Welcome to the second of three trailer posts for this week.
You can find part one here and the final one follows tomorrow.
What are the next batch of Japanese films to hit cinema screens across Japan this week?
STEP OUT Nii Nii’s Nirai Kanai 
ステップアウト にーにーの二ライカナイ 「Suteppu auto ni-ni nirai kanai」
Release Date: March 14th, 2025
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Writer: Junichiro Taniguchi (Screenplay)
Starring: Yukie Nakama, Soul, Ren Matayoshi, Reiri Iha, Ruka Matsuda, Atsuko Tamaki, Kenchi Tachibana
Website Twitter: @gagamovie
Yukihiko Tsutsumi is a journeyman director who has worked in television, V-Cinema, and big-budget blockbusters. He has horror flicks to his name and internationally famous titles like the 20th Century Boys trilogy (well, they were in magazines like Neo) and dorama titles like Trick and SPEC that early fans of the form fell in love with. Recently, he’s bounced around indie productions and he has another film coming out next month called Page 30.
Circling back, this one recently played at Cinema at Sea festival, which took place in Okinawa, the setting for the film. The movie uses the island’s landscapes and unique cultural heritage for a family/coming-of-age story that shows ten years in the lives of the characters. Many of the cast, including leads Yukie Nakama and Soul, also hail from Okinawa.
Synopsis: Teruya lives with his mother Akane and introverted younger sister Mai. While Akane works hard as a hotel cleaner and at a snack bar to support her children, Teruya finds himself drawn to dance after meeting Lisa, all while Mai watches him from afar. As Teruya dances with Lisa, their talents blossom and opportunities arrive, especially in the form of a music producer who intends to hold a dance audition…
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 3 BONUS STAGE 
この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！3 BONUS STAGE 「Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! 3 -Bonus Stage- 」
Release Date: March 14th, 2025
Duration: 51 mins
Chief Director: Takaomi Kanasaki, Director: Yujiro Abe
Writer: Makoto Uezu (Screenplay), Natsume Akatsuki (Original Light Novel),
Starring: Jun Fukushima (Kazuma Sato), Rie Takahashi (Megumin), Ai Kayano (Darkness), Sora Amamiya (Aqua), Aki Toyosaki (Yunyun), Yui Horie (Wiz), Sayuri Hara (Luna)
Animation Production: Drive
Website Twitter: @VSTORAGE ANN MAL
Two new, or unaired, OVA will be given a two-week theatrical screening run before a Blu-ray Disc and DVD release in April.
Synopsis: Kazuma Sato is a high school student reincarnated in another world and surrounded by cute female fantasy figure archetypes, the chuunibyou wizard Megumin, the water goddess Aqua, and delusional female knight Darkness.
In one story, Kazuma and his friends are having dinner at the guild when Luna, a receptionist, comes to them with a request that requires Megumin’s explosive magic to fight a typhoon approaching the city of Axel…
In another story, Kazuma is out and about in Axel when he is approached by an adventurer who says he is looking for an adventurer named “Kazuma Sato,” and who then begins to tell him the legend of Kazuma…
Mononoke The Movie: The Ashes of Rage 
劇場版モノノ怪 第二章 火鼠 「Gekijōban Mononoke Dai-Ni-Shō: Hinezumi」
Release Date: March 14th, 2025
Duration: 74 mins
Chief Director: Kenji Nakamura, Director: Kiyotaka Suzuki
Writer: Yasumi Atarashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiroshi Kamiya (Medicine Seller), Atsumi Tanezaki (Sachiko), Cho (Yoshimichi Tokita), Daisuke Hosomi (Sakashita), Haruka Tomatsu (Botan Otomo), Yoko Hikasa (Fuki Tokita),
Animation Production: Crew-Cell, EOTA
Website Twitter: @anime_mononoke ANN MAL
There was a Mononoke movie released last year on Netflix and this looks like a follow up. This is actually going to be a trilogy of titles based on an anime that aired in 2006.
The top staff are Kenji Nakamura, a veteran producer who worked on the likes of Blue Submarine No.6, and was director of episodes of the Mononoke TV anime and the last Mononoke movie. Oh, and director on Gatchaman Crowds.
The other top name is Kiyotaka Suzuki, who has various production-side credits on things like FLCL, Mononoke, the Sakura Wars 2 OVA, and Psycho-Pass 2.
Synopsis: The Medicine Seller returns to the inner chambers of the Imperial Palace, where rivalries between various figures like courtesans and court functionaries play out in relation to who will be the heir to the throne. Such is the intensity of these conflicts hat people burst into flames. It seems that the passions of these people give birth to the fire rat, a mononokai.
Eiga Shimajirou Shimajirou to Yuuki no Uta 
映画しまじろう「しまじろうと ゆうきのうた」 「Eiga Shimahiro Shimajirou to Yuuki no Uta」
Release Date: March 14th, 2025
Duration: 74 mins
Director: Tomohiro Kawamura
Writer: Masumi Sugiura, Brazily Ann Yamada (Screenplay), Bennesse Corporation (Original Creator),
Starring: Omi Minami (Shimajiro Shimano), Fairouz Ai (Miley), Masami Suzuki (Nyakkii Momoyama), Chafurin (Shimataro Shimano), Kiko Inoue (Sakura Shimano), Koichi Yamadera (Gorinosuke),
Animation Production: Shirogumi Inc., Heyuan Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Website Twitter: @kodomochallenge ANN MAL
This is the 11th anime film in the Shimajiro franchise. The last one was released in 2023 and, as with previous films in the series, there is a participatory element that allows the audience to speak and move and there are intermission breaks to encourage young children to make their cinema debut.
Synopsis: The “Captain Hat” show has arrived at school and Shimajiro and his friends are excited. When Miley, a young white tiger, is offered the lead role of Captain Hat, she is not confident that she can perform well so Shimajiro comes up with a plan to encourage her. This is when everyone is accidentally sucked into a magical bag and find themselves in a new world and on an adventure that will help Miley gradually gain confidence.