Happy weekend!
We made it through to another one.
It has been a manageable week split between proofing a game, practising for and conducting a Japanese language/culture lesson and then still writing about films. I covered some reviews for Mamoru Hosoda’s latest anime, Mirai and then posted about the two Japanese films at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and posted a review for the film, Goodbye Silence. I also performed some maintenance on this blog by updating dead trailers and putting in links.
What is released this week?
50 First Kisses 
50回目のファーストキス 「50 Kaime no Fasuto Kisu」
Running Time: 114 mins.
Release Date: June 01st, 2018
Director: Yuichi Fukuda
Writer: Yuichi Fukuda (Original Screenplay), George Wing (Original Story),
Starring: Takayuki Yamada, Masami Nagasawa, Tsuyoshi Mura, Katsuya, Taiga, Jiro Sato, Hirona Yamazaki, Shinya Owada,
Synopsis: Oahu, Hawaii is a dream paradise and it is here that Japanese tour guide Daisuke Yuge (Takayuki Yamada) meets Rui Fujishima (Masami Nagasawa), his dream girl. The only problem is that due to an accident, she suffers memory loss and she cannot remember him the day after their dates…
Over Drive 
オーバードライブ 「O-ba-doraibu」
Running Time: 104 mins.
Release Date: June 01st, 2018
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi
Writer: Sayaka Kawamura (Original Screenplay), George Wing (Original Story),
Starring: Masahiro Higashide, Mackenyu Arata, Aoi Morikawa, Takumi Kitamura, Keita Machida, Kotaro Yoshida,
Synopsis: Spika Racing Factory is built on the back of two brothers: Atsuhiro Hiyama (masahiro Higashide), the chief mechanic and engineer, and Naozumi (Mackenyu Arata), the young and reckless driver setting hearts and the race track aflame with his driving skills. They compete in te Seiko Cup Rally Series, hoping to make it to the World Rally Championship but Naozumi’s reckless style of driving causes friction. That is, until Hikaru Endo (Aoi Morikawa) becomes his manager.
The Yamasato no Uta 
恐竜の詩 「Kyouryu no Uta」
Running Time: 138 mins.
Release Date: June 01st, 2018
Director: Takushi Chikakane,
Writer: Takushi Chikakane (Original Screenplay),
Starring: Toshiyuki Sawada, Miho Tomizu, Saki Furuwa, Sunny Francis, Yumi Yoshino, Mana Nagatsu,
Synopsis: Tamba is a small city in the Kansai region which is desperate for some good news thinks it has struck gold when the bones of a new kind of dinosaur are discovered by children. They name it the ‘The Tamba Dragon’ and hope to make some money. The mayor drafts a former staff member from a trading company to make money.
Uma no Hone 
馬の骨 「Uma no Hone」
Running Time: 91 mins.
Release Date: June 02nd, 2018
Director: Koji Kiryu
Writer: Koji Kiryu, Hiroki Sakanoshita, Noriaki Sugihara (Original Screenplay),
Starring: Koji Kiryu, Fujiko Kojima, Taiga Fukasawa, Yuumi Shida, You Takahashi, Himika Akaneya, Eriko Kawakami,
Synopsis: Writer, director, and lead actor Koji Kiryu takes on the role of Mitsuo, the lead singer of punk rock group “Uma no Hone”. Sounds glamorous but that’s something on the side. In reality, he’s a middle-aged man who works for a construction company until he gets fired. After leaving the employee dormitory, he moves into a share house where he meets a young woman named Yuka (Fujiko Kojima), an aspiring singer-songwriter who works in an idol unit. The two begin to work together…
Even: Song For You 
EVEN 君に贈る歌 オーバードライブ 「Even: Kimi no Okuru Uta」
Running Time: 87 mins.
Release Date: June 02nd, 2018
Director: Toshiro Sonoda
Writer: Erika Yoshida (Original Screenplay),
Starring: Dori Sakurada, Koji Saikawa, Keisuke Sakurai, Goro Kurihara, Ryuta Bando
Synopsis: Rin (Jin Shirasu) may be a popular singer but he still had everyday problems as seen in the way he gets into an argument with the girl he is about to propose to, Mami (Maya Okano), and then gets into a traffic accident. Also involved in the accident is Takehito (Dori Sakurada), the singer for the unpopular indie band “Even”. The two swap bodies and when Rin wakes up at the hospital, he realises what happened and joings forces with the guys in “Even” to make a song for Mami.
Yoake zen kure shūzō to mumei no seishin shōgai-sha no 100-nen 
夜明け前 呉秀三と無名の精神障害者の100年 「Yoake zen kure shūzō to mumei no seishin shōgai-sha no 100-nen」
Running Time: 66 mins.
Release Date: June 02nd, 2018
Director: Tomoki Imai
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yasuo Okada, Shuzo Kure, Akira Hashimoto, Masahiko Saito, Kenichi Harada,
Synopsis: A documentary about Shuzo Kure, the man who modernised psychological treatment for the mentally ill in the Taisho period. It is 1918 and our esteemed professor works for the psychiatry department at the University of Tokyo. He investigates how mentally ill people are being confined and the prejudice they face. He worked to change how society treated people and we see his legacy.
PEACE MAKER Kurogane Path of Thoughts 
PEACE MAKER 鐵 想道（オモウミチ） 「PEACE MAKER Kurogane Omou Michi」
Release Date: June 02nd, 2018
Running Time: 58 mins.
Director: Shigeru Kimiya
Writer: Eiji Umehara (Screenplay), Nanae Chrono (Original Manga)
Starring: Takahiro Sakurai (Susumu Yamazaki), Yuuki Kaji (Tetsunosuke Ichimura – adolescent), Yumiko Kobayashi (Tetsunosuke Ichimura – child), Takashi Matsuyama (Hajime Saito), Mikako Takahashi (Saya),
Animation Production: WHITE FOX
Synopsis: In the dying days of the Shogunate, an elite cadre of swordsmen known as the Shinsengumi are trying to maintain order. Tetsunosuke Ichimura is one of these fierce warriors and he is stationed in Kyoto. He has a secret past which is unveiled over the course of the manga/TV anime but this, the first of a two-parter film, which shifts things to a side story taking place in Osaka and Fushimi when Tetsunosuke falls for a girl.