Happy weekend people!
I wrote about the Berlin International Film Festival and its excellent-looking selection of Japanese films. I have only watched one film this week and that was a Fatal Fury anime.
What is released this weekend?
Kyoto Elegy
マンガ肉と僕 「Manga Niku to Boku」
Running Time: 94 mins
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Director: Kiki Sugino
Writer: Shiki Asaka (Original Short Story), Kotaro Wajima (Screenplay)
Starring: Takahiro Miura, Kiki Sugino, Eri Tokunaga, Chisun, Shima Ohnishi, Taiga,
Website IMDB Kiki Sugino’s Website
Korean-Japanese Kiki Sugino has quietly carved out an interesting career as a producer/actor with films like Au revoir l’ete on her resume. This is her directorial debut and it’s a film about outsiders and bullying and a guy who gets stuck on three particular girls. Her sophomore film, Taksu was released in 2014 and was a strong mood piece that luxuriated in quiet moments punctuated by bits of passion. This one seems full on incidents. The issue of being overweight seems to be dealt with some sensitivity as well. I first wrote about this for a preview of the Edinburgh Film Festival last year.
Synopsis: A selfish university student named Watabe (Takahiro Miura) finds his life complicated by a trio of women including an overweight student named Satomi (Kiki Sugino) who is being bullied by other female students. She follows him around all day which isn’t an annoyance until Watabe meets a girl named Nako (Eri Tokunaga)…
Litchi Hikari Club
ライチ☆光クラブ「Raichi☆Hikari Kurabu」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 114 mins.
Director: Eisuke Naito
Writer: Eisuke Naito, Keisuke Tominaga (Screenplay), Usamaru Furuya (Original Manga)
Starring: Shuhei Nomura (Tamiya), Yuki Furukawa (Zera), Shotaro Mamiya (Jaibou), Junya Ikeda (Niko), Amane Okayama (Yakobu), Ryo Matsuda (Raizou), Junki Tozuka (Dentaku), Kisetsu Fujiwara (Kaneda), Reiya Masaki (Dafu),
I have written a preview about this and it has been a popular post since people want to know more about this dark ero-guro tale which mixes body horror, homosexuality, and beautiful boys. It’s based on a manga (review here) which is based on a stage play. The film has been brought to life by Eisuke Naito, a new and exciting director of horror films such as Puzzle (2014) and it looks like Naito has delivered another firecracker with Litchi Hikari Club since it has received praise in reviews I have read.
Synopsis: The story focusses on nine students at an all-boys school who, under the leadership of the charismatic and slightly unhinged aesthete Zera, create a powerful robot named Lychee who is powered by lychee… His mission is to capture the beautiful women of the world but when Lychee becomes self-aware he becomes attached to one of his victims all the while the boys squabble and fight amongst themselves for power and Zera’s attention…
Children of Iron
鉄の子「Tetsu no Ko」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 74 mins.
Director: Koki Fukuyama
Writer: Koki Fukuyama, Kaori Moriyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Tomoko Tabata, Taishi Sato, Mau, Jyonmyon Pe, Sugi-chan, Shiori Doi, Ryosuke Otani,
Synopsis: Rikutaro and Mariko are in the same grade at an elementary school but they are about to become closer when Rikutaro’s mother and Mariko’s father marry. Far from being overjoyed, the two are upset because they are teased by their classmates. What’s a kid to do? Make their newlywed and happy parents’ divorce!
Hotel Copain
ホテルコパン「Hoteru Kopan」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 74 mins.
Director: Naoto Monma
Writer: Koki Fukuyama, Kaori Moriyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Yoshimasa Kondo, Hikaru Osawa, Goki Maeda, Fumiko Mizuta, Kyoko Toyama, Mochika Yamada,
Synopsis: Yusuke (Hayato Ichihara) is an employee of a hotel in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. Back when Nagano hosted the Olympics it was a successful venue but it is quiet now. Yusuke prefers it that way since he is escaping his past. He was a middle school teacher but he quit because of issues with student bullying. Things reached a nadir when the bullied student committed suicide and it affected Yusuke who wants to escape everything with a menial low-responsibility job. His low-key life changes when he runs into the mother of the student who committed suicide. She is a guest at the hotel and this throws Yusuke into emotional turmoil.
