Gundam: G no Reconguista Movie IV – Gekitou ni Sakebu Ai, Gekijouban Re:cycle of Penguindrum Part Two Boku wa Kimi o Aishiteru, Ghost Book, Shimamori no Tou, Kamen Rider Revice: Battle Familia, Avataro Sentai Donbrothers The Movie: New First Love Hero, Japanese Film Trailers

Happy Weekend

I hope you are well

This is the first of a two-part trailer post that covers the films released this weekend. Come back tomorrow for six more trailers.

Anyway, I hope you have time to watch some great films and, if possible, check out the many interviews and reviews I have done and I hope you have a great Friday.

What are the first batch of films released this weekend?

Gundam: G no Reconguista Movie IV – Gekitou ni Sakebu Ai   

劇場版 Gのレコンギスタ IV 激闘に叫ぶ愛 「Gekijouban G no Rekongisuta IV – Gekitou ni Sakebu Ai」

Release Date: July 22nd 2022

Duration: 104 mins.

Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino

Writer: Yoshiyuki Tomino (Series Composition), Yoshiyuki Tomino, Hajime Yatate (Original Creator)

Starring: Mark Ishii (Bellri Zenam), Yu Shimamura (Aida Surugan), Minako Kotobuki (Noredo Nug), Takuya Sato (Luin Lee/Mask), Ryota Ohsaka (Klim Nick),

Animation Production: Sunrise

Website ANN MAL

This is the third part of a five-part feature film adaptation of the TV series Gundam: G no Reconguista, which was directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino and broadcast from 2014 to 2015.

Synopsis: In the far future, a space war has devastated Earth and its colonies.  Tensions continue between different forces. Main protag Bellri Zenam has been recruited to protect a the Capital Tower, a space elevator which brings resources named Photon Batteries to Earth, and he gets caught up in a space pirate attack led by a high-performance G-Self Mobuke Suit piloted by a girl named Aida is captured. She joins Bellri in an adventure where the two discover more about themselves and their backgrounds.

Gekijouban Re:cycle of Penguindrum Part Two Boku wa Kimi o Aishiteru

劇場版 RE:cycle of the PENGUINDRUM 後編　僕は君を愛してる  「 Gekijouban Re:cycle of Penguindrum Kouhen Boku wa Kimi o Aishiteru」

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Duration: 142 mins

Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara

Writer: Kunihiko Ikuhara, Takayo Ikami (Screenplay), 

Starring: Miho Arakawa (Himari Takakura), Ryohei Kimura (Shoma Takakura), Subaru Kimura (Kanba Takakura), Marie Miyake (Ringo Oginome), Aki Toyosaki (Momoka Oginome),

Animation Production: Brain’s Base (TV Anime), Lapin Track (Film Re-edit animation)

Website  ANN  MAL

I was a big fan of the TV anime when it aired but, despite getting the DVDs, haven’t watched it since. This is the second part of a project that re-edits all 24 episodes into a two-part film. It also adds new characters like the mysterious baby penguin Princess Penguin, and new sequences such as live-action footage which depicts the story from a different perspective than the TV series.

Synopsis from back when I was enthusiastic about anime: Three siblings, twin-brothers Kanba and Shouma, and their terminally-ill sister Himari Takakura live together at home without their parents. Kanba and Shouma dote on Himari as any day could be her last. One day, when the siblings are out on a trip to the aquarium, Himari collapses. Taken to hospital it seems that Himari is finished but a miracle occurs when a spirit in a penguin-shaped hat revives her but in exchange for keeping Himari alive the spirit asks the Takakura brothers to acquire an item named the Penguin Drum which is in the possession of a girl named Ringo. Their only help is a trio of penguins that only they can see. 

Ghost Book   

ゴーストブック おばけずかん 「GO-SUTO BUKKU Obake Zukan」

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Duration: 113 mins.

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Writer: Takashi Yamazaki (Script), Hiroshi Saito, Etsuyoshi Miyamoto (Original Story),

Starring: Kairi Jyo, Fuga Shibazaki, Sonny Mcclendon, Fumika Yoshimura, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yui Aragaki,

Website

Synopsis: This is a live-action adaptation of a popular children’s story series where a group of children in a town where there are rumours of a ghost promising wishes. Kazuki and his friends head to a maze-like used bookstore with a mysterious owner and get the Ghost Book, an illustrated book which will help them make a wish. When they leave the used bookstore, they find a world they never knew existed. With the help of the ghost Zukanbo, Kazuki and his friends challenge the ghosts…

Shimamori no Tou   

島守の塔 「Shimamori no Tou」

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Duration: 130 mins.

Director: Sho Igarashi

Writer: Sho Igarashi, Michio Kashiwada (Script), 

Starring: Masato Hagiwara, Jun Murakami, Riho Yoshikawa, Takaaki Enoki, Natsumi Ikema,

Website

Synopsis: In this drama, The Battle of Okinawa, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 people, is the backdrop for a film where we see Akira Shimada, the last governor of Okinawa prior to Japan’s defeat during the war, and others try to protect the lives of the Okinawan people in spite of military orders from mainland Japan. 

The next two films play as a double-bill:

Kamen Rider Revice: Battle Familia   

劇場版　仮面ライダーリバイス　バトルファミリア 「Gekijouban Kamen Raida- Ribaisu Batoru Famiria」

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Duration: N/A

Director: Koichi Sakamoto

Writer: Hanta Kinoshita (Script), Shotaro Ishinomori (Original Story),

Starring: Kentaro Maeda, Subaru Kimura, Kane Kosugi, Mio Takaki, Shigeyuki Totsugi, Ayaka Imoto,

Website IMDB Kamen Rider Wiki

Synopsis: Kazuki Igarashi and Vice fight together as Masked Rider Revise and Masked Rider Vice. When Kazuki’s mother and father get kidnapped in a hijacking incident and taken to Area 666 by a mysterious organization, the three Igarashi siblings, Ikki, his younger brother Daiji, and his younger sister Sakura race to the rescue of everybody on the flight. They are then confronted by Azuma, a man who has made a contract with the demon Gif and holds a deformed Rider belt in his hands…. 

Avataro Sentai Donbrothers The Movie: New First Love Hero   

暴太郎戦隊ドンブラザーズ THE MOVIE 新・初恋ヒーロー 「Abatarou Sentai Donburaz-zu Za Mu-bi-: Shin Hatsukoi Hi-ro-」

Release Date: July 22nd, 2022

Duration: N/A

Director: Ryuta Tasaki

Writer: Toshiki Inoue (Script), Shotaro Ishinomori (Original Story),

Starring: Kohei Higuchi, Yuuki Beppu, Raizo Ishikawa, Kohaku Shida, Wakako Shimazaki,

Website IMDB Power Ranger Wiki

Synopsis: ​The Donbrothers are offered the chance to appear in a movie based on Haruka’s debut manga, First Love Hero by a talented producer named Reiko Mieda (Wakako Shimazaki). Accusations of plagiarism fly about however…