji live in an underground cave system but their worlds mix as a member of the Genji clan attends a party hosted by the Heike and falls for a son of the family.
Ganbare to ka Urusee / Don’t Say That Word 
ガンバレとかうるせぇ 「Ganbare to ka Urusee」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2019
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Takuma Sato
Writer: Takuma Sato (Screenplay),
Starring: Haruna Hori, Gaku Hosokawa, Ryota Hosei, Myoungjoo, Kan Yaginuma, Ryosuke Ekuni, Shogo Yamashiro, Makiko Ishigami,
Synopsis: Natsu is a high school football team’s assistant and she sticks by them even after they are elimiated from a summer tournament and the best player retires and the team begins to fall apart. Despite these setbacks, Natsu believes that Go, the captain, will persevere.
Sticks and Stones 
歩けない僕らは 「Arukenai Bokura wa」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2019
Duration: 37 mins.
Director: Takuma Sato
Writer: Takuma Sato (Screenplay),
Starring: Haruna Hori, Gaku Hosokawa, Shunya Itabashi, Sodai Kadota, Motoki Ochiai, Sumie Sasaki, Narumi Uno, So Yamanaka,
Synopsis: Haruka is a trainee physical therapist at a hospital in Japan and she has her very first patient, Tsuge, who is paralysed on his left side from a stroke. This is a momentous change in her life as she has to support someone eager to reclaim his old life and it comes just as she has just been dumped by her boyfriend. Under the mentorship of the Department Chief, she begins to realise how rewarding the job can be and this changes her perspective on both Tsuge and her ex-boyfriend.
Hydra 
Release Date: November 23rd, 2019
Duration: 77 mins.
Director: Kensuke Sonomura
Writer: Jiro Kaneko (Screenplay),
Starring: Masanori Mimoto, MIU, Tasuku Nagase, Takaya Aoyagi, Takashi Nishina, Kaoru Gotou, Naohiro Kawamoto, Hironobu Nomura, BoBA, Tomorowo Taguchi,
Synopsis: An assassin for a secret organisation named Takashi takes a job at a bar named “Hydra” which is run by a young woman named Rina. Takashi finds himself targeted by evil forces aiming to unleash an unstoppable criminal syndicate upon Japan.