My efforts at getting back into film reviewing are off to a good start with two reviews for two great films this week. I started with the anime Fuse: A Gun Girl’s Detective Story which I really like a lot. It’s a historical fantasy title with a little light romance and I found it pretty beautiful. The second title I reviewed was the live-action film The Kirishima Thing, the big winner at the Japanese Academy Awards earlier this year. Again I liked this one but it was more down to the intricacy and believability in the relationships in the film. Expect more some 90’s yakuza thriller reviews next week.
This week sees the release of World War Z and Pacific Rim in Japan as well as these interesting titles:
A Boy Called H 
Japanese Title: 少年 H
Romaji: Shounen H
Release Date: August 10th, 2013
Running Time: 122 mins.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata
Writer: Kappa Senoh (Original Novel), Ryota Kosawa (Screenplay)
Starring: Tatsuki Yoshioka, Yutaka Mizutani, Ran Ito, Yurine Hanada, Shun Oguri, Taichi Saotome, Jun Kunimura, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Taizo Harada, Ittoku Koshibe
Kappa Senoh’s autobiographical novel Shonen H gets lavish treatment for its big screen adaptation and a safe pair of hands with director Yasuo Furuhata (Dearest) and popular screenwriter Ryota Kosawa (Phone Call to the Bar, Always: Sunset on Third Street). Notable actors include Shun Oguri (The Woodsman & the Rain), Jun Kunimura (Vital) and Ittoku Koshibe (13 Assassins, Adrift in Tokyo).
A Boy Called H follow’s a boy named Hajime Senoh, nicknamed “H”. He lives with his mother Toshiko (Ito) sister Yoshiko (Hanada) and father Morio (Mizutani). Told from the viewpoint of Morio, we witness H growing up around World War II and the hardships he and his community suffer. Despite the tough times, H still burns with curiosity and a sense of justice.
Enoshima Prism 
Japanese Title: 江ノ島プリズム
Romaji: Enoshima Purizumu
Release Date: August 10th, 2013
Running Time: 90 mins.
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshida
Writer: Hirotoshi Kobayashi, Yasuhiro Yoshida (Screenplay)
Starring: Sota Fukushi, Shuhei Nomura, Tsubasa Honda, Mariko Akama, Yo Yoshida, Naomi Nishida, Honoka Miki
Ah, a teen time travel movie with soppy singing. I can tell from the trailer that this isn’t for me. Shuta (Fukushi), Saku (Nomura) and Michiru (Honda) have been best friends since they were children but things go wrong when Michiru decides to move overseas and Saku dies of a heart attack. As a result of this dead, Shuta and Michiru drift apart. On the third anniversary of Saku’s death, Shuta boards a train at the Enoshima subway and finds himself transported back to a time before Saku’s death. Although he cannot stay for long in that time period he can keep going back which makes him determined to save Saku’s life but a mysterious girl named Kyoko (Miki) warns him that his actions could have unforeseen consequences.
Time Slip Glasses 
Japanese Title: たいむ すりっぷ メガネ
Romaji: Taimu Surippu Megane
Release Date: August 10th, 2013
Running Time: N/A
Director: Jiro Nagae
Writer: Keiko Kaname
Starring: Ai Shinozaki, Erika Nishi, Haruna Shijou, Kumi Takana, Mamoru Tsubouchi, Koji Moriishi
Gravure idol Ai Shinozaki and the rest of the J-pop group AeLL (Activity Eco Life with Love) appear in a sci-fi comedy where Fujiko (Shinozaki) returns to Japan to attend the funeral of her father and remembers a land acquisition scam by rogue traders which damaged the town. With her amazing ‘time slip glasses’, Fujiko will change the future of her town.
Genkinahito 