Welcome to the first trailer post of the week
There will be three trailer posts due to there being 19 Japanese films listed for release this week. Come back tomorrow and Thursday for the next two.
Well, I’m going to start publishing reviews connected to the Chicago International Film Festival soon. As public release dates approach, I can start scheduling them.
I am working on another film festival as that is all going on. In terms of what I have been watching outside of festival films, lots of contemporary horror movies like the latest The Exorcist and The Nun II. By the end of the year, my Letterboxd account’s film list will be stacked with more recent releases than it usually is.
What are the first batch of films released this week?
Knuckle Girl 
ナックルガール 「Nakkuru Ga-ru」
Release Date: November 02nd, 1983
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: CHANG (Yoon Hong-seung)
Writer: Yoo Gap-yeol, (Screenplay), Jgstreet, Daywakjer (Sang Jin-yoo) (Original Webtoon),
Starring: Ayaka Miyoshi, Goki Maeda, Kanata Hosoda, Yosuke Kubozuka, Hideaki Ito, Ruka Matsuda,
This is based on a Korean webtoon and features Korean talent behind the camera while a Japanese cast acts out the story. This will go live on Amazon Prime from November 02nd, so check the listings to see if you can watch it.
Synopsis: Ran is a promising boxer who normally takes on school bullies but when her sister is kidnapped by a criminal gang, she upgrades her fists and gloves for brass knuckledusters to participate in illegal fights to save her.
Godzilla Minus One 
ゴジラ−1.0 「Gorira -1.0」
Release Date: November 03rd, 1983
Duration: 125 mins.
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Writer: Takashi Yamazaki (Screenplay),
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki,
This film commemorates the 70th anniversary of the birth of “Godzilla” and it is the 30th live-action Godzilla movie produced in Japan.
Synopsis: The story takes place in post-war Japan, a nation razed to the ground by war and reset to “zero.” We follow Koichi, who survived the war but lost his parents, and a young woman living solo named Noriko. They, along with many others, must confront Godzilla’s overwhelming power which threatens to bring Japan down to “minus.” The nameless people who survived the war search for a way to live and fight against Godzilla.
Jinsei ni Tsunda Moto Idol wa, Aka no Tanin no Ossan to Sumu Sentaku wo Shita 
人生に詰んだ元アイドルは、赤の他人のおっさんと住む選択をした 「Jinsei ni Tsunda Moto Idol wa, Aka no Tanin no Ossan to Sumu Sentaku wo Shita」
Release Date: November 03rd, 1983
Duration: 114 mins.
Director: Mayu Akiyama
Writer: Fumi Tsubota (Screenplay), Akiko Oki (Original Novel),
Starring: Mai Fukagawa, Arata Iura, Ryo Matsuura, Yurina Yanagi, Kenta Izuka, Yurei Yanagi, Aoba Kawai, Ryosuke Miyake,
This film is based on a novel written by former “SDN48” idol and now writer Akiko Oki. The film stars former “Nogizaka46” member Mai Fukagawa and experienced actor Arata Iura (Randen).
Synopsis: Akiko had to quit life as an idol due to mental illness. Facing having no job, nobody to support her, and only 100,000 yen in her bank account, she takes up her friend’s suggestion that she move in with 56-year-old salaryman who lives alone in a house in Tokyo. She names him Sasapon and their arrangement is that she can live there until his retirement. Thus, they begin their co-habitiation.
Oshorin 
おしょりん 「Oshorin」
Release Date: November 03rd, 1983
Duration: 120 mins.
Director: Yoshihisa Kodama
Writer: Erika Seki, Yoshihisa Kodama (Screenplay), Yoko Fujioka (Original Novel),
Starring: Kie Kitano, Win Morisaki, Taro Suruga, Rino Katase, Kotaro Koizumi, Ai Takahashi, Kanji Tsuda, Shiori Akita,
Synopsis: We are taken to Fukui Prefecture, circa 1904, to see the foundations of the eyeglasses industry. It begins with the Masunaga brothers and eldest brother Gozaemon’s wife, Mume. when the younger brother, Kohachi, returns from work in Osaka, he brings with him spectacles in the belief that they will be a necessity in the future. Gozaemon is sceptical at first but the sight of a child wearing glasses and being able to see clearly for the first time changes his mind.
Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower 
火の鳥 エデンの花 「Hi no Tori Eden no Hana」
Release Date: November 03rd, 2023
Duration: 95 mins
Director: Shojiro Nishimi
Writer: Saku Konohana, Katsunari Mano (Screenplay), Osamu Tezuka (Original Creator),
Starring: Rie Miyazawa (Romi), Yosuke Kubozuka (George), Issey Ogata (Sudarban), Honoka Yoshida (Kom), Shintarou Asanuma (Makimura),
Animation Production: Studio 4C
The classic Osamu Tezuka manga gets another animated film adaptation.
Synopsis: Romi and his lover George flee from Earth and travel to the remote planet Eden 17. However, the planet has a harsh environment and George is killed in an accident. At his loss, Romi goes into suspended animation, but the machine malfunctions and he is stuck in sleep for 1,300 years. When she emerges, she is crowned the queen of Eden 17, a huge town built by new arrivals. Despite this adulation, Romi longs to return to Earth and a kind-hearted boy named Kom decides to travel with her through the vastness of space.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Special Edition The Hell Fire of Destiny HD Remaster 
機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY スペシャルエディション III 運命（さだめ）の業火 「Kidou Senshi Gundam Seed Supesharu Edishon III: Sadame no Goka HD Rimasuta-」
Release Date: First Broadcast in 2006
Duration: 93 mins
Director: Mitsuo Fukuda
Writer: Chiaki Morosawa (Series Composition),
Starring: Akira Ishida (Athrun Zala), Souichiro Hoshi (Kira Yamato), Rie Tanaka (Lacus Clyne, Meer Campbell), Kotono Mitsuishi (Murrue Ramius),
Animation Production: Sunrise,
This is the second of four movies that are HD remasters of TV movies that were compiled from Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny series that was first broadcast in 2004. Said TV movies were screened in 2006. This movie consists of episodes 29 to 42 out of 50 episodes.
With that out of the way, what was different from the TV movies and the series? A shift in perspective, telling the story from the POV of side characters so that the story is more neutral. Also new scenes and tweaks to animation and dub.
The four films go under the titles:
1. The Broken World (Kudakareta Sekai)
2. Respective Swords (Sorezore no Ken)
3. The Hell Fire of Destiny (Sadame no Goka)
4. The Cost of Freedom (Jiyuu no Daishou)
They will open on October 06th, October 20th, November 03rd, and November 17th, respectively
They run ahead of the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM film project which will open in Japan on January 26, 2024.
Synopsis: Kira and his forces arrive in the Archangel. He’s piloting his Freedom Gundam on a mission to stop Stella, in her Destroy Gundam, from destroying cities. Fatal consequences ensue…
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugihagi Koujo no Fushigi na Ko 
映画 すみっコぐらし ツギハギ工場のふしぎなコ 「Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugihagi Koujo no Fushigi na Ko」
Release Date: November 03rd, 2023
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Hazumu Sakuta
Writer: Takashi Sumita (Script), Yuri Yokomizu, San-X (Original Creator)
Starring: Narrators – Yoshihiko Inohara, Manami Nanjo
Animation Production: Fanworks
Synopsis: The slightly negative characters are back for their third film and this time it’s operating a toy factory that they discover deep in the forest. They get off to a good start but things get even more special when they discover the secret at the heart of the factory.