Cold Bloom, The Great Passage, HK Hentai Kamen, Travellers: Dimensional Police, Samurai Dash and Other Movie Trailers and the Japanese Movie Box Office Chart

Another week stuffed full of anime as I try and finish off the winter season and get into my first impressions of the spring selections I made. That written I did write about films! I made a longer than expected review Mushishi which is based on a manga and anime. I loved the film and found it a beautiful and relaxing watch which I can keep indulging in. I also posted about the trailer for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s film Real. I went way overboard compared to my usual trailer posts and indulged my love of Kiyoshi Kurosawa films!

The majority of my film-watching time was spent with Film4 and its Studio Ghibli season which draws to a close later today with the screening of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. It capped a wonderful fortnight where I managed to watch nearly all of the titles. I re-watched The Cat Returns, Only Yesterday, Howl’s Moving Castle and Laputa: Castle in the Sky while doing Japanese homework and made a point of watching The Little Norse Prince and I enjoyed them all.

In terms of other anime I finished Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan in preparation for a review while the Anime UK News Serial Experiments Lain simul-watch has ground to a halt because it seems the participants are either too busy or too confused (the former for me). Level E surprised me with its 4^th episode which the comedy is toned down to miniscule proportions and the drama turned up and it works really effectively because I was engaged with the story right until (SPOILER) its ironic ending where I burst out into a fit of laughter. It showed the creativity of the creators. I finally finished Maoyu (review coming soon!). 

What do the Japanese film charts look like this week (April 06^th-07^th)?

1. Dragon Ball Z Battle of the Gods
2. Wreck-It Ralph
3. Doraemon Nobita’s Dinosaur
4. Platina Data
5. Aibou Series X Day
6. Precure All Stars New Stage 2
7. Oz the Great and Powerful
8. Jack the Giant Slayer
9. Himawari and Her Puppies
10. My Diary of Our Exchange

No real change in the top ten although Orpheus’ Lyre, one of last week’s big dramas starring Ryoko Hiosue, opens at 15 with a modest $178,145 earned from 109 screens.

What’s released this weekend?

Cold Bloom                                                            

Japanese Title: 桜並木の満開の下に

Romaji: Sakura Namiki no Mankai no Shita ni

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 120 mins.

Director: Atsushi Funahari

Writer: Atsushi Funahari, Murakoshi Shigery

Starring: Asami Usuda, Takahiro Miura, Yurei Yanagi, Taro Suwa, You Takahashi

Atsushi Funahari premiered this at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. It is a film with the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami as its subject matter much like his previous film, the documentary Nuclear Nation which looked at nuclear power after the disaster in 2011. This drama looks at the economic and emotional impact as felt by a group of workers at a factory. It stars a collection of new and old actors like Asami Usuda (The Woodsman & the Rain), Takahiro Miura (Ninja Kids!!!), Yurei Yanagi (Boiling Point, Ring) and Taro Suwa (Cold Fish, Himizu). A review on the Japan Times Website makes this sound good, a tough watch with some limited but focussed performances that make it emotionally rewarding. The first film of the week I want to watch.

Ever since the tsunami struck the workers of a metal factory in the industrial town of Hitachi have been in something of a malaise, the only thing keeping them afloat being a skilled worker named Kenji (Takahashi) who has secured them a contract. Then he dies on the first day at the client’s site. His colleague Takumi (Miura) is responsible and the factory worker turn on him, taking sides with Kenji’s widow Shiori (Usuda) but her hatred turns to love. 

The Great Passage                

Japanese Title: 舟を編む

Romaji: Fune wo Amu

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 133 mins.

