Happy weekend, people!!!
We made it to another one.
There was an earthquake in the Kansai region last Monday which resulted in some tragic news. I hope everyone who has been affected is coping or has recovered.
I’ve entered a new work period which is a little less intense so I’ve had time to watch films for pleasure. I’ve seen six since last weekend and I watched some of those twice. Two are by the same director. Reviews will materialise at some point. Other than that, business as usual. The weather has been good and I’ve been practising Japanese. My favourite discovery of the week is ほんまに which is 関西弁 apparently. I’m trying to remember times when people have said it around me. Fluency when speaking a language is partly about confidence and I’m speaking Japanese a lot so having fun ways to start sentences is great. I’m trying to arrange a get-together with friends I haven’t hung out with for a while and trying to get a handle on festival work I’ve put off for a while because of work elsewhere.
I posted a news article about the New York Asian Film Festival and an interview with the guys behind Bad Poetry Tokyo.
What is released this weekend in Japan?
Gyoza You Can Kiss 
キスできる餃子 「Kisu Dekiru Gyoza」
Running Time: 100 mins.
Release Date: June 22nd, 2018
Director: Takehito Hata
Writer: Takehito Hata (Screenplay)
Starring: Rika Adachi, Yukihisa Tamura, Hinako Sano, Hiroki Nakajima, Run Furukawa, Goro Oishi, Yumi Asou, Kazuyuki Asano,
Synopsis: Yoko Fujita (Rika Adachi) has returned home with her daughter after a divorce. Home just happens to be her parents’ gyoza restaurant which she wants to bring back to life. When she meets ikemen pro-golfer Ryo Iwahara (Yukihisa Tamura), her romantic options also come back to life…
Yakiniku Dragon 
焼肉ドラゴン 「Yakiniku Dragon」
Running Time: 126 mins.
Release Date: June 22nd, 2018
Director: Wishing Chong
Writer: Wishing Chong (Screenplay)
Starring: Yoko Maki, Mao Inoue, Nanami Sakuraba, Kim Sang-Ho, Lee Jung-Eun, Yo Oizumi, Ryohei Otani,
Two things: this is based on a stage play and it is the biggest film Mao Inoue has been involved with for some time as far as I can tell.
Synopsis: Yong-Girl and his wife Young-Soon are originally from Korea but settled in Japan. It is now the 1970s and they have a family consisting of three daughters. The eldest Jung-Hwa (Yoko Maki), middle-child Yi-Hwa (Mao Inoue), and youngest Mi-Hwa (Nanami Sakuraba). All three daughters are beautiful but tend to pick married men for partners…
Uta Monogatari CINEMA FIGHTERS project 
ウタモノガタリ CINEMA FIGHTERS project 「Uta Monogatari CINEMA FIGHTERS project」
Running Time: 97 mins.
Release Date: June 22nd, 2018
Canaria
Director/Writer: Daishi Matsunaga
Starring: EXILE TAKAHIRO, Kaho, Haruk Takano, Shinya Tsukamoto
Funky
Director/Writer: Yuya Ishii
Starring: Takanori Iwata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Koki Maeda, Tateto Serizawa, Karen Miyama, Kumiko Asou,
AEIOU
Director/Writer: Momoko Ando
Starring: Alan Shirahama, Akari Kinoshita, Sumi Hayashi, Eiji Okuda,
Kuu
Director/Writer: Isamu Hirabayashi
Starring: Anna Ishii, Nonoka Yamaguchi, Nozomi Bando, Akaji Maro, Mariko Tsutsui, Yusuke Hirayama,
Our Birthday
Director/Writer: Yuki Saito
Starring: Sho Aoyagi, Aimi Satsukawa, Randy Jackson, Sei Ashina, Kimiko Yo,
Genkou no Hate
Director/Writer: Tsukasa Kishimoto
Starring: Kenjiro Yamashita, Eriko Nakamura, Yuuki Oshiro, Masaya Kato,
Synopsis: CINEMA FIGHTERS project sees film and music and poetry combine to tell a series of six short stories based on six poems with a cast combining musicians from the likes of EXILE TRIBE, J Soul Brothers and more under the direction of brilliant creatives and working with brilliant actors. The stories consist of people searching for someone special or doing their best to protect what they find special. You can read the synopses here.
Missions of Love 
わたしに××しなさい！ 「Watashi ni xx Shinasai」
Running Time: 96 mins.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Director: Toru Yamamoto
Writer: Toru Yamamoto, Ayako Kitagawa (Screenplay), Ema Toyama (Original Manga)
Starring: Tina Tamashiro, Yuta Koseki, Kanta Sato, Anna Yamada, Daichi Kaneko, Orakio, Riho Takada,
Synopsis: Yukina Himuro (Tina Tamashiro) is a junior high school student who writes cell phone novels under a pen name. She’s a bit of an ice queen so when it comes to writing about love, she lacks experience. That all changes when she manages to get her hands on a notebook that belongs to Shigure Kitami (Yuta Koseki), the most popular boy in school. She knows all of his secrets and gets him to act out romantic things for her so she can get material for her stories but will her work with him become more than just research and turn into love?
