Sato Shinsuke knows his way around a manga adaptation. After half a dozen successful such endeavors, it's really little surprise that his latest film, Inuyashiki, is another adaptation of a written work that was also recently adapted in anime form for Amazon. Sato had a big festival hit a couple of years ago with his version of Hanazawa Kengo's zombie book, I Am a Hero, and before that with films like The Princess Blade, Gantz, and Library Wars, all of which are amazing films, which leads me to my next bold assertion: Inuyashiki is Sato Shinsuke's best film yet. Now, full disclosure, there are still a small handful that haven't made it out of Japan and that I haven't yet seen, but of the big...
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- 7/24/2018
- Screen Anarchy
The long wait for Death Note: Light Up the New World is almost over. The film will be released in less than 2 weeks and just recently fans were treated to titillating teaser clips to the movie.
Several viral videos were released on the official website. The clips show the looming chaos in Tokyo and the impending doom of six new Death Notes – supernatural notebooks that can extinguish any name written on its pages.
One of the unleashed viral videos particularly tickled avid fans. The clip shows the ‘Kira Virus’ taking over an unsuspecting victim’s mobile phone. The screen goes black and the ever-daunting Kira hijacks the screen. The audience can only tremble as the sight of the serial killer promises to bring more mischief, mayhem and murder.
Set ten years after the events of the previous films, Death Note: Light Up the New World revolves around a...
Several viral videos were released on the official website. The clips show the looming chaos in Tokyo and the impending doom of six new Death Notes – supernatural notebooks that can extinguish any name written on its pages.
One of the unleashed viral videos particularly tickled avid fans. The clip shows the ‘Kira Virus’ taking over an unsuspecting victim’s mobile phone. The screen goes black and the ever-daunting Kira hijacks the screen. The audience can only tremble as the sight of the serial killer promises to bring more mischief, mayhem and murder.
Set ten years after the events of the previous films, Death Note: Light Up the New World revolves around a...
- 10/19/2016
- by Ella Palileo
- AsianMoviePulse
There is a small crop of sci-fi films that deal with a utilitarian society where book censorship is heavily enforced, while a small group resisting against this law, like Fahrenheit 451 and Equilibrium. But I think Library Wars (aka Toshokan Sensō) is the first to stage a full fledged assault from two military forces in an actual library of all places. These librarians really take book preservation seriously.No stranger to live action film adaptations of popular manga, with Gantz and The Princess Blade already under his belt, director Sato Shinsuke tackles a Japanese light novel series by Hiro Arikawa that has also spawned a manga and animated series. The cast includes Okada Junichi as Atsushi Dojo, a high ranking instructor of Library Corps and Eikura Nana as Kasahara Iku, who enters recruitment training....
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- 2/10/2013
- Screen Anarchy
From Sato Shinsuke, the director of Gantz and The Princess Blade comes yet another live action adaptation Library Wars (aka Toshokan Sensō). Based on a Japanese light novel series by Hiro Arikawa that spawned a manga and animated series & film, the social sci-fi depicts a battle between two opposing groups on the issue of book censorship laws in dystopian Japan. Set in the year 2019 in Japan. In order to crack down on free expression, a new law is passed, which allows for the government to create an armed force to find and destroy objectionable printed material. Meanwhile, to oppose this oppressive crackdown, the Library Force is created. The Library force, including instructor Atsushi Dojo (Junichi Okada) and Iku Kasahara (Nana Eikura), work...
- 12/17/2012
- Screen Anarchy
A 15-second TV spot for the upcoming live action adaptation of Gantz has been broadcast on the Nippon Network Television of Japan and thankfully, a viewer have captured it and uploaded it on Youtube. In the video, we get our first brief glimpse at the mysterious black sphere known as "Gantz", accompany with the "participants" wearing the black enhancement suit.
Budgeted at $45 million Us, the film is based on Hiroya Oku's bestselling sci-fi action manga that tells the story of a "young Tokyo college student who is reanimated after a deadly subway accident. Kei Kurono and his friend Katou Masaru go on violent, seemingly endless missions at the behest of an unseen host." As mention in our earlier report, it will be split into two parts with director Shinsuke Sato (The Princess Blade) on the helm and the two main characters, Kei and Katou, being played by J-popstar Kazunari Ninomiyais and Kenichi Matsuyama respectively.
Budgeted at $45 million Us, the film is based on Hiroya Oku's bestselling sci-fi action manga that tells the story of a "young Tokyo college student who is reanimated after a deadly subway accident. Kei Kurono and his friend Katou Masaru go on violent, seemingly endless missions at the behest of an unseen host." As mention in our earlier report, it will be split into two parts with director Shinsuke Sato (The Princess Blade) on the helm and the two main characters, Kei and Katou, being played by J-popstar Kazunari Ninomiyais and Kenichi Matsuyama respectively.