Director: Yuya Ishii

Writer: Shion Miura (Original Novel), Kensaku Watanabe (Screenplay),

Starring: Ryuhei Matsuda, Aoi Miyazaki, Joe Odagiri, Haru Kuroki, Misako Watanabe, Kumiko Aso, Shingo Tsurumi, Chizuru Ikewaki, Hiroko Isayama, Kaouru Kobayashi, Go Kato, Kaoru Yachigusa, Ryu Morioka, Shohei Uno, Kazuki Namioka

After watching Sawako Decides I was ready to join the Yuya Ishii fan-club. Then I watched Mitsuko Delivers, a stolid film hampered with a frustratingly docile story and wooden comedy. I was genuinely bewildered that he could have come out with something like that. Then I saw the trailer for The Great Passage when it was featured over at Otherwhere in one of Alua’s trailer weeklies. I was moderately interested in it as it seemed a return to form for Yuya Ishii. A lack of a genki girls and wooden comedy and a return to the low-key observational and character-based humour that marked Sawako Decides. Anyway…

The literal title is Fune wo Amu – Fune = Ship and Amu = knit so the Japanese title is We Knit Ship but the English title is The Great Passage. The film looks like a really smart intellectual rom-com  where a talented man of letters cannot find the words to say “I love you” to the girl of his dreams.

Mitsuya Majime (Matsuda) is has the talent to comprehend different languages and is the most important member of the editorial team of a dictionary but he struggles to tell Kaguya Hayashi (Miyazaki), a cook and the granddaughter o the owner of Majime’s boarding home, how he feels about her.

It is based on Shion Miura’s novel. She’s a pretty big deal considering she’s had mega successes with her scripts for Tada’s Do-It-All House and its dorama spin-off Mahoro Eki Mae Bangaichi. It has a cast list which is full of stars: Ryuhei Matsuda (Nightmare Detective), Aoi Miyazaki (Eureka), Joe Odagiri (Mushishi, Adrift in Tokyo), Haru Kuroki (The Wolf Children), Kumiko Aso (Pulse), Kazuki Namioka (Thirteen Assassins), Chizuru Ikewaki (Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, The Cat Returns) and Shohei Uno (The Drudgery Train).

I like the concept, I like the talent, I like the trailer – I want to watch this film!

HK Hentai Kamen                                         

Japanese Title: HK 変態仮面

Romaji: HK Hentai Kamen

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Yuichi Fukuda

Writer: Yuichi Fukuda, Shun Oguri (Screenplay), Keishu Ando (Original Manga)

Starring: Ryohei Suzuki, Fumika Shimizu, Ken Yasuda, Tsuyoshi Muro, Jiro Sato Narushi Ikeda, Takashi Tsukamoto, Yoshinori Okada

Yuichi Fukuda had his Child Police film released a few weeks back and he continues with his comic film form with this film he co-wrote with Shun Oguri (The Woodsman & the Rain). The two have adapted Keishu Ando’s manga “Kyukyuko!! Hentai Kamen” which I have not read but seems like a male version of Go Nagai’s Mask the Kekkou Reborn which had a live-action film adaptation which was released last year and starred AV star Aino Kishi. I must admit that when I first saw the trailer I almost spat my coffee out from laughing so hard. I think I would see this at a cinema regardless of whether I had friends with me or not. Chalk this up as another film I would watch because it looks fun!

Anyway Ryohei Suzuki is ballsy enough to display his well-sculpted body on screen. Some may have seen him in Train Brain Express. Fumoika Shimizu, stars of many Kamen Rider films, is the love interest. Ken Yasuda (The Cat Returns, Rakugo the Movie), Tsuyoshi Muro (After School, A Story of Yonosuke) Takashi Tsukamoto (Battle Royale) and Yoshinori Okada (Fine, Totally Fine) also co-star. Check the trailer and admit that you laughed as well!

Kyosuke Shikijo (Suzuki) is a high school student and the most talented member of his school’s martial arts club. His late father was a detective and has passé on his sense of justice. On top of being a detective Kyosuke’s father was a masochist while his mother was a sadist which partly explains why Kyosuke love of wearing women’s underwear! When he does wear panties and what not he transforms into his alter ego “Pervert Mask” and gains superhuman powers. Said superpowers come in handy when he has to protect Aiko Himeno (Shimizu) from their dirty and evil teacher (Yasuda). Fortunately Aiko’s underwear gives Kyosuke super pervert techniques.

