Welcome to the first of two trailer posts for this week.
The next one follows tomorrow.
I’ve been watching lots of films as prep for a festival and managed to keep up my Japanese, too. I won’t be doing much else other than festival work and trailer posts, from here on out. The musical score to that work is Saga Frontier II.
What are the first set of films to get released?
HAPPYEND 
Release Date: October 10th, 2024
Duration: 123 mins.
Director: Neo Sora
Writer: Neo Sora (Screenplay),
Starring: Yukito Hidaka, Hayato Kurihara, Makiko Watanabe, Shiro Sano, Ayumu Nakajima, Kilala Inori, Shina Peng, Pushim,
Neo Sora has released a few documentaries about his father Ryuichi Sakamoto and one was at last year’s Venice Film Festival. This film was at this years Venice Film Festival and also screened at the New York Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Busan, and London.
Synopsis: The world is about to change. Kou and Yuta are rambunctious best friends who live in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake is ever present. Just before their high school graduation, they prank the principal of the school which leads him to install a surveillance system…
Kitaro Tanjo: Gegege no Nazo Shinsei-ban 
鬼太郎誕生 ゲゲゲの謎 真生版 「Kitaro Tanjo: Gegege no Nazo Shinsei-ban」
Release Date: October 04th, 2024
Duration: N/A
Director: Gou Koga
Writer: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Screenplay), Shigeru Mizuki (Original Creator),
Starring: Miyuki Sawashiro (Kitaro), Akira Ishida (Kenji Nagata), Atsumi Tanezaki (Sayo), Rie Kugimiya (Kanoko Nagata),
Animation Production: Studio 4C
Website Twitter: @kitaroanime50th ANN MAL
This is a new version of Kitaro Tanjo: Gegege no Nazo, which was released last year. It features 327 retakes of cuts, the sound was re-dubbed and the horror was upped to what the creative team originally envisioned which bumped this film up from PG12 to R15.
Synopsis: A new feature-length animation based on Gegege no Kitaro has been made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki’s birth. It is based on the sixth season of the “Gegege no Kitaro” animated television series that aired from 2018-20 and tells the series’ origin story which involves Kitaro’s father and Kitaro’s birth, all of which happens amidst the power struggle of a wealthy family in a village.
Fureru. 
ふれる。 「Fureru.」
Release Date: October 04th, 2024
Duration: 107 mins
Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai
Writer: Mari Okada (Screenplay),
Starring: Haruka Shiraishi (Juri Kamozawa), Kentaro Maeda (Yuta Inohara), Ren Nagase (Aki Onoda), Ryota Bando (Ryo Sobue), Asami Seto (Yukiatsu (young)), Aki Toyosaki (Poppo (young)),
Animation Production: CoverWorks
Website Twitter: @toho_movie ANN MAL
Director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada, and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka, the creative team behind Hanasaku Iroha, Anthem of the Heart, and anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, reunite to create this original feature-length animation.
Synopsis: Aki, Ryo, and Yuta grew up together on the same island and remained best friends into adulthood. Now 20 years old and living together in Takadanobaba, Tokyo, they each have different jobs, one working part-time at a bar, another working as salesperson at a real estate company, and the other a students at a vocational school for clothing designers. What unites them, beyond background, is that the three care for Fureru, a mysterious creatures brought from their home island. It has mysterious powers similar to telepathy that connect them together in a way that they can hear each other’s hearts by touching each other’s bodies. The friendship was set to last but they discover Fureru has a hidden power…
ROF-MAO Cinema 「New street, New world」 
ROF-MAOシネマ「New street, New world」 「ROF-MAO shinema 「New street, New world」」
Release Date: October 04th, 2024
Duration: 107 mins
Director: ANY COLOR
Writer: N/A
Starring: Hayato Kagami, Toya Kenmochi, Minato Fuwa, Haru Kaida,
Animation Production: N/A
Website Twitter: @rof_mao_cinema
Synopsis: ROF-MAO, a male VTuber unit belonging to Niji-sanji was formed in 2021 and has gained popularity with its YouTube videos. This is the theatrical version of a live performance held at Osaka Castle Hall in April 2024.
DIR EN GREY LIVE FILM zankyo no ketsumyaku mode of UROBOROS
DIR EN GREY LIVE FILM 残響の血脈 mode of UROBOROS. 「DIR EN GREY LIVE FILM zankyo no ketsumyaku mode of UROBOROS」
Release Date: October 04th, 2024
Duration: 122 mins.
Director: Koichiro Hamasaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kyo, Kaoru, Shinya, Die, Toshiya,
Website Twitter: @direngrey_film
Synopsis: DIR EN GREY get a two-part concert film covering the last stop of their European tour, which started with a show in Poland and then moved on to France, the UK, before it ended in Germany. This is the second of the docs and features the live performance of “UROBOROS,” recorded at their Berlin performance, some behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the band members.