Happy weekend, people!
I started watching films again after a short break and it’s all for my Summer of Splatter. On top of writing reviews for my own blog I have been writing stuff for Gigan magazine so, if you’re interested, check out what I wrote about the World of Kanako (2014) ahead of its US release (my review is here).
I also started writing up more manga reviews for a possible season that is shaping up for a September/October launch.
On Wednesday Anime News Network reported that Nokuto Noike’s manga 6000: The Deep Sea of Madness would be getting turned into a live-action film by All Nippon Entertainment Works (ANEW), a joint venture between people in the Japanese anime industry and Hollywood. The names attached to include the producer Mike Medavoy (Shutter Island, Black Swan). Apparently ANEW are also trying to remake the trashy J-horror Ghost Train.
This week I posted my first impressions of Prison School and Charlotte.
What’s released in Japan this weekend?
Nowhere Girl / Tokyo Stateless Girl
Japanese: 東京無国籍少女
Romaji: Tokyo Mukokuseki Shoujo
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 85 mins.
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writer: Kentaro Yamagishi (Screenplay)
Starring: Nana Seino, Lily, Nobuaki Kaneko, Hinako Tanaka, Ayuri Yoshinaga, Hirotaro Honda,
The film stars Nana Seino (Wood Job!, Danger Dolls, Tokyo Tribe) in her first lead role as the stateless girl, Ai. It is directed by Mamoru Oshii, one of the all-time great anime directors thanks to Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, and The Sky Crawlers. In recent years he has stepped back from animation and moved further into live-action bringing with The Next Generation Patlabor movie series.
The film is about a talented girl in an art school named Ai. She is extremely talented but she is surrounded by adults who want to use her and envious classmates who want to abuse her. As she struggles with her daily life she begins to fall apart.
Wait for Me at Udagawachou
Japanese: 宇田川町で待っててよ。
Romaji: Udagawachou de Matteteyo
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 65 mins.
Director: Noriko Yuasa
Writer: Hiroko Kanasugi (Screenplay), Hideyoshico (Original Manga)
Starring: Mario Kuroba, Ryugi Yokota, Momoka Ayukawa, Daiki Mihara,
A high school boy named Momose (Kuroba) witnesses his classmate Yashiro (Yokota) dressed as a girl while he is out in Shibuya. Yashiro is embarrassed about being rumbled at first but Momose is curious…
Fires on the Plain
Japanese Title: 野火
Romaji: Nobi
Release Date: July 25th (2015)
Running Time: 87 mins.
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto (Screenplay), Shohei Ooka (Original Novel)
Starring: Shinya Tsukamoto, Lily Franky, Tatsuya Nakamura, Yuko Nakamura, Dean Newcombe,
Shinya Tsukamoto is bringing his passion project, Fires on the Plain to cinemas. It is based upon the 1951 Yomiuri Prize-winning novel of the same name which was then adapted into a film in 1959 by Kon Ichikawa. It took Tsukamoto 20 years to bring his adaptation of the film to the screen and it’s a real passion project considering he has struggled to finance it (subject matter you see in this film isn’t that popular in Japan) and was in charge of many aspects of the filming including directing and acting.
The film Fires on the Plain follows a demoralised Japanese army in the Philippines. We see how bad things are for the Japanese troops through the desperate struggle of a conscript named Tamura who is sick with TB and forced into the field by a commander who cannot waste resources on a dying man. Tamura doesn’t want to give up so easily and clings to life but it is a struggle that will lead him down a dark path that hint at some of the atrocities carried out by soldiers…
Brain Fluid Explosion Girl
Japanese: 脳漿炸裂ガール
Romaji: Nou Shou Sakuretsu Garu
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 65 mins.
Director: Yuichi Abe
Writer: Hiroko Kanasugi (Screenplay), Hideyoshico (Original Manga)
Starring: Hinata Kashiwagi, Seika Taketomi, Moka Kamishiraishi, Atsushi Arai Tetsuya Sugaya, Koudai Asaka,
Despite the film having an awesome-sounding title that could come from a manga, the movie is based on a popular vocaloid based song “Nou Shou Sakuretsu Girl” (脳漿炸裂ガール) by Rerulili and then adapted into a novel by Erika Yoshida in 2013.
Hana Ichii managed to get into her dream school but when she is locked in a cage with her classmates it turns into a nightmare because the kids are forced to take part in a survival game using their cellphones.
Obon Brothers
Japanese: お盆の弟
Romaji: Obon no Otouto
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 107 mins.
Director: Akira Osaki
Writer: Shin Adachi (Screenplay),
Starring: Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Ken Mitsuishi, Makiko Watanabe, Yoji Tanaka, Koki Okada, Erika Yanagita, Yumi Goto, Aoba Kawai, Miyoko Inagawa,
This film showed up at Nippon Connection 2015 and attracted my attention because it has a great cast with a story and style of filming that will get the most out of them. The trailer reminds of lovely and strange And the Mud Ship Sails Away what with the meandering, talk-heavy action shot in black and white. This film stars some great actors like the cool Kiyohiko Shibukawa (he seems to be in a film a week in 2015), the exceptional Makiko Watanabe (Love Exposure), and the Ken Mitsuishi (Rent-a-Neko, Noriko’s Dinner Table). There is also Aoba Kawai (Meatball Machine, Watashi no Otoko) and Yumi Goto, two names I have gotten used to over the past year after seeing the give great performances in different films.
