Happy Weekend
I hope you are well
This is the second of a two-part trailer post (first part here). This week, I’ve written about the Inter College Animation Festival where people around the world can watch a selection of animated films from students studying at Japanese universities. I also posted about the Japanese films playing at the Busan International Film Festival 2022.
I have continued my run of watching the anime adaptation of Monster. I’m enjoying it very much.
What else was released this weekend?
Bridal, my Song 
ブライダル、マイソング 「Buraidaru, Mai Songu」
Release Date: September 30th, 2022
Duration: 74 mins.
Director: Motoyuki Itabashi
Writer: Keiichiro Murata (Script),
Starring: Keisuke Koide, Rintaro Mizusawa, Yosuke Omizu, Nagiko Tsuji, Tomoki Kimura, Ryo Hiraoka, Serina Niimi,
Synopsis: This is a drama based on a true story that takes place in 1980, 1993, and 2020. It tells the story of the life of Shu Imada, a wedding planner who revolutionized the bridal industry with his creative ideas.
Muse Does Not Drown 
ミューズは溺れない 「Myu-zu wa Oborenai」
Release Date: September 30th, 2022
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Nozomi Asao
Writer: Nozomi Asao (Script),
Starring: Miku Uehara, Kogarashi Wakasugi, Kokoro Morita, Yota Kawase, Hiroko Shinkai,
This is a coming-of-age film that won the Grand Prix at both the 22nd TAMA NEW WAVE and the 15th Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival.
Synopsis: Sakuko, a member of her high school’s art club, gets so into sketching a ship that she takes a tumble into the sea. Nishihara, a fellow member of the art club, witnesses the accident and draws a picture of it. This picture wins a prize at a contest and attracts a lot of attention. In an interview with a newspaper reporter, Nishihara announces that he will use Sakuko as the model for his next work and this drives Sakuko to give up her painting career and to try being creative in other ways. Things don’t pan out and this forces Sakuko to confront Nishihara in the art room and ask why he chose her to be his model.
“Ultra Seven” 55th Anniversary 4K Special Screening 
「ウルトラセブン」55周年記念 4K特別上映 「Urutora Sebun 55 Shuunenkinen 4 K Tokubetsu Jouei 」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 126 mins.
Director: Toshitsugu Suzuki, Kazuho Mitsuta
Writer: Shinichi Ichikawa, Bunzo Wakatsuki, Tetsuo Kinjo (Script),
Starring: Koji Moritsugu, Yuriko Hishimi, Shoji Nakayama, Sandayu Dokumamushi, Bin Furuya,
Synopsis: To commemorate the 55th anniversary of the broadcast of Ultra Seven, selected episodes of the shpw will be screened in 4K at select cinemas. There will also be a special screening at the Tokyo International Film Festival later this month.
Ojikitazawa 
オジキタザワ 「Ojikitazawa」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Masashi Fujimoto
Writer: Mohe Matsumori (Script),
Starring: Haruka Hirakawa, Gao Ogawa, Koichi Haraguchi, Yoshiaki Iwama, Taro Omiya,
This musical is set in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, and features a group of old guys singing and dancing.
Synopsis: Ayumu has missed the last train and is stuck in Shimokitazawa late at night. There she encounters “dreamy old men” who drink, sing, and dance…
Mystic Shrine Maiden 
透子のセカイ 「Touko no Sekai」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Takeshi Sone
Writer: Motoki Nakamura (Script),
Starring: Miyu Yoshimoto, Yua Shiraishi, Takayuki Hamatsu, Takayuki Haranishi, Manmow Iida, Shinichiro Osawa, Atsuko Sudo, Mau Nishio,
Takeshi Sone was cinematographer on One Cut of the Dead and many other films. He also has a directing career that seems to be full of horror titles. This one is a musical set in Nagano Prefecture that has a supernatural spin to it.
Synopsis: Toko is a miko (shrine maiden) whose days are full of joy shared with the many friendly people around her. She awaits the village festival with great excitement but when she learns that it is going to be cancelled due to an old superstition, she decides to go ahead with it by herself despite warnings from her fellow villagers. When she meets a strange little girl by the lake…
Hakushi Project 
透子のセカイ 「Touko no Sekai」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 121 mins.
