News

The official website for Saint☆Oniisan The Movie ~Holy Men Vs Akuma Gundan (translated to Saint Young Men The Movie ~Holy Men vs Devil's Army ) released a main trailer today featuring the theme song "Bitter Vacance" performed by the three-piece Japanese rock band Mrs. Green Apple . The film's two lead actors — Kenichi Matsuyama as Jesus and Shota Sometani as Buddha — also introduce the main cast members one by one in the clip. Motoki Omori , the vocalist and guitarist of Mrs. Green Apple, posted the following message on the movie's website about the song: I am a big fan of Saint Young Men from its original manga, and bought and read every time a new book came out in the bookstore when I was in junior high school. With this offer, I am feeling that I am destined for something very special. We can learn something from Buddha and Jesus' healing daily life.

The official website for Saint☆Oniisan The Movie ~Holy Men Vs Akuma Gundan (translated to Saint Young Men The Movie ~Holy Men vs Devil's Army ) released a new trailer today. The clip introduces the film's main cast members, including the new cast members Takayuki Yamada and Tsuyoshi Muro (however their roles have not yet been revealed). Yamada, who also serves as the producer for the film, says, "I am very happy to be able to make a film adaptation of Saint Young Men . The film's story is a 'typical' one that will be enjoyed not only by fans of the original manga, but also by those who are new to Jesus and Buddah's vacation. The cast is superb, and the two are as relaxed as ever. Watch the gods of the universe take the command!" Related: Saint Young Men Live-Action Feature Film Releases First Teaser Trailer, Visual Key visual Saint...

The official website for Saint☆Oniisan The Movie ~Holy Men Vs Akuma Gundan (translated to Saint Young Men The Movie ~Holy Men vs Devil's Army ) released its first teaser trailer on July 9. The clip introduces the daily life of the two main characters — Jesus played by Kenichi Matsuyama (L in the Death Note live-action film series) and Buddha played by Shota Sometani (Shinichi Izumi in the Parasyte live-action film series) — and also shows the two transform into the Super Saint Holy Men for the first time. In the film's story, guardian deities, angels, war gods, goddesses, hermits, demons and angels gather in Japan, while Jesus and Buddha transform into the Super Saint Holy Men, heroes who fight the demons that have come to rule this world. Additionally, a "Holy Men Transformation Visual" featuring Jesus and Buddha in their Super Saint Holy Men form was released. Related: Saint Young Men Manga...

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Masamitsu Nigatsu's romantic comedy action manga Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards released a main trailer and a main visual today. The trailer features the film's theme song "Breakout" performed by the Japanese male idol group Snow Man . The group's 20-year-old member Raul is also cast as the film's protagonist, Arakuni Ibuki. "I am very happy that the group's song will be added to the film I am participating in," said Raul. "It is a great honor for me and for the group, so I thought carefully about the meaning of singing this song as a group. I was able to share the screenplay and the atmosphere of the work site with the members while working on it, so the team and I were satisfied with the finished song. I hope you enjoy the chemical reaction with the movie." Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards...

A good mystery thriller contains suspense and an interesting premise, but above all the investigation into the riddle at its core must be both enjoyable and gripping to follow. However, it seems obvious many stories of the genre neglect this integral part, resulting in a somewhat flat and often disappointing narrative. When done right, though, the feature or novel may provide an inventive and quite fascinating portrayal of humanity, its good and also its dark aspects. Director Akihiro Toda has had some experiences in the mystery genre with his feature “The Name” and in “Ichiko” he goes even further, experimenting with different time layers to create the portrayal of the central character, her troubled past and her problems in keeping relationships.

Ichiko is screening at Nippon Connection

Based on Toda's play, the story begins in 2015 with Ichiko (Hana Sugisaki) being proposed to by her boyfriend Yoshinori (Ryuya Wakaba). The two could not be happier,...

Apart from a director, Momoko Fukuda is also a very successful novelist, having won the Subaru Literally Prize. In “My Name is Yours”, she combines these two capacities, adapting two of her novellas in a film that tells the story of five, rather complicated highschool students.

My Name is Yours is screening at Camera Japan

Yukari, who almost everyone calls En, is a smart and humorous young girl, who is also at the top of her class. However, her favorite time is the one she spends with childhood friend Kotoko, an eccentric girl whose tendencies of fighting with (and being chased by) teachers, having a series of boyfriends, and not studying at all, lean towards delinquency. The two of them spend a lot of time in an abandoned school basement smoking, where one day, they stumble upon Narihira, a classmate who is crying, with Kotoko immediately falling madly in love with him.

According to Google, Shimokitazawa, or Shimokita, is a hip cultural quarter with a lingering old-Tokyo vibe. Narrow, mural-painted lanes are lined with stylish stores for vintage clothes and vinyl. Craft cafes and brewpubs host art shows and live bands, while bakeries and bistros serve inventive pastries and veggie curries. Edgy new plays debut at Honda Gekijo Theater, and young directors screen short movies at Tollywood cinema. Rikiya Imaizumi directs a film that aims at transferring the overall atmosphere of the area through a number of youths that inhabit it, while playing with the term moteki , which refers to a period in people’s lives when they become increasingly popular with the opposite sex.

Over the Town is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

The film begins with the protagonist, Ao Arakawa, getting dumped particularly brutal by the love of his life, Yuki, who admits to having cheated on him repeatedly,...

“Liverleaf” is a Japanese teen drama about bullying, based on the manga series “Misumisou” by Rensuke Oshikiri. The film stars Anna Yamada, Hiroya Shimizu and Rena Ohtsuka. This movie is set in a junior high about to close, the students are often unattended and their teachers are checked out waiting for the semester to end. A group of girls start bullying new girl Haruka Nozaki (Anna Yamada) and the results get bloody.

“Liverleaf” is screening at the 19th Jeonju International Film Festival

The film opens with Haruka Nozaki alone at her locker and her shoes are missing. A group of giggling school girls turn and run after they see Nozaki can’t find her shoes, which they have stolen from her locker. This seemingly innocent hazing for new girl Nozaki is the beginning of a bullying campaign that soon turns violent. We learn that Nozaki is new to this rural...