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Few war films are as much of a gut punch as Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies. The 1988 animated classic has become the go-to example of emotionally compelling storytelling. It takes just under 1.5 hours for Isao Takahata to drag audiences through a tear-jerking journey of love and loss. In the decades since its release, the film has gained a reputation for being a masterpiece that most can only stomach watching once.

However, anyone who wants to seek out the same emotional torture can find another version of the same story. Almost two decades after Takahata’s film, Nippon Television (Ntv) released an updated retelling of the tale. This 2005 remake is directed by Touya Satou and has an eye-watering 2.5-hour runtime. In many ways, it’s a faithful retreading of the source material. Both Takahata and Satou build upon a short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. But each film takes a different approach.

Following the excellent “Wilderness” and “(Ab)normal Desire”, Yoshiyuki Kishi decided to tone down his approach a bit, coming up with a ‘tamer’ film, based on the homonymous Shuhei Nire novel.

Sunset Sunrise is screening at Tokyo International Film Festival

The story takes place in 2020 in Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, with Japan being forced into lockdown following the Covid pandemic. Shinsaku, an avid fisherman working for a large Tokyo company, takes advantage of remote work and is instantly drawn to a dream property—a 4Ldk with a rent of just 60,000 yen. Most importantly, it’s near the sea, where he can enjoy his favorite hobby of fishing. He starts a casual “trial relocation” in a town in the Sanriku region, spending his days fishing between work sessions. However, as an outsider from Tokyo, the townspeople are initially uneasy around Shinsaku.

The fact that the house he rents belongs to the late husband of Momoka,...

The Japanese animated film Grave of the Fireflies, which was brought to life by Studio Ghibli in the eighties, has landed on Netflix in the U.S. almost four decades following its debut. Written and directed by Isao Takahata, the war drama production is based on the 1967 short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka which was released in April 1988. Years later, this phenomenal movie was revived with a 2005 live-action version, starring Nanako Matsushima and Mao Inoue, alongside a 2008 one starring Reo Yoshitake and Rina Hatakeyama.

Why didn’t I tell you a million times? is a Japanese series written by Naoko Adachi starring Mao Inoue, Takeru Satō and Kenichi Matsuyama.

Why didn’t I tell you a million times? This is Netflix’s commitment to the most realistic, sensitive (and cheesy) Japanese fiction, with a certain intention, especially when it comes to photography.

A series that is committed to romanticism, sentimentality and to win over “its” audience. Without dissimulation, neither in the music nor in the dialogues. It is a series with intimate touches that offers us a journey with emotions running high.

It knows how to change from its initial approach but without changing course too much, without disappointing those viewers who expect the sensitive rather than the spectacular.

It has the merit of unfolding at a good pace, of knowing how to win over the spectator in its slow and reflective narrative and,...

Screening in the Tokyo International Film Festval’s Nippon Cinema Now section, “Remember to Breathe” is director Sugita Masakazu’s second feature, following his 2014 “Joy of Man’s Desiring,” winner of a Special Mention in the Generation Kplus section of the Berlin Film Festival.

Based on an original script by Sugita, the film stars Inoue Mao as Yuko, a mature woman who suddenly finds herself living with her estranged mother (Ishida Eri), after the latter causes a fire in the house of her son and daughter-in-law. In course of the film we learn, more through her silent expressions than her spoken words, why Yuko finds it so hard to get along with her mom, who seems a fun-loving and even caring type, quickly making friends with a neighbor’s young daughter. But in the final scenes all is devastatingly revealed in a highly focused, carefully calibrated performance by Inoue.

“As I was writing the script,...

Translated by Lukasz Mankowski

Katsuhide Motoki, born in Toyama Prefecture in 1963, studied at Waseda University and in the United States. In 1987, he began working as an assistant director at Shochiku for Keisuke Kinosita and Hiroshi Teshigahara, among others. He had his directorial debut in 1998 with “Tenamonya Shosha”. His comedy “Samurai Hustle” received an award at the 2015 Japan Academy Awards, while his fame grew even bigger with “Recall”. Motoki also works as a producer (e.g. Gonin).

On the occasion of “Angry Rice Wives” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about the place of women in Japanese society then and now, the events that inspired the film, the cast and Mao Inoue, his visual approach, and many other topics.

What was the inspiration behind shooting Angry Rice Wives?

Since Japan is a country where there is still a strong impression of the dominance of men over women,...

