Welcome to the first of three trailer posts.
Come back tomorrow and the day after for the next two.
I’ve maintained my Japanese language learning and immersion with more writing during my days in work, more shadowing native Japanese speakers, and watching/listening to visual novel narration on occasion. It is fun and I hope to keep maintaining it as I expand my vocabulary and hopefully improve my listening skills, too.
What are the first lot of films released this weekend?
Drawing Closer 
余命一年の僕が、余命半年の君と出会った話。 「Yomei Ichinen no Boku ga, Yomei Hantoshi no Kimi to Deatta Hanashi」
Release Date: June 27th, 2024
Duration: 118 mins.
Director: Takahiro Miki
Writer: Tomoko Yoshida, (Screenplay), Aoi Morita (Original Novel),
Starring: Ren Nagase, Natsuki Deguchi, Mayu Yokota, Fumino Kimura, Yasuko Matsuyuki Nene Otsuka, Kyoka Shibata,
This is a Netflix film, so check your service to see if it’s available.
Synopsis: Akito Hayasaka is a talented artist working on a piece that may earn him a prize at the Nika Exhibition when doctors discover a tumour in his heart and tell him that he has just one year left to live. Akito retreats into himself and doesn’t display anything to others until he meets Haruna Sakurai, a young woman who he sees painting on the roof of the hospital. He slowly falls for her and when she reveals that she has only six months to live, he decides to not tell her about his illness and simply spend the time she has left by her side…
Secret: A Hidden Score 
言えない秘密 「Ienai Himitsu」
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Duration: 114 mins.
Director: Hayato Kawai
Writer: Saya Matsuda, (Screenplay), Jay Chou (Original Story)
Starring: Taiga Kyomoto, Kotone Furukawa, Mayu Yokota, Ryota Miura, Ryotaro Sakaguchi,
Website Twitter: @Ienai_H_movie JFDB IMDB
This is a remake of 2007 Taiwanese film Secret.
Synopsis: Minato has enrolled in a traditional music college after studying abroad but he has lost his groove due to a past trauma. One day, he meets Yukino, a young woman playing a mysterious piano in an old music lecture building that is soon to be demolished. Minato is bewitched by the melody and asks Yukino for the name of the piece, but she tells him that it’s a secret. As the days pass, Minato begins to meet her again and again and finds himself soon bewitched by Yukino while facing the trauma that has stopped his musicality. Then, one day, she mysteriously disappears,..
Nagaoka dai hanabi uchiage, kaishi de gozaimasu 
長岡大花火 打ち上げ、開始でございます 「Nagaoka dai hanabi uchiage, kaishi de gozaimasu」
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Akikazu Sakagami
Writer: N/A
Starring: Shiori Sato (Narrator)
Website Twitter: @nagaokahanabimv
Synopsis: This is a documentary about the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival in Niigata Prefecture. It has a big reputation that attracts people from across Japan and from overseas and this film aims to trace the history of the firework display with interviews from people involved.
Look Back 
ルックバック 「Rukku Bakku」
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Duration: 58 mins
Director: Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Writer: Kiyotaka Oshiyama (Screenplay), Tatsuki Fujimoto (Original Manga),
Starring: Mizuki Yoshida (Kyomoto), Yuumi Kawai (Fujino),
Animation Production: Studio Durian
Website Twitter: @lookback_anime ANN MAL
This is based on an award-winning manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of the popular Chainsaw Man. It will get a screening at Japan Cuts.
Synopsis: In this coming-of-age story, we follow a four grade student named Ayumu Fujino, a girl popular for writing a funny four-frame manga in the student newspaper. When her teacher tells her that he wants to publish a manga drawn by an introverted student named Kyomoto who prefers to stay at home, Fujino finds her drawing skills drawing Kyomoto out as the two share a passion for manga, but them something happens that sets their relationship back…
Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman to Ehon no Lulun 
それいけ！アンパンマン ばいきんまんとえほんのルルン 「Soreike! Anpanman: Baikinman to Ehon no rurun」
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Duration: 64 mins
Director: Jun Kawagoe
Writer: Shoji Yonemura (Screenplay), Takashi Yanase (Original Creator),
Starring: Keiko Toda (Anpanman), Ryusei Nakao (Baikinman), Aya Ueto (Lunlun), Takashi Okamura (Rampaging Elephant),
Animation Production: TMS Entertainment
Website Twitter: @anime_anpanman ANN
Synopsis: This is the 35th film based on Anpanman and it sees him sucked into a storybook world where he meets the forest fairy Lurun who asks him and Baikinman for help in defeating the “water elephant” and saving the forest.
Ihin Seiri Hiroshima-ya 
遺品整理 広島屋 「Ihin Seiri Hiroshima-ya」
Release Date: June 28th, 2024
Duration: 83 mins.
Director: Kentaro Kurimoto
Writer: Shuka Wakamura, (Screenplay), Aoi Morita (Original Novel),
Starring: Dankan, Mei Kanakubo, Hirokazu Amano, Shuka Wakamura, Toratorau, Sainei Ryuji,
Website Twitter: @nagaokahanabimv JFDB IMDB
This is based on experiences from Kentaro Kurimoto’s family, who run an estate liquidation business, and was shot on location in Hiroshima.
Synopsis: The Hirose family run an estate liquidation business called “Hiroshima-ya” which is led by father Taizo, son Kazuya, and daughter Misaki. When the family’s second son Kohei is released from prison, he causes havoc at home before disappearing. At the same time, Misaki gets kidnapped and Taizo falls ill. It is left to Kazuya to pick up the pieces and fix his family and their business…