Well my holiday came to an end and it was back to work and I haven’t been as busy as this week had me. I got a bit of a surprise this week as well when I collected my post and excitedly got my Bakemonogatari DVD (just released in the UK) then checked my emails and saw a press release from the UK distributor asking AUKN to report that the Bakemonogatari set has the wrong discs in thanks to a mix up with the manufacturer. I now have Shakugan no Shana II instead of Bakemonogatari. It’s pretty bland. I want my Bakemonogatari. I want Hitagi Senjougahara.
The week opened with my Summer Anime Season Picks on this blog and on Anime UK News. I feel sad about the spring season passing but the summer shows I picked look pretty good. I followed up with a post showing the auditions for Sion Sono’s latest film Tokyo Tribes and a lot of the trailers were fun rather than cringe-worthy.
What films are released today?
The Ravine of Goodbye 
Japanese Title: さよなら渓谷
Romaji: Sayonara Keikoku
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 116 mins.
Director: Tatsushi Omori
Writer: Shuichi Yoshida (Novel), Tatsushi Omori (Screenplay)
Starring: Yoko Maki, Shima Onishi, Nao Omori, Arata, Hirofumi Arai, Anne Suzuki, Jyo Hyuga
Tatsushi Omori is an interesting director. He’s worked on The Whispering of the Gods and Tada’s Do-It-All House, two interesting films, the first a drama and the second a comedy. His latest flick is Bozo which stood out as being a grim take on the real life incident of a loser who goes on a murder-spree. Omori’s name should be better known amongst cinephiles. This is his latest film and he’s adapted a novel by Shuichi Yoshida, the man who wrote Villain, Parade and A Story of Yonosuke, all three of which were turned into films (Yonosuke review to come). As the trailer shows this is going to be an emotionally intense film full of tears and shouting. The plot sounds really melodramatic and it makes me want to see this on the big screen! I’m also interested because the acting talent is immense with the director’s brother, Nao Omori who is a bloody good actor considering his roles – Ichi the Killer, Vibrator, Mushishi, Rampo Noir – Yoko Maki (Infection, The Grudge) Anne Suzuki (she had a bit-part as a waitress in Himizu but was so beautiful I remember her clearly!) and Arata (After Life).
In a valley dense with trees a baby is killed and it’s mother, Satomi Tachibana (Suzuki) is the primes suspect. As the police are investigating the murder they are informed that Satomi is romantically involved with her next door neighbour Shunsuke Ozaki (Onishi) by Shunsuke’s lover Kanako (Maki). Magazine reporter Watanabe (Omori) digs into the case and discovers that Kanako was the victim of a rape 15 years ago and Ozaki was involved in the case…
To Cry a 100 Times 
Japanese Title: 100 回 泣くこと
Romaji: 100 Kai Naku Koto
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 116 mins.
Director: Ryuichi Hirok
Writer: Shuichi Yoshida (Novel), Ko Nakamura, Izumi Takahashi (Screenplay)
Starring: Tadayoshi Okra, Mirei Kiritani, Rie Tomosaka, Shugo Oshinari, Haru, Ren Osugi, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Jun Murakami
And now for something completely different. This looks incredibland to me, a person who has grown up on horror and action. I guess regular dorama viewers will fit in perfectly but the trailer and plot put me off. The central couple looks so cute. The settings are picture perfect. The music is a cheesy ballad. The strange thing is that fact that it’s directed by Ryuichi Hiroki (River, April Bride) who usually makes more interesting dangerous films so forgive me if I say that this looks like a project designed to buy him a new boat. But maybe I’m wrong. There are great actors here like Jun Murakami (Land of Hope), and Ren Osugi (Exte) and recent discoveries like Haru (See You Tomorrow, Everyone) and Yoshiko Miyaaki (Detroit Metal City)… This could be secretly great and another look at the trailer will convince me… Or maybe they all want boats as well. Perhaps they all have memberships at the same yacht club. I’m not convinced. The next trailer better be an awesome action movie.
Shichichi (Okura) had a motorcycle accident 4 years ago and slost a year from his memory. While at a friend’s wedding, Shuichi meets Yoshimi (Kiritani) and the two fall for each other. Shuichi even considers trying to wife Yoshimi until she becomes sick and reveals a sad truth lost in Shuichi’s memory…
No action movies. I just checked the rest of the releases and it’s all dramas and documentaries. They look good.
Shady 
Japanese Title: かしこい狗は、吠えずに笑う
Romaji: Kashikoi Inu wa, Hoezu ni Warau
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 94 mins.
Director: Ryohei Watanabe
Writer: Ryohei Watanabe (Screenplay)
Starring: mimpi * β, Izumi Okamura, Isao Nakazawa, Gota Ishida, Ayumi Seko
The first post Alua made for 2013 contained the trailer for this film and I commented on it stating that:
“I liked the trailer for Shady. It reminds me of the K-horror Memento Mori. I’ll make Gifs out of that…” Genki Jason
Ah, the things I promise to do. Well I have made a Gif which is at the bottom of this post. What? You want to know about the film that reminded me of Memento Mori?
