A new week a new dorama. With xxxHOLiC ending on a nice note I have picked up Shinya Shokudo, a recommendation from fellow Japanese dorama fan Tired Paul. So far it reminds me of Bartender. Expect a review in the coming weeks. I was also impressed with episode 4 of Attack on Titan (WHAT AN ENDING!) and My Youth Rom-Com. This season has been the best in terms of shows since Autumn 2011. The highlight of my week in film had to be two titles, A Woman Named Abe Sada, an awesome 1975 Roman Porno and Bakumatsu Taiyo-den, a 1957 comedy set in a cat house. Expect reviews of them as well.
This week in terms of blogging began with a God-tier teaser trailer for Sion Sono’s latest film, Why Don’t You Play in Hell? Awesome title! To say that it made my day would be an understatement. I felt so damn refreshed! I also posted my answers to a Liebster Blog Award and my first Impressions for Devil Survivor 2 The Animation. I’m going to try and finish my First Impressions up next week and get back to films.
Anyway… What do the Japanese film charts look like this week (April 27th-28st)?
- Detective Conan Private Eye in the Distant Sea
- Iron Man 3
- Crayon Shin Chan! Gourmet Food Survival
- Lincoln
- Dragon Ball Z Battle of the Gods
- The Last Stand
- Steins;Gate Fuka Ryoiki no Deja Vu
- The Great Passage
- Wreck-It Ralph
- Killing Them Softly
Last week’s number one, Detective Conan remains at the top while everything else drops down a place to make way for Iron Man 3. I’m not really a fan of superhero movies andrpefer things like Steins;Gate and The Great Passage which remain in the top ten at seventh and eighth respectively.
What Japanese films are released in Japan this weekend? Only two???
Return to Iitate Village of Radiation 
Japanese Title: 飯舘村 放射能 と 帰村
Romaji: Ītatemura Hōshano to Kison
Release Date: May 06th, 2013 (Japan)
Running Time: 119 mins.
Director: Doi Toshikuni
My Japanese isn’t all that great so my translations can be wrong as I suspect they are in this case because it sounds very melodramatic and the trailer is rather undramatic with a lot of talking head interviews and observation. This documentary comes from Doi Toshikuni who released one earlier this year about Burmese in Japan. This documentary records the travails of two families in Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, which suffers the consequences of the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Rain, snow and wind all carry radiation and both the Shiga and Hasegawa families are forced to leave. The Shiga family, dairy farmers by trade, find themselves in a new town and working in factories while the Hasegawa family split up.
Innervision 
Japanese Title: Innervisionインナーヴィジョン
Romaji: Innervision inna-vuijon
Release Date: May 06th, 2013 (Japan)
Running Time: 45 mins.
Director: Makoto Sasaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Hideyuki Kato, Kiyoshi Yaamoto, Hirotoshi Kobayashi, Masanori Kobayashi, Robert Harris
Innervision is another documentary but this one follows Hideyuki Kato, a musician who is visually impaired, who supervises the creation his own science fiction movie using equipment and digital technology James Cameron developed for Avatar. The main character looks to be an interesting chap and the short running time should ensure that the film does not outstay its welcome.
That’s it for this week. There are more films released next week. I also have a Japanese test but thankfully I have finished posts early and have the scheduled. The final video for this post is a cool AMV.
