This week I posted some trailers for Another, and Helter Skelter and went to my final Japanese class until September – silly film related story at the bottom of this post. Anyway… The films released last week looked awesome soooo…
What is happening in the Japanese movie box office charts?
- Thermae Romae
- Sadako 3D
- Space Brothers
- Detective Conan: The Mystery of the Eleventh Striker
- Larry Crowne
Sadako 3D is not number 1. I am genuinely surprised. Japan must really need a comedy because Thermae Romae is at number 1 for a third week in a row with Sadako 3D entering at number 2. While I was not convinced about the latest Ringu film’s ability to scare I thought it would “dominate the Japanese charts for the next few weeks” because Sadako is such an icon and the film looked like fun. The only other new entry is Larry Crowne which has entered at number 5 which Curiosity Kitty recently reviewed and pretty much dismissed. Unfortunately Rent a Cat didn’t chart in the top ten. What’s released today?
Rainbow-Coloured Fireflies – The Eternal Summer Vacation
Japanese Title: Niji-Iro Hotaru: Eien no Natsu Yasumi
Release Date: 19th May 2012 (Japan)
Running Time: N/A
Director: Konosuke Uda
Writer: Kei Kunii (Script), Masayuki Kawaguchi (manga)
Starring: Akashi Takei, Ayumi Kimura, Kairo Nitta, Taro Ishida, Takahiro Sakurai, Kazuya Nakai, Chikao Otsuka
Rainbow-Colored Fireflies: The Eternal Summer Vacation (Niji-iro Hotaru Eien no Natsu Yasumi) is released today by Toei Animation. The film is based on Masayuki Kawaguchi’s 2007 novel of the same name. It is directed by Konosuke Uda who helmed Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy and the recent TV anime Ginga e Kickoff!!. Other big names involved include Hisashi Mori who has worked on classic movies The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Tokyo Godfathers. Takaaki Yamashita (Summer Wars) is adding visual art, and Seiki Tamura (K-ON!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) is performing duties as art director. Yumi Matsutōya, the artist responsible for the themes to the classic Ghibli movie Kiki’s Delivery Service is providing the theme song for this film while her husband provides music.
Synopsis
The story follows a young boy named Yuuta, who lost his father in a car accident a year ago. One day, all alone, he goes to catch a beetle at a dam deep in the mountains he used to visit with his father. On his journey he meets a strange old man and it starts raining. Yuuta slips, falls off a bridge and passes out. When he wakes up he finds himself in a village that should be under water but he has travelled back 30 years in the past. With children named Saeko and Kenjo he experiences summer activities like collecting fireworks, catching a rare beetle and discovering his first love. These experiences will be part of his precious summer memories.