Happy weekend +1 Day, dear readers!
I hope you are all well.
This is the first of a two-part trailer post because there’s a lot of films getting released over the next three days due to a horror festival and a soft-core porn label showcasing some works. Titles from those two will be shown tomorrow. Today will be anime and live-action dramas.
My week was spent binge-watching Nobuo Nakagawa films and then Camera Japan released its programme and Nakagawa features prominently. I had a day off yesterday after working for 11 days straight and tried to watch a three hour thirty minute drama from the 60s, but ended up only watching 40-odd minutes because I got caught up doing press work Kotatsu, a British festival, and enjoying the sunshine for a spell. I posted about the Japanese films at the L’Etrange Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, this week.
What is released in Japan this weekend?
Ponoc Short Films Theater: Volume 1 – Modest Heroes 
劇場版 七つの大罪 天空の囚われ人 「Chiisa na Eiyū – Kani to Tamago to Tōmei Ningen」
Release Date: August 24th, 2018
Running Time: 54 mins.
Director/Writer: Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Kanini & Kanino), Akihiko Yamashita (Invisible), Yoshiyuki Momose (Samurai Egg)
Starring: Fumino Kimura (Kanini), Rio Suzuki (Kanino), Joe Odagiri (Invisible Man), Machiko Ono (Mama). Min Tanaka (Blind Man), Sota Shinohara (Shun), Kentaro Sakaguchi (Doctor, The Father),
Animation Production: Studio Ponoc
Synopsis: Modest Heroes consists of three short films lasting around 15 minutes each and they were made by three directors:
“Kanini & Kanino” is a fantasy adventure story about two crab siblings.
“Samurai Egg” is about the love between a mother and a boy.
“Invisible” is about the struggle of an invisible man.
Prince of Tennis BEST GAMES!! 
テニスの王子様 BEST GAMES!! 手塚vs跡部 「Tennis no Ōjisama BEST GAMES!! Tezuka vs Atobe」
Release Date: August 24th, 2018
Running Time: 46 mins.
Director: Keiichiro Kawaguchi
Writer: Mitsutaka Hirota (Series Composition)
Starring: Junko Minagawa (Ryoma Echizen), Junichi Suwabe (Keigo Atobe), Ryotaro Okiayu (Tezuka Kunimitsu).
Animation Production: M.S.C.
Synopsis: This is the first in three OVA projects that retells the story of the franchise’s top matches. Tezuka and Atobe from the Kanto tournament are on court.
Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head: Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu Movie 
映画ドライブヘッド トミカハイパーレスキュー 機動救急警察 「Eiga Doraibu Heddo Tomika Haipa- Resukyu- Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu」
Release Date: August 24th, 2018
Running Time: 57 mins.
Director: Takao Kato
Writer: Kenichi Araki (Script)
Starring: Natsumi Fujiwara (Go Kurumada), Ami Koshimizu (Megumi Shinmon), Kaho Kouda (Arisa Munakata), Maaya Uchida (Tera),
Animation Production: OLM
Synopsis: This is the movie continuation of a TV anime. The story concerns Go Kuramada and others who become drivers in the mobile police emergency Hyper Rescue unit and they control cars that can turn into humanoid walking vehicles.
Non Non Biyori Vacation 
劇場版 のんのんびより ばけーしょん 「Gekijouban Non Non Biyori Bake-shon」
Release Date: August 25th, 2018
Running Time: 71 mins.
Director: Shinya Kawatsura
Writer: Reiko Yoshida (Script), Atto (Original Creator)
Starring: Ayane Sakura (Natsumi Koshigaya), Kana Asumi (Komari Koshigaya), Kotori Koiwai (Renge Miyauchi), Rie Murakawa (Hotaru Ichijo)
Animation Production: SILVER LINK
Synopsis: This story has been told in two TV anime and some OVAs and now it has a big-screen adaptation. Hotaru Ichijo has transferred from Tokyo to a school in the country where the nearest bookstore is 20 minutes away by bicycle, the nearest video rental store is 10 stations away, and life is generally slow. Her fellow schoolmates are Natsumi, Komari, Renge, and Komari’s big brother Suguru in the third year of middle school.
