Welcome to the first of two trailer posts his week.
Only ten Japanese films.
I’ve got a couple of non-festival films to cover and I’m trying to focus down my Japanese studies. I’m taking the week to review the last couple of months instead of just zooming off ahead and forgetting what was covered – which has happened multiple times in the past.
What are the first five films?
Hakkenden 
八犬伝 「Hakkenden」
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Duration: 149 mins.
Director: Fumihiko Sori
Writer: Fumihiko Sori (Screenplay), Futaro Yamada (Original Novel),
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Seiyo Uchino, Tao Tsuchiya, Hayato Isomura, Haru Kuroki, Shinobu Terajima,
Website Twitter: @hakkenden_movie JFDB IMDB
This is an adaptation of Futaro Yamada’s novel which features a story that interweaves Edo-period writer Takizawa Bakin‘s creation of “Hakkenden” with the battles depicted on screen.
The film was directed by Sori Fumihiko, who started out small with the charming early 2000s film Ping Pong before branching off into big-budget CG films like Fullmetal Alchemist.
Synopsis: Takizawa Bakin, a popular writer during the Edo Period, tells his friend, the ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, about his new novel, the Hakkenden story of eight swordsmen drawn by fate to break the Satomi family curse. Hokusai repeatedly visits Bakin to hear more of the story but when the story finally approaches its climax, Bakin begins losing his sight and it seems like the ending might never comes. This is when he receives an unexpected proposal from his daughter-in-law…
Gekijouban ACMA GAME Saigo no Kagi 
劇場版 ACMA:GAME 最後の鍵 「Gekijouban ACMA: GAME Saigo no Kagi」
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Toya Sato
Writer: Yoshihiro Izumi, Junichiro Taniguchi (Screenplay), Koji Megumi, Mebu (Original Manga),
Starring: Shotaro Mamiya, Juri Tanaka, Kotone Furukawa, Ryo Ryusei, Lina Arashi, Nibuaki Kaneki, Mirao Shida, Yukiyoshi Ozawa,
Website Twitter: @ntv_acmagame IMDB
This is the feature film sequel to the 2024 ACMA:GAME TV drama, which is, itself, based on the manga of the same title serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine.
Synopsis: Terutomo continues his mission to destroy the 99 “Devil’s Keys” in the new ACMA:GAME with his best friends Hajime and Yuki and some new allies. Meanwhile, new enemies appear in the form a mysterious brother and his mind-reading sister and their religious cult. All get involved in survival games that will decide the fate of humanity.
Ganbatte Ikimasshoi 
がんばっていきまっしょい 「Ganbatte Ikimasshoi」
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Duration: 60 mins
Director: Yuhei Sakuragi
Writer: Keiichiro Ochi, Yuhei Sakuragi (Screenplay/Series Composition), Yoshiko Shikimura (Original Novel),
Starring: Sora Amamiya (Etsuko Murakami), Akari Kito (Taeko Hyodo), Ikumi Hasegawa (Mayumi Imoto), Miku Ito (Hime Saeki), Rie Takahashi (Riina Takahashi), Aya Uchida (Kaori Yasuda),
Animation Production: Moe, REIRS
Website Twitter: @ganbatte_anime ANN MAL
Yoshiko Shikimura’s novel about high school students and their rowing club has already been made into a live-action film and TV drama, so now comes the anime.
Synopsis: Etsuko Murakami and her friends at Mitsu Higashi High School, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, revive the school rowing club and dedicate themselves to the art of rowing.
Zenbu of Tokyo 
ゼンブ・オブ・トーキョー 「Zenbu obu To-kyo-」
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Duration: 87 mins.
Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Writer: Ryoichi Tsuchiya, Shohei Fukuda (Screenplay), Koji Megumi, Mebu (Original Manga),
Starring: Yoko Shogenji, Rina Watanabe, Kaho Fujishima, Nanami Konishi, Kirari Takeuchi, Tamaki Ishizuka, Mitsuki Hiraoka, Rio Shimizu,
Website Twitter: @zenbu_of_tokyo
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, director of dark dramas My Man and Hole in the Sky, directs this coming-of-age movie starring members of Hinatazaka46 4th Generation.
Each person was interviewed during the planning stage to hear their memories of their school days, their time before becoming idols, and thoughts on Tokyo, and these memories were incorporated into the screenplay.
Writers Ryoichi Tsuchiya and Shohei Fukuda have experience making ensemble movies – High and Low, Osomatsu-san etc.
Synopsis: Yurika Ikezono and her friends are amongst a group of high schoolers from Nagano on a school trip to Tokyo. Yurika has put together a fantastic itinerary for their free day but finds that everyone splits off into different groups or goes off alone to see the sights of the town, leaving her alone at the foot of the Tokyo Sky Tree. Megu and Mio both try to win the heart of their crush, Moriya-kun. Otakus Shiori, Wakana, Akane, and Moe to hunt for limited-edition merchandise. Cool girl Ayano, who’s originally from Tokyo, takes fellow foodie Miyuki to some of the city’s popular culinary spots only for Ayano to come across an old friend from middle school, Yumeka, and become nervous that her past will be exposed. Then there is Chisa who is going to take part in an idol audition. Yurika finds herself getting mixed up in all of these stories.
Geki x Cine Yoshiwara Gomenjo 
ゲキ×シネ「吉原御免状」 「Geki x Cine Yoshiwara Gomenjo」
Release Date: October 25th, 2024
Duration: 173 mins.
Director: Hidenori Inoue,
Writer: Kazuki Nakashima (Stageplay), Ichiro Ikeda (Original Story),
Starring: Shinichi Tsutsumi, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Arata Furuta, Kotomi Kyono, Jun Hashimoto,
Website Twitter: @ntv_acmagame
This was adapted from a novel by Ichiro Ikeda. It sounds a lot like those Bohachi Bushido movies.
Synopsis: The year is 1657 and a skilled swordsman named Seiichiro Matsunaga has travelled to Edo, under the instruction of the great swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, to visit Shoji Jin’emon, the founder of Yoshiwara. He is dazzled by the beauty of one of the ladies of Yoshiwara but must confront a secret organisation that wants to acquire the letter of exemption from the sovereign that was used in the founding of Yoshiwara…