Born in the EXILE Sandaime J Soul Brothers no Kiseki
Born in the EXILE 三代目J Soul Brothersの奇跡「Hoteru Kopan」
Release Date: February 12th, 2016
Running Time: 91 mins.
Director: Hiroaki Hobo
Writer: N/A
Starring: Naoto, Elly, Takanori Iwata, Naoki Kobayashi, Kenjiro Yamashida, Ryuji Imaichi, Hiroomi Tosaka,
Synopsis: With the release of their latest album “Planet Seven” Sandaime J Soul Brothers conquered the charts in Japan and won many awards so I guess it was a good time to make a behind-the-scenes film following their activities.
Selector Destructed Wixoss
劇場版selector destructed WIXOSS「Gekijouban selector destructed WIXOSS」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 91 mins.
Director: Takuya Sato
Writer: Mari Okada (Screenplay),
Animation Production: J.C. Staff
Starring: Yoko Hikasa (Sachi Togasaki), Risa Taneda (Mayu), Rie Kugimiya (Rumi, Urith), Ai Kakuma (Ruko Kominato), Ai Kayano (Hitoe Uemura), Asami Seto (Iona Urazoe), Ayane Sakura (Yuzuki Kurebayashi),
This is the theatrical continuation of a TV anime that was first broadcast in 2014. Warner Bros. Japan is distributing it. You can watch the first eight minutes in this clip.
Synopsis: WIXOSS is a card game that’s taking schools by storm. Legend has it that there exist “Ruling Cards,” female character cards with wills of their own. Special girls can hear the voices of the Rulings, and those who possess them are called Selectors and these Selectors have card battles in a dimension that other humans cannot access. Winners of these battles get to have their wishes granted. Ruko Kominato is one of these girls who finds a Ruling card…
Eiga Kentakkun to tetsudou Hakase no Go! Go! 100 no densha
映画けん太くんとてつどう博士のGo!Go!100のでんしゃ「Eiga Kentakkun to tetsudou Hakase no G0! Go! 100 no densha」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 47 mins.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Animation Production: N/A
Starring: Reiko Tokunaga (Ken-kun), Ai Nonaka (Sa-chan) Yukitoshi Nagafuchi (Tsudo Hakase),
Synopsis: This is the latest in a series of films aimed at kids which detail the different sorts of trains operating in Japan on local and national lines.
Ro-karu Rosen Basu Noritsugi no tabi THE MOVIE
ローカル路線バス乗り継ぎの旅 THE MOVIE「Ro-karu Rosen Basu Noritsugi no tabi THE MOVIE」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: 119 mins.
Director: Kenshiro Kashima
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yosuke Tagawa, Yoshikazu Ebisu, Mika Mifune,
Synopsis: A trip organised by a TV Tokyo variety show that sees popular actors take local bus routes and exploring local areas. This one is in Taiwan and there are scary incidents such as a typhoon hitting their journey.
Shinema Kabuki Kisen / Shinema Kabuki Boshibari
シネマ歌舞伎 喜撰 / シネマ歌舞伎 棒しばり「Shinema Kabuki Kisen / Shinema Kabuki Boshibari」
Release Date: February 13th, 2016
Running Time: N/A
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: Bando Mitsugoro, Kanzaburo Nakamura, Shucho Bando,
Synopsis: Bando Mitsugoro X died last year and there are some of his performances captured on camera and screened in cinemas. Kisen is one of his most popular performances and there’s also a screening of Boshibari.
Japanese Movie Box Office Results for this Week:
The Martian (2016/02/05)
Nobunaga Concerto (2016/01/23)
Saraba Abunai Deka: Long Goodbye (2016/01/30)
Star Wars The Force Unleashed (2015/12/18)
The Inerasable (2016/01/30)
Eiga Youkai Watch: Enma Daioh to Itsutsu no Monogatari da Nyan! (2016/12/19)
Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger The Movie: Ninjas in Wonderland (2016/01/23)
Black Mass (2016/01/30)
Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 5 (To Beloved Ones) (2016/02/06)
Paddington (2016/01/15)
