“Juvenile” marks the directorial debut of Takashi Yamazaki, one of Japan’s most popular filmmakers working today. While lacking originality, it’s charm makes for a commendable first effort. The project was conceived by Shirogumi, an animation and visual effects studio Yamazaki had worked for since 1986 and continues to collaborate with. Written and directed by him, it is his first collaboration with the visual effects company Robot Communications, who, like Shirogumi, he continues to work with frequently. While fairly obscure overseas, the feature was a hit for its native release and international premiere at the Gifoni Film Festival in Italy. The robot that appears in it, Tetra, has remained fairly popular in Japanese pop culture.
During the summer of 2000 in Japan, Yusuke and his friends encounter a peculiar finding in the woods while on a camping trip. They meet a small, friendly robot named Tetra sent from the future to...
During the summer of 2000 in Japan, Yusuke and his friends encounter a peculiar finding in the woods while on a camping trip. They meet a small, friendly robot named Tetra sent from the future to...
- 9/26/2023
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
In my book, Kazuya Shiraishi has raised to be the sterling voice of Japanese mainstream cinema during the last few years, with films like “Birds Without Names“, “The Blood of Wolves” and others combining artistry and context in the most entertaining fashion. “Sea of Revival” attempts to follow in the same footsteps.
Sea of Revival is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Ikuo works at a printing plant but has troubles with both gambling and drinking, with his life having taken a rather failed path. However, his girlfriend, Ayumi, who lives together with him and her teenage daughter from a previous wedding, Minami, is not willing to let him go. In order to “save” him, and their financial situation, she decides to take the whole family and move to her hometown, Ishinomaki, in her widowed father’s house, where she can also take care of yet another person.
Sea of Revival is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Ikuo works at a printing plant but has troubles with both gambling and drinking, with his life having taken a rather failed path. However, his girlfriend, Ayumi, who lives together with him and her teenage daughter from a previous wedding, Minami, is not willing to let him go. In order to “save” him, and their financial situation, she decides to take the whole family and move to her hometown, Ishinomaki, in her widowed father’s house, where she can also take care of yet another person.
- 2/2/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japanese director Kazuya Shiraishi has completed production on “Sea of Revival”. The production stars Shingo Katori (“Zatochi:The Last”) as a man struggling to support his family through numerous hardships.
“Sea of Revival” was previously released in in Japanese theaters on June 28th, 2019. With a domestic release pending, a trailer for the production has been made available and can be viewed below.
Synopsis
A man (Shingo Katori) works at a printing plant, but he gets fired from his job. The man, his female partner and her daughter move to her hometown of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. There, the woman opens up a beauty salon. They enjoy peaceful days, but small problems occur which leads to an irrevocable situation. (AsianWiki)...
“Sea of Revival” was previously released in in Japanese theaters on June 28th, 2019. With a domestic release pending, a trailer for the production has been made available and can be viewed below.
Synopsis
A man (Shingo Katori) works at a printing plant, but he gets fired from his job. The man, his female partner and her daughter move to her hometown of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. There, the woman opens up a beauty salon. They enjoy peaceful days, but small problems occur which leads to an irrevocable situation. (AsianWiki)...
- 10/27/2019
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Featuring such a cast, being reminiscent of the Hollywood screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s, and particularly the 1932 film “Grand Hotel” and having a New Year’s feel, “Uchoten Hotel” had all the prerequisites of becoming a commercially successful film. Eventually that is exactly what it did, becoming the third highest grossing one of 2006 in Japan. Furthermore, it was nominated for 11 Japanese Academy awards, although, almost ironically, did not win a single one. Let us see what it is about though.
The story revolves around a number of characters, whose lives intermingle in a luxury hotel two hours before New Year’s Eve. Shindo, who used to work in the theatre, is now a head accommodation manager, but tries to hide the fact when his ex-wife unexpectedly arrives in the hotel. Her current husband, is in the hotel to receive an award from a deer fertility research organization,...
The story revolves around a number of characters, whose lives intermingle in a luxury hotel two hours before New Year’s Eve. Shindo, who used to work in the theatre, is now a head accommodation manager, but tries to hide the fact when his ex-wife unexpectedly arrives in the hotel. Her current husband, is in the hotel to receive an award from a deer fertility research organization,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A new special trailer has been released for Kentaro Otani’s upcoming dog movie Go, Masao!