When he is not dealing with samurais in various approaches (from realistic dramas to comedies), Katsuhide Motoki seems to focus on various aspects of corruption and the people dealing with it, as he did in the excellent “Recall”. This time his work deals with a series of actual incidents that took place in a Toyama fishing village 103 years ago, in 1918. A number of “ordinary” women raised their voices against the unreasonable government policies, with their actions getting picked up the press, and eventually evolving to “Rice Riots”, a nation-wide movement.

“Angry Rice Wives” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The protagonist, Ito, a farmer’s daughter who was married in the village and is one of the few literate women there, lives in the aforementioned area with her husband, three children and mother-in-law. During July and August, the men in the village find work in big boats away from the area,...

Epic movies are usually associated with “heroes”, and concepts like war, organized crime, history and fantasy. Izuru Narashima in “Rebirth” however, proves that a family drama can also reach the levels of an epic, in a movie the Japanese Academy honored with 11 awards, essentially declaring it “Movie of the Year” for 2013.

Rebirth is screening at Japan Society

The script is based on the novel “Youkame no Semi” by Mitsuyo Kakuta, and revolves mostly around the story of two women. Kiwako Nonomiya retains an enduring relationship with Takehiro Akiyama, a married man who has promised her that eventually he will leave his wife, Etsuko, and live with her. At some point, Kiwako gets pregnant and he convinces her to have an abortion, and, in a sad twist, the procedure causes her permanent infertility.

Sometime after that, Etsuko learns about her husband’s relationship and the aforementioned incident and confronts the woman,...

The Snow White Murder CaseSTORY80%ACTING70%DIRECTING81%VISUALS75%POSITIVESIntelligent plotAccomplished directionSpot- on social remarksNEGATIVESSomewhat lengthy2015-11-0877%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (0 Votes)0%

This particular movie is based on the fourth novel of Kanae Minato that becomes adapted into a movie, after Confessions, A Chorus of Angels and Penance, making it obvious that the practice is a definite recipe for success.

The story begins with the discovery of a stabbed and burned corpse in the woods, which is subsequently identified as the beautiful Noriko Miki, an employee at a company manufacturing cosmetic products. Yuji Akahosi, who works at a TV station and has a blog writing critiques regarding restaurants, receives a phone call from a friend of his, Risako Karino, who was a co-worker of the victim.

She discloses information concerning Noriko and another co-worker, Miki Jono, who, according to her, is the prime suspect. She asks Yuji not to leak this data,...

Prolific Japanese director Nakamura Yoshihiro (Fish Story, A Boy and His Samurai) is about to explore how a social media craze can impact a seemingly routine investigation into a mysterious murder in his upcoming film The Snow White Murder Case. The film is based on Kanae Minato's (the author of the famous Confessions) 2012 novel Shiro Yumi Hime Satsujin Jiken. Starring some of Japan's finest working actors (Tanimura Mitsuki, Inoue Mao, Ayano Go), The Snow White Murder Case is right now one of the most hyped 2014 films in the country.Here's a short summary of the interesting plot:Beautiful Noriko Miki works at a cosmetic company. One day, Noriko is murdered. People begin to suspect her co-worker Miki Jono (Mao Inoue) might have killed her. Television begins...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Today it was revealed that Junichi Okada of the boy band V6 will be playing Zero fighter pilot Kyuzo Miyabe in a film adaptation of Naoki Hyakuta’s popular novel Eien no Zero. Takashi Yamazaki of the Always: Sunset on Third Street franchise will direct.

Okada, who has never appeared in a war-themed project before, is taking the role very seriously and plans to chop a good deal of his hair off before filming begins. Co-stars Haruma Miura are Mao Inoue are equally prepared for the June start date.

In the film, Miura plays a young man named Kentaro Saeki who has been trying unsuccessfully to realize his dream of passing the bar exam. Together, with his freelance writer sister, he begins investigating the circumstances surrounding their grandfather Kyuzo’s death in a kamikaze attack during the Pacific War.

Kyuzo had an unusually strong fear of death and unmatched will to survive,...

On Sunday, the awards for the 3rd Nippon Theater Staff Film Festival were presented to the winners at a ceremony in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The awards are voted on by cinema staff members from all over Japan.

Mao Inoue took home the award for Best Actress for her performance in Izuru Narushima’s Rebirth (Youkame no Semi), playing a woman who’s forced to deal with her unusual upbringing, having been kidnapped as an infant.

Masami Nagasawa took home the Best Supporting Actress award for Love Strikes! (Moteki), but she was unable to attend due to her filming schedule. In a written statement, she referred to her immersion in the world of film as a “blissful time”.

