Welcome to the first of three trailer posts
The other two posts will follow over the next two days
I have been doing a lot of overtime at work and festival work so I have been busy but I have been trying to watch and finish Boogiepop Phantom, a Madhouse anime from the early 2000s. Its description as being a Spooky Sepia Puzzle is eye-catching and true. It requires concentration.
What are the first bunch of trailers for this week?
I Wish I Could Meet You Again on the Hill Where That Flower Blooms 
あの花が咲く丘で、君とまた出会えたら。 「Ano Hana ga Saku Oka de, Kimi to mata Deaetara.」
Release Date: December 08th, 2023
Duration: 127 mins.
Director: Yoichi Narita
Writer: Yoichi Narita, Masahiro Yamaura (Screenplay), Natsue Shiomi (Original Novel),
Starring: Haruka Fukuhara, Koshi Mizukami, Natsuki Deguchi, Shusaku Kamikawa, Kentaro Ito, Kanji Tsuda,
Synopsis: High school girl Yuri runs away from home after quarrelling with her mother. She spends the night in the ruins of a nearby air-raid shelter and when she wakes up, it is June 1945. She meets a young man named Akira who helps her and introduces her to whole group of people connected to a nearby military base. Yuri falls for Akira only to discover that he is a member of a suicide squadron…
Ichiko 
市子 「Ichiko」
Release Date: December 08th, 2023
Duration: 125 mins.
Director: Akihiro Toda
Writer: Akihiro Toda, Naho Kamimura (Screenplay),
Starring: Hana Sugisaki, Ryuya Wakaba, Yuki Morinaga, Yuki Kura, Ruka Ishikawa, Shohei Uno,
A selection of great performers like Ryuya Wakaba (Over the Town), Shohei Uno, and Ruka Ishikawa (colorless). This was screened at Busan 2023.
Synopsis: Ichiko and Yoshinori have been together for three years. That seems long enough to get to know someone and so Yoshinori proposes to Ichiko. She disappears. Yoshinori finds himself discovering that he never knew Ichiko at all after a detective visits him and reveals more. Yoshinori begins to track down Ichiko through the people she knew and he uncovers a shocking past.
Kanata no Senko 
彼方の閃光 「Kanata no Senko」
Release Date: December 08th, 2023
Duration: 169 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Hanno
Writer: Yoshihiro Hanno, Natsuo Shimao, Toru Okada (Screenplay), Yoshihiro Hanno (Original Story),
Starring: Gordon Maeda, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Shogen, Masayuki Ito, Masaya Kato,
Synopsis: Hikaru lost his eyesight early on in childhood but it was restored through surgery. At the age of 20, he embarks on a road trip due to being inspired by the photographs of Shomei Toumatsu and is invited to make a documentary film by a self-proclaimed revolutionary. Their subject is following the traces of the war in Nagasaki and Okinawa. These people influence Hikaru’s life dramatically. Flash forward to 2070, Hikaru is 71 years old, and the world has changed drastically.
Kyokaishaku Momotaro 
恐解釈 桃太郎 「Kyokaishaku Momotaro」
Release Date: December 08th, 2023
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Kiyoto Naruse
Writer: Kiyoto Naruse (Screenplay),
Starring: Ruka Hayakawa, Takashi Nishina, Moe Sakura, Chihiro Asaki, Iori Tomita, Eve Mihogawa,
Synopsis: This is a violent reimagining of the Momotaro legend set in a haunted property involving a magical girl accompanied by a range of famous yokai battling a bizarre serial killer.
Hikaru Kujira 
光る鯨 「Hikaru Kujira」
Release Date: December 09th, 2023
Duration: 127 mins.
Director: Yoshihiro Ito
Writer: Yoshihiro Ito (Screenplay),
Starring: Ao Sekiguchi, En Nakagami, Hinata Sano, Nanao Kobuki, Tomokazu Yamaguchi, Tomomi Mizusawa,
Synopsis: A film inspired by the urban legend “Isekai Elevator,” main protag Ito visits the danchi where she lived during her childhood to investigate why her friend went missing and when she rides that elevator she is taken to a parallel reality where she reunites with people who disappeared from her original reality.
Mari’s Story 
マリの話 「Mari no Hanashi」
Release Date: December 08th, 2023
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Toru Takano
Writer: Toru Takano, Shohei Maruyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Yumi Narita, Pierre Taki, Hiroko Matsuda, Satoshi Ebisu,
This is the feature debut of Toru Takano. He was an AD on Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Happy Hour and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and director of the short, She’s Beyond Me.
Synopsis: Mari visits a seaside town where she meets a film director named Sugita who falls in love her and casts her in his next film. They start the project but he suddenly disappears and Mari is left feeling cast adrift. This is when she meets Fumiko, a free-spirited woman, who is searching for her beloved cat. Fumiko inspires Mari to change her life.