The theme of the trailer is “bonds” and it features the movie’s theme song “Kimi wa Boku da” by Atsuko Maeda.
Based on the experiences of comedian Hideki Matsumoto and his former comedy partner, a clumsy Labrador Retriever named Masao-kun, the movie stars Shingo Katori as a television host who’s initially resentful of being overshadowed by an unruly dog. However, when Masao comes to his rescue after an accident during a television shoot, he finally embraces their partnership.
When Masao is diagnosed with an illness, Matsumoto decides to put together a dog wedding for him and a black lab named Dian. Meanwhile, he hears that his own ex-girlfriend (Ryoko Hirosue) is getting married, causing him to make an important decision.
“Go, Masao!” will be released by Shochiku in Japan this Saturday.
Source:...
The theme of the trailer is “bonds” and it features the movie’s theme song “Kimi wa Boku da” by Atsuko Maeda.
Based on the experiences of comedian Hideki Matsumoto and his former comedy partner, a clumsy Labrador Retriever named Masao-kun, the movie stars Shingo Katori as a television host who’s initially resentful of being overshadowed by an unruly dog. However, when Masao comes to his rescue after an accident during a television shoot, he finally embraces their partnership.
When Masao is diagnosed with an illness, Matsumoto decides to put together a dog wedding for him and a black lab named Dian. Meanwhile, he hears that his own ex-girlfriend (Ryoko Hirosue) is getting married, causing him to make an important decision.
“Go, Masao!” will be released by Shochiku in Japan this Saturday.
Source:...
- 6/20/2012
- Nippon Cinema
The official website for Kentaro Otani’s Love: Masao-kun ga Iku! has been updated with a new 95-second trailer.
The movie is inspired by the “Masao-kun ga Iku!! Pochitama Pet no Tabi” segment of TV Tokyo’s pet variety show “Pet Daishūgō! Pochitama”. The segment featured comedian Hideki Matsumoto and a comically rambunctious and clumsy Labrador Retriever named Masao-kun.
Smap’s Shingo Katori stars as Matsumoto, a struggling comedian who is initially overjoyed when he’s invited to appear on a pet-themed variety show until he discovers the real star is a goofy dog named Masao-kun. His luck quickly takes a turn for the worse as his girlfriend (Ryoko Hirosue) leaves him to marry another man and Masao proves nearly impossible to handle.
However, his attitude changes one day when he’s injured during filming and Masao immediately rushes to aid him. After that incident, Matsumoto decides to form a permanent duo with Masao.
The movie is inspired by the “Masao-kun ga Iku!! Pochitama Pet no Tabi” segment of TV Tokyo’s pet variety show “Pet Daishūgō! Pochitama”. The segment featured comedian Hideki Matsumoto and a comically rambunctious and clumsy Labrador Retriever named Masao-kun.
Smap’s Shingo Katori stars as Matsumoto, a struggling comedian who is initially overjoyed when he’s invited to appear on a pet-themed variety show until he discovers the real star is a goofy dog named Masao-kun. His luck quickly takes a turn for the worse as his girlfriend (Ryoko Hirosue) leaves him to marry another man and Masao proves nearly impossible to handle.
However, his attitude changes one day when he’s injured during filming and Masao immediately rushes to aid him. After that incident, Matsumoto decides to form a permanent duo with Masao.
- 3/31/2012
- Nippon Cinema
Director Takashi Yamazaki (Space Battleship Yamato, Returner) is no stranger to live action filled with stunning visual effects but Friends: Naki on Monster Island (aka Friends: Mononoke Shima no Naki, もののけ島のナキ) will be his first foray into a full CG animated feature-length. Based on an children's book, it tells a story about the unconditional friendship between two monsters and a human child. The voice cast include Smap's Shingo Katori and Kouichi Yamadera as Naki & Gunjo, the two Oni (Japanese demon/ogre) that encounters the boy, Kotake.In a country strangely similar to Japan, there is an island floating on the middle of a lake. It is said that monsters have been living there from the ancient time so that people feared the island calling it "the...
- 5/4/2011
- Screen Anarchy
An official website for Yasuhiro Kawamura’s Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo The Movie: Kachidokibashi o Fusaseyo! has been launched with a teaser trailer.
The film is a continuation of the 2009 TBS drama which was based on Osamu Akimoto’s “Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo” (1996-2009) manga series, also known as “Kochikame” for short.
As previously reported by Tokyograph, the live-action version stars Shingo Katori of Smap as a police officer named Kankichi Ryotsu who gets involved in various misadventures adventures involving the people around his police box in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward.
In the new film, Ryo-san has a chance encounter with a former grade school classmate and crush named Momoko (Kyoko Fukada), causing his heart to flutter. Soon after, the National Police Agency chief’s granddaughter is kidnapped. When Ryo-san discovers Momoko may be involved in some way, he sets out to discover the truth.
The film is a continuation of the 2009 TBS drama which was based on Osamu Akimoto’s “Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo” (1996-2009) manga series, also known as “Kochikame” for short.
As previously reported by Tokyograph, the live-action version stars Shingo Katori of Smap as a police officer named Kankichi Ryotsu who gets involved in various misadventures adventures involving the people around his police box in front of Kameari Park in Katsushika Ward.
In the new film, Ryo-san has a chance encounter with a former grade school classmate and crush named Momoko (Kyoko Fukada), causing his heart to flutter. Soon after, the National Police Agency chief’s granddaughter is kidnapped. When Ryo-san discovers Momoko may be involved in some way, he sets out to discover the truth.
- 4/4/2011
- Nippon Cinema
22-year-old actress Meisa Kuroki has been cast in another major film role. She’ll be playing the heroine in Andalucia: Megami no Houfuku, the sequel to the blockbuster 2009 film Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess and its follow-up Fuji TV drama “Diplomat Kuroda Kousaku” (Jan-March 2011).
Between her burgeoning music career, film roles, and television appearances, Kuroki has been highly visible of late. Most notably, she co-starred with Takuya Kimura in the much-hyped live-action film adaptation of “Space Battleship Yamato” and was recently cast as the female lead opposite Shingo Katori in the Fuji TV drama “Shiawase ni Narou Yo”.
In “Andalucia”, diplomat Kosaku Kuroda (Yuji Oda) gets sent to Spain after a Japanese investor is murdered. While there he meets an Interpol agent (Hideaki Ito) who is investigating the case but is also very hesitant to share any information with Kuroda. Kuroki will play an elite banker who was the sole witness to the crime,...
Between her burgeoning music career, film roles, and television appearances, Kuroki has been highly visible of late. Most notably, she co-starred with Takuya Kimura in the much-hyped live-action film adaptation of “Space Battleship Yamato” and was recently cast as the female lead opposite Shingo Katori in the Fuji TV drama “Shiawase ni Narou Yo”.
In “Andalucia”, diplomat Kosaku Kuroda (Yuji Oda) gets sent to Spain after a Japanese investor is murdered. While there he meets an Interpol agent (Hideaki Ito) who is investigating the case but is also very hesitant to share any information with Kuroda. Kuroki will play an elite banker who was the sole witness to the crime,...
- 3/7/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Will this really, as the title promises, be the final foray for the iconic blind swordsman Zatoichi? I sincerely hope not because this just isn't how I want to see the name die.
I have nothing in general against actor / musician Shingo Katori but he is just far too young and far too pretty to play the irascible rogue. Through in that they've given the character a wife (!) and while this might be a reasonable facsimile, Zatoichi it aint.
That's not to say it looks horrible, though. The just-released trailer doesn't have me leaping out of my seat with excitement but it doesn't turn me off the film entirely, either, which is saying something considering how a big a mis-step I consider the casting. Take a look below!
I have nothing in general against actor / musician Shingo Katori but he is just far too young and far too pretty to play the irascible rogue. Through in that they've given the character a wife (!) and while this might be a reasonable facsimile, Zatoichi it aint.
That's not to say it looks horrible, though. The just-released trailer doesn't have me leaping out of my seat with excitement but it doesn't turn me off the film entirely, either, which is saying something considering how a big a mis-step I consider the casting. Take a look below!