- 1/4/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Once my favorite animation house in Japan things have been relatively quiet on the Production Ig front in recent days. Sure, they’ve been busy contracting out on a number of projects but the amount of original material they’ve been working on has dropped off and what they have been doing - with the obvious exception of Mamoru Oshii’s Sky Crawlers - hasn’t been of any great interest to me. But that changes with their announcement of two brand new feature film projects.
Up first is The Abandoned Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, a children’s oriented fantasy film. Ig are making a big deal over this one because it is the first feature to be developed using software developed by the company to convert 2D drawings into 3D animation - which sounds like an intriguing process as it should keep all the quirks and details...
Up first is The Abandoned Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, a children’s oriented fantasy film. Ig are making a big deal over this one because it is the first feature to be developed using software developed by the company to convert 2D drawings into 3D animation - which sounds like an intriguing process as it should keep all the quirks and details...
- 10/4/2008
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
Tokyo International Film Festival
TOKYO -- Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge by Takuji Kitamura, a teenage ninja vs. mutant flick, is coherently scripted, genre-savvy and visually stimulating, it features a kickass female lead, and even psychological insight into adolescent blues. Premiered at TIFF, Chainsaw was one of the few films in the Japanese Eyes section that received warm applause. Meant mainly for teenagers in Japan, the film will win over more mature genre fans in overseas fantastic film festivals and DVD markets.
Megumi Seki (Honey and Clover, Arch Angels) is Eri, a high school student who believes it's her destiny to fight a chainsaw-wielding monster who descends from the moon in a shower of snowflakes. Enter Yosuke (Hayato Ichihara), wuss-extraordinaire, who gets in Eri's way while dodging cops after a shoplift attempt. It's "love at first sight" for him, and "out of my sight!" from her, but somehow, Yosuke sticks around to become Eri's chaperone and beverage-server during her duels with the mysterious monster. In time, the two realize they share similar identity crises and tragic memories, and learn the meaning of interdependence.
At first glance, Eri appears to be cut from the same cloth as Lolita warriors of Japanese manga and action-fantasies like Azumi and Princess Blade. Looking undaunted and delectable in a yellow school blazer, she levitates and dives, throwing Ninja darts like a ballerina. However, it gradually transpires that her relationship with the Chainsaw Man has darker psychological roots that recall the Freudian undertones of Candy Man and Nightmare on Elm Street.
The film boasts some fabulous sets for the fighting scenes, such as an Edo period theme park, an aquarium and an indoor swimming pool. HD cinematography is technically robust, adequately showcasing the inventively-combined CGI and Japanese style action choreography -- which are used in moderation. Editing is clean and streamlined.
The narrative sags a bit when it settles on comically chronicling the school life of Yosuke and his equally deadbeat classmates. Yosuke's dream of challenging his dead friend Noto -- a rebel who fought for what he believed -- somehow seems too manga-like to ring true. However, the film draws attention to the apathy and spinelessness of contemporary youth. Indeed a teacher is disappointed with his students for NOT talking back, and just caving in to the system.
NEGATIVE HAPPY CHAINSAW EDGE
Digital Frontier Inc/Nikkatsu Studio/Nikkatsu Corporation
Credits:
Director: Takuji Kitamura
Writer: Hirotoshi Kobayashi
Based on the novel by: Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Producers: Suguru Matsumura, Kazuhiro Hirose, Akira Yamamoto
Director of photography: Gen Kobayashi
Production designer: Yasuyo Kawamura
Costume designer: Yukiko Kosato
Cast:
Eri Yukizaki: Megumi Seki
Yosuke Yamamoto: Hayato Ichihara
Watanabe: Yosuke Asari
Noto: Haruma Miura
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
TOKYO -- Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge by Takuji Kitamura, a teenage ninja vs. mutant flick, is coherently scripted, genre-savvy and visually stimulating, it features a kickass female lead, and even psychological insight into adolescent blues. Premiered at TIFF, Chainsaw was one of the few films in the Japanese Eyes section that received warm applause. Meant mainly for teenagers in Japan, the film will win over more mature genre fans in overseas fantastic film festivals and DVD markets.
Megumi Seki (Honey and Clover, Arch Angels) is Eri, a high school student who believes it's her destiny to fight a chainsaw-wielding monster who descends from the moon in a shower of snowflakes. Enter Yosuke (Hayato Ichihara), wuss-extraordinaire, who gets in Eri's way while dodging cops after a shoplift attempt. It's "love at first sight" for him, and "out of my sight!" from her, but somehow, Yosuke sticks around to become Eri's chaperone and beverage-server during her duels with the mysterious monster. In time, the two realize they share similar identity crises and tragic memories, and learn the meaning of interdependence.
At first glance, Eri appears to be cut from the same cloth as Lolita warriors of Japanese manga and action-fantasies like Azumi and Princess Blade. Looking undaunted and delectable in a yellow school blazer, she levitates and dives, throwing Ninja darts like a ballerina. However, it gradually transpires that her relationship with the Chainsaw Man has darker psychological roots that recall the Freudