Happy weekend, everyone.
Welcome to part two of the trailer post.
I forgot to mention in part one of my trailer post that my review for Keita Yamashina’s fun metatextual drama Body Remember is up at V-Cinema. It plays at the San Francisco Indie Fest next month. Also, I’m still working on festival stuff which launches in February/March!
What else was released this weekend?
Happy Weekend, everyone.
I hope you are all well.
This week, I posted news on the blu-ray/digital release of gekimation films from Ujicha – Violence Voyager and Buddha Burning Man so expect a review soon. I also posted details about the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2021 which has 18 features that people in the UK can stream for free.
The website for the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021 has been released and I am involved with the fest again so expect coverage of as many films as I can do! It’s a physical event and also a digital one for this year. Stay tuned for more details.
Here is part one of my trailer post about what is released this weekend:
Whenever the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme rolls around, I end up doing posts on Anime UK News (AUKN) and my blog. Earlier this month, I published a preview on AUKN and now it’s time for my blog!
Here are the headlines:
Here is the preview but with my own data format for the films.
Kyoto Saga Art University graduate Ujicha is a talented artist who uses hand-made and painted paper cut-outs for models and moves them by hand like marionettes to tell horror stories. He has dubbed it “Geki-mation” and he directs, writes, draws, edits, his own work and it is clear to see his skill is undeniable. Third Window Films are going to release a set of his works entitled UJICHA: Violence Voyager / Burning Buddha Man on January 25th on blu-ray & digital.
Here are the details!
2 DISC LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
Disc 1: Violence Voyager
Uncut original Japanese language version
Audio commentary from director Ujicha and producer Reo Anzai
Interview with director Ujicha (20min)
Short Film: Tempura (4min)
Storyboards
Teaser of Ujicha’s latest film
Original Trailer
Disc 2: The Burning Buddha Man 
Short Film: The Retnepac2 (16min)
Short Film: Space Yokai War (9min)
Original Trailer
Reversible sleeve artwork
Slipcase
Region B
Here are the trailers and synopses and a little extra info that I wrote when each film came out:
Happy weekend, everyone.
I hope you are all safe and well.
This week I reviewed the films Dong Teng Town and Terrarium Locker and I’m helping prep a film festival. I watched a lot of films recently such as Widows, The Never-ending Story, and lots of Universal horror movies like Frankenstein and Dracula.
What is released this weekend?
Terrarium Locker 
テラリウムロッカー 「Terariumu Rokka-」
Release Date: 2019
Duration: 30 mins.
Director: Rika Aoi
Writer: Rika Aoi (Screenplay),
Starring: Kanako Miyashita, Osuke Tokunaga, Takashi Okado, Anju Oda,
Rika Aoi’s Terrarium Locker was first picked up for the Kanazawa Film Festival 2019 before it was re-edited for the MOOSIC LAB 2019 programme. She made it while also working as a manga editor and did so with a main staff made up of women in their 20s (source). The film is a quiet and quirky small-scale human drama about a young woman finding her place in the world.
“Is there anything in this world that only I can do?”
Continue reading “Terrarium Locker テラリウムロッカー (2019) Dir: Rika Aoi”
Dong Teng Town 
ドンテンタウン 「Donten Taun」
Release Date: July 17th, 2020
Duration: 61 mins.
Director: Kouhei Inoue
Writer: Kouhei Inoue (Script),
Starring: Ryo Sato, Sho Kasamatsu, Ai Yamamoto, Ryui Ushio, Saki Iwasaki, Gantsu Morita, Ryo Anraku,
Director Kohei Inoue’s Dong Teng Town netted the Actor Award for Sho Kasamatsu’s performance, and was the runner up for the MOOSIC LAB Grand Prix prize, which ultimately went to Sleeping Insect. His work is, nonetheless, strong, as it gives a dreamlike tale with lead performances full of poignancy that rises above a confused narrative of two lost souls communicating through time and space through cassette tapes as themes of absence and meetings, common in all of the MOOSIC LAB films, are played out quite nicely.
Continue reading “Dong Teng Town ドンテンタウン (2020) Dir: Kouhei Inoue”
Happy weekend!
I hope everyone is doing well.
I hope you are all staying safe and looking for ways to make a positive change in the world. I’ve taken to studying Japanese for a couple of hours as soon as I get up in the morning (05:00) and in the evening (17:00) and I am feeling a little better about myself. I hope to unlock more of my potential.
This week I posted reviews for Tailwind and My Lovely Days. The director of Tailwind kindly commented and retweeted my review on Twitter so I was happy to see my words have a positive effect! It’s a good drama, so check it out. I also posted a preview of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2021 over at Anime UK News. Expect a preview here next week.
What is released this weekend in Japan?
My Lovely Days
ゆかちゃんの愛した時代 「Yuka-chan no Aishita Jidai」
Release Date: July 11th, 2020
Duration: 30 mins.
Director: Yun Hayama
Writer: Yun Hayama, Nishio Hiroshi (Script),
Starring: Yun Hayama, Keita Yamashina, Sayu Higashi, Marc Panther, Shiho Tanaka,
With the retirement of Emperor Akihito and the ascension of Crown Prince Naruhito to the Chrysanthemum throne, the transition from the Heisei era to the Reiwa era¹ sparked a lot of nostalgia in Japanese who looked back over the cultural shifts felt during the 80s and 90s. Yun Hayama indulges in the same thing and is clearly writing from experience with this film which is a flashback to the fun of the 90s.
It is April 30th, 2019, and the Heisei era will end in an hour. At one coffee shop in Osaka, Yuka Yukawa, a local talent born in 1989 (the first year of the Heisei era) is having a meeting with her manager Masao (Keita Yamashina). While Masao is pressuring her to do work (including, quite cynically, a film with an erotic scene), Yuka is more interested in talking about her memories of the Heisei era and as she talks her sweet and infectious desire for the Heisei era begins to overflow into the conversation.
Continue reading “My Lovely Days, Yuka-chan no Aishita Jidai ゆかちゃんの愛した時代 (2018) Dir: Yun Hayama”
Tailwind 
追い風 「Oikaze」
Release Date: August 07th, 2020
Duration: 71 mins.
Director: Ryo Anraku
Writer: Ryo Katayama, Ryo Anraku (Script),
Starring: DEG, Ryo Katayama, Ryo Anraku, Hyoma Shibata, Hiroki Sato, Ritsu Ootomu, Mebuki Yoshida,
Winner of the Best Actor and Musician Award in the feature film category of MOOSIC LAB 2019, Tailwind was shot in just three months by up-and-coming indie film makers Ryo Katayama and Ryo Anraku. Their story is based upon shared real-life experience with their friend DEG, a hip-hop artist whose friendly persona and musical performance fits perfectly into both this youth drama and the MOOSIC LAB mantra of combining filmmakers and artists.
28-year-old Tokyo-based rapper DEG is struggling with his career and feeling frustrated. A decent rhyme-smith, his songs lack fire since the lyrics are inoffensive (and maybe even a little bland) to win listeners over and so he isn’t making any progress beyond friend’s parties and izakaya gigs. His affability on the mic is reflected off the stage as he masks his frustrations and disappointments behind his smile. Any inconvenience, insult, or disagreement from someone is met with a big grin and a laugh and so he is suffering on the inside while others advance their lives and move on without him, sometimes at his expense. However, with his frustrations mounting DEG’s smile begins to fade and his inner voice beings to emerge. When he is invited to a friend’s wedding which Hikari, the love of his life, will attend, he decides to use the event as the catalyst for him to realign his personal and professional personas and make his own tailwind and seize his own happiness.
