This week I posted a Gif version of the trailer for Why Don’t You Play in Hell? because the trailer was so damn awesome. I also posted a review of A Woman Called Abe Sada which was so damn erotic. I needed a break from work and took it which meant that my hours were spent day-tripping, watching films and anime and writing (and trying to complete Etrian Odyssey/Sigma Harmonics before I start going through my PSP games next month). I watched a whole range of films like The Conjuring and The Lone Ranger as well as plenty of Japanese titles. I’m almost finished writing up my Autumn 2013 Anime Guide for Anime UK News which was an epic undertaking that left me numb and disillusioned… Only joking.
What’s released this week in Japan? Lots of Korean films but there are also some films about World War II because last week was the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Osorubeki Isan Hadaki no Kage 
Japanese Title: 恐るべき 遺産 裸 の 影
Romaji: Osorubeki Isan Hadaki no Kage
Release Date: August 15th, 2013
Running Time: 84 mins.
Director: Koji Wakamatsu
Writer: N/A
Starring: Mitsuko Miura, Hananomoto Kotobuki, Fumiko Sakakibara, Noriko Okayama, Aiko Watanabe
The week starts off with a Koji Wakamatsu film about victims of Hiroshima called Osorubeki isan Hadaka no Kage. Finding information on this one was a bit of a hunt because the IMDB listing is Hadaka no Kage but part of the reason why it was so hard to find is becayse it was only recently rediscovered! This is a long lost film! Along the way I found this cool Japanese film website which makes my wild ramblings look really inept and its article about Koji Wakamatsu was really insightful. The film is about a girl named Noriko who lost her parents to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and was exposed to radiation.
Joker Game Escape 
Japanese Title: ジョーカーゲーム 脱出
Romaji: Jo-ka- Ge-mu Dasshutsu
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: 80 mins.
Director: Shintaro Ashzuka
Writer: Ai Yamazaki (Screenplay)
Starring: Hirono Suzuki, Rina Matsuno Mio Miyatake, Fuina Hara, Madoka Yoshida, Kyouka, Sara Takatsuki, Mila Aina, Yuzuki Sato, Shingo Mizusawa, Jyo Hyuga
This is a direct sequel to last year’s Joker Game film. It’s actually set seven days after the story of the last one ended and it follows seven girls who lost the previous game and are locked up in a correctional facility where they must participate in “Escape Game of Death”. They are locked in a room and have to cooperate with one another to find a way to escape but judging from the trailer it doesn’t quite go smoothly.
This is one of those death game films packed to the rafters with idols and fresh new faces although some of these girls have worked in v-cinema J-horror before like Rina Matsuno (Apartment 1303) and Fumina Hara (The Locker 1 and 2). Mio Miyatake also starred in Tajomaru. Rather interestingly, Sara Takatsuki will be seen in the live-action adaptation of I Don’t Have Many Friends, a trashy light-novel/anime I kind of enjoyed.
The Morning Set, Milk and Spring 
Japanese Title: モーニング セット、 牛乳、春
Romaji: Mo-ningu Set, Gyunyuu, Haru
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: 85 mins.
Director: Toshiki Sato
Writer: Haruka Takenami (Screenplay)
Starring: Mitsuru Hirata, Takeshi Ito, Kanako Mizumoto, Asuka Ishii, Aoi Kirishima, Mayuko Irie, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Yota Kawase, Yukijiro Hotaru, Syuma Shimizu
Ichiro Sasaki (Hirata) is a dull middle-aged salary-man who finds himself questioning his path in life when he hears of the death of his childhood friend Okabe (Ito). The reason for his soul-searching is because Okabe left a final message for Sasaki where he admits that he was in love with Sachi (Kirishima), Sasaki’s first girl, and that a person they both knew had hit unfortunate times. Sasaki thinks back on his younger days and remembers that Okabe was the luckier one in life. After meeting a young woman named Haru (Mizumoto), Sasaki’s passion for his youth is revived.
Schoolgirl Complex 
Japanese Title: スクール ガール コンプレックス 放送部 篇
Romaji: Suku-ru Ga-ru Konpurekksu Housoubu Hen
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: 96 mins.
