Happy weekend, people!
We made it to another one and we are half-way to Christmas (YAY!)
I’ve finished another 12-day work week and I’m feeling dandy. I’ve started my Christmas shopping and card writing late but it is under control and I’m looking forward to having time off work to relax and eat and play games. I hope everyone is going to be doing something fun as well.
I managed to post reviews for two documentaries, the first being The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987) and the second was The Oyster Factory (2016).
What is released this weekend?
Keita Never Die 
ケイタネバーダイ 「Keita Neba- Dai」
Running Time: 80 mins.
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Tomonori Nakamura
Writer: Tomonori Nakamura, Kana Yamaguchi, (Screenplay),
Starring: Shigeo Oosako, Han Arai, Maki Nishiyama, Kaori Takeshita, Yoshifumi Aoki, Makoto Oose, Ryu Shinoda, Momo Takenoshita,
Synopsis: Keita Shimabukuro and his older sister Aki are both involved with the Kimura gang. An evil plot by Sachi, the daughter of the head of the gang, results in Keita getting beaten and dumped into a river. He ends up crossing over and makes it to heaven, where he meets his father Mitsuo, with whom he has lost touch for many years. Their reunion won’t last long because an unexpected twist of fate sees Keita getting resurrected in the body of his sister. Now they have to share the same body with each other.
Waiting for Spring
春待つ僕ら 「Harumatsu bokura」
Running Time: 109 mins.
Release Date: December 14th, 2018
Director: Yuichiro Hirakawa
Writer: Satoko Okazaki, (Screenplay), Anashin (Original Manga),
Starring: Tao Tsuchiya, Takumi Kitamura, Yuta Koseki, Hayato Isomura, Yosuke Sugino, Yu Inaba, Rika Izumi, Tamaki Ogawa, Yuki Saso,
Synopsis: Quiet high school student Mitsuki Haruno (Tao Tsuchiya) finds her life changes when she begins to hang out with four handsome members of her school’s basketball team. She grows close to one player, Towa Asakura (Takumi Kitamura), but when her childhood friend Aya Kamiyama (Yuta Koseki) arrives on the scene as a basketball player at another high school, a love triangle forms.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly 
ドラゴンボール超（スーパー） ブロリー 「Doragon Bo-ru Su-pa- Burori-」
Release Date: December 14th, 2018
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Tatsuya Nagamine
Writer: Akira Toriyama (Screenplay/Original Creator),
Starring: Masako Nozawa (Son Goku), Aya Hisakawa (Bulma), Bin Shimada (Broly), Ryo Horikawa (Vegeta), Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo),
Animation Production: Toei Animation
Synopsis: Following the events of the Universe Survival Saga depicted in Dragon Ball Super TV anime, Earth has regained its peace but Goku and Vegeta keep training because they know the universe has more strong people to fight. One of them appears on Earth and his name is Broly and he is a Saiyan. How is this possible when Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza and the Saiyans thought to be almost extinct? Audiences will discover more about that incident and the history of the Saiyans as a stupendous battle is about to kick off.
Eiga Youkai Watch: Forever Friends 
映画 妖怪ウォッチ FOREVER FRIENDS 「Eiga Youkai U-occhi Forever Friends」
Release Date: December 14th, 2018
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Shigeharu Takahashi
Writer: Akihro Hino (Screenplay),
Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki (Shin Shitamachi), Ryohei Kimura (Itsuki Takashiro), Nao Toyama (Tai), Etsuko Kozakura (Nekomata),
Animation Production: Toei Animation
Synopsis: It is the 1960 and Shin lives with his mother in Sakura Motomachi in Tokyo but when she dies he is all alone and becomes sad. Thankfully, a boy named Itsuki comes along to save him. He lost his older sister and understands some of the pain Shin feels. They are joined by a girl named Tae and the three discover they can see yokai including Shin’s guardian spirit Suu-san, a “Nekomata” cat. This new family get involved in a mysterious incident.
FOR REAL FAR, Climax 
FOR REAL 遠い、クライマックス。 「FOR REAL toi, kuraimakksu」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: December 14th, 2018
Director: Kai Inowaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This is the sixth in a series of documentaries dedicated to theYokohama DeNA Bay Stars baseball team and it looks at their 2018 season where they had big successes but suffered major injuries. It is directed by one of the actors from Tokyo Sonata.
Yume koso ha, anata no ikiru mirai / Dream is the future you live in 
夢こそは、あなたの生きる未来 「Yume koso ha, anata no ikiru mirai」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Atsushi Ono
Writer: 74 mins.
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This documentary looks at the entrants of the 2016 Miss Japan contest, looking at their training and the activities they get involved in such as volunteering in the disaster-hit Kumamoto region after the earthquake.
Ogawa dorama ryuma ga kuru 
小河ドラマ 龍馬がくる 「Ogawa dorama ryūma ga kuru」
Running Time: 80 mins.
