We start this weekend by saying…
RIP Keiko Nobumoto
A talent taken away too soon.
If you hadn’t heard, the news is over at Anime News Network. If you don’t know who she is, here’s an article that goes into why she was considered an immensely talented writer. In short, she scripted some of the best episodes of Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy, Samurai Champloo, as well as the scripts for Cowboy Bebop Knocking on Heaven’s Door, Macross Plus, and Tokyo Godfathers AS WELL AS crating Wolf’s Rain.
It’s sad news because her writing was really high calibre stuff that other people more talented than I will do a better job at explaining why. What I will say is that Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Wolf’s Rain are all on Amazon Prime for free in the UK, so watch them if you can. Maybe in the future I will be able to articulate how good I found her writing.
What is released in Japan this weekend?
The Witches of the Orient 
Release Date: December 10th, 2021
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Julien Faraut
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
This hit documentary finally gets a release in Japan.
Synopsis The Japanese women’s volleyball team won the Olympic gold at the 1964 Games in Tokyo and achieved the record of 258 successive wins, a feat that remains unbeaten to this day. They were known as ‘The Witches of the Orient’ and achieved international fame as well as immortalisation in manga and anime. This status belies their origins as the team of a textile factory but that and their meteoric rise to legendary status is covered in this documentary which makes use of manga and anime sequences, archival footage of matches and training sessions, all of which is driven by rhythmic editing and great music from French musician K-Raw.
Your Turn to Kill 
あなたの番です 劇場版 「Anata no Ban Desu: Gekijouban」
Release Date: December 10th, 2021
Duration: 142 mins.
Director: Noriyoshi Sakuma
Writer: Mitsunori Fukuhara (Script),
Starring: Tomoyo Harada, Kei Tanaka, Kodai Asaka, Nao, Maho Yamada, Yoji Tanaka, Naoto Takenaka, Tae Kimura,
Synopsis: This is the film version of a 2019 TV drama about a newlywed couple living in an apartment building in Tokyo who get caught up in the residents’ “exchange murder game.” The movie, which brings back the staff and cast of the TV show, offers an alternative version of the story wherein it was the husband, not the wife, who attended the residents’ meeting at the condominium, and the exchange-murder game never started. Instead, murders start taking place during a wedding party on a boat and everyone has to figure out who the culprit is…
Gunkan Shonen 
軍艦少年 「Gunkan Shonen」
Release Date: December 10th, 2021
Duration: 104 mins.
Director: Yuki Saito
Writer: Makoto Yasunori (Script), Daiju Yanauchi (Original Manga),
Starring: Kanta Sato, Masaya Kato, Mayu Yamaguchi, Tasuomi Hamada, Hidekazu Akai, Misa Shimizu,
Synopsis: Highschooler Kaisei Sakamoto lives with his father Genkai Sakamoto, a ramen restaurant owner. From their home they can see Gunkanjima. What they cannot see is peace happening between the two since they constantly argue, a state of life brought on by the son’s anger issues and the father’s drinking. One day, Kaisei is caught up in a big incident…
Sayonara, Tyranno 
さよなら、ティラノ 「Sayonara, Tirano」
Release Date: December 10th, 2021
Duration: 97 mins
Director: Kobun Shizuno
Writer: Dai Sato, Kimiko Ueno, Naohiro Fukushima (Screenplay), Tatsuya Miyanishi (Original Books)
Starring: Shinichiro Miki (Tyranno), Aoi Yuuki (Tops), Kaori Ishihara (Punon),
Animation Production: Tezuka Productions
This is an international co-production between a Chinese, a Japanese, and a South Korean firm to bring to life Tatsuya Miyanishi’s Tyrannosaurus series of children books. Tezuka Productions animated it.
Synopsis:The film takes place in the age of dinosaurs, just before the ice age wiped many different types of life from the Earth. Tyranno is a fearsome-looking Tyrannosaurus who is more interested in eating red berries than other dinosaurs but there are mean dinosaurs led by Gorgosaurus who want the title of strongest dino on the planet. Tyranno’s friend Punon wants to lead him to heaven, a place with many red berries. Thus, they embark on an epic journey.
Shodo 
衝動 「Shodo」
Release Date: December 10th, 2021
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Shoki Doi
Writer: Shoki Doi (Script),
Starring: Kura Yuki, Ai Mikami, Akana Ikeda, Satoshi Mitsu, Uri Suzuki, Jun Murakami,
Synopsis: A coming-of-age suspense film set in Tokyo’s Shibuya district where a boy named Hachi falls in love with a girl named Ai. What might keep them apart is his job as a drug mule and a past trauma in Ai’s life…
Who Does the City Belong to? 
街は誰のもの？ 「Machi wa darenomono?」
Release Date: December 11th, 2021
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Kota Abe
Writer: N/A
Starring:
Synopsis: A documentary about Brazilian street culture with the focus being on four cities that director Kota Abe stayed in as he studied the diverse cultures and art of the nation. He takes a particular interest in the street aspect, especially the graffiti artists and skaters. It is based on his 2019 documentary Grafiteiros but has an additional 50 minutes of new footage.