- 3/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Toho has released the first trailer for the allegedly last part of the incredibly popular Zatoichi film series that started back in 1962. In Zatoichi The Last (座頭市 The Last) our favorite blind masseur and sword fighter (played by Smap member Shingo Katori) tries to settle down in his home village with his wife (Satomi Ishihara) but of course can’t because there’s some local trouble that needs to be solved with wits and the use of his hidden katana.
[See post to watch Flash video]
Zatoichi The Last is directed by Junji Sakamoto (Children of the Dark) and will open on May 29, 2010 in Japan. I can’t wait to see if Toho will really end the series with this film or if they’re already planning some Zatoichi X oder Zatoichi Zero pre/sequels.
[via Quiet Earth]...
[See post to watch Flash video]
Zatoichi The Last is directed by Junji Sakamoto (Children of the Dark) and will open on May 29, 2010 in Japan. I can’t wait to see if Toho will really end the series with this film or if they’re already planning some Zatoichi X oder Zatoichi Zero pre/sequels.
[via Quiet Earth]...
- 3/6/2010
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
Talk Like Singing, a groundbreaking production and the first-ever original Japanese musical to have its premiere in the U.S., celebrated its world premiere in New York City on November 13, 2009 at at New York University's Skirball Center. The show will run through November 22. The talented Koki Mitani has written and directs this comedic new material spoken in both Japanese and English. Musician, composer, DJ and founding member of Pizzicato Five, Yasuharu Konishi has created the music for this production. Japanese superstar Shingo Katori will make his international stage debut alongside cast members Jay Kabira, Keiko Horiuchi, and Shinya Niiro.
- 11/15/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Talk Like Singing, a groundbreaking production and the first-ever original Japanese musical to have its premiere in the U.S., celebrated its world premiere in New York City on November 13, 2009 at at New York University's Skirball Center. The show will run through November 22. The talented Koki Mitani has written and directs this comedic new material spoken in both Japanese and English. Musician, composer, DJ and founding member of Pizzicato Five, Yasuharu Konishi has created the music for this production. Japanese superstar Shingo Katori will make his international stage debut alongside cast members Jay Kabira, Keiko Horiuchi, and Shinya Niiro.
- 11/15/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Talk Like Singing, a groundbreaking production and the first-ever original Japanese musical to have its premiere in the U.S., will have its world premiere in New York City on November 13, 2009 at 8:00 P.M. at New York University's Skirball Center. The show will run through November 22. The talented Koki Mitani has written and directs this comedic new material spoken in both Japanese and English. Musician, composer, DJ and founding member of Pizzicato Five, Yasuharu Konishi has created the music for this production. Japanese superstar Shingo Katori will make his international stage debut alongside cast members Jay Kabira, Keiko Horiuchi, and Shinya Niiro.
- 9/21/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
While it has been known for some time that Shingo Katori from the Japanese Pop-group Smap (jup, the one from the Ninja Scroll live-action adaptation) will continue the work of Shintaro Katsu and Takeshi Kitano and will play the role of Ichi, the full cast has just been announced. Tokyograph mentions Takashi Sorimachi (Fulltime Killer, Yamato) and Satomi Ishihara (The Climber’s High) in supporting roles and Chieko Baisho, Youki Kudoh, Koichi Iwaki, Yoshio Harada, Kanzaburo Nakamura and Seishiro Kato in smaller roles.
But I think more interesting than all these names is the fact that Sorimachi will play a close friend of Ichi while cute Ishihara will be his wife!
Looks like director Junji Sakamoto (Children of the Dark, Chameleon) wants to show another side of the lone wolf Ichi, who already went through a sex change in 2008 when Haruka Ayase played his/her part in Ichi.
The shooting began in early March,...
But I think more interesting than all these names is the fact that Sorimachi will play a close friend of Ichi while cute Ishihara will be his wife!
Looks like director Junji Sakamoto (Children of the Dark, Chameleon) wants to show another side of the lone wolf Ichi, who already went through a sex change in 2008 when Haruka Ayase played his/her part in Ichi.
The shooting began in early March,...
