Kotsutsubo 
Release Date: 26th May 2012 (Japan)
Running Time: N/A
Director: Jiro Nagae
Writer: Yoshimasa Akamatsu (screenplay), Yusuke Yamada (short story)
Starring: Natsumi Matsubara, Ai Shinozaki, Rurika Yokoyama, Aika Ohta, Ai Hashimoto, Kazuhiko Kanayama, Mamoru Tsubouchi
I had never heard of the author Yusuke Yamada until I watched Oyayubi Sagashi. I didn’t really like that one but I saw his stories were getting adapted rather frequently (X-Game 2 which was recently released in cinemas is based on one of his stories). Anyway Kotsutsubo is based on another of his works and it is directed by Jiro Nagae and stars a number of J-pop idols. Nagae is developing a habit of putting idols in horror settings after his last film, Kokkuri-san Gekijuoban, starred Mariya Suzuki from AKB48. This film stars four different idols from four different groups. Natsumi Matsubara (AKB48), Rina Miyazaki (Super GiRlS), Rurika Yokoyama (Idoling!!!), and Ai Shinozaki (AeLL) – be very careful when you type Ai Shinozaki into YouTube. It looks awful. Not even the prospect of seeing idols bumped off gets me interested in this. Norio Tsuruta tends to do these things better.
Eri (Matsubara) is a high school student who is anonymous unlike her friend Mitsuko (Yokoyama) who is the target of amorous advances from their teacher, Ichida (Tsubouchi). Eri comes across a novel way to protect Mitsuko: find a cursed funerary urn that contains ashes reputed to cause death and give said ashes to teacher.
Genkinahito 