Welcome to the third and final trailer post for this week.
You can find part one here and part two here.
I’m continuing with my reviews of OAFF reviews although the rate may slow down as I go back to work. Thus far, I’ve reviewed…
So Beautiful, Wonderful and Lovely
What are the rest of the new Japanese films on release this weekend?
Hikaru kawa / River Returns 
光る川 「Hikaru kawa」
Release Date: March 22nd, 2025
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Masakazu Kaneko
Writer: Genki Yoshimura, Masakazu Kaneko (Screenplay), Yuya Matsuda (Original Novel)
Starring: Asuka Hanamura, Sanetoshi ariyama, Yo Aoi, Kinuyo Yamada, Ken Yasuda, Tetsu Watanabe,
Website Twitter: @re_river_movie IMDB
This is the latest work from Masakazu Kaneko, whose previous features were The Albino’s Trees (2016) and Ring Wandering (2021). This film was inspired by the land, folk tales and folklore of the Nagara River basin in Gifu Prefecture.
Apparently, Kaneko studied under director Takahisa Zeze, who has a film out this weekend. Back to director Kaneko, I haven’t seen any of his films but they are available to stream legally via SAKKA Films.
Synopsis: It is the year 1958 and Japan is about to enter a period of rapid economic growth. Yucha, a young boy, lives with his father, sick mother, and elderly grandmother in a mountain village that, due to deforestation, is threatened by floods caused by typhoons. After learning of a tragic love story of Oha, a village girl, and Saku, a young woodworker from the mountains, he ventures into the mountains to confront the grieving spirit of Oyo, whose sorrow has caused catastrophic floods, to free her soul and save his village…
Hypnosis Mic Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage Grateful Cypher Cinema Edit 
「ヒプノシスマイク Division Rap Battle Rule the Stage Grateful Cypher Cinema Edit 「Hipunoshisu Maiku Division Rap Battle Rule Rule the Stage New Encounter Cinema Edit 」
Release Date: March 21st, 2025
Duration: 100 mins.
Staging: Go Ueki
Writer: Shinjiro Kameda (Screenplay), Evil Line Records (Original Creator),
Starring: Ryoga Ishikawa, Kennosuke Matsuoka, Yukia Takano, Takuya Uehara, YUKI,
Website Twitter: @hm_rts_ce
Hypnosis Microphone is a project featuring eighteen Japanese voice actors who make up teams of three emcees, each representing a famous district in Japan. These teams battle each other with rap battle albums, division songs, and occasional drama CDs. This film is a 2.5D stage version edited for a cinematic presentation.
If you want to find out more about the anime/drama/game it is based on, head to this site.
August 2024 and an anime released back in February
Synopsis: This is the sixth in a series of 2.5-dimensional stage plays that was performed in theatres in Tokyo from October 4 to 14, 2024.
There are two films by Kenichi Watanabe made for French TV that are getting screened in a cinema.
Taiwan, Democratie Numerique
台湾・デジタルデモクラシー 「Taiwan, Dijitaru Demokurashi-」
Release Date: March 22nd, 2025
Duration: 54 mins.
Director: Kenichi Watanabe
Writer: Kenichi Watanabe(Screenplay),
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This documentary covers the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement, a response from Taiwanese citizens and civic groups who felt threatened by China’s economic aggression. They occupied the Legislative Yuan for three weeks and used digital tools to spark public debate. It highlights the nonviolent nature of this movement as well as how democratic it was and the tools it used to communicate as part of the practice of “digital democracy.”
Japon, ils ont vu la fin de l’Empire
日本・彼らは帝国の終わりを見た 「Nihon karera wa teikoku no owari o mita」
Release Date: March 22nd, 2025
Duration: 54 mins.
Director: Kenichi Watanabe
Writer: Kenichi Watanabe (Screenplay),
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This documentary looks at early 20th Century Japanese society and the social and economic changes and the rise of the far right on the back of the Great Depression, ethnonationalism, colonialism, assassination of prime ministers, the brutal occupation of China and alliances with other far right governments around the world that lead to World War II. It does so from the perspective of a foreign family living in Japan headed by Jean Millot, a young French engineer, who arrived in Yokohama in 1925 to install the telegraph link between Japan and France..