The big winner was Koki Mitani’s comedy A Ghost of a Chance, which was responsible for three separate awards - Best Movie, Best Director, and Best Supporting actor.

Here’s the full list...

The full trailer Izuru Narushima’s Rebirth (Youkame no Semi) has been released via the Yahoo! Japan Shochiku channel. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Mitsuyo Kakuta which was previously adapted as a TV drama which aired on Nhk back in April.

Hiromi Nagasaku plays a woman name Kiwako who has an affair with a married man. Kiwako is unable to conceive, so when her lover’s wife gives birth to a daughter, she kidnaps the baby and takes off. After four years living happily as a mother, she’s arrested and the child, Erina, is taken away from her. Years later, Erina (now played by Mao Inoue) is a university student who’s grown up resenting her true parents. Soon, she has an affair of her own and ends up getting pregnant with a baby boy. In order to learn more herself, she decides to retrace...

The first teaser for Izuru Narushima’s Youkame no Semi has been released via the Yahoo! Japan Shochiku channel. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Mitsuyo Kakuta which was previously adapted as a TV drama which aired on Nhk back in April.

Hiromi Nagasaku plays a woman name Kiwako who has an affair with a married man. Kiwako is unable to conceive, so when her lover’s wife gives birth to a daughter, she kidnaps the baby and takes off. After four years living happily as a mother, she’s arrested and the child, Erina, is taken away from her. Years later, Erina (now played by Mao Inoue) is a university student who’s grown up resenting her true parents. Soon, she has an affair of her own and ends up getting pregnant with a baby boy.

Shochiku will be releasing “Youkame no Semi” in Japan sometime next year.

The official website for Hideyuki Hirayama’s upcoming World War II film Oba: The Last Samurai has been updated with a full trailer.

Inspired by a novel authored by former U.S. soldier Don Jones, the film focuses on a Japanese captain named Sakae Oba, aka “Fox” (Yutaka Takenouchi) who leads on of the last remaining units in Saipan. Oba and his troops employed guerrilla tactics to hold out against overwhelming odds before finally surrendering in December 1945, 3 months after Japan had surrendered to Us forces.

Other cast members include Toshiaki Karasawa, Takayuki Yamada, Tomoko Nakajima, Mao Inoue, Yoshinori Okada, Sadao Abe, Hideyuki Hirayama, and Bengal. Sean McGowan, Treat Williams, and Daniel Baldwin play American soldiers.

Toho will be releasing “Oba: The Last Samurai” in Japan on February 11, 2011.

Thanks logboy and cinemaasia.

23-year-old Mao Inoue (Hana Yori Dango) and former J-pop idol turned actress Hiromi Nagasaku (39) will be co-starring in a film adaptation of Mitsuyo Kakuta’s novel Youkame no Semi. The work was previously adapted as a TV drama which aired on Nhk back in April.

The story involves a woman named Kiwako (Nagasaku) who kidnaps the baby daughter of a man she’s having an affair with. The baby, Erina, grows up (now played by Inoue) and winds up having an affair of her own which leads to pregnancy.

This will mark the first acting role for Nagasaku since she gave birth to a son back in May.

Other cast members include Eiko Koike, Yoko Moriguchi, Hitori Gekidan, Tetsushi Tanaka, and Jun Fubuki

Filming began on September 23rd and is expected to wrap by the end of October. A release is planned for sometime next year.

Sources: Tokyograph, Cinema Today...

23-year-old Mao Inoue (Hana Yori Dango) and former J-pop idol turned actress Hiromi Nagasaku (39) will be co-starring in a film adaptation of Mitsuyo Kakuta’s novel Youkame no Semi. The work was previously adapted as a TV drama which aired on Nhk back in April.

The story involves a woman named Kiwako (Nagasaku) who kidnaps the baby daughter of a man she’s having an affair with. The baby, Erina, grows up (now played by Inoue) and winds up having an affair of her own which leads to pregnancy.

This will mark the first acting role for Nagasaku since she gave birth to a son back in May.

Other cast members include Eiko Koike, Yoko Moriguchi, Hitori Gekidan, Tetsushi Tanaka, and Jun Fubuki

Filming began on September 23rd and is expected to wrap by the end of October. A release is planned for sometime next year.

Sources: Tokyograph, Cinema Today...

Here’s the first Japanese TV spot for Hideyuki Hirayama‘s upcoming World War II film Oba: The Last Samurai.