I’m not making this up! Someone else beat me to it! Here’s HK Hentai Kamen’s take on cinema etiquette:

The Adventures in Travel and Writing Songs Diary of Naoto Tabiuta Inti Raimi

Japanese Title: ナオト　インテイライミ　冒険記　旅歌ダイアリー

Romaji: Naoto Initraimi Bouken-ki Tabi Uta Daiari

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Yusuke Ishida

Starring: Naoto Inti Raimi

Yusuke Ishida, director of Moteki, has a documentary about Naoto Inti Raimi, a singer who made his debut in 2010 after he had travelled to 28 countries in Africa and South America to study the music of the natives.

Travellers: Dimensional Police                     

Japanese Title: トラベラーズ　次元警察

Romaji: Torabera-zu Jigen Keisatsu

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Koichi Sakamoto

Writer: Sotaro Hayashi (Screenplay),

Starring: Nao Nagasawa, Ayumi Kinoshita, Yuko Takayama, Kenji Ebisawa, Kohei Yamamoto, Koji Nakamura, Hitomi Sanae, Kentaro Shimazu

OH MY GOD. I’ve discovered a new crush! Nao Nagasawa. She was in Suicide Circle, Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle and now she’s the star of a SF film directed by Koichi Sakamoto which looks a bit like Jet Li’s film The One with a terrorist organisation hopping between dimensions and lots of action. Just no burly men beating each other up. Nope, just beautiful ladies including Ayumi Kinoshita (Peeping Tom) and Yuko Takayama (Mutant Girls Squad). Look at that poster! Look at Nao! The director, Koichi Sakamoto, is responsible for some of the recent Kamen Rider movies. The script comes from Sotaro Hayashi who wrote the films Rabbit Horror 3D and Samurai Princess (which starred Aino Kishi). Chalk this up as another film I would watch.

Samurai Dash                                               

Japanese Title: サムライ　ダッシュ

Romaji: Samurai Dasshu

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 95 mins.

Director: Koki Yamamoto

Writer: Koki Yamamoto (Screenplay),

Starring: Ippei Osako, Sei Ashina, Yuta Nakano, Tsutomu Takahashi, JUN, Rio Natsume, Naoki Hosaka, Issei Ishida

The Pu-pu-Juice theatre troupe is here with a story about an ordinary salaryman named Taku who is meeting his girl at their usual café at the usual time but finds that his ay gets very complicated by his involvement with a strange man who leaves a letter on the table next to his. Presumably this letter leads to him getting chased around a lot as the trailer sows. I want to see ths based on what little I understood and the trailer alone. in a crisis. It stars Sei Ashina (Hard Romanticker), Kaname Endo (Afro Tanaka, Platina Data), Ippei Osako (Drugstore Girl), Yuta Nakano, most recently the star of the dorama Rich Man, Poor Woman, Tsutomu Takahashi (The Woodsman & the Rain), Naoki Hosaka (Yakuza Wives: Burning Desire, MPD Psycho) and Issei Ishida (Strange Circus). The trailer makes me want to see the film. It would be a pretty expensive week if I were in Japan! 

He Loves His Wife                       

Japanese Title: ごくつまの恋

Romaji: Goku Tsuma no Koi

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 75 mins.