Killing For the Prosecution 
検察側の罪人 「Kensatsugawa no zainin」
Running Time: 123 mins.
Release Date: August 24th, 2018
Director: Masato Harada
Writer: Masato Harada (Screenplay), Shusuke Shizukui (Original Novel)
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Kazunari Ninomya, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Takehiro Hira, Koji Ookura, Yutaka Matsushige, Tsutomu Yamazaki,
Synopsis: Keiichiro Okino (Kazunari Ninomiya) has just started working at the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office as a Public Prosecutor and he is working with Takeshi Mogami (Takuya Kimura) whom he admires. They are on a case where an elderly money lender is killed but it seems open and shut because a suspect, Shigeo Matsukura, is quickly identified because he borrowed money from the victim in the past. Mogami also knows that Shigeo Matsukura was involved in a female middle school murder case and tries his best to prove Shigeo Matsukura’s guilt.
Double Drive: Ookami no Okite 
ダブルドライブ 狼の掟 「Daburu Doraibu Ookami no Okite」
Running Time: 70 mins.
Release Date: August 25th, 2018
Director: Takashi Motoki
Writer: Masao Ikegaya (Screenplay),
Starring: Rei Fujita, Arisa Komiya, Ryusuke Komakine, Takamitsu Nonaka, Kazuki Namioka, Ryuji Sato, Akihiro Oguni,
Synopsis: Aberu Wagatsuma (Rei Fujita) ends up killing a yakuza who was threatening his colleagues at a garage and is targeted by the gangster’s younger brother, Kyosuke (Akihiro Oguni).
Happy Mail 
ハッピーメール 「Happi- Me-ru」
Running Time: 88 mins.
Release Date: August 25th, 2018
Director: Haruo Inoue
Writer: Erika Misawa, Yuki Odo (Screenplay),
Starring: Ryoko Kobayashi, Kayo Noro, Terunosuke Takezai, Kazuma Sano, Shuto Okumura, Honoka Kitahara, Akifumi Uchida, Takeshi Tsuruno,
Synopsis: Four young Tokyo-ites find love through a dating site. They are connected by Akihabara but have different jobs. Asuka (Ryoo Kobayashi) is an office lady with no private life, Kaede (Kayo Noro) is a maicurist and an otaku, Kosuke (Terunosuke Takezai) is a doctor) and Shinnosuke (Kazuma Sano) is an idol group fan.
In Bloom 
さくらになる 「Sakura ni Naru」
Running Time: 78 mins.
Release Date: August 25th, 2018
Director: Takayuki Ohashi
Writer: Takayuki Ohashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Sho Mineo, Izuho Ohta, Seitaro Ishibashi, Reiko Muto, Shinya Naito, Mayu Sanekata, Keito Kumakawa, Ayumi Katsurada,
Takayuki Ohashi’s short films were screened last week.
Synopsis: There is a disease ravaging the world, a beautiful one that sees the afflicted play host to cherry blossoms that bloom on their bodies before they die. There is no cure and no clue as to its cause. A young woman named Saya (Izuho Ohta) and her friend Shota (Sho Mineo) head to Saya’s mother’s house to look for her after she goes missing.
Takasaki Graffiti 
高崎グラフィティ。 「Takasaki Gurafiti」
Running Time: 107 mins.
Release Date: August 25th, 2018
Director: Naoto Kawashima
Writer: Shota Koyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Ryo Sato, Riku Hagiwara, Maya Okano, Hiroki Nakajima, Yugo Mikawa, Eita Okuno, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Yota Jawase, Yuzuki Sato, Ami Tomite,
Synopsis: Five young adults who have been friends since school, finally face their turbulent lives. Miki (Ryo Sato) finds her future in jeopardy when her father flies the coop with her college admission fees. Yuto (Riku Hagiwara) has a bad relationship with his father who is a mechanic. Hiroko (Maya Okano) wants to get married but doesn’t trust him. They, and the others, feel hope and anxiety about their future.