Okay, this is an award winning youth drama about Misa Kumada (mimpi * β), an outcast at her school who hates the place but would like to get closer to Izumi Kiyose (Okamura). The two develop bonds of friendship but the seemingly angelic Kiyose has quite a dark side. Do I still want to see it? Yes. Thankfully Third Window Films have acquired it for UK distribution!
Remiges 
Japanese Title: 風切羽 かざきりば
Romaji: Kazekiribane ka Zakiriba
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 88 mins.
Director: Masato Ozawa
Writer: Masato Ozawa (Screenplay)
Starring: Mika Akzuki, Junki Tozuka, Maiko Kawakami, Osamu Shigematu, Yuki Terada, Futoshi Sato, Nobuyuk Ishida, Michiko Godai
Remiges? A flight of feathers of a bird’s wing. A bleakie road movie… I have to invoke the name of Alua again because this is her type of film. Abuse, bullying, horrible parents and the trauma that has created in lead character Sayako which leads to an interesting character study. It looks to get even more interesting when Sayako hooks up with another outcast named Kenta. The film actually gets a bit of a playful tone when he enters but such things don’t last in the real world. With its outsider pair it reminds me of Aku no Hana only Kenta isn’t a spineless nothing like Kasuga. Damn, I want to Gif this as well. Lead actress Mika Akizuki starred in Another while lead actor Junki Tozuka appeared in Helter Skelter. Those two look really good (especially when compared to that film about crying 100’s of times or whatever…)
Sayako (Akizuk) was abused by her mother as a young child and has lived in a foster care facility with the emotional scars since then. She’s now a senior in high school and wants to attend a ballet school but she needs her parents to pay the tuition fees and so she turns to her father but he betrays her and pushes Sayako over the edge. She skips out on the foster care facility to search for her mother and sister but runs into another lost soul named Kenta (Tozuka) who cycles through town asking random people if they know him.
Seimei (inochi) no kotodzuke shibō-ritsu 2-bai shōgai no aru hito-tachi no 3. 11 
Japanese Title: 生命（いのち）のことづけ 死亡率2倍 障害のある人たちの3.11
Romaji: Seimei (inochi) no kotodzuke shibō-ritsu 2-bai shōgai no aru hito-tachi no 3. 11
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 37 mins.
Director: Kentaro Hayase
Writer: Kentaro Hayase (Screenplay)
Starring: N/A
From what I can make out of the synopsis it seems to be a video made for people with a wide range of disabilities to prep them for natural disasters. Spurred on by the 3.11 disaster there are facts collected by local government and media organisations and interviews with disabled people plus there are multiple ways of understanding the info from subtitles, audio description and sign language.
Disabled People Who Failed to Escape the Great East Japan Earthquake
Japanese Title: 逃げ遅れる人々 東日本大震災と障害者
Romaji: Nige okureru hitobito Higashinihon daishinsai to shōgaimono
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 74 mins.
Director: Motoharu Iida
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
We’ve had 3.11 documentaries about children, old people, and animals and now we get one about disabled people. This depicts what happened to people with disabilities, the problems they had evacuating, the problems being housed in temporary shelters and the stories of those who were left behind in the Fukushima area after the nuclear accident. It comes from Motoharu Iida who did the doc on animal survivors of 3.11. No trailer.
Ghost in the Shell: Arise border 1 Ghost Pain 
Japanese Title: 攻殻機動隊 ARISE border 1 Ghost Pain
Romaji: Koukaku Kidoutai ARISE border 1 Ghost Pain
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 59 mins.
Chief Director: Kazuchika Kise, Episode 1 Director: Masahiko Murata
Writer: Tow Ubukata (Screenplay)
Starring: Maaya Sakamoto (Motoko Kusanagi), Kenichirou Matsuda (Batou), Tarusuke Shingaki (Togusa), Ikkyuu Nakai (Daisuke Aramaki)
If I had to pick a favourite anime genre then it would be cyberpunk. I grew up on 80’s/90’s anime and I’m a big Ghost in the Shell (GitS) fan… Well, the Mamoru Oshii films rather than Shirow Masamune’s manga and the Stand Alone Complex TV anime. Oshii has a unique existentialist take and knows how to create worlds and I mention this is because the latest adaptation of Shirow Masamune’s title is out courtesy of Production I.G. Here’s the first eight minutes.
Character designs come courtesy of the series director Kazuchika Kise but I’m always up for an adventure with Kusanagi. The first episode is directed by Masahiko Murata (Serial Experiments Lain) and the series is overseen by Kazuchika Kise, a Production I.G. vet who has been in everything from Patlabor to A Letter to Momo. The one point of interest is that it is written by Tow Ubukata who has created fascinating works like Samurai Astronomer Tenchi, Mardock Scramble and Le Chevalier D’eon. Plus there is music by cool DJ Cornelius. Anyway, this instalment introduces Kusanagi and Public Security Section 9… because a new audience needs to be reacquainted with old heroes.