Director: Hitoshi Ishikawa

Writer: Hitoshi Ishikawa (Screenplay),

Starring: Nana Nanami, Kengo Oguchi, Takahiro Tsuboya, Kodai Kuroishi, Mako Higashio, Ryujiro Suzuki

Ah, another entry in the Love & Eros collection. This one sounds more interesting than the last two as it concerns a group of freeters, a cuckolded wife who works in a mah-jong parlour and is forced to cover for her debt-ridden husband who is on the run from some yakuza. Basically it’s got action while the last two were about women’s emotions and stuff. It is directed by Hitoshi Ishikawa who has had a big film with Pile Driver (2007) which starred Toshinobu Matsuo (Goth – Love of Death) and Itsuji Itao (Ghost Train, Love Exposure). There are a lot of new actors on display here.

Rubble and Radio                                       

Japanese Title: ガレキとラジオ

Romaji: Gareki to Rajio

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 70 mins.

Directors: Taro Umemura, Kazunari Tsukahara

The list of films covering the Great East Japan Earthquake gets a little larger today with the release of this documentary, the debut of Taro Umemura and Kazunari Tsukahara. It takes place over a year in Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi Prfecture where 8,000 people are living in emergency evacuation accommodation. In the corner of a gymnasium shelter two people start a radio show aimed at delivering entertainment to those caught up in the disaster. The film’s theme song is performed by MONKEY MAJIK, the guys behind the OP for Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. Koji Yakusho, who had a house in Sendai in Miyagi prefecture, is narrating the film.

Gachi-Ban Supremacy                                    

Japanese Title: ガチバン　スプレマシー

Romaji: Gachiban Supuremashi-

Release Date: April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 77 mins.

Director: Takashi Motoki

Writer: Masao Iketani (Screenplay),

Starring: Kazuma Sano, Masataka Kubota, Ryo Kato, Mari Suzuki, Risako Ito

I think I have stumbled upon the Yankee genre of films where delinquent school-boys beat each other up, yell, rebel against authority, break stuff and look cool (I guess it’s what teenagers call cool). It seems that Gachi-Ban is a popular franchise with many entries in the series and many clips available on YouTube.  I am totally unfamiliar with the series but I do recognise at least two of the actors because Ryo Kato was in Detroit Metal City where he played Soichiro’s younger brother while Masataka Kubota was in Thirteen Assassins and The Cowards Who Looked to the Skies. The trailer is a bit meh but I think I’m not its target audience anyway.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199   Chapter V Nostalgia in Intergalactic Space                                                                            

Japanese Title: 宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199 第五章　望郷の銀河間空間

Romaji: Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199

Release Date: April 13^th 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Akihiro Enomoto, Yutaka Izubuchi

Writer: Ryusuke Hikawa

Starring: Daisuke Ono (Susumu Kodai), Houko Kuwashima (Yuki Mori), Kenichi Suzumura (Daisuke Shima), Takayuki Sugo (Captain Jūzō Okita), Aya Hisakawa (Lt. Kaoru Niimi), Rie Tanaka (Ensign Akira Yamamoto), Rina Satou (Makoto Harada)

Okay, the movie screenings of the TV anime continue (this covers episodes 15-18 out of 26) and I think this is the fourth time that I have copied and pasted the following (with some added info to reflect changes in storyline) but you might be new to this franchise…

In 1974 Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock) and Yoshinubu Mishizaki created Space Battleship Yamato which became a massive hit. Thirty-nine years later we see the latest part of the anime movie adaptation released. This is actually the fifth part but the staff and voice actors remain the same. The role of director is taken up by two men: Yutaka Izubuchi is a veteran designer in the anime industry having worked on anime like RahXephon and the brilliant anime Patlabor. He is joined by Akihiro Enomoto who has worked on Fafner, Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Nobuteru Yuki (Escaflowne) acting as character designer and animation director.

There are a lot of veteran seiyuu involved with Daisuke Ono (Shizuo Heiwajima inDurarara!!), Kenichi Suzumura (Uta no Prince Sama), Aya Hisakawa (Yoko Yuzuki in Mōryō no Hako), Rina Satou (Mikoto Misaka in A Certain Magical Index), and Rie Tanaka (Sammy in Time of Eve). The animation is produced by Xebec (Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos) and AIC (Burn Up). 

In the year 2199, the human race has lost a war against alien invaders named Gamilos and have been driven underground due to the threat of radiation. Scientists give humanity a year before it is destroyed. When young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima retrieve a capsule from a ship that crash landed on Mars they set off to Iscandar on the other side of the Magellan Galaxy which has the technology to smash the Gamilos and save Earth. The battleship Yamato is sent on a mission to get that technology. In this instalment, the Yamata has come out of warp space and aims to avoid a large Gamilos fleet on its way to collect the weapons.

Aura: Maryūinkōga Saigo no Tatakai                      

Japanese Title: AURA ～魔竜院光牙最後の闘い

Romaji: Aura: Maryūinkōga Saigo no Tatakai

Release Date:  April 13^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 82 mins.

Director: Seiji Kishi

Writer: Jun Kumagai (Script), Romeo Tanaka (Original Light Novel)

Starring: Kana Hanazawa (Ryōko Satō), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Ichirō Satō), Chiwa Saito (Hino), Hiroki Yasumoto (Yamamoto), Hisako Kanemoto (Shinako Kobato)

The big-screen anime adaptation of Romeo Tanaka’s 2008 light novel Aura: Maryūinkōga Saigo no Tatakai is release today and it will be interesting to see if it can even place on the charts next week. Romeo Tanaka is the creator of the gloriously surreal and silly anime TV series, Humanity has Declined but this is hardly a name series like Evangelion, Berserk or Dragon Ball. The film is directed by Seiji Kishi who was the director of Humanity has Declined  and Persona 4 The Animation. The script has been written by Makoto Uezu (Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka?) and Jun Kumagai (Persona 4, Humanity has Declined).

The seiyuu include Kana Hanazawa who was infernally cute in Blue Exorcist as Shiemi Moriyama and Mayuri Shiina in Steins;Gate and she will be next heard in Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words. She is joined by Chiwa Saito (Head Maid in the surprisingly good Maoyu – review to come soon), Hiroki Yasumoto (Aotabou in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan), and Hisako Kanemoto (Asuna in Children Who Chase Lost Voices).

This film centres on a high school freshman named Ichirō Satō who forgets his book at school and sneaks back in at night to get it. While sneaking he encounters a beautiful girl named Ryōko Satō who claims to be a witch from a parallel world. Is she real or just a delusion? Ichirō Satō used to suffer delusions of grandeur but reinvented himself to try and fit in better. This girl isn’t going to help!

Hanakappa the Movie          

Japanese Title: 映画はなかっぱ　花さけ！パッカ～ん♪　蝶の国の大冒険

Romaji: Eiga wana Kappa Hana Sake! Pakka ~ ♪ chō no kuni no dai bōken

Release Date: April 12^th, 2013 (Japan)

Running Time: 60 mins.

Director: Kazumi Nonaka

Writer: Natsuko Takahashi, Tetsuo Yasumi (Screenplay), Tadashi Akiyama (Original Creator)

Starring: Rie Nakagawa (Hana Kappa), Megumi Ozaki (Mama), Hidenobu Kiuchi (Papa), Rumi Shishido (Momo Kappa-chan)

The Hana Kappa kids TV anime gets a theatrical film! I’ve never heard of it before but it’s aimed at kids so no surprise there. The anime comes from Tadashi Akiyama’s picture books and newspaper manga about a kappa who has a flower growing out of his head (which explains the name Hana Kappa) who lives with his parents and grandparents in Yamabiko village. The feature film follows Hana Kappa who sets out to rescue his mother and others from the land of butterflies, traveling through mountains and deserts and encountering a mysterious boy named Poru who wields a sharp sword. Rie Nakagawa (Taisho in Neko Ramen) takes the lead role.

The film runs in conjunction with a series of singalong short films called Hana Kappa Musical Pan to Gohan Dochi Nano!?