As reported by Tokyograph back in May, the film stars 39-year-old Yutaka Takenouchi as a Japanese captain known as “Fox” who fights relentlessly against American forces near the end of the war, even though defeat is all but assured.

The story was inspired by a novel authored by former U.S. soldier Don Jones which focused on Japanese captain Sakae Oba. Oba led one of the last remaining units in Saipan and employed guerrilla tactics to hold out against overwhelming odds before finally surrendering in December 1945, 3 months after Japan had surrendered to Us forces.

Other cast members include Toshiaki Karasawa, Takayuki Yamada, Tomoko Nakajima, Mao Inoue, Yoshinori Okada, Sadao Abe, Hideyuki Hirayama, and Bengal. Sean McGowan, Treat Williams, and Daniel Baldwin play American soldiers.

Toho will be releasing “Oba: The Last Samurai...

Here’s the first Japanese TV spot for Hideyuki Hirayama‘s upcoming World War II film Oba: The Last Samurai.

As reported by Tokyograph back in May, the film stars 39-year-old Yutaka Takenouchi as a Japanese captain known as “Fox” who fights relentlessly against American forces near the end of the war, even though defeat is all but assured.

The story was inspired by a novel authored by former U.S. soldier Don Jones which focused on Japanese captain Sakae Oba. Oba led one of the last remaining units in Saipan and employed guerrilla tactics to hold out against overwhelming odds before finally surrendering in December 1945, 3 months after Japan had surrendered to Us forces.

Other cast members include Toshiaki Karasawa, Takayuki Yamada, Tomoko Nakajima, Mao Inoue, Yoshinori Okada, Sadao Abe, Hideyuki Hirayama, and Bengal. Sean McGowan, Treat Williams, and Daniel Baldwin play American soldiers.

Toho will be releasing “Oba: The Last Samurai...

Japanese distributor Media Factory will be releasing Kazuaki Ue‘s live-action adaptation of My Darling is a Foreigner (Darling wa Gaikokujin, 2010) on region 2 DVD with English subtitles this October.

The story is based on Saori Oguri’s popular autobiographical manga about her marriage to American writer Tony Laszlo. “Hana Yori Dango” star Mao Inoue plays Saori and Japanese-fluent American actor Jonathan Sherr plays Tony as the couple face various challenges in their intercultural relationship. Having recently moved in together and seriously considering marriage, problems arise when Saori’s father (Jun Kunimura) disapproves of their relationship. Meanwhile, misunderstandings brought on by Saori’s weak comprehension of English cause additional friction between the couple as they struggle to keep their relationship intact in spite of their differences.

Specs: Region 2, Ntsc, 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, DVD-5, 2 discs. Japanese Dolby 5.1 audio with selectable English and Japanese subtitles. Special features include cast interviews, making-of featurette, quiz featurette,...

Japanese distributor Media Factory will be releasing Kazuaki Ue‘s live-action adaptation of My Darling is a Foreigner (Darling wa Gaikokujin, 2010) on region 2 DVD with English subtitles this October.

The story is based on Saori Oguri’s popular autobiographical manga about her marriage to American writer Tony Laszlo. “Hana Yori Dango” star Mao Inoue plays Saori and Japanese-fluent American actor Jonathan Sherr plays Tony as the couple face various challenges in their intercultural relationship. Having recently moved in together and seriously considering marriage, problems arise when Saori’s father (Jun Kunimura) disapproves of their relationship. Meanwhile, misunderstandings brought on by Saori’s weak comprehension of English cause additional friction between the couple as they struggle to keep their relationship intact in spite of their differences.

Specs: Region 2, Ntsc, 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, DVD-5, 2 discs. Japanese Dolby 5.1 audio with selectable English and Japanese subtitles. Special features include cast interviews, making-of featurette, quiz featurette,...

Director: Katsuhide Motoki. Review: Adam Wing. Take a seat class; it’s time for History 101. Yokai (apparitions, spirits or demons by any other name) are a class of obake, creatures in Japanese folklore that often possess part animal and part human features (e.g. Kappa and Tengu). Yokai generally have a sort of spiritual or supernatural power, which means encounters with human beings can be quite dangerous. Yokai also have different motives and agendas to humans, which are often completely incomprehensible. Incomprehensible, glad we cleared that up then. Kitaro is a film adaptation of the legendary manga and anime series, which stars pop star Eiji Wentz and Mao Inoue. Kitaro is a half-human/half yokai who takes on the responsibility of maintaining balance between the human world and the creatures that inhabit the forest of Gegege. His father is an eyeball, yes you read that right, his father is an eyeball.