Takeshi is a struggling film director, with a fractious home life. That’s an understatement, actually, since he has been kicked out of his house by his wife and forced to move in with his ill brother. Can Takeshi turn his life around and save his marriage?
Gekijou jouei Nihon Anime (-Ta-) Mihonichi
Japanese: 劇場上映 日本アニメ（ーター）見本市
Romaji: Gekijou jouei Nihon anime (-Ta-) mihonichi
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: N/A
Director: Various (see below)
Writer: Various (see below)
Starring: Megumi Hayashibara, Koichi Yamadera,
Anime News Network have an excellent report of this project from which I took the information. Essentially Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelion, oversaw a collection of shorts from new and old talent and ideas in the anime industry. There are other industry vets like Ghibli founders Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki who are helping to foster new ideas and talents and the results have been collected together and veteran seiyuu have been recruited with the co-stars of Ranma ½ and Cowboy Bebop Kouichi Yamadera and Megumi Hayashibara both voicing characters. Click on the titles and names for more info:
- “Ōtarō Maijōand Kazuya Tsurumaki‘s “The Dragon Dentist“
- Azuma Tani‘s “Hill Climb Girl“
- A music video titled “ME!ME!ME!” featuring the musicianTeddyloid (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) and rapper daoko
- Akira Honma‘s “Carnage“
- Yoshikazu Yasuhiko& Ichiro Itano‘s “Collection of Key Animation Films” from Mobile Suit Gundam
- Takeshi Hondaand Mahiro Maeda‘s “20min Walk From Nishi-Ogikubo Station, 2 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 2mos Deposit, No Pets Allowed“
- Tadashi Hiramatsuand Khara’s “until you come to me“
- Akemi Hayashi‘s“Tomorrow from there”
- Akira Amemiya‘s “Gridman: Boys Invent Great Hero“
- Takashi Horiuchiand Masahiro Emoto‘s “Yamadeloid“
- Yasuhiro Yoshiura,Studio Rikka, and Trigger‘s “Power Plant No.33“
Eiken Boogie Return Match of Tears
Japanese: EIKEN BOOGIE 涙のリターンマッチ
Romaji: Eiken Boogie Namida no Rita-nmatchi
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 70 mins.
Director: Kimihiko Nakamura
Writer: Kimihiko Nakamura (Screenplay),
Starring: Junpei Yasukawa, Keisuke Kaminaga, Yu Yoshioka, Shinji Imaoka, Moe Sakura, Hiroshi Amano,
A boxer struggling to recover from a grievous injury finds inspiration in taking part in the filming of a movie being made by a bunch of college kids.
The Hybrid Nue no ko
Japanese: THE HYBRID 鵺の仔
Romaji: The Hybrid Nue no ko
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 83 mins.
Director: Toru Hano, Yoshio Kuratani,
Writer: Toru Hano (Screenplay),
Starring: Honoka Ishibashi, Ken Yamamura, Asua Kurosawa, Naoko Ken, Hako Ohshima, Kuniaki Nakamura, Kazue Aoki, Mai Aida, Mika Muto, Miku Chiba,
Synopsis on the IMDB page:
A young college graduate name Chiaki brings her friend Mai to visit her hometown called Nuegabuchi, a hot spring village. The village has many legends of a mysterious monster called nue. In the middle of the night, Chiaki would hear eerie cries of a monster, bringing up grim memories from her childhood. During her visit, it is revealed that Sawatsukumori, the man who killed Chiaki’s father twelve years ago, was just released on parole and is now missing. In another scene, we see a magazine editor named Kyogoku taking orders from a mysterious woman to capture the nue. Kyogoku eventually arrives at Nuegabuchi and comes head to head with the nue.
Control of Violence
Japanese: コントロール・オブ・バイオレンス
Romaji: Kontorōru Obu baiorensu
Release Date: July 25th, 2015
Running Time: 84 mins.
Director: Takahiro Ishihara
Writer: Takahiro Ishihara (Screenplay),
Starring: Arata Yamanaka, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Hiroko Yashiki, Shogen, Masatoshi Kihara,
Over the last couple of weeks there have been screenings of Takahiro Ishihara’s Osaka-based gangster films. It all leads up to his latest one, Control of Violence.
A guy named Sub-zero (Shibukawa) is in Osaka causing trouble between a set of Yakuza gangs and a former enforcer named Goda (Yamanaka) is dragged back into the fray when one of his friends is killed.
Top Ten films in Japan and some notable entries:
The Boy and the Beast (Release: 2015/07/11)
Inside Out (Release: 2015/07/18)
Hero (Release: 2015/07/18)
Terminator Genesis (Release: 2015/07/10)
Avengers Age of Ultron (Release: 2015/07/04)
Mad Max: Fury Road (Release: 2015/06/20)
Our Little Sister (Release: 2015/06/13)
Ari no mama de itai (Release: 2015/07/11)
Tag (Release: 2015/07/11)
Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (Release: 2015/07/18)
Kimi wa Ii ko is at 28
Random music video of the week:
