Happy Weekend
I hope you are well
I’m still dealing with a chronic illness and have remained off work. During this time, I’ve watched a selection of New York Asian Film Festival films and Netflix shows. I finished series three of The Boys and also watched Thicker than Water (2018), a film I thought would be funny but turned out to be nasty. The horror movie Malignant (2019) was a much better experience, a throw-back to late 90s/early 2000s horror/music/film aesthetics with a fun OTT story.
You can also hear the latest episode of Heroic Purgatory which covered the Abbas Kiarostami film Taste of Cherry (1997). The last Kiarostami film I watched was Certified Copy back in 2010. When my health was much, much better.
RIP to Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh who died earlier this week.
What else is released this weekend?
Yumepa no Jikan 
ゆめパのじかん 「Yumepa no Jikan」
Release Date: July 08th, 2022
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Yoshiki Shigee
Writer: Takashi Okamoto (Script),
Starring: Shuri Tanaka, Keiko Shimokyo, Mariko Goto, Hiromu Suzuki, Tomohisa Suzuki,
Synopsis: We enter the world of “Yumepa”, or Dream Park in English, in this documentary. Yumepa is how the Japanese refer to Kawasaki City’s Children’s Dream Park. This parks includes a play area, a music studio, and a space for children who are not going to school. Opened in 2003, it has various facilities that allow kids to play and experiment and just relax and it is open to kids, from young to old.
Discord’s High 
ディスコーズハイ 「Disuko-zu Hai」
Release Date: July 08th, 2022
Duration: 101 mins.
Director: Takashi Okamoto
Writer: Takashi Okamoto (Script),
Starring: Shuri Tanaka, Keiko Shimokyo, Mariko Goto, Hiromu Suzuki, Tomohisa Suzuki,
Synopsis: Natsuko has joined the musical label Yardbirds thanks to her connections but she is struggling to make headway with producing a music video for a band who have no sense of crisis or motivation. Worse still, she is in a rival with a colleague…
Gate of the Law 
掟の門 「Okite no Mon」
Release Date: July 09th, 2022
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: Norihiro Ito
Writer: Norihiro Ito (Script),
Starring: Riko Okabe, Takaya Matsutani, Michiyo Ishimoto, Mayu Hasegawa, Makoto Oose,
Synopsis: Sayaka Tachibana attends nursing school in Tokyo while living in her aunt’s house. She is a head nurse at a hospital. The two are on the frontlines of the Covid pandemic and Sayaka’s aunt contracts the virus and dies. Sayaka develops an intense fear of the virus and begins to question her decision to become a nurse. Things look up when she meets and falls in love with Kazuya Tsutsumi, a young man who is a member of a theatre troupe but he has personal drama in his own life that turns deadly…
Gate of the Law Sequel
続・掟の門 「Zoku Okite no Mon」
Release Date: July 10th, 2022
Duration: 93 mins.
Director: Norihiro Ito
Writer: Norihiro Ito (Script),
Starring: Nanaho Otsuka, Sae Igami, Riko Okabe, Takaya Matsutani, Ryo Toyomitsu,
Synopsis: The sequel depicting what happens to the characters of Gate of the Law, it takes place in 2021, as the opening of the Tokyo Olympics approaches. Miki Saito, an archer, finds her place in the games is lost when she contracts Covid. She meets Mayumi Koseki, while recuperating at a hotel, and learns about her connection to the drama in Kazuya from the previous film.
Osomatsu-san ~Hipipo-Zoku to Kagayaku Kajitsu~ 
おそ松さん ヒピポ族と輝く果実 「 Osomatsu-san ~Hipipo-Zoku to Kagayaku Kajitsu~」
Release Date: July 08th, 2022
Duration: 68 mins
Director: Yoshinori Odaka
Writer: Shu Matsubara (Screenplay), Fujio Akatsuka (Original Creator)
Starring: Jun Fukuyama (Ichimatsu), Daisuke Ono (Jushimatsu), Hiroshi Kamiya (Choromatsu), Miyu Irino (Todomatsu), Takahiro Sakurai (Osomatsu), Yuichi Nakamura (Karamatsu), Aya Endo (Totoko),
Animation Production: Pierrot
Synopsis: The Matsuno sextuplets leave their dull lives behind as they embark on an epic journey to track down a legendary fruit that will grant any wish if eaten. They arrive on a mysterious island, where they encounter the mysterious Hipipo tribe who cultivate a mysterious fruit…
Toku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru ~Tsuki no Maki ~ 
特「刀剣乱舞 花丸」 月ノ巻 「 Toku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru ~Tsuki no Maki ~」
Release Date: July 08th, 2022
Duration: 81 mins
Director: Tomoaki Koshida
Writer: Yuki Nekoto (Screenplay),
Starring: Mitsuhiro Ichiki (Yamatonokami Yasusada), Toshiki Masuda (Kiyomitsu Kashu), Kousuke Toriumi (Mikazuki Munechika), Takuya Satou (Shokudaikiri Mitsutada),
Animation Production: Doga Koba
Synopsis: This is the second of a trilogy of animated feature films based on the popular sword training simulation game “Touken Ranbu ONLINE” and the swordsmiths are given three days off from missions over the summer. Since this is their first summer vacation, they decide to make albums of themselves enjoying their holiday, activities of which seem to include going to the mountains and an ogre extermination trip and the frolicking in the sea.