Happy weekend, people!
I hope everyone is feeling awesome!
This week I posted about the 2018 edition of the London International Animation Festival with the many wonderful animated films from Japan. I also posted a review for Vision (2018) which I wrote for V-Cinema earlier this month. I have watched a zombie film from Japan called I Am a Hero (2016). You may have read my manga review which I posted two or three years ago as part of my Summer of Splatter. I also started watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind.
I hope everyone managed to watch something great!
What is released in Japan this weekend?
Hardcore 
ハード・コア 「Ha-do Koa」
Running Time: 124 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita
Writer: Kosuke Mukai (Screenplay), Takashi Imashiro (Original Manga),
Starring: Takayuki Yamada, Takeru Satoh, YosiYosi Arakawa, Kei Ishibashi, Suon Kan, Takako, Matsu, Kisetsu Fujiwara,
Synopsis: Deep in the hills and mountains of Gunma Prefecture dwells a pure hearted man by the name of Ukon Gondo (Takayuki Yamada). Ukon has a handsome brother, Sakon (Takeru Sato), who works for a trading company but Ukon prefers to be free from society and tries to make a living by mining for gold. He finds it difficult to communicate with others apart from another man who joins him in his excavations, Ushiyama (YosiYosi Arakawa). They are soon to be joined by a third teammate, a robot they discover at an abandoned factory that Ushiyama lives in. Once their team is complete, they resolve to change their lives.
Gangoose
ギャングース 「Gyangu-su」
Running Time: 120 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Yu Irie
Writer: Yu Irie, Kiyoto Wada, (Screenplay), Keisuke Hiya, Daisuke Suzuki (Original Manga),
Starring: Mahiro Takasugi, Ryo Kato, Daichi Watanabe, Kento Hayashi, Aoi Ito, Maika Yamamoto, Mariko Shinoda, Sumire Ashina, Miyavi,
Synopsis: Saike (Mahiro Takasugi), Kazuki (Ryo Kato) and Takeo (Daichi Watanabe) are three friends abused and abandoned by their parents. A lifetime spent in juvie saw them grow up to be unconventional, to say the least, but they stuck together and as adults they steal from criminals to make a living.
Lady in White 
レディ in ホワイト 「Redi in Howaito」
Running Time: 98 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Yuki Otsuka
Writer: Hidemi Noto (Screenplay),
Starring: Miyu Yoshimoto, Kazuki Namioka, Yuma Yamoto, Yuko Fueki, Hiroaki Miyagawa, Sayuri Oyamada, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Koharu Kusumi,
Synopsis: Ayaka Kisaragi (Miyu Yoshimoto) has lived a life of good fortune, having had rich parents and landing her dream job straight out of university but things suddenly become rough when her dream job turns into a nightmare thanks to her boss. Things get worse when her father’s company goes bankrupt and Ayaka finds herself in charge of an important project at work. Her only option is to work hard now!
NEET NEET NEET 
ニート・ニート・ニート 「Ni-to Ni-to Ni-to」
Running Time: 120 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Keiji Miyano
Writer: Keiji Miyano (Screenplay), Shogo Mitsuba (Original Novel)
Starring: Kentaro Yasui, Myuto Morita, Ryosuke Yamamoto, Atsuki Tomori, Megumi, Mako Ishino, Takahiro Fujimoto, Yuka Yama,
Synopsis: Three friends in high school grow up to take different paths. Company drone Takashi (Ryosuke Yamamoto) wants to leave his dull job while Renchi (Kentaro Yasui) wants to get out of a dangerous situation with dangerous people. Last but not least is Kinobu (Myuto Morita) who spends a lot of time online. Looking for some action, they hop in a car and head for Hokkaido and pick up a girl named Tsukiko (Atsuki Tomori) who Renchi met on an online dating website.
THE COLLECTORS Saraba Seishun no Shinjuku Jam 
THE COLLECTORS さらば青春の新宿JAM 「The Collectors Saraba Seishun no Shinjuku Jam」
Running Time: 105 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Jun Kawaguchi
Writer: N/A
Starring: The Collectors: Hisashi Kato, Kotaro Furuichi, Masayuki “Jeff” Yamamori, Takayuki “cozi” Furusawa,
Synopsis: The Collectors are a mod band from Japan that has been going since 1986. Their favourite live house is the Shinjuku JAM which recently closed. The Collectors performed the last live show on December 31st, 2017. Many other types of musical acts performed there from garage rock to punks and all sorts of artists including Lily Franky. Everyone comes together to talk about the live house and their testimonies are interwoven with the performance of The Collectors.
Kazoku no Hanashi 
家族のはなし 「Kazoku no Hanashi」
Running Time: 80 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: Takeyoshi Yamamoto
Writer: Miho Aotsuka (Screenplay), Tekken (Original Manga)
Starring: Masaki Okada, Saburo Tokito, Naomi Zaizen, Riko Narumi, Daichi Kaneko, Shinji Mizuta, Kanta Sato, Kenkichi Watanabe,
Synopsis: Masaki Okada plays Takuya Kobayashi, the son of apple farmers. He lives in Tokyo far away from his parents and is in university but wants to become a professional musician. He experiences setbacks but his family are there for him.
