Welcome to the second and last trailer post for this week
You can find the first post here
This week, I posted a review of the action-comedy Mad Cats (2023) and a preview of the Berlin Film Festival 2024. I also posted a news article on the release of time-slip comedy River (2023), the latest work from the team behind The Infinite Two Minutes.
What are the other films released this weekend?
Hypnosis Mic Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage Battle of Pride 2023 Cinema Edit 
「ヒプノシスマイク Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage Battle of Pride 2023 Cinema Edit 「Hipunoshisu Maiku Division Rap Battle Rule Rule the Stage Battle of Pride 2023 Cinema Edit 」
Release Date: February 16th, 2024
Duration: 100 mins.
Staging: Go Ueki
Writer: Shinjiro Kameda (Screenplay), Evil Line Records (Original Creator),
Starring: Akira Takano, Shota Matsuda, Ryunosuke Nagashima, Aran Abe, Kenta Mizue,
Hypnosis Microphone is a project featuring eighteen Japanese voice actors who make up teams of three emcees, each representing a famous district in Japan. These teams battle each other with rap battle albums, division songs, and occasional drama CDs. This film is a 2.5D stage version.
If you want to find out more about the anime/drama/game it is based on, head to this site.
Synopsis: Battle of Pride 2023 is based on the fourth in a series of 2.5-dimensional stage plays that was performed in a theatre in September 2023.
Dull Colored Chocolatville Biennale 
鈍色ショコラヴィレ ビエンナーレ 「Nibi-iro Shokoravuire Bien na-re 」
Release Date: February 16th, 2024
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Masaaki Kanamori
Writer: Kentaro Miura, (Screenplay), Masaaki Kanamori (Original Novel),
Starring: Noa Nakada, Nao Ayaki, Hajime Okayama, Amisa Miyazaki, Haruka Komiyama,
Website Twitter: @nibiirochocolat IMDB
Kanazawa City is known for its chocolatiers and this drama plays on that reputation.
Synopsis: Shiori has to write a feature article for a magazine on Kanazawa chocolate. Initially confused about where to start, she soon embarks on a series of interviews at art museums and confectionery stores to learn more about Western and Japanese sweets. As she works, she becomes more absorbed in the world of chocolate.
Floating Holidays 
Floating Holidays フローティング・ホリデーズ 「Nibi-iro Shokoravuire Bien na-re 」
Release Date: February 16th, 2024
Duration: 102 mins.
Director: Yumi Masuda
Writer: Yumi Masuda (Screenplay), Masaaki Kanamori (Original Novel),
Starring: Kohei Takeda, Marina Kozawa, Shuko Sugawara, Keiko Oshima, Megumi Kagurazaka,
Website Twitter: @TEAM_Caminari IMDB
Whoa! Kohei Takeda played Vaan and Marina Kozawa played Penelo in Final Fantasy XII and now they are reunited for this film!
Synopsis: Mika moved from Tokyo to Ukiha, Fukuoka Prefecture, to get medical treatment for her adjustment disorder. Mike would like to go back to work quickly and she gets help from her little brother Masayuki who crashes at her place. He may be a pain but thanks to him, Mika regains a sense of herself as the two hang out.
Lily I Am Crying 
りりィ 私は泣いています 「Riri Watashi wa Naiteimasu」
Release Date: February 16th, 2024
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Kenji Takama
Writer: N/A
Starring: Lily, Yoji Saito, Kazuya Takahashi, Toshie Negishi, Hako Yamazaki, Yukiji Teramoto,
Synopsis: This is a documentary about singer-songwriter and actress Lily, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 64. She appeared in The Bride of Rip Van Winkle and made many hit songs. As a result, there are recorded performances and interviews with film talents like Etsushi Toyokawa and Shunji Iwai as well as Lily’s son, musician JUON, and fellow musicians.
Be My Guest Be My Baby / Sociology of Filipino Pub Girls 
フィリピンパブ嬢の社会学 「Firipin Pabu jo no Shakai-gaku」
Release Date: February 17th, 2024
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Mitsuhito Shiraha
Writer: Satoshi Oocochi (Screenplay), Kosho Nakashima (Original Novel),
Starring: Koki Maeda, Razel Ichimiya, Stefanie Arianne, Kanji Tsuda, Shuna Iijima, Takashi Nishina, Alisa Urahama,
Website Twitter: @movie_Phili_pub
This film is based on real-life research into the lives of foreign workers in Japan, specifically Filipina bar ladies. It stars Koki Maeda, who made his feature film debut with Kiseki (2011) and it features Shuna Iijima (Bad Poetry Tokyo).
Synopsis: Shota is a graduate student researching Filipino pubs for dissertation material. At one pub he meets Mika, a hostess who she is in a sham marriage and trapped by the yakuza in appalling circumstances and, despite working all but two days of a month, she is paid only 60,000 yen a month. Shota falls in love with her and, despite knowing her problems and risks, decides to stand up to the yakuza. This is the start of their love story.
Arirang Rhapsody 
アリランラプソディ 「Ariran Rapusudi」
Release Date: February 17th, 2024
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Sung Woong Kim
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Website Twitter: @2023ariran
Synopsis: Director Sung Woong is a second generation Zainichi Korean. In this documentary, he records the lives of first-generation Zainichi Koreans for living in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture and their history in the city, their memories of discrimination, and the homes in Korea that they left behind.
Whereabouts of Memories 
記憶の居所 「Kioku no Idokoro」
Release Date: February 17th, 2024
Duration: 54 mins.
Director: Yutaka Tsunemachi
Writer: Yutaka Tsunemachi (Screenplay),
Starring: Rio Yamashita, Toshihito Kokubo, Maki Isonishi, Nairu Yamamoto, Ayaka Nagai,
Website Twitter: @kiokunoidokoro
Synopsis: In this omnibus film, viewers get three stories, one between two girls and the music that they share, another about a man and woman who meet at a museum and go to France after being inspired by Van Gogh’s “Country Road in Provence by Night,” and another where a nurse returns to her hometown after learning of the death of her estranged mother.