Happy weekend people!
The summer 2015 anime season is winding down now and so I am preparing to embark upon one of those lengthy autumn season guides for Anime UK News. Stop by at the site to see some of the Japan-related events that are due to take place which I post on the front page and not here.
This week saw me posting about the London Film Festival and the Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival. I’ve got one more festival to cover this month before heading back to reviews.
What’s released in Japan this weekend?
Uchimura Summers the Movie: Angel
内村さまぁ～ず THE MOVIE エンジェル「Uchimura Samazu The Movie Enjeru」
Release Date: September 11th, 2015
Running Time: 85 mins.
Director: Hiroyuki Kudo
Writer: Hayashi Mori, Yoshibumi Takahashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Masakazu Mimura, Teruyoshi Uchimura, Kazuki Ootake, Reiko Fujiwara, Yuki Kubota, George Takahashi, Ami Onuki,
Synopsis: Masaru Mitamura, Jiro Uchiyama and Kosaku Oshima all work at the “Enjeru-sha” which is a drop in spot for people who need problems solved. They take client’s requests by making a fictional scenario and as characters from their scripts.
Red Ball
赤い玉、「Akai Tama」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 108 mins.
Director: Banmei Takahashi
Writer: Banmei Takahashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Eiji Okuda, Fujiko, Yukino Murakami, Shota Hanaoka, Shiori Doi, Tasuku Emoto, Keiko Takahashi,
Synopsis: Shuji Tokita (Okuda) is a film director and a professor at a university but despite his success he is struggling to make his latest movie until he meets a female high school student named Ritsuko (Murakami)…
Girl’s Step
ガールズ・ステップ「Ga-ruzu Suteppu」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 115 mins.
Director: Yasuhiro Kawamura
Writer: Michiro Egashira (Screenplay),
Starring: Anna Ishii, Fuka Koshiba, Karin Ono, Mika Akizuki, Miku Uehara, Hayato Isomura, Miyabi Matsuura, Shunsuke Daito, Kei Otozuki,
Synopsis: Azusa (Ishii), Narumi (Koshiba), Hazuki (Ono), Tamaki (Akizuki) and Mika (Uehara) are high school students who lack confidence and ambitions but when they are inspired to form a dance club they soon find a direction in life and how to express themselves.
Watashitachi no Haa Haa
私たちのハァハァ「Watashitachi no Haa Haa」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 90 mins.
Director: Daigo Matsui
Writer: Daigo Matsui (Screenplay),
Starring: Sonoko Inoue, Reika Oozeki, Saku Mayama, Toko Miura, Sosuke Ikematsu, Eriko Nakamura, CreepHyp,
CreepHyp helped create and played in the Daigo Matsui film How Selfish I Am! (2013). The film was all about how a group of people in tough circumstances coped with CreepHyp’s music providing solace. This looks like more of the same only a coming-of-age variant with a far simpler narrative. Sosuke Ikematsu and Eriko Nakamura return from the first film.
Synopsis: Four high school students travel from Fukuoka to Tokyo to attend a concernt put on by their number one rock band “CreepHyp.” The road is long and fraught with all sorts of incidents.
Kaiketsu Zorori: Uchuu no Yuusha-tachi
かいけつゾロリ うちゅうの勇者たち「Kaiketsu Zorori: Uchuu no Yuusha-tachi」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 49 mins.
Director: Tomoko Iwasaki
Writer: Akiko Waba, Keigo Koyanagi, Mari Okada (Screenplay), Yutaka Hara (Original Creator)
Starring: Koichi Yamadera (Zorori), Rikako Aikawa (Ishishi), Motoko Kumai (Noshishi), Ai Kayano (Clara),
Synopsis: Master thief Zorori and his partners in crime Ishishi and Noshishi go from looking for treasure at the bottom of the sea and up into space where they land on the mystery of star Mumun. Zorori meets Pretty Clara and a weird alien who threatens her.
Mizu to kaze to ikimono to Nakamura Keiko · Seimeishi wo tsumugu
水と風と生きものと 中村桂子・生命誌を紡ぐ「Mizu to kaze to ikimono to Nakamura Keiko · Seimeishi wo tsumugu」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 119 mins.
Director: Michio Fujiwara
Writer: N/A
Starring: Keiko Nakamura, Toyo Ito, Norio Akasaka,
Synopsis: The scientist Keiko Nakamura is the director of JT Biohistory Research Hall, an organisation dedicated to the study of what it means to be alive. After the East Japan Earthquake Keiko Nakamura reread the works of Kenji Miyazawa, a native of Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, a place hit hard by the disaster. She was inspired to stage a version of his story, Gauche the Cellist and visit the hometown of Kenji and meet a wide variety of people who live there to understand how human beings and nature work together.
The Big Bee
天空の蜂「Tenku no Hachi」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 138 mins.
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Writer: Ichiro Kusuno (Screenplay), Keigo Higashino (Original Novel)
Starring: Yosuke Eguchi, Masahiro Motoki, Yuke Nakama, Gou Ayano, Akira Emoto, Jun Kunimura, Ken Mitsuishi, Hana Matsushima, Kei Ishibashi,
Synopsis: When a terrorist threatens to ram a remotely operated helicopter with a child onboard into a nuclear power plant Yuhara (Eguchi), the helicopter designer, and Mishima (Motoki), a nuclear power engineer, and a team of rescue workers aim to stop a disaster happening.
BLACK ROOM
ブラックルーム「Burakku Ru-mu」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 90 mins.
Director: Masato Tsujioka
Writer: Masato Tsujioka (Screenplay),
Starring: Masato Tsujioka, Yu Yuuki, Ryo Asagiri, Jiro Dan, Kyoko Aizome,
The trailer for this lasts over three minutes and most of that time is spent showing the title of the film and playing some awful music. The real action is in the first twenty seconds.
Synopsis: Mario (Tsujioka) is a news show director who is jealous of his co-worker Hideki Shindo’s life. Or, more specifically, his fiancé Seira Kiyozumi. Mario s plans to lockup Seira Kiyozumi in a specially constructed dungeon…
Halloween Nightmare
ハロウィンナイトメア「Harouin Naitomea」
Release Date: September 12th, 2015
Running Time: 75 mins.
Director: Kotaro Terauchi
Writer: Kotaro Terauchi, Keiji Sagami (Screenplay), Ivory Dice (Original Work)
Starring: Aki Asakura, Reiko Igarashi, Tetsuya Nakanishi, Erina, Takako Kitagawa, Emi Yoshida,
Synopsis: Based on the free horror game, Halloween Nightmare is all about a girl who longs to work for a fashion magazine but ends up editing an occult magazine which is full of what she thinks of silly stories. However she investigates one particular story of a mysterious attacker killing people on Halloween day and she gets close to the world of the weird than she would like…
Japanese Movie Box Office Results for this Week:
Unfair: The End (Release: 2015/09/05)
Ted 2 (Release: 2015/08/28)
Jurassic World (Release: 2015/08/07)
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (Release: 2015/08/07)
Minions Movie (Release: 2015/07/31)
S: The Last Policeman: Recovery of Our Future (2015/08/28)
Yowamushi Pedal the Movie (Release: 2015/09/05)
Boruto Naruto the Movie (Release: 2015/08/07)
The Boy and the Beast (Release: 2015/07/11)
Piece of Cake (Release: 2015/08/29)