Director: Naoya Asanuma, Kozue Nomoto, Tetsuhiko Tsuchiya, Daishi Kato,
Writer: Naoya Asanuma, Tetsuhiko Tsuchiya, Daishi Kato, Takato Nishi, Kozue Nomoto, Taka Yamamoto (Script),
Starring: Kazuhiro Sawada, Keisuke Sonoyama, Takaya Miyadera, Shinya Orikasa, Keiko Shimokyo,
Synopsis: This is an omnibus film made up of shorts by four directors and produced by the group “Work Design Studio” and the “HAKUSHI PROJECT”. Each of the films has been screened at separate festivals, it seems.
Fantasmagorie The Ghost Show 
ファンタスマゴリー ザ・ゴーストショー 「Fantasumagori- Za Go-suto Sho-」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Ken Nikai
Writer: Ken Nikai, Daiki Hashimoto, Ryuichi Matsushita (Script),
Starring: Sara Ogawa, Masatoshi Nagase, Hyde, Marius Aubron, Manon Aubron,
Synopsis: Ena, a young woman working as a computer graphics artist in Tokyo, his a creative crisis as she finds her work uninspiring. When she returns to her hometown of Kyoto, she spends her days sketching along the Kamo River and at a café where the owner, Gino, is always absorbed in puzzles. It is during this time that she encounters a man named Robert. He is a mysterious figure who wears a skull-shaped headdress and it is through meeting him that she goes on an adventure as she steps into a mysterious antique store and is transported to 18th century Paris where she sees “Fantasmagorie,” a bizarre act that was popular in Paris at the time. Ena soon becomes inspired by its analogue charms, many of which stand in contrast to the more modern entertainment techniques she is familiar with.
Borderless Island 
ボーダレス アイランド 「Bo-daresu Airando」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 101 mins.
Director: Tsukasa Kishimoto
Writer: Tsukasa Kishimoto, Norio Kida (Script),
Starring: Ivelyn Li/Lee Chia-ying, Eriko Nakamura, Daichi Asai, Masaya Kato, Shogen, Yayoi Shiroma, Natsumi Ikema,
The ties between Okinawa and Taiwan are many and this drama looks at them in a fantastical way as a group of young Taiwanese get involved in mysterious events during the Okinawan Obon Festival – more on the unique Okinawan take on the festival here.
Synopsis: A young woman living with her mother in Taipei goes on a search for her father in Okinawa after she finds a photograph with his name on the back. She heads to the specific island in the picture with her friend Aaron, who is studying Japanese, but will they be able to explore the place when it is closed to outsiders during the three days of the Lunar Bon Festival? The trailer says yes.
Yasashisa no Subete 
優しさのすべて 「Yasashisa no Subete」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 51 mins.
Director: Yuki Adachi
Writer: Kensho Yotsumoto (Script),
Starring: Hirono Nita, Ippei Tanaka, Hisao Kurozumi, Hagino, Joji Nagai, KAZUKI,
This won a special award in the 22nd TAMA NEW WAVE Competition section. While lead actress Hirono Nita is new, Ippei Tanaka is a familiar name having turned up in supporting roles and making a big impression with The Path Leading to Love.
Synopsis: Maasa and Kai are a couple who live together in Tokyo. Their happiness is often interrupted by quarrelling but a serious break arrives when Maasa embarks on an affair. At this sensitive time, they reunite with Aki, a friend from their hometown. When Aki suddenly disappears…
Wakarimasen 
わかりません 「Wakarimasen」
Release Date: October 01st, 2022
Duration: 51 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama (Script),
Starring: Bob Suzuki, Masatoshi Kihara, Eren, Shoji Omiya, DEG,
This is one of four films released this year that will have been written and directed by actor Ryo Katayama. In this drama, he mixes reality and fiction to depict the daily life of a struggling actor. People with an interest in art facing a crisis of some sort seems to be his favourite subject in recent times. I was impressed by his script for Tailwind, which covered similar territory.
Synopsis: Bob Suzuki is an experienced actor who has yet to get any major roles. Meanwhile, his fellow acting friends are becoming successful. As he pushes towards being 60 years of age, he is questioning what he should be doing. Katsutoshi, a fellow actor who joined the same agency later, has a somewhat different predicament as he is regarded as talented and is only given major roles in small films. Despite this difference, the Katsutoshi also feels that he is stuck in a rut and much like Bob, he begins to consider how to change things.