Welcome to the one and only trailer post for this week.
This is the only post for this week, actually.
I decided to stick to one post to arrange an interview and review as I draw a pretty intense period of coverage for the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024 to a close.
In years gone by, I tend to spread out the writing/publication because I am usually travelling across Japan and also balancing my regular job and normal life with my film coverage and so it would be piecemeal and take months. Last year I was ill and so I could only write around 10 articles. This year, I have published 21 articles over the course of March – and that isn’t including trailer posts. I feel that I have done pretty well. While I will slow down a bit, I still intend to post more.
The last two articles for OAFF 2024 were for the film Sojourn to Shangri-la and an interview with its director Lin Yihan.
I also recorded an episode of Heroic Purgatory and it covered Lady Snowblood, as well! While I struggled to convey ideas about the film on air, I felt inspired to write about the film, so expect a review.
What are the films released this weekend?
Doku Musume 
毒娘 「Doku Musume」
Release Date: April 05th, 2024
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Eisuke Naito
Writer: Eisuke Naito, Naruki Matsuhisa (Screenplay),
Starring: Aimi Satsukawa, Terunosuke Takezai, Erika Mabuci, Himena Irei, Sera Uehara, Rimi,
Website Twitter: @toritsukushi_ma
Eisuke Naito has directed a bunch of eye-catching films, from the gory and nasty Puzzle to the live-action adaptation of the Litchi Hikari Club manga. His latest work is based on a story that began life on internet message boards around the year 2011.
Synopsis: Hagino grew up without a family and has always dreamed of having one. Now that she is married, she has achieved her dream. Together, with her husband and daughter, they move into a home which has something of a history. That history makes itself known when Hagino hurriedly returns home after hearing the desperate cries of her daughter Moeka on the phone to find that the house is a wreck and a scissor-wielding girl named “Chi-chan” is attacking Moeka. Chi-chan used to live in this house, but was supposed to have left the town. Her presence reveals the “poison” that Hagino and her seemingly happy family have been hiding…
GekixCine Tengohsei 
ゲキ×シネ「天號星」 「GekixCine Tengohsei」
Release Date: April 05th, 2024
Duration: 159 mins.
Director: Hidenori Inoue
Writer: N/A
Starring: Arata Furuta, Taichi Saotome, Yuuki Saotomi, Shiori Kubo, Shoko Takada, Chihiro Yamamoto,
Website Twitter: @gekicine
It appears that GEKI×CINE, the event that brings kabuki-rock-theatre stageplays of GEKIDAN☆SHINKANSEN to the big screen, has reached a milestone of being 20 years old. This particular instalment is a recording of Tengohsei which was staged in 2023 to mark the 43rd anniversary of GEKIDAN☆SHINKANSEN’s founding.
LDH Website gives more information on the release
Synopsis: Hanbei is the face of a shop that does dodgy deals in drugs and dangerous people. In reality, he is a timid guy and it is his wife, Ise, who is the brains of the operation. Nevertheless, an assassin named Ginji shows up to kill Hanbei at the request of the Black Blades gang, who want to monopolise the underworld business. Ginji almost gets his target but at the critical moment, lightning strikes and the two exchange bodies, Tengohsei style! The two men must face adversaries and opportunities from each others lives in this thrilling story of swapped identities…
Cinema Kabuki Touken Ranbu: Tsuki no Tsurugi Enishi no Kiri no wa 
シネマ歌舞伎 刀剣乱舞 月刀剣縁桐 「Shinema Kabuki Touken Ranbu Tsuki Touken En Kiri」
Release Date: April 05th, 2024
Duration: 160 mins.
Director: Matsuya Onoe, Kikunojo Onoe,
Writer: Ryo Matsuoka (Screenplay), DMM Games/Nitroplus (Original Creators),
Starring: Matsuya Onoe II, Ukon Onoe II, Ichikawa Shun’en. Nakamura Takanosuke, Kichitaro Kamimura,
The Cinema Kabuki label has picked up on an adaptation of the Touken Ranbu video game. In the game, the player can travel through time animate and train various swords to fight evildoers in the past who are bent on changing history. The swords take on the form of bishounen. You can read a review of the show/experience here.
Synopsis: The Time Retrograde Army prevents the assassination of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, of the late Muromachi period, and alters history. The Shinto priests send six swordsmiths, including Mikazuki Munechika, back in time to set history back on its correct path. He hesitates in his mission, however, as it is said that Ashikaga once owned Mikazuki in sword form.
Normal Seventeen 
ノルマル17歳。 わたしたちはADHD 「Norumaru 17-sai. Watashtachi wa ADHD」
Release Date: April 05th, 2024
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Sonosuke Kita
Writer: Sonosuke Kita, Rinsei Kanda (Screenplay),
Starring: Kokoro Suzuki, Mari Nishikawa, Kaori Manabe, Akira Fukuzawa, Takenori Murano,
Website Twitter: @Normal17_movie
Synopsis: Ito is a studious teenage girl who has ADHD and so when her condition causes her to miss an important test, she is devastated. Afraid to go to school, she wanders the streets until she arrives at a park where she meets a girl her age named Shuri. She is more flashy in style, what with her dyed-brown hair and makeup, but she also has ADHD. The two become friends but Ito’s mother is worried while Shuri’s family are harsh on her and limit her life. Pretty soon, Shuri stops contacting Ito altogether and becomes reclusive.
A Trout in the Milk 
ミルクの中のイワナ 「Miruku no Naka no Iwana」
Release Date: April 05th, 2024
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Asato Sakamoto
Writer: N/A
Starring: Tomoyuki Nakamura, Kentaro Morita, Taku Yoshiyama, Isami Kikuchi,
Website Twitter: @trout_inthemilk
Synopsis: This documentary examines the relationship between nature and humans from the perspective of the environment surrounding iwana (Salvelinus leucomaenis, an East Asian trout) which inhabit remote rivers from Hokkaido to Honshu. Their ecosystem has been threatened by humans and now communities and organisations are trying to prevent further destruction to the environments they live in. Expect interviews with conservationists, scientists, and chefs.
Ripples of Physis 
フィシスの波文 「Fishisu no Hamon」
Release Date: April 06th, 2024
Duration: 85 mins.
Director: Ayako Mogi
Writer: Ayako Mogi (Screenplay),
Starring: Kenkichi Senda, Ikuko Senda, Mayumi Tsuruoka, Pierre-Alexis Dumas,
Website Twitter: @physis_movie
Synopsis: This documentary looks at patterns and colours and their connections to nature and the delights that they can bring people. Its focus is on the art of karakami (an ornately decorated paper) produced by Karacho, a workshop in Kyoto that has been hand-printing karakami for 400 years (information here).