Hello dear readers!
This post is early because I’m feeling a bit off this week which explains the lack of film reviews. There’s a backlog of reviews to write and a stack of films to watch but my thoughts are elsewhere – Japan, work. I will get back into blogging but for now I want to practice my Japanese more – transitive/intransitive again.
I am watching lots of anime like Osomatsu-san, Subete ga F ni naru: The Perfect Insider, and One Punch Man. I’ve gone back to listening to Shibuya-kei after a long absence as well.
There are plenty of great films released this weekend with “Tokyo no Yoru” no Asa, The Motors and Three Stories of Love. I hope I get the chance to see them!
What’s released this weekend?
Happy Toy
ハッピートイ「Happi- Toi」
Release Date: November 11th, 2015
Running Time: 97 mins.
Director: Wataru Hiranami
Writer: Wataru Hiranami (Screenplay),
Starring: Shinya Ueno, Yoko Mochizuki, Uta Ueda, Yusuke Ota,
Indie film! Wataru Hiranami (IMDB) has been an assistant director on interesting films like Just Pretended to Hear (2012) and Sad Tea (2013) and he makes his directorial debut with this feature which is the latest project from ENBU Seminar.
Synopsis: This grey world… A group of young people in a seaside town endure violent confrontations and even ghosts as they seek freedom.
`Toukyo- no Yoru’ no Asa
「トウキョーの夜」の朝「Toukyo- no Yoru」 no Asa
Release Date: November 12th, 2015
Running Time: 85 mins.
Director: Yusuke Koroya
Writer: Yusuke Koroya (Screenplay),
Starring: Kohei Ohki, Haruna Kataoka, Shingo Yamaguchi, Sho Matsue,
Synopsis: An aspiring director tries to drag a girl who works part time in a store he visited into his film production, p*ssing off the cast and crew who are already working.
Harmony
ハーモニー「Ha-moni-」
Release Date: November 13th, 2015
Running Time: 120 mins.
Director: Michael Arias, Takashi Nakamura
Writer: Koji Yamamoto (Screenplay), Project Itoh (Original Novel),
Starring: Miyuki Sawashiro (Tuan Kirie), Akio Ohtsuka (Asaf), Reina Ueda (Miach Mihie), Shinichiro Miki (Elliya Vashirof),
Harmony is the second of three films from Project Itoh, a concerted effort to adapt novels by late author Project Itoh who died in 2009. The three novels are being turned into films by different directors and studios. The first one, which was released last month, is The Empire of Corpses comes to us courtesy of WIT Studio (Attack on Titan, Hoozuki no Reitetsu) and is directed by Ryuotarou Makihara (Hal).
Harmony is the second and it is directed by Takashi Nakamura (Fantastic Children) and Michael Arias (Tekkonkinkreet), at Studio 4°C (Berserk). The second film is Genocidal Organ which is directed by Shukou Murase (Ergo Proxy) at Manglobe (House of Five Leaves) but it is now subject to delays due to Manglobe going bankrupt.
Synopsis from My Anime List: In the future, Utopia has finally been achieved thanks to medical nanotechnology and a powerful ethic of social welfare and mutual consideration. This perfect world isn’t that perfect though, and three young girls stand up to totalitarian kindness and super-medicine by attempting suicide via starvation. It doesn’t work, but one of the girls—Tuan Kirie—grows up to be a member of the World Health Organization. As a crisis threatens the harmony of the new world, Tuan rediscovers another member of her suicide pact, and together they must help save the planet…from itself.
Foujita
フジタ「Fujita」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 126 mins.
Director: Kohei Oguri
Writer: Kohei Oguri (Screenplay),
Starring: Joe Odagiri, Miki Nakatani, Ryo Kase, Ana Girardot, Angele Humeau, Marie Kremer, Seiji Fukushi, Munetaka Aoki,
This is a Japanese-French co-production about the real life artist Tsuguharu Foujita.
Synopsis from unifrance.org: Paris in the early 1920s: the Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita (Joe Odagiri) is the darling of the capital. His very personal style, of naked women in delicate whites, surprises the Montparnasse art scene. In his relationships with many Parisiennes, and his friendships with Van Dongen, Kisling, Picasso, Modigliani and others, he lives a frenzied life in Paris. At the outbreak of WWII Foujita is back in his home country, Japan. His life and beliefs shaken by the war, he lives modestly in Aomori, a small town in Northern Japan, with his new Japanese wife, Kimiyo (Miki Nakatani). Seeking refuge in the countryside, Foujita discovers a Japan he never knew.