Movie Version BUCK-TICK Firecrackers Phenomenon II
Japanese Title: 劇場版BUCK-TICK バクチク現象II
Romaji: Gekijouban BUCK-TICK BakuChiku Genshou I
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: N/A
Director: Yuichiro Iwaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Atsushi Sakurai, Hisashi Imai, Hoshino Hidehiko, Yutaka Higuchi, Thor Yagami
This is part two of a trilogy of documentaries celebrating BUCK-TICK, an immensely popular rock band celebrating their 25th anniversary. Like the last one it includes footage from past performances, their tours during the year 2012 and album recordings.
It’s a Glass Mask But… Love of a Woman Spy! 
Japanese Title: ガラスの仮面ですが THE MOVIE 女スパイの恋！
Romaji: Garasu no Kamen Desu ga THE MOVIE Onna Supai no Koi!
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 55 mins.
Director: Eri Asahi, Yukari Shinohara (Screenplay),
Writer: Yukiko Nonomura (Screenplay), Suzue Miuchi (Original Work)
Starring: Kumiko Nakane, Haruka Shiraishi, Shinya Takahashi, Hiroki Goto, Ikumi Hayami
The shoujo romance manga has been adapted into a gag anime TV series by DLE Inc., the company behind the Thermae Romae anime. The original characters have been reimagined as “yankee” (Delinquent) girls who both want to lead the “Crimson Godess” gang.
Vegetable Fairy Quiz Theatre 
Japanese Title: やさいのようせい クイズげきじょう
Romaji: Yasai no Yousei Kuizu Gekijou
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 45 mins.
Director: Yoshitaka Amano
Writer: N/A
Starring: Tomoyo Harada, Miyu Matsuki (Narration)
Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano has made films before with Ten Nights of Dream and this is his latest, a children’s anime adventure featuring fairy vegetables from a New York Salad teaching kids and singing nursery rhymes in a kitchen in New York. Narration by Tomoyo Harada (Tokyo Oasis, Bread of Happiness).
Minami Haruo Special Cinema Performance 
Japanese Title: 三波春夫「歌藝（うたげい） 終り無きわが歌の道」特別シネマ公演
Romaji: Minami haruo `uta gei (uta-ge i) owarinaki waga uta no michi’ tokubetsu shinema kōenRelease Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 120 mins.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: Haruo Minami
It has been twelve years since the death of Haruo Minami and now we get concert footage which has not been recorded on DVD and has been given the HD remaster treatment. He was a popular enka singer who led a dramatic life surviving a Russian POW camp and performing the theme song for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo which is included in the film.
For 13 days of roaring and Muneoizumu love 
Japanese Title: ムネオイズム 愛と狂騒の13日間
Romaji: Muneoizumu ai to kyōsō no 13-kakan
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 88 mins.
Director: Yu Kaneko
Writer: N/A
Starring: Muneo Suzuki, Chiharu Matsuyama, Masaru Sato, Yashiro Eita, John Muruaka
A documentary about the controversial politician Muneo Suzuki, a former member of the Liberal Democratic Party and a pretty big-wig who was convicted of corruption and set to prison for a brief spell.
Starting Over 
Japanese Title: スターティングヴァー
Romaji: Su-tatingu Ovu-a
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 84 mins.
Director: Goto Toshihiro
Writer: Goto Toshihiro (Screenplay)
Starring: Toru Katayama, Yuko Narisawa, Yuria Hidaka, Yuki Ikushima, Daisuke Iijima, Yoichi Okamura,
Goto Toshihiro, director of Monochrome Girl and The Melancholy of Vermeer, is back with his latest feature which is a relationship drama starring Toru Katayama (Watch the Birdie) and Yuria Hidaka (Siren X). Looks a bit dull.
Taro and Yoko have been in a relationship since high school and have lived together for 10 years but when Taro gets into an incident with another woman Taro and Yoko realise their feelings for each other have changed.
Senkaku Rock 
Japanese Title: 尖閣ロック
Romaji: Senkaku Rokku
Release Date: June 22nd, 2013
Running Time: 60 mins.
Director: Eito Sonoda
Writer: N/A
Starring: TOKMA, Minehiro Fukuzawa
September 18th, 2012 and a week has passed since the Senkaku islands have been bought by the Japanese government from their Japanese owner. Nationalist demonstrations take place across China and the Chinese government refuses to recognise Japan’s claim on the islands. Tensions mount between China and Japan and while all this is going on in China two Japanese men land on the islands and spend 36 hours there. Their intention is to show the love and pride of modern Japanese. One of those men is the rock artist TOKMA and this is his experience.
Enough with the politics. Here’s the Gif:
