Helter Skelter, Drudgery Train, Umizaru 4: Brave Hearts, Paikaji Nankai Sakusen, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 2nd, Pokemon Best Wishes! The Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sacred Swordsman Keldeo Trailers and the Japanese Movie Box-Office Charts

This week I posted a review for 2 Days in New York and trailers for the forthcoming big screen anime adaptation of Asura and the latest Naruto movie.

What’s does the Japanese movie box-office chart look like this week?

1.  The Amazing Spider-Man
2.  Snow White and the Huntsman
3.  Rinjo
4.  Soreike! Anpanman Yomigaere Bananajima
5.  Man on a Ledge
6.  Hotaru: It’s Only a Little Light in my Life
7. Guskou Budori no Denki
8. Thermae Romae
9. Men in Black III
10.  Go, Masao!

The Amazing Spider-Man, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Rinjo remain in the top three – Snow White is actually pretty decent even if I found the Princess Mononoke section awful.  Two of last week’s releases, Soreike! Anpanman Yomigaere Bananajima and Guskou Budori enter at four and seven respectively. Thermae Romae spends yet another week in the top ten. It must be seriously funny!

What Japanese films are released today (and yesterday)?  Well it’s pretty busy but we see Erika Sawajiri back on the big screen!

Helter Skelter                                                           

Japanese Title: Heruta Sukeruta

Release Date: 14^th November 2012 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Mika Nanigawa

Writer: Arisa Kaneko (Script), Kyoko Okazaki (manga)  

Starring: Erika Sawajiri, Nao Omori, Shinobu Terajima, Gou Ayano, Yosuke Kubozuka, Mieko Harada, Sho Aikawa, Junki Tozuka, Anne Suzuki, Hirofumi Arai

Lead actress Erika Sawajiri (Ghost Train) makes her movie comeback with Helter Skelter a stunning looking movie with a great cast. The director is Mika Ninagawa, an art/fashion photographer who made her directorial debut with Sakuran. The film adapts Kyoko Okazaki’s psychological manga which was originally released in 2003.

 

Ririko (Sawajiri) is a vision of perfect beauty. What the public does not know is that her beauty is derived from multiple cosmetic surgeries and a lot of medication. To maintain her beauty and position she needs to keep taking medication and getting surgery but when the clinic that performs her surgery comes under investigation for medical ethics from authorities led by Prosecutor Asada (Omori) Ririko finds her career on the brink of calamity. With pressure mounting, Ririko’s body begins to suffer and her emotions and career, and sanity begin to fall apart.

Umizaru 4: Brave Hearts                               

Romaji: Brave Hearts Umizaru

Japanese Title: Brave Hearts 　海猿

Release Date: 13^th July 2012 (Japan)

Running Time: N/A

Director: Hasumi Eiichiro

Writer: N/A

Starring: Hideaki ito, Ai Kato, Riisa Naka, Ryuta Sato, Shohei Miura, Hiroyuki Hirayama, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Saburo Tokito

Another big-screen adaptation of a popular television series only this one focusses on the Japanese Coast Guard. Taking to the high seas are an interesting cast list including Hideaki Ito (Sukiyaki Western Django) and Riisa Naka (Mitsuko Delivers), Ai Kato (Another), and Tsuyoshi Ihara (13 Assassins, Retribution).

When a plane due to land at Haneda Airport begins to suffer engine failure, Sea Marshal Daisuke  Senzaki (Hideaki Ito) is on the case. He better hurry because one of the flight attendants is Riisa Naka!

 

Drudgery Train                                            

Romaji: Kueki Ressha

Japanese Title: 苦役　列車

Release Date: 14^th July 2012 (Japan)

Running Time: 112 mins.

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

Writer: Kenta Nishimura (Novel)

Starring: Mirai Moriyama, Kengo Kora, Atsuko Maeda

Drudgery Train comes from Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda, Linda, Linda), and is based on Kenta Nishimura’s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Kueki Ressha. This character-study stars Mirai Moriyama (Fish on Land, Fish Story), Kengo Kora (The Woodsman and the Rain, Norwegian Wood), and Atsuko Maeda (The Suicide Song), a member of Team A in AKB48 and has got some great reviews. This has to be my favourite trailer from today.

Kitamichi (Moriyama) is a 19-year-old junior high drop out with alcohol problems. He works as a labourer in a warehouse and he has no friends and wastes his days doing very little apart from reading mystery novels. Then he meets Kusakabe (Kora), a new hire at the warehouse. The two become friends and Kusakabe brings Kitamichi into his circle of friends which includes Yasuko (Maeda) who works in a book store. Kitamichi falls for her. The problem is that Kusakabe is also in love with Yasuko and Kitamichi gets jealous. Can his new-found friendships last?