Neko wa Daku Mono 
猫は抱くもの 「Neko wa Daku Mono」
Running Time: 109 mins.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Director: Isshin Inudo
Writer: Ryo Takada (Screenplay), Junko Oyama (Original Manga)
Starring: Erika Sawajiri, Ryo Yoshizawa, Kazunobu Mineta, Kom I, Ryo Iwamatsu, Tadahisa Fujimura, Kenshi Uchida, Ryoo Koabayashi,
Synopsis: Saori Oishi (Erika Sawajiri) was once a member of an idol group but she gave it up and retreated to a provincial city. Now, at the age of 33, she works at a supermarket. She spends time with a male cat named Yoshio and tells him her secrets. Pretty soon, Yshio begins to feel that he is a person and soon acts like Saori’s boyfriend…
One Cut of the Dead 
カメラを止めるな！ 「Kamera wo tomeru na!」
Running Time: 96 mins.
Release Date: November 04th, 2017
Director: Shinichiro Ueda
Writer: Shinichiro Ueda (Screenplay),
Starring: Kazuki Nagaya, Manabu Hosoi, Tomokazu Yamaguchi,
Great to see the ENBU Seminar guys are still going. Seven years on and there are two this weekend. The first looks like the Romero film Diary of the Dead. It will be released in the UK later this year.
Synopsis: A film crew shooting a zombie movie in the mountains finds that their work turns real when honest to goodness zombies start showing up and chowing down on the crew. Does the director stop? Hell no! He keeps on shooting.
The World’s Longest Photograph 
世界でいちばん長い写真 「Sekai de Ichiban Nagi Shashin」
Running Time: 102 mins.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Director: Shogo Kusano
Writer: Shogo Kusano (Screenplay), Tetsuya Honda (Original Novel)
Starring: Mahiro Takasugi, Rina Takeda, Honoka Matsumoto, Masaru Mizuno, Hisashi Yoshizawa, Masao Komatsu, Reina Kurosaki,
Synopsis: Highschooler Hironobu (Mahiro Takasugi) finds his boring days in Aichi Prefecture become lively again when he discovers a camera in his cousin Aiko’s recycling shop. It’s a rare camera able to shoot 360 degrees and this gives the boy a lot of excitement as he begins to explore the power and beauty of panoramic photos. Soon, he ropes in the local community to help him make memorable photos. This is based on a true story!
Under the Dog Jumbled 
アンダー・ザ・ドッグ/ジャンブル 「Anda- Za Doggu / Janburu」
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Running Time: N/A
Director: Masahiro Ando
Writer: Jiro Ishii, Keigo Koyanagi, Yukinori Kitajima (Screenplay),
Starring: Asami Seto (Anthea Kallenberg), Rumi Okubo (Hana Togetsu), Haruka Takahashi (Sayuri), Kouki Uchiyama (Shunichi Nanase), Naomi Ozora (Estella),
Animation Production: Kinema Citrus
I backed Under the Dog on Kickstarter a few years ago and got the film but still haven’t watched it. Anyway, people in Osaka and Nagoya will be able to see the original video anime, a live-action short, the theme song video, and a “comical short movie” titled “Anthea-chan”. This collection of clips truly is Under the Dog Jumbled.
Synopsis: Five years after a devastating terrorist attack ended the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, terror is about to strike in the capital of Japan again as the American military send a team to retrieve a target and get caught up in a fight with Hana Togetsu, a student at an international school run by the United Nations who wants to retrieve a fellow student named Shunichi Nanase.
Kawaii Akuma 
可愛い悪魔 「Kawaii Akuma」
Running Time: 85 mins.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Director: Hisayasu Sato
Writer: Shinji Imaoka (Screenplay),
Starring: Nana Nanaumi, Yusuke Sugiyama, Keita Kanegae, Chihiro Goto, Tatsumi Shiga, Sayaka Shimura,
Synopsis: Hmm, an AV film from two legends in the field, Hisayasu Sato and Shinji Imaoka. The story here is the circumstances and actual incidences of a man who cuts off the delicate bits of the fellows who his wife likes to sleep with… I think…
Shoujo Picaresque 
少女ピカレスク 「Shoujo Pikaresuku」
Running Time: 79 mins.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2018
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Writer: Noboru Iguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Hikari Shiina, Marina Nagasawa, Tenma Matsunaga, Minori Mikado, Sumire Ueno, Rena Takeda,
Synopsis: An idol named Hikari finds life tough enough as it is before she encounters a mysterious young woman who turns everything upside down. Violence grows and sucks in those around Hikari.