Three Stories of Love
恋人たち 「Koibito-tachi」
Duration: 140 mins
Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
Writer: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
Starring: Atsushi Shinohara, Toko Narushima, Ryo Ikeda, Ken Mitsuishi, Lily Franky, Hana Kino, Tamae Ando, Chika Uchida,
This one was at the Vancouver International Film Festival and I have seen one review but it’s a glowing one that talks up the great characters, drama, and originality. The three central characters on screen are a frumpy put-upon housewife, a gay lawyer, and a repairman/widower and their stories interconnect. Non-professional/untried actors are in the lead roles but they are surrounded by character actors such as Lily Franky, Tamae Ando, and Ken Mitsuishi.
Synopsis from the Vancouver International Film Festival’s website: Three protagonists, a bereaved bridge-repairman, an unhappy housewife with creative ambitions and an elite gay lawyer live lives full of love and loss. Their lives are largely separate, but briefly intersect.
The Motors
モーターズ 「Mo-ta-zu」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 83 mins.
Director: Daichi Watanabe
Writer: Daichi Watanabe, Ryusuke Iso (Screenplay),
Starring: Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Yuki Konoe, Rio Kanoe, Hiroki Maeda, Yota Kawase, Fumiharu Inuta,
The Motors won the special jury prize at the 2014 Pia Film Festival, a great source for movie news and first glimpses of indie films that Asian film fans salivate over (I’m thinking about The Tale of Iya). The Motors is directed by Daichi Watanabe, an actor/director who was in Boku wa Bosan which was released last week. The lead actor is indie-stalwart Kiyohiko Shibukawa.
Synopsis from the Pia Film Festival: Tanaka, who works at a repair shop in the sticks, isn’t getting anywhere in life. The new kid, Takeo, ends up quitting right away because he wants to play in a band, but the guys at the garage accept him affably. One day, a young man and his girlfriend bring in a car for repair, and Tanaka finds himself falling in love with the woman. The awkward but charming complications of human relationships that ensue fill this movie throughout.
Durarara!!x2 Ten Special, Durarara!!x2 Ten Episode 13.5 (o noroke chakapoko)
デュラララ!!×2 転 外伝!? 第13.5話「お惚気チャカポコ」「Durarara!!x2 Ten Special, Durarara!!x2 Ten Episode 13.5 o noroke chakapoko」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 45 mins.
Director: Takahiro Omori
Writer: Noboru Takagi (Screenplay), Ryohgo Narita (Original Creator),
Starring: Miyuki Sawashiro (Celty Sturluson), Jun Fukuyama (Shinra Kishitani), Daisuke Ono (Shizuo Heiwajima), Hiroshi Kamiya (Izaya Orihara),
Synopsis from Anime News Network: “Episode 13.5” is set between episodes 13 and 14, and depicts the shocking incident that occurs during Celty and Shinra’s romantic trip together. It adapts a popular story segment from the seventh volume of Ryohgo Narita’s original novel series.
FW: Hamatora
FW: ハマトラ「FW: Hamatora」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: N/A
Director: Seiji Kishi
Writer: Jun Kumagai (Screenplay), Jun Kumagai (Series Composition),
Starring: Ryota Osaka (Nice), Wataru Hatano (Murasaki), Emiri Kato (Hajime), Hiroshi Kamiya (Art), Megumi Ogata (Momoka),
This is a recap of the TV anime.
Synopsis from Anime News Network: “Minimum” – a special inborn power found in a limited number of human beings, known as “minimum holders.” In Yokohama, the detective team Hamatora, formed by two minimum holders named Nice and Murasaki, comes across information connected to a serial killer being pursued by their old friend Art. It turns out all the victims are minimum holders like them. Unwillingly at first, the two detectives become involved in the investigation.
Minimum Hamatora Film Version
劇場版 ミニはま「Gekijouban Mini Hama」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: N/A
Director: Masaomi Ando
Writer: Yasuhiro Nakanishi (Screenplay), Yasuhiro Nakanishi (Original Novel),
Starring: Ryota Osaka (Nice), Wataru Hatano (Murasaki), Emiri Kato (Hajime), Hiroshi Kamiya (Art), Megumi Ogata (Momoka),
Synopsis: Mini Hama follows the characters from the series at the private “Hamatora Academy.”
Gekijouban Bikuu
劇場版「媚空 ビクウ」「Gekijouban Kobisora Bikuu」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 78 mins.
