Happy Weekend, everyone!
Also, Happy New Year!
Welcome to my first trailer post of 2019. I trust that everyone is well and enjoyed their holiday period. After a nice break the fight is back on. I find myself facing some big otome game scripts to work on as well as wanting to write about films for fun and so it’s a case of working all hours I can get. I’m confident I can deliver the game on time and do the film work as well.
In terms of posts here, the beginning of the week was spent saying goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019 and also a review of One Cut of the Dead which I watched a couple of weeks ago for the first time. I also posted my Top Ten Films of 2018, a list made up of films that provide a transcendent experience.
What is released this weekend? A LOT!
Some great indies including one starring Nagiko Tsuji who is becoming one of my new favourite actors!
YUKIGUNI 
ゆきぐに 「YUKIGUNI」
Running Time: 87 mins.
Release Date: January 02nd, 2019
Director: Satoshi Watanabe
Writer: N/A
Starring: Keiichi Iiyama, Kaoru Kobayashi (Narration)
Synopsis: At the age of 92, Keiichi Iiyama is Japan’s oldest active bartender. After being born in Sakata city in Yamagata Prefecture, he lived through the reign of three emperors and has seen a lot of history not least the post-war years when he started working as a bartender. He also made history because he is credited with creating one of the most popular drinks amongst bartenders, “Snow Country” (Yukiguni) which won the All-Japan Home Cocktail Competition sponsored by Toshiya (Suntory’s predecessor) in 1955. This documentary, narrated by the actor Kaoru Kobayashi (Shinya Shokudo) looks at the life of the man who sadly lost his wife during shooting. It tells the secret story of ‘Snow Country’ and helps revive ties with family members.
Trains on Parade Major Private Railway Collection Kansai Edition 
列車大行進 大手私鉄コレクション 関西編 「Ressha dai kōshin ōte shitetsu korekushon Kansai-hen」
Running Time: 65 mins.
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening in Kansai. The focus for this film are the trains in the Kansai area where five major companies have dominated traditionally dominated: Kintetsu, Keihan, Nankai, Hankyu and Hanshin. In 2018, “Osaka Metro” was born. Each of the companies and their trains are profiled with archive footage as well as new footage telling their stories.
Trains on Parade Major Private Railway Collection Kanto Edition 
列車大行進 大手私鉄コレクション 関東編 「Ressha dai kōshin ōte shitetsu korekushon Kanto-hen」
Running Time: 66 mins.
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening in Kanto. The focus here is the Kanto area as the film introduces the most commonly used commuter and limited express type trains in operation.
Trains of Japan on Parade 2019 
日本列島 列車大行進 2019 「Nipponrettō ressha dai kōshin 2019」
Running Time: 92 mins.
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Vicom’s popular Blu-ray / DVD “Train’s on Parade” series introduces trains in various parts of Japan and this one gets a screening all over the country. This edition is dedicated to Shinkansen (bullet trains) and sightseeing trains that run all over Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu, we will introduce about 170 types including new models such as “E353 Series Limited Express Super Azusa” and “Odakyu Romance Car GSE”.
Trains on Parade 2019 Kids Passion 
れっしゃだいこうしん2019キッズバージョン 「Ressha dai kōshin 2019 Kizzu Pa-shon」
Running Time: 38 mins.
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: Kids ride trains so I guess they like them so they get their own film where three characters, Doctor Tetsudo, Kenta-kun, and Sumika-chan introduce trains. These screenings take place at Aeon cinemas throughout the country.
Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow 
ラブライブ！サンシャイン!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow 「Rabu Raibu! Sanshain!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow」
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Kazuo Sakai
Writer: Jukki Hanada (Screenplay), Hajime Yatate, Sakurako Kimino (Original Creator),
Starring: Ai Furuhata (Ruby Kurosawa), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko “Yohane” Tsushima), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Anju Inami (Chika Takami),
Animation Production: SUNRISE
Synopsis: This is a sequel to the main series where the Uranohoshi Girls’ High School’s idol group Aquors won the final Love Live contest. While preparing to enrole at a new school, the first and second-year students encounter unexpected trouble and the third-year students go missing during their graduation trip in Italy. Through their crises they learn the value of friendship.
Made in Abyss: Tabidachi no Yoake 
劇場版総集編 前編 メイドインアビス 旅立ちの夜明け 「Gekijouban soushuuhen zenpen meido in abisu tabidachi no yoake」
Release Date: January 04th, 2019
Running Time: 119 mins.
Director: Masayuki Kojima
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata (Screenplay), Akihito Tsukushi (Original Creator),
Starring: Mariya Ise (Reg), Miyu Tomita (Riko), Shiori Igawa (Nanachi), Sayaka Ohara (Ozen), Aki Toyosaki (Marulk), Mutsumi Tamura (Nat),
Animation Production: Kinema Citrus
Synopsis from Anime News Network: In the story, an enormous pit and cave system called the “Abyss” is the only unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures reside in its depths, and it is full of precious relics that current humans are unable to make. The mysteries of the Abyss fascinate humans, and they head down to explore. The adventurers who venture into pit are known as “Cave Raiders.” A little orphan girl named Rico lives in the town of Ōsu on the edge of the Abyss. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Rico starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.