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Toru Hosokawa
Writer: Toru Hosokawa, Tomosato Kagitani, Kazuaki Miyazawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiroki Miyake, Yumena Yanai, Yuu Inaba, Kinojo Yamazaki, Sarutoki Minagawa, Tetsuya Takeda,
Synopsis: Ryoma Sakamoto, the major figure at the end of the Edo period, gets involved in a modern-day dorama based on his life thanks to a time-slip. Takeda, the principal actor of the film, Takeda, is desperate to learn more about the real man and the two get into “adventures”.
Smoking Aliens 
スモーキング・エイリアンズ 「Sumo-kingu Eirianzu」
Running Time: 82 mins.
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Kimihiko Nakamura
Writer: Kimihiko Nakamura, Kosuke Komatsu (Screenplay),
Starring: Riri Kouda, Shijimi, Atsushi Tsuda, Jun Tomita, Kentaro Shimazu, Kenji Iwaya, Yuya Ishikawa, Seshio, Riko Matsui, Masanori Mimoto, Takashi Naha, Akane Aida, Asami,
Synopsis: A single-mother named Kaori Hanazawa supports her daughter Kiriko on the wages of her cleaning job. One of her few pleasures in life is her cigarette break but the rise in tobacco prices and the prohibition on smoking in various public places make it hard to find a place to light up and puff out their stresses. If she feels like she is being unfairly ostracised for ruining the atmosphere for others, well, one day she will be a big hero because when unknown alien parasites land in the area, it turns out that they are week to smoke and the people trapped in the building Kaori cleans rely on her and her fellow smokers to get them out of trouble…
Hop Step Jump! 
ほっぷすてっぷじゃんぷッ！ 「Hoppu Suteppu Jampu!」
Running Time: 70 mins.
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Yosuke Toki
Writer: Takayuki Imanara (Screenplay), Kazuto Okada (Original Manga)
Starring: Jun Amagi, Yuuta Watanabe, Yuno Mizusawa, Masako Wakui, Seira Sato, Narumi Itano, Shoko Miyata,
Synopsis: The story follows an ex-salaryman named Itto Tsuruoka who gets a job as a janitor at a school where he meets Sayaka Asahimura, a naive high school student and a member of the school’s public morals committee. He gets bitten by a pink frog and gets its abilities… This is gravure idol Jun Amagi’s movie debut.
Hop Step Jump! 2 
ほっぷすてっぷじゃんぷッ！ 「Hoppu Suteppu Jampu!」
Running Time: 70 mins.
Release Date: December 16th, 2018
Director: Yosuke Toki
Writer: Takayuki Imanara (Screenplay), Kazuto Okada (Original Manga)
Starring: Jun Amagi, Yuuta Watanabe, Yuno Mizusawa, Masako Wakui, Seira Sato, Narumi Itano, Shoko Miyata,
Synopsis: After the “voyeurism incident” at Asuka girls’ school, one pupil with a strong sense of justice investigates the students and teachers.
Red Blade 
レッド・ブレイド 「Reddo Bureido」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Takahiro Ishihara
Writer: Ichiro Ryu (Screenplay), Sion Sono (Original Story),
Starring: Yuka Ogura, Kanon Hanakage, Yukio Iketani, Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Ryuoko Sakimura, Mana Iwasaki, Joey Iwanaga,
Ishikara Takahiro (Snake of Violence) teams up with Sion Sono and Tak Sakaguchi and his Re:born team to make a ninja action film.
Synopsis: Mako (Yuka Ogura) is a school girl whose parents were kidnapped by yakuza. As a result, her life has become hard as she has no support to protect her from bullies except manga depicting the actions of ninja. This becomes the new reality she escapes into when she finds herself recruited into a ninja clan and trained by a master ninja (Tak Sakaguchi) in order to take on the villainous Harada (Joey Iwanaga).
Wachigaya Itosato kyojo-tachi no bakumatsu 
輪違屋糸里 京女たちの幕末 「Wachigaya Itosato kyōjo-tachi no bakumatsu」
Running Time: 116 mins.
Release Date: December 15th, 2018
Director: Mikiya Kashima
Writer: Mikiya Kashima, Narito Kaneko, Nobuhiro Kadoma, (Screenplay), Jiro Asada (Original Story),
Starring: Ryoko Fujino, Rena Matsui, Tomoko Tabata, Ryuta Sato, Junpei Mizobata, Tomoko Tabata,
Synopsis: Real events are turned into a beautiful spectacle of violence, love, and loyalty. 1863 and it is the Bakumatsu period and Japan is riven with conflict as the Shogun’s government crumbles and the Emperor and his forces are manoeuvring into position for the final battles that would decide the fate of Japan. As competing factions of samurai inside the Shogun’s and Emperor’s forces, the people continued with their lives, including one young geisha by the name of Itosato who resides in Kyoto’s Shimbara area. She, alongside other women in the area, find themselves drawn into the politics and conflicts that would result in one of the biggest assassination conspiracies Japan has even seen.