Happy weekend, everyone!
I hope you are safe and well.
This week I posted about the upcoming Blu-ray release of Fish Story on August 10th (review coming soon) and the Japanese films at the Locarno Film Festival. I watched Life, Kajaki, Two Days, One Night, Heroic Purgatory, Wild Geese, and I played more of Front Mission 3.
What is released this weekend?
Reiko and the Dolphin 
れいこいるか「Reiko iruka」
Release Date: August 08th, 2020
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Shinji Imaoka
Writer: Shinji Imaoka (Script),
Starring: Aki Takeda, Hidetoshi Kawaya,
Pink film director Shinji Imaoka delivers a downbeat indie drama that has its roots in the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Written at the time of the disaster, he finished it in time for the 25th anniversary of the disaster. The result is a melancholy film that follows the travails of regular people left reeling from tragic caused by the earthquake.
I saw it at this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival. Here’s my review and here’s an interview I did with Shinji Imaoka.
Synopsis: The story starts on the day of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. A couple, Ichiko (Aki Takeda) and her writer husband Tasuke (Hidetoshi Kawaya), are celebrating the birthday of their daughter Reiko but on that night, she dies in the earthquake. The couple, no longer connected by their daughter, drift apart over time and endure life’s ups and downs. Despite their distance, they can never quite break free due to them lingering over their loss…
Okaasan no hibaku piano 
おかあさんの被爆ピアノ「Okaasan no hibaku piano」
Release Date: August 08th, 2020
Duration: 113 mins.
Director: Toshihiro Goto
Writer: Toshihiro Goto (Script),
Starring: Shiro Sano, Tomu Muto, Masaaki Jonouchi, Yoko Moriguchi, Miyoko Omomo,
Based on a true story of the “A-bombed piano” (hibakusha piano) which miraculously survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and starring Shiro Sano and Tomu Muto of AKB48.
Synopsis: Mitsunori Yagawa (Sano) us a piano tuner who is taking care of a piano that survived being within 3 km of the hypocenter of the Hiroshima atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. He travels around Japan and delivers the sound of the atomic bomb piano to various places. Meanwhile, a university student named Nanako Eguchi (Muto), who was born and raised in Tokyo, discovers that her grandmother is connected with the piano. She goes to a concert and meets Yagawa where the two begin to think about the history of the piano and Nanako’s grandmother.
Grand Blue 
ぐらんぶる「Guran Buru」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 107 mins.
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa
Writer: Tsutomu Hanabusa, Manabu Uda (Script), Kenji Inoue, Kimitake Yoshioka (Original Manga)
Starring: Ryo Ryusei, Yuki Yoda, Atsuhiro Inukai, Aya Asahina, Yuka Ogura, Ren Ishikawa, Masahiro Takashima,
Synopsis: Iori Kitahara (Ryo Ryusei) has moved to a beach town in Izu Peninsula to start university. He lives in a room above his uncle’s diving shop “Grand Blue” and expects to hang out with girls but when he joins the scuba diving club he is disappointed to find it is full of buff male students who like to party and strip naked rather than dive. Despite his attempts to distance himself from the group, Iori gets quickly swept up in their antics, while his cousins try to show him the wonders of diving into the ocean and sea.
Third Year Debut – Hinatazaka 46 Documentary Film 
3年目のデビュー「3 Nen-me no Debyu-」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Yusuke Takenaka
Writer: N/A
Starring: Sarina Ushio, Yuuka Kageyama, Shiho Kato, Miku Kawamura, Hinano Kamimura,
Synopsis: Documentary movie of the popular idol group “Hinatazaka46”, the spin-off group of “Keyakizaka 46”, who had a documentary released earlier this year. The doc captures their work and I think it includes their appearance on NHK’s famous Kouhaku Uta Gassen at the end of last year.
Tailwind 
追い風「Oikaze」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Ryo Anraku
Writer: Ryo Katayama, Ryo Anraku (Script),
Starring: DEG, Ryo Katayama, Ryo Anraku, Hyoma Shibata, Hiroki Sato, Ritsu Ootomu,
A youth film that won the Best Actor and Musician Award in the feature film category of “MOOSIC LAB 2019”. It was directed and written by indie film makers Ryo Katayama and Ryo Anraku and stars the rapper DEG.
Synopsis: A 28-year-old musician named DEG wants to avoid hurting other people so he laughs at whatever happens but he hurts himself. His laughing covers his reality of an under-appreciated artist and other heartaches which are slowly revealed the closer he gets to a friend’s wedding.
Sad Angel
悲しき天使「Sabishiki Tenshi」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 91 mins.