Director: Keita Amemiya
Writer: Keita Amemiya (Screenplay),
Starring: Sayaka Akimoto, Kenta Suga, Erika Asakura, Kazue Ito, Mickey Curtis, Shiro Sano,
Synopsis from the Garo Wiki: Keita Amemiya brings ex-AKB48 star Sayaka Akimoto into the world of Garo through the television series and now this movie. She plays Bikku, a Darkness Hunter Makai Priestess, a type of priest who specializes in the internal affairs of the Makai Order by checking reports of Makai Knights and Priests who have fallen to the darkness or have become possessed by a Horror. Her job includes checking the purity of a Makai agent’s soul and assassinating those individuals who are fully tainted or evil, sometimes with the aid of a Makai Knight that a Watchdog or the Senate assigns to her. She then cremates the bodies of the possessed in a ceremony so the souls can find peace and ascend into the afterlife and also so the Horror’s evil ki can be fully purified so it cannot revive in the corpse.
Ushi koku ni mairu
丑刻ニ参ル「Ushi koku ni mairu」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 98 mins.
Director: Naoyoshi Kawamatsu
Writer: Naoyoshi Kawamtsu (Screenplay),
Starring: Hayato Onozuka, Hitoe Ohtake, Rina Nagai, Kana Araki, Yuya Miyamoto, Shinta Fujiwara, Kaguya Tsukimiya, Haruka, Anna Sakai. Narumi Ito,
Creepy doll alert! Hayato Onozuka from Gekidan Exile stars in this film which has a rather atmospheric trailer. This looks better than the last two Hideo Nakata films I watched!
Synopsis from IMDB: One cold midnight, Kenji was riding on a bicycle on trail in the woods…running away from his own life. When he saw a lady casting “Ushikoku” spell in the woods, a sleepless night begins. To cast ‘Ushikoku’ spell, the one must nail a doll down to a tree in the midnight shrine. If the spellcaster be seen castiing spell, he or she must kill the witness to complete the spell… On the way running away from the lady through the midnight city, he finds out that no one helps him, his old friends, police, nobody. And soon, everyone starts chasing him, being a part of the spell. Kenji decides to fight. Not for his life, but for his girl with sickness inside her.
Akiruno monogatari sorairo no tabibito
あきる野物語 空色の旅人「Akiruno monogatari sorairo no tabibito」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 41 mins.
Director: Hitoshi Kobayashi
Writer: Hitoshi Kobayashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Aya Hirayama, Eita Ashida, Michiko Korai,
Synopsis: Akiruno, Tokyo, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. It was founded on September 1, 1995 and this short takes us through the city, through the natural world, and amongst the people with an angel (Hirayama) guiding us.
Nihon Ro-ka Ruhi-ro- Daisakusen
日本ローカルヒーロー大決戦「Nihon Ro-ka Ruhi-ro- Daisakusen」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 70 mins.
Director: Eiji Agekura
Writer: Wataru Yasue (Screenplay),
Starring: Shun Hanada, Yohei Tomie, Masaaki Nitta, Ayaka Tsuji,
Synopsis: 80 heroes assemble to battle evil-doers.
Hentaidan
変態団「Hentaidan」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 45 mins.
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Writer: Noboru Iguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Rei Ayana, Hidemitsu Ban, Miko Haruno, Takeyuki Igari, Masaru, Kaori Karasawa,
This one sounds really ugly from this brief review (which also covered the film below). It’s based on an idea that has its roots in a workshop and became a cheap and nasty looking 50 minute short. Just reading that review left me uncomfortable with the film and the trailer looks really poor.
Synopsis: Abnormal love and sexual perversions abound when a group of perverts get together to act out their love of urine and faeces and violence and suicide.
Damager
自傷戦士ダメージャー「Jisho senshi Damager」
Release Date: November 14th, 2015
Running Time: 23 mins.
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Writer: Noboru Iguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Yu Kazama, Kanji Tsuda, Demo Tanaka, Airi Yamamoto,
This one sounds a lot more fun since it comes from a meeting Iguchi had with a salaryman named Yu Kazama who asked Iguchi to help him star in a superhero film and possibly this would help Kazama get a girlfriend. Kazama paid the bills on this. The trailer is the same one used above. I used it again because it features Damager on the end.
Synopsis: A salaryman named Kazama walks into Noboru Iguchi’s office as Damager, a superhero whose superpowers activate when he suffers pain. He must now save a pretty high school girl (Airi Yamamoto) from her murderous boyfriend (Demo Tanaka).
Japanese Movie Box Office Results for this Week:
Gekijouban Mozu (2015/11/07)
Grasshopper (2015/11/07)
Everest 3D (2015/11/06)
Ore Monogatari!! (2015/10/31)
Eiga Go! Princess Precure Go! Go!! Gōka 3-bon Date!!! (2015/10/31)
Galaxy Turnpike (2015/10/24)
Pan (2015/10/31)
The Intern (2015/10/10)
Library Wars – The Last Mission (2015/10/10)
Monuments Men (2015/11/06)