 

Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja Trailer

I have to admit that Naruto was a guilty pleasure of mine when it first aired in the UK and I even imported a Naruto beat-em-up for the Gamecube from Japan. After a while I stopped checking for the franchise even though it is one of the major ones in anime but with the forthcoming release of a Naruto movie I better start paying attention again and so here is a promotional trailer for Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja. BELIEVE IT!

Synopsis

Sixteen years ago, a creature known as Kurama the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was released from its jinchūriki (living prison) by a mysterious ninja and unleahed on the Hidden Leaf Village, leading to the death of many people. In order to stop this demon the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, and his wife Kushia Uzumaki, who was the jinchūriki, sealed the demon inside their new born son, Naruto. With the beast sealed inside Naruto, things went back to being peaceful until a group of ninja known as Akatsuki attack the village. They are under the guidance of Tobi, the mysterious ninja who unleashed the demon the first time.

This is the sixth Naruto movie to be released thus far and it is set in an alternate timeline in which Naruto’s parents are still alive. People also have very different personalities as seen when Sasuke is hitting on Sakura and Hinata is much more aggressive. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, is handling the character designs and writing the script with Yuka Miyata (Naruto Shippūden) for the movie. The film is directed by Hayato Date who has handled countless Naruto TV episodes and movies like Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. The franchise voice actors also return with Junko Takeuchi voicing Naruto, Nana Mizuki voicing Hinata, Noriaki Sugiyama voicing Sasuke and Chie Nakamura voicing Sakura. The awesome J-rock outfit Asian Kung-Fu generation are providing the film’s theme.

The movie will premiere on the 28^th of July.

Staff: Hayato Date (Director), Masashi Kishimoto (Script/Character Design/Original Creator),  Yuka Miyata (Script), Tetsuya Nishio (Animation Director), Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Movie Theme)

Voice Actors: Junko Takeuchi (Naruto Uzumaki), Emi Shinohara (Kushina Uzumaki), Toshiyuki Morikawa (Minato Namikaze), Kazuhiko Inoue (Kakashi Hatake), Chie Nakamura (Sakura Haruno), Nana Mizuki (Hinata Hyuga), Noriaki Sugiyama (Sasuke Uchiha)

Studio: Studio Pierrot

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 2nd A Trailer

Anime movie adaptations are making a big splash in the Japanese movie charts this year so here trailer for Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 2^nd A which is now being streamed on the film’s official site ahead of the film’s premiere on the 14^th of July.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 2nd is a sequel to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1^st which was released back in 2010. While the first film was a retelling of the first series the sequel will be a retelling of the events of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s but it will follow the magical girl Nanoha who has to face a new threat while revealing information regarding the Graham family.

The staff members for the movie are veterans of the Nanoha franchise. The original creator of the Nanoha franchise, Masaki Tsuzuki, is writing the script. The director of the anime is Keizou Kusakawa (Campione!, Asura Crying, Dog Days) who has directed numerous entries in the franchise. Character design and animation direction is handled by Yasuhiro Okuda who has also worked on classic 90’s anime Record of Lodoss War. Art direction is supervised by Shinji Katahira who has also worked on Haibane Renmei. Also returning are the voice actors including Yukari Tamura (Remon Yamano in Ano Nattsu de Matteru), Nana Mizuki (Saya Kisaragi in Blood-C), and Kana Ueda (Rin Tohsaka in Fate/Zero).

The anime will be released on the 14^th of July.

Staff: Keizou Kusakawa (Director), Masaki Tsuzuki (Script/Original Creator), Yasuhiro Okuda (Character Design/Chief Animation Director), Shinji Katahira (Art Director),

Voice Actors: Yukari Tamura (Nanoha Takamachi), Nana Mizuki (Fate Testarossa), Kana Ueda (Hayate Yagami), Asami Sanada (Vita), Kaori Shimizu (Signum), Kazuya Ichijou (Zafira), Ryoka Yuzuki (Shamal)

Studio: Seven Arcs

Blood-C: The Last Dark Web Trailer

Film distributor Shochiku began streaming a web trailer for the forthcoming big screen title Blood-C: The Last Dark, the movie that aims to build on the groundwork laid down by my least favourite TV anime of last year Blood-C.

Synopsis

Fumito Nanahara is an influential politician who rules Tokyo with an iron fist. He has introduced the Youth Ordinance Bill which enforces curfews for the young and regulates the internet. Despite this a group of young people have formed a group named SIRRUT and pan on attacking Fumito. In the course of their research they discover “Tower”, a secret organisation that is backing Fumito and conducts human experimentation. When Sirrut attempt to expose “Tower” in the Tokyo subway mysterious creatures appear. So too does Saya, a young girl who survived the horrific incident in Ukishima Province with a sword that can defeat the Old Ones.

While the story does not leave me too enthused the trailer is packed with blood, gore, and monster slaying and looks more like the Blood franchise than the TV series did.