Happy Weekend
I hope you are well.
This is the fourth of a four-part trailer post because over 20 Japanese films were released into cinemas/mini theatres this week. The first post was dedicated to Kaito Yoshimura works, the second to a grip of films by student filmmakers Ayako Masuda and Yuiko Itano, the third to the bulk of mainstream titles this weekend and this post has indie features, animation, and a documentary.
Also posted this week was a preview of the Japanese films at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
What are the final bunch of films released this weekend?
DEAD OR ZOMBIE / With or without zombies, we will never change our self-assessment 
DEAD OR ZOMBIE ゾンビが発生しようとも、ボクたちは自己評価を変えない 「Dead or Zombie Zonbi ga Hassei Shiyoutomo, Bokutachi wa Jiko Hyouka o Kaenai」
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 42 mins.
Director: Tomoya Sato
Writer: Tomoya Sato (Script),
Starring: Sara Kurashima, Hono Miyabe, Koyo Matsumura, Tamae Onishi, Katsuo Yoshikawa,
Synopsis: A small city has been quarantined to prevent the spread of zombie infection and Saki, a high school girl, is at the centre of everything as she tries to take care of her zombified family.
Chibiham, Juicy & Me 
チビハム・ジューシー・アンド・ミー 「 Chibihamu Ju-shi- Ando Mi-」
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 69 mins
Director: Riki Ohkanda
Writer: Aiko Matsushita, Reiko Honjo (Screenplay), Riki Ohkanda (Original Creator)
Starring: Jennifer Lloyd (Chibiham), Akiko Iwase (Juicy’s Mama), Hiroshi Oyama (Kintama), Mika Hijii (Juicy), Noa Iwasawa (Derumo), Shayna (Paprika),
Animation Production: Supersüß
Riki Ohkanda is an American filmmaker who has lived in Japan for 20 years and she made her live-action directorial debut with Random Call which played at this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival and I interviewed her about it.
This is her first anime film, by the looks of things, and it is about a chubby girl from the U.S. who comes to Japan to visit. It’s motion-capture and CG.
Synopsis: Paprika, an American exchange student, her friend Jesse and Paprika’s cousin Chibiham, a young woman who is doing a homestay in Japan, get into various culture clash comedy scenarios, particularly because Chibiham doesn’t conform to Japanese style and is selfish and causes all sorts of trouble. Comedy ensues.
IF I STAY OUT OF LIFE…? 
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 111 mins.
Director: Ryujin Kiyoshi
Writer: Ryujin Kiyoshi, Shuko Nemoto (Script),
Starring: Ryujin Kiyoshi, Rina Ono, Yui Yokoyama, Ichika Osaki, Haya Nakazaki, Rina Matsuki Mikoto Hibi, Win Morisaki,
An omnibus film split into two parts, each depicting a different adult love story. Part one was originally released on YouTube but it has been re-edited and music has been edited for the theatrical version. Part two is brand new. Musician Ryujin Kiyoshi is the brain behind all of this.
Synopsis: Part one features Kaho, a woman who works at an art museum where she meets a man who wants to take her picture even though photography is prohibited. part two follows Akito, a businessman in Tokyo who is supposed to have dinner with a friend but ends up meeting Hinako, a former fortune teller, first.
Todo no Tsumari 
とどのつまり 「Todo no Tsumari」
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama (Script),
Starring: Maruko Morito, Keiko Shimokyo, Takaya Miyadera, Sarasa Nakamura, Eda Raika, Yasutaka Otsuka,
Ryo Katayama is a writer/director/actor who is quite prolific on the indie circuit. This is a self-reflexive film.
Synopsis: The story seems to be about the off-screen lives of actors. Shiho fills her free time by having affairs with men. Hiroki makes a living working in a bar. Rika wrestles with being called beautiful. Each person has their problems and lives with the tension of ideal and reality, but all three still try to be actors.
Marukibune to UFO 
丸木舟とUFO 「Marukibune to UFO」
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 85 mins.
Director: Hiroyuki Mizumoto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Tomohiro Yoshida, Akemi Yoshida, Michiru Yoshida, Ura Yoshida, Shigemasa Miyagi,
Synopsis: Tomohiro Yoshida and his family moved from Tokyo to the village of Kuura on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture. It is a remote location and it has suffered depopulation and a lack of employment but the Yoshida’s have toughed it out by going from job to job until Tomohiro found his niche as a carpenter of “Sabani”, a traditional Okinawan wooden boat. With the support of his family and the elderly people of the village, he succeeded in earning a living and is now creating a quiet boom in guided tours of handmade sabani boats. One of the draws for tourists to the area is communicating with UFOs…
Ryuya Suzuki Animation Showcase
There is a 45-minute programme of works by Ryuya Suzuki shorts that are playing at Shimokitazawa Tollywood from September 24.
MAHOROBA
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 14 mins.
Director: Ryuya Suzuki
Writer: Ryuya Suzuki (Script),
Starring: N/A
No trailer
Synopsis: This is a Covid-inspired short animation by Ryuya Suzuki Tatsuya made solo that won awards at numerous festivals.
Lawless Love
無法の愛 「Muhou no Ai」
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 23 mins.
Director: Ryuya Suzuki
Writer: Ryuya Suzuki (Script),
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: The film depicts a love story between two outcasts who meet at a construction site the middle of the night that takes place over a quarter of a century.
Yobidore
Release Date: September 24th, 2022
Duration: 4 mins.
Director: Ryuya Suzuki
Writer: Ryuya Suzuki (Script),
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Ryuya Suzuki created this 4-minute short film as a music video for a song by the rock band the dust. It depicts the frenzy of a man who gave up on his dream of becoming a singer, trips into a public restroom he rushed into while drunk, and drowns himself in his dreams for a night.
Parallel 
Release Date: September 25th, 2022
Duration: 84 mins.
Director: Daiki Tanaka
Writer: Daiki Tanaka (Script)
Starring: Momona Naraha, Sojoro Yoshimura, Koyuki Sagasawa, Hitomi-chan, Shusuke Judai,
Due for a release later in the year, I was impressed by the trailer. I want to see the full film, now!
Synopsis: The story unfolds with a coincidental meeting between Mai, a girl carrying a past trauma in her heart, and a murderer, who repeatedly kills in the guise of an anime character. She hides her trauma while he hides his true appearance and yet, in the real world, where the past and the virtual mingle together, the two search for supreme love and pursue each other…