Astral Abnormal Suzuki-san 
アストラル・アブノーマル鈴木さん 「Asutoraru・Abunomaru Suzuki-san」
Running Time: 87 mins.
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Daisuke Ono
Writer: Daisuke Ono (Screenplay),
Starring: Honoka Matsumoto, Mayuko Nishiyama, Taketo Tanaka, Kotoha Hiroyama, Tomoki Kimura, Tani Nobara, Kei Kato,
Synopsis: Boredom and the internet makes people crazy. Take Rara Suzuki (Honoka Matsumoto), a young woman who lives in Gunma. That means she lives in the country. There’s nothing to do beyond pachinko so she becomes a YouTuber and she has to do crazy things to get noticed. And so the cycle of madness continues. Living with her is her mother and younger brother who patiently bear with her absurd gags which attracts the attention of a TV director. Rara takes advantage of this situation. She feels she was on course for stardom but her sister stole her thunder and became a star. Wouldn’t you know it, just as Rara is scheming to make it big, her sister comes back to town.
This film originally began life last year in June when the first of 17 short videos was released on YouTube’s AlphaBoat Stories channel. That content has been edited into this film.
Anime joshi gaiden ai no tsubasa karetsu 
アニメ女子・外伝 藍の翼・カーレッ 「Anime joshi gaiden ai no tsubasa karetsu」
Running Time: 87 mins.
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Manabu Suga
Writer: Takao Isami, Koichi Murakami (Screenplay),
Starring: Reina Fujie, Ami Maeda, Aki Takajo, Jun Iwamoto, Etsuko Shimamatsu, Tomoko Matsuno, Hiroko Tanaka,
Synopsis: Three graduates from AKB48 star in this omnibus story depicting three women who dream of leaving a certain circumstance, like working in the care industry and a boring marriage, and being in the notoriously low-paying and sleep depriving animation industry. The three former idols also contribute the theme song, the first time they have recorded together since leaving the group.
Tetsuya Kumagawa K Ballet Company “Romeo and Juliet” in Cinema 
熊川哲也 Kバレエ カンパニー 「ロミオとジュリエット」 in Cinema 「Kumakawa tetsuya K barē kanpanī `Romio to Jurietto’ in Cinema」
Running Time: N/A
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Tetsuya Kumakawa
Writer: N/A
Starring: Shiori Asakawa, Shuntaro Miyao, Shuuya Ishibashi,
Synopsis: This is the ninth in a series of films that bring the performances of the Kumagawa Tetsuya K Ballet Company to the cinema screen. The story of Romeo and Juliet is the source of the performance which took place in October 2018 at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Great Hall. It looks like a straigh adaptation set in Renaissance-era Verona with the Montague and Capulet families and their feud ruining things for the titular Romeo and Juliet. Asakawa Shiroi, the prima ballerina for K Ballet Company, plays Juliet and this is her final role.
A movie theater said to be the best in the world 
世界一と言われた映画館 「Sekai ichi to iwareta eigakan」
Running Time: 67 mins.
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Hirokazu Sato
Writer: N/A
Starring: Keichi Iiyama, Nobuyuki Doi, Yoshihiro Sato, Eiko Kato, Keiji Ota, Ren Osugi (Narration),
Synopsis: Documentary collecting testimony about the legendary Green House cinema in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture that opened in 1949 and survived the Sakata Great Fire that occurred in October 1976. Ren Osugi does the narration and Keiichi Iiyama appears.
Night of the Dead Geisha 
温泉しかばね芸者 「Onsen Shikabane Geisha」
Running Time: 45 mins.
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Kiyoto Naruse
Writer: Kirari Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Nagiko Tsuji, Ruby Nakamura, Kohei Nagano, Satoshi Nishikori, Iona,
Synopsis: Misa Murai (played by the wonderful Nagiko Tsuji) is a mediocre screenwriter who is often ordered to rewrite her scripts by directors and often forced to rewrite the rewrites. Her latest project is the legend of a cursed geisha in a small village which is hidden deep in the mountains. The legend proves to be dynamite inspiration for Misa who writes the script at amazing speed. However, fiction turns real as the president of a movie production company is killed by the geisha acting according to her script. Misa decides to take revenge on everyone mean to her through her own scenario.
Okechimyaku 
おけちみゃく 「Okechimyaku」
Running Time: 69 mins.
Release Date: January 05th, 2019
Director: Hokuin Akihira
Writer: Yukie Ochiai (Screenplay),
Starring: Toshiki Ayata, Bengal, Motoya Izumi, Kotomi Takahata, Masafumi Inami, Sara,
Synopsis: A fantasy period drama based on a rakugo tale that takes place during the sengoku period where Emma, the Great King of Hades, sees his realm face a crisis as people are escaping visiting his realm through “Okechimyaku“. This is a stamp given out by monks at a temple to the deceased that absolves their past sins and guarantees a trip to heaven. It’s pretty cheap, too! Both rich and poor are getting the stamp and even fearsome warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi wants to get his hands on it. Emma decides the best way to solve the problem is to call upon the services of the great thief Ishikawa Goemon to steal the stamp.