Director: Toshiyuki Morioka
Writer: Toshiyuki Morioka (Script), Yukio Yamanouchi (Original Novel)
Starring: Hitomi Wada, Masaru Mizuno, Nanami Kawakami, Takashi Shigematsu, Aki Morita, Naho Yamada, Akiyoshi Shibata,
Synopsis: A sensual drama set in Osaka’s Tobita Shinchi depicting the tragedy of a beautiful prostitute named Kazumi (Hitomi Wada) and Shigeru (Masaru Mizuno), a young unemployed man saddled with debt, who has escaped into her arms. Various other sad tales play out around them as they fall in love.
Ultraman Taiga The Movie: New Generation Climax 
劇場版ウルトラマンタイガ ニュージェネクライマックス「Gekijouban Urutoraman Taiga Nyū Jene Kuraimakkusu」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Ryuichi Ichino,
Writer: Sotaro Hayashi, Takao Nakano (Script),
Starring: Yuki Inoue, Ryotaro, Ayuri Yoshinaga, Takuya Negishi, Hideo Ishiguro, Kensuke Takahashi,
Synopsis: Hiroyuki Kudo has the power to transform into three Ultra Heroes: Taiga, Titas, and Fuma, but now he has become the target of someone. The New Generation Heroes come to his aid, and even Taiga’s father Ultraman Taro but when Ultraman Taro violently attacks his son Taiga the New Generation Heroes realise that they face a very dangerous threat. Check out the Ultraman wiki for more.
Imperfect World 
不完全世界「Fukazen Sekai」
Release Date: August 08th, 2020
Duration: 142 mins.
Director: Kyoichi Komoto, Arata Saito
Writer: Ako Suizu (Script), Yukio Yamanouchi (Original Novel)
Starring: Ako Suizu, Asuka Shingu, Makiko Kawai, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kita, Sufa,
Synopsis: An omnibus film in which two directors, Kyoichi Komoto and Arata Saito, film stories showing the end of youth of three young women living in a share house and the suffering of an old woman portrayed by veteran actress Jitsuko Yoshimura, who is known as the step-daughter in Onibaba (1964).
Mottainai Kitchen 
もったいないキッチン「Mottainai Kicchin」
Release Date: August 08th, 2020
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: David Gross
Writer: David Gross (Script),
Starring: David Gross, Nikki Tsukamoto, Rumi Ide,
Synopsis: Austrian food journalist David Gross has made one previous documentary 0 Yen Kitchen, which was about food loss and, in looking into how to reduce it and use the food households, supermarkets and restaurants throw away, he travelled around five European countries. His latest film is something similar although this time he travels around Japan where as much as 6.43 million tons of food is discarded annually. With a travel partner, Nikki, he meets Japanese chefs and tries to recreate the delicious desserts of various locations in Japan.
Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s New Dinosaur 
映画ドラえもん のび太の新恐竜 「Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Shin Kyoryū」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 110 mins.
Director: Kazuaki Imai
Writer: Genki Kawamura (Script), Fujiko F. Fujio (Original Manga)
Starring: Wasabi Mizuta (Doraemon), Megumi Ohara (Nobita), Yumi Kakazu (Shizuka), Tomokazu Seki (Suneo), Aya Endo (Kyu), Rie Kugimiya (Myu), Daisuke Ono (Dr. Dinosaur)
Animation Production: Shin-ei Animation
Synopsis: Nobita accidentally finds a fossil dinosaur egg mixed with rocks at a dinosaur fossil exhibition site and he sees the egg hatch and a new species of dinosaur appear. They are Kyu and Myu. Nobita and his pals want to take care of them secretly, but living in the city they will be discovered quite easily so Nobita takes them back to the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago but, along the way, there is a group of mysterious foes who hope to steal Kyu and Myu from Nobita.
Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Rondo Rondo Rondo 
少女☆歌劇 レヴュー・スタァライト ロンド・ロンド・ロンド 「Shōjo☆Kageki Revyū Sutāraito Rondo・Rondo・Rondo」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Tomohiro Furukawa
Writer: Tatsuto Higuchi (Script), Fujiko F. Fujio (Original Manga)
Starring: Aina Aiba (Claudine Saijo), Ayasa Ito (Kaoruko Hanayagi), Haruki Iwata (Mahiru Tsuyuzaki), Hinato Sato (Junna Hoshimi), Maho Tomita (Maya Tendo),
Animation Production: Kinema Citrus
Synopsis: A recap film of the TV anime Revue Starlight.
Starlight is a popular musical revue troupe that many girls are eager to join. The TV anime focused on a pair of childhood friends, Karen and Hikari, but the film is is presented from Nana’s perspective and so the film adds new scenes to the TV footage.