Welcome to the first of two trailer posts this week.
Only twelve new Japanese films will be released so that means two posts with six trailers per post!
With the approach of Christmas, things start winding down with regards to the release schedule. On a more personal note, the season also means the blowing of a lot of money on presents for people and that means the temptation to splurge on video games. As a big Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFT from now) fan, I am tempted to purchase FFT A2 mostly for the soundtrack…
I’ll purchase two new PC games instead and I think that will cap my gaming purchases for a while.
For now, I’m playing Project X Zone 2 on the Nintendo 3DS and it is easier than the first one and much deeper in terms of more systems have been added.
Enough about games!
What are the fist bunch of films released this weekend?
The Imaginary 
屋根裏のラジャー 「Yaneura no Raja- 」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 108 mins
Director: Yoshiyuki Momose
Writer: Masahiro Yokotani (Screenplay), A.F. Harrold. Emily Gravett (Original Creators),
Starring: Kokoro Terada (Rudger), Rio Suzuki (Amanda), Sakura Ando (Lizzie), Atsuko Takahata (Downbeat Grandma), Riisa Naka (Emily), Takayuki Yamada (Jinzan,
Animation Production: Studio Ponoc
Studio Ponoc feels like a spin-off of Studio Ghibli since it was founded by some former Ghibli personnel and their films feature similar traits and tones to that venerable animation house. Such a lazy thought is based on Mary and the Witch’s Flower was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and he had worked on a number of major Ghibli titles before directing The Secret World of Arrietty and When Marnie was There. It felt so similar to those aforementioned titles…
This, their latest film, is, like Mary, Arrietty, and Marnie, a story based on British work rather than something original. The British work was by author and poet A. F. Harrold.
Synopsis: Rudger is Amanda Shuffleup’s imaginary friend. As an Imaginary created by Amanda, only she can see him and if she ever forgets him, he will disappear. There is a town where the Imaginaries gather together to live but all of that is put under threat with the presence of the evil Mr. Bunting, a man who eats Imaginaries. Rudger must prevent himself from disappearing while avoiding Mr. Bunting.
Hanshin Tiger’s THE MOVIE 2023 Eikou no ARE 
阪神タイガース THE MOVIE 2023 栄光のARE 「Hanshin Taiga-zu THE MOVIE 2023 Eikou no ARE」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Keisuke Imamura
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: The Hanshin Tigers won their first league championship in 18 years and its first Japan Series title in 38 years and people in Osaka went bonkers in celebration and were jumping into the Dotonbori River in celebration despite authorities warning them of health risks and the police trying to prevent such actions. Well, anyone who got sick might have better spent their time watching this documentary which tracks their progress under manager Akifumi Okada and how they trained to become the winning team they are now. Viewers will see footage from games, interviews with players and managers and so forth.
Father Father 
義父養父 「Gifu Yofuu」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Hitoshi Omika
Writer: Hitoshi Omika (Screenplay),
Starring: Asami Shibuya, Hiroko Matsuda, Yoshiki Arizono, Daikichi Sugawara, Asuka Kurosawa, Shinsuke Kato,
Hitoshi Omika, lead actor in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Venice Film Festival Silver Lion award-winning movie Evil Does Not Exist, has directed this film. This is his directorial debut film and is based on an incident that happened to someone he knows.
Synopsis: Rika comes from a complicated family: her mother, despite holding the ideal of living independently of a man, constantly remarries. She is on her fifth marriage. A relative named Yutaka is introduced to Rika and his life is also complicated as he has a mentally ill wife and has terminal cancer. He asks Rika to adopt him and she becomes fond of him but then he suddenly dies…
Polar Night 
ポーラー ナイト 「Po-ra- Naito」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 74 mins.
Director: Nagisa Isogai
Writer: Nagisa Isogai, Hiroshi Takahashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Tomomi Kono, Sakura Minehara, Tomona Hirota, Shinsuke Kato, Akemi Kanda, Hibiki Kitazawa, Koji Seki,
Nagisa Isogai, who was featured at a Raindance Film Festival with her medium-length film The Lust of Angels, makes her feature debut with a work co-written with Hiroshi Takahashi of the Ringu franchise.
Synopsis: Makoto is at an art university. What inspired her was her love for an art teacher she met as a 12-year-old girl. That teacher disappeared after an incident and only showed up at an exhibition that Makoto participates in. She looks just as Makoto remembered. As in EXACTLY THE SAME. Turns out that the fabulously beautiful teacher has a taste for blood…
Mikikan’no tomo ni 
未帰還の友に 「Mikikan’no tomo ni」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 75 mins.
Director: Yuzo Fukuma
Writer: Yuzo Fukuma (Screenplay), Osamu Dazai (Original Story)
Starring: Shunsuke Kubozuka, Ryunosuke Hashino, Ryo Yashima, Ryooh, Moka Shimizu,
Shunsuke Kubozuka played one of the leads in Hanagatami, Obayashi’s anti-war film. Well, he’s back in another war-themed film, one based on a short story by Osamu Dazai.
Synopsis: The lead character in the film, “Sensei”, is a popular novelist. One of his students, Tsuruta, is drafted into the army and will be sent off to fight. Just before that day, Sensei and Tsuruta go out for drinks and Tsuruta tells Sensei about how he has had to break relations with a special girl he is in love with, a dancer named Masako who works at the Shinjuku Moulin Rouge.
Daughter 
ドーター 「Do-ta-」
Release Date: December 15th, 2023
Duration: 53 mins.
Director: Yugo Kanno
Writer: Kairi Usaki (Screenplay)
Starring: Naoto Takenaka, Yuka Sekikawa, Yuma Uechi, Yuma Kondo, Ruka Wakabayashi,
This is the feature film debut of composer Yugo Kanno. His name will be familiar from anime and movie scores through the 2010s, including Psycho-Pass.
Synopsis: Miu and Haruto are people who have lost someone important. For Miu, it was her mother while for Haruto it was his wife. This father and daughter go on a journey where they confront more tragedy and search for answers to life’s big questions.