Welcome to the first trailer post of the week!
In the decade-plus time I have been writing about film trailers, I don’t think I have witnessed a weekend as packed as this – solely speaking of Japanese films, never mind foreign ones – ever before. And that’s with the understanding that there are many more smaller movies also getting played at different venues.
Anyway, this is me saying that I am splitting this trailer post into four with around seven apiece, so come back each day of the week to see what else is going to hit the silver screen over the weekend.
Here are the first seven:
(Ab)normal Desire 
正欲 「Seiyoku」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 134 mins.
Director: Yoshiyuki Kishi
Writer: Takehiko Minato (Screenplay), Ryo Asai (Original Novel),
Starring: Goro Inagaki, Yui Aragaki, Hayato Isomura, Shohei Uno, Maho Yamada,
This is the latest film from Yoshiyuki Kishi, director of Double Life (2016) and he is adapting a novel from Ryo Asai, the person responsible for the story behind The Kirishima Thing (2012).
Synopsis: Hiroki Terai is a public prosecutor living and working in Yokohama. He and his wife aren’t getting along because his son has started skipping school. As Hiroki worries about this, all the way down in the south of Japan, Hiroshima, to be precise, there is a contract worker named Natsuki Kiryu who would like to stop working at a shopping mall and would prefer to spend her time alone. They are two of a number of people who find that they have secret character traits and passions that they hide from the world and some of these characters become connected to each other.
The Innocent Game 
法廷遊戯 「Houtei Yugi」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 134 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Fukagawa
Writer: Saya Matsuda (Screenplay), Ritsuto Igarashi (Original Novel),
Starring: Ren Nagase, Hana Sugisaki, Takumi Kitamura, Akira Emoto, Michitaka Tsutsui,
Synopsis: Kiyoyoshi Kuga is training to become a solicitor alongside his childhood friend Mirei Orimoto and their genius classmate Kaoru. Said genius stages mock trails called “Blameless Game” for students and graduates alike but the latest trial goes awry when Mirei is found with a bloody knife and Kaoru’s dead body. This incident leads to the revelation of the past and the truth surrounding the three, and the situation takes two or three different turns.
A Spoiling Rain 
花腐し 「Hanakutashi」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 137 mins.
Director: Haruhiko Arai
Writer: Haruhiko Arai (Screenplay),
Starring: Go Ayano, Tasuku Emoto, Honami Sato, Mitsuo Yoshioka, Yota Kawase,
Haruhiko Arai directed the steamy erotic drama It Feels So Good (2019) and he reunites with Tasuku Emoto, the lead of that film, to explore the pink film industry. The lead is the so-so Go Ayano (Beneath the Shadow).
Synopsis: A pink film director named Kutani has struggled to make a film in recent years and he is struggling to make the rent. As rainy season approaches, his landlord gives him notice of eviction. It is at this time that he meets an aspiring screenwriter named Iseki and the two talk. As they talk, they both realise that they both loved the same woman, Shoko, whose dream was to be an actress. As the lives of each person intersect, each faces the end of their dreams.
Girls Drive 
ガールズドライブ 「Ga-ruzu Doraibu」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Taro Miyaoka
Writer: Tete Inoue (Screenplay),
Starring: Yui Oguri, Mizuki Yamauchi, Narumi Kuranoo, Sora Yamazaki, Masaru Mizuno,
Synopsis: A coming-of-age road movie starring AKB48 members as girls travelling to Tokyo over the summer.
TOKYO, I LOVE YOU 
トーキョー、アイラブユー 「To-kyo-, Ai Rabu Yu-」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: N/A
Director: Hiroshi Nakajima
Writer: Hiroshi Nakajima (Screenplay),
Starring: Kouki Yamashita, Ryunosuke Matsumura, Shota Hatani, Sho Sakai, Ken Shimazu,
Synopsis: An omnibus film featuring three stories depicting the loves of a variety of people in Tokyo. Their number includes a dancer who is trying to raise money to fund the surgery of a friend with a brain tumour.
Komada – A Whisky Family 
駒田蒸留所へようこそ 「Komada Jouryuusho e Youkoso」
Release Date: November 03rd, 2023
Duration: 91 mins
Director: Masayuki Yoshihara
Writer: Munemasa Nakamoto, Yukito Kizawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Saori Hayami (Rui Komada), Kenichi Suzumura (Yuusuke Saitou), Kensho Ono (Kotaro Takahashi), Maaya Uchida (Tomoko Kawabata), Kikuko Inoue (Mio Komada),
Animation Production: P.A. Works
This film has been screened at Annecy International Animation Film Festival and, more recently, in the Animation section of the Tokyo International Film Festival. It is the latest of P.A. Works’ animated films to be set in a workplace.
Synopsis: Following the death of her father, Rui Komada has taken over the reins of her family’s distillery and she finds that it is in a bad state. Her goes is to revive it but to do that, she will have to reunite her family and overcome a natural disaster. The way forward is to relaunch the family’s signature “KOMA” whiskey. This attracts the attention of a struggling journalist named Kotaro Takahashi.
Gintama on Theater 2D: Baragaki-hen 
銀魂オンシアター2D バラガキ篇 「Gintama on Shiata- 2D: Baragaki-hen」
Release Date: November 03rd, 2023
Duration: 88 mins
Director: Youichi Fujita
Writer: Michiko Yokote, Kento Shimoyama, Akatsuki Yamatoya (Screenplay), Hideaki Sorachi (Original Creator),
Starring: Kazuya Nakai (Toushirou Hijikata), Tomokazu Sugita (Gintoki Sakata), Kenichi Suzumura (Sougo Okita), Aya Hirano (Nobume Imai), Susumu Chiba (Isao Kondou),
Animation Production: BN Pictures
Synopsis: The “Baragaki-hen” of Gintama is based on a compilation film consisting of episodes 43–46 of the second season with additional footage added. The movie is a part of the “Gintama 20th Anniversary Project.”