Director: Yuichi Onuma
Writer: Yuki Aoyama (Original Photobook), Shin Adachi (Screenplay)
Starring: Aoi Morikawa, Mugi Kadowaki, Maaya Kondo, Aoi Yoshikura, Ayuri Konno, Tsukina Takai, Minako Kotobuki, Yuko Araki, Tomoharu Hasegawa
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have an entire movie inspired by a photobook full of cute girls. A script, characters and a plot and decent directing. It’s all organised by Stardust Pictures who have drafted in Yuichi Onuma, a director with a talent for dramas and Shin Adachi as writer. There are also a raft of actresses who have been in films like Confessions and Another. This being set in a all-girls school there are plenty of repressed feelings passed between the girls and lots of meaningful glances and stares exchange between sempai and kohai whose hearts go doki doki. It’s so totemo romantiku ~sigh~. No supernatural shenanigans like Memento Mori.
Manami (Morikawa) is a senior and a member of the school’s broadcast club. She’s also about to graduate. Chiyuki (Kadowaki) has just joined the club. Manami is shaken by Chiyuki’s presence.
Noborito Army Institute 
Japanese Title: 陸軍 登戸 研究所
Romaji: Rikugun Noborito Kenkyuujo
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: 180 mins.
Director: Tadayuki Kusuyama
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
The Noborito Laboratory was run by the Imperial Japanese army between 1937 to 1945 in Kanagawa Prefecture. At its height it had a staff of over 1000 people who helped to research and develop all sorts of thing connected to unconventional warfare like energy weapons (death rays), balloon bombs, and chemical weapons. At the end of World War II it was shut down and a lot of materials relating to its output were destroyed. Now there is a museum called the Noborito Institute for Peace Education at the site and it has artifiacts and details from the lab. Tadayuki Kusuyama’s documentary gives a glimpse of the facility.
Kakehashi Kikoenakatta 3.11 
Japanese Title: 架け橋 きこえなかった 3.11
Romaji: Kakehashi Kikoenakatta 3.11
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: N/A
Director: Ayako Imamura
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Another documentary that covers the Great East Japan Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami but from the viewpoint of deaf people who did not hear the evacuation orders.
NHK Special Movie Version Colossal Deep-Sea Squid First Filming! 
Japanese Title: 劇場版 NHK スペシャル 世界 初 撮影！ 深海 の 超巨大 イカ
Romaji: Gekijouban NHK Supesharu SEkai Hatsu Satsuei! Shinkai no Choukyodai Ika
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: N/A
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
An NHK Special about a giant sea squid (the world’s largest!!!) which was televised in January gets shown in a cinema. No trailer but that’s okay because the pictures I saw were creepy.
My Summertime Map 
Japanese Title: 夏休み の 地図
Romaji: Natsu Yasumi no Chizu
Release Date: August 01st, 2013
Running Time: 96 mins.
Director: Kenta Fukasaku
Writer: Yoshinobu Kamo (Screenplay)
Starring: Kenta Honyashiki, Taro Yamamoto, Megumi Okina, Eri Murakawa, Daisuke Miyaji, Jun Matsuo, Yurika Shimano, Honoka Yatsuka
Kenta Fukasaku, son of Kinji Fukasaku and director of (X-Cross) teams up with writer Yoshinobu Kamo (Signal) for a drama that follows a boy named Kento Tanabe (Honyashiki) as he attempts to draw a map of Hiroshima. He will encounter all the city has to offer (tourist locations) which contains colourful characters including a mysterious chap who goes by the name “Junk Man”. Actors include Megumi Okina (Crime or Punishment?!?, The Grudge), Taro Yamamoto (My Way, Battle Royale, Go) and Eri Murakawa (Train Brain Express).
Battlefield
Japanese Title: 戦場
Romaji: Senjou
Release Date: August 17th, 2013
Running Time: 53 mins.
Director: Hiroshi Matsumoto
Writer: Hiroshi Matsumoto
Starring: Takeshi Tsuchiya, Yoko Hara, Yoshihisa Sugai, Asuka Takahashi, Ryuhei Kawasaki, Chihiro Sasaki
An indie drama from indie kids about a two year relationship between Manami and Takada which is put to the test when a man named Shingo enters their lies and brings the threat of violence.