- 4/23/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
Haven’t heard much from Leonardo DiCaprio’s live-action version of “Ninja Scroll” in a while, so here’s (kinda) something: according to a Japanese newspaper, DiCaprio is considering casting the film’s leads with the five members of a popular Japanese band called Smap. This, we’re told, is in keeping with DiCaprio’s intention to fill out the cast with Japanese actors, thus keeping the film true to its roots. I suppose it would be kind of difficult to cast, say, Keanu Reeves when your story is supposed to take place in Feudal Japan. Writes the Nikkan Sports (via Anime News Network): In addition to performing a string of hit singles, the five members of Smap — Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori — have acted in many films based on manga and anime. However, they have not acted together in the same film since 1994’s Shoot.
- 4/7/2009
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
Oh boy, I really hope that this is just some kind of late April Fool’s joke. Ann reports in reference to Nikkan Sports (must be a great source for movie related news) that the members of the five-headed J-Pop boygroup Smap (Sports Music Assemble People) are considered to be casted as the main leads in the live-action adaptation of Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s anime classic Ninja Scroll. Leonardo DiCaprio, whose production company Appian Way has acquainted the rights last autumn has outed himself as a big fans of Japanese animation promised “not to make the movie until the script is in the right shape”. What noble words…
Smap is one of the biggest Japanese boygroups and was founded in 1991. All members, Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori have already acted in several tv series and (mostly manga and anime related) films, but I don’t...
Smap is one of the biggest Japanese boygroups and was founded in 1991. All members, Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori have already acted in several tv series and (mostly manga and anime related) films, but I don’t...
- 4/6/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
It’s the end of an era, folks. Toho Studios have announced the launch of production of Zatoichi The Last and word is that the title is an appropriate one: Toho are saying that this will be the final entry in the long running Zatoichi canon. The story of the blind master swordsman has been a huge favorite for decades now so it comes as something of a surprise that Toho are pulling the plug on the title. Junji Sakamoto takes the helm of this one fresh on the heels of Chameleon - I seem to have been one of the only people who really liked that one - with Smap’s Shingo Katori taking on the role, which means we’re getting a much younger Zatoichi than we’re used to.
- 3/18/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
For fans of the long running film and tv series Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, it looks like Zatoichi The Last will be the final film according to Toho. Starring will be Shingo Katori, none of whose films I've seen like The Adventures of Super Monkey. Junji Sakamoto (Chameleon) is already directing as production started in Yamagata this past Sunday. As usual, the French have put some money on this project as they do with many other Nippon films, and the plan is to release the film next year and screen it at Cannes.
Hopefully more to come soon. via Tokyograph...
Hopefully more to come soon. via Tokyograph...
- 3/17/2009
- QuietEarth.us
TOKYO -- Monkey and his sidekicks defied a devastating typhoon and two major earthquakes in Japan to rake in a respectable $6.5 million during the opening three-day holiday weekend for Monkey Magic.
The big-screen adaptation of Fuji Television Network's hugely popular TV series -- an interpretation of a folk tale first published in the 1590s in China -- opened on a record 461 screens across Japan, despite the elements.
"'Monkey Magic' has started remarkably, despite the odds this weekend," said Chihiro Kameyama, head of Fuji's Motion Picture Department. "The summer boxoffice season has just begun, so we have every confidence that 'Monkey' fans will be lining up in front of theaters in the coming weeks."
"We will work our own Monkey Magic against any typhoon that comes our way," he added.
At least 10 people have been reported killed in the typhoon and earthquakes over the weekend, with thousands more evacuated from their homes.
Fuji has sky-high expectations for the movie, which features Shingo Katori, star of the boy-band SMAP, after one in four Japanese TV viewers tuned in weekly to the 11-part series, which first screened in January 2006.
The big-screen adaptation of Fuji Television Network's hugely popular TV series -- an interpretation of a folk tale first published in the 1590s in China -- opened on a record 461 screens across Japan, despite the elements.
"'Monkey Magic' has started remarkably, despite the odds this weekend," said Chihiro Kameyama, head of Fuji's Motion Picture Department. "The summer boxoffice season has just begun, so we have every confidence that 'Monkey' fans will be lining up in front of theaters in the coming weeks."
"We will work our own Monkey Magic against any typhoon that comes our way," he added.
At least 10 people have been reported killed in the typhoon and earthquakes over the weekend, with thousands more evacuated from their homes.
Fuji has sky-high expectations for the movie, which features Shingo Katori, star of the boy-band SMAP, after one in four Japanese TV viewers tuned in weekly to the 11-part series, which first screened in January 2006.
- 7/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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