Zan (Killing) 
センセイ君主 「Zan」
Running Time: 80 mins.
Release Date: November 24th, 2018
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto (Screenplay),
Starring: Sosuke Ikematsu, Yu Aoi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tatsuya Nakamura, Ryusei Maeda 
Shinya Tsukamoto is back writing, directing, editing and producing his own films after a short spell acting in features like Shin Godzilla and Over the Fence. I’m a big fan of his works thanks to Nightmare Detective(2007), Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Tokyo Fist (1995), and Vital (2003) and his film A Snake of June, which was given the Special Jury Prize at the 2002 Venice Film Festival.
Synopsis: The ronin Mokunoshin Tsuzuki (Sosuke Ikematsu) is alive during the end of the Edo period where many samurai like him are finding their way of life losing its edge as the country exists in a state of peace. He lives in the suburbs of Tokyo where he helps out farmers and is acquainted with one farmer’s son named Ichisuke (Ryusei Maeda) who dreams of being a samurai. Tsuzuki spends his days farming and sparring with Ichisuke but, despite the tranquillity, Tsuzuki’s heart is in tumult because he is concerned about the questions of whether he could follow a lord’s orders and kill a man and, more importantly, passions are brewing as he is falling in love with Ichisuke’s sister Yu (Yu Aoi). Passions from further afield are also growing as the country is on the verge of a civil war when a mild-mannered and skilful ronin Jirozaemon Sawamura (Shinya Tsukamoto) arrives in town looking for warriors to take to Edo.
souvenir the movie Mariya Takeuchi Theater Live 
Running Time: 94 mins.
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: Mariya Takeuchi
Synopsis: November 25 will be the 40th anniversary of singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi’s debut and this film is released to celebrate that. She’s an important person in the “City Pop” movement alongside her husband and collaborator Tatsuro Yamashita. She has produced numerous hit songs as a songwriter and composer and worked on films and recently performed a 30th anniversary commemorative concert which was released as a live album with the title of “souvenir ~ Mariya Takeuchi Live ~”. This is a music doc that takes those performances past and present and creates this commemorative film.
ONLY SILVER FISH WATER TANK OF MARY’S ROOM 
Running Time: 86 mins.
Release Date: November 24th, 2018
Director: Daisuke Nishida
Writer: Daisuke Nishida (Screenplay/Original Work),
Starring: Ryo Matsuda, Maho Minamoto, Yuuki Tamaki, Akane Takayanagi, Daichi Yamaguchi, Mako Komaki, Momoko Futamatsu, Mika Kikuchi,
Synopsis: Daisuke Nishida turns his stageplay which premiered in 2007 into a film with some slight changes to reflect the difference in years for the characters. A collection of people are gathered together in a Western-style building after receiving an invitation and they are made to play games orchestrated by a mysterious person from their past…
The Reality Behind What We See ~The Poet, Yoshimasu Gozo, in Kyoto~ 
幻を見るひと 「Maboroshi wo miru hito」
Running Time: 107 mins.
Release Date: November 24th, 2018
Director: Haruo Inoue
Writer: N/A
Starring: Yoshimasu Gozo
Synopsis from IMDB: 78-year-old Gozo Yoshimasu is Japan’s most reknowned poet. Yoshimasu began composing in his twenties and has since been on the cutting edge of contemporary poetry for the past sixty years. Contemporary Japan seems to be hanging onto the back of a dragon as politics reeks of war, radiation, tsunami, and earthquakes. . . Yoshimasu, who witnessed the devastation caused by the massive tsunami of the Great Earthquake of 2011, was at a loss for words upon seeing the impact of “water” strip everthing away.After the earthquake, and as if dismantling his own “framework of the mind,” Yoshimasu began to cut out words, ruled lines, and notes of all sizes and shapes he kept in his “diary.” He then started to paste Japanese and manuscript paper together to make one large piece of paper, and with pencil and pen, words and colors, wrote whatever what was on his mind onto that paper, collaging onto the paper mailed letters he had received that day. By further adding more color to his work, a new styled diary was born. This was his new “poetry.”Yoshimasu doesn’t simply “write.” He turns on a lamp, burns an incense, plays a cassette tape, and listens to himself “chanting” . . . At times he is blindfolded and at other times he listens to the sound of a rock, pouring ink onto paper.
Kaijuu Girls (Black): Ultra Kaijuu Gijinka Keikaku 
怪獣娘～ウルトラ怪獣擬人化計画～ 「Kaijuu Girls Kuro: Ultra Kaijuu Gijinka Keikaku」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2018
Running Time: 58 mins.
Director: Yasutaka Yamamoto
Writer: Kento Shitayama (Screenplay), Tsuburaya Productions (Original Creator),
Starring: Hiyori Nitta (Commander Black), Yuki Yagi (Alien Pegassa), Minami Takahashi (Silver Bloome), Kaori Ishihara (Nova),
Animation Production: Yumeta Company,
Synopsis: The war between humanity and kaiju has ended, and a new era of peace has started. That doesn’t mean the kaiju have gone away. Their souls have appeared in the bodies of girls who possess the ability to summon their inner monster forms. They are called Kaiju Girls and they are being collected by an organisation called GIRLS. The film follows rookie members, Agira, Miclas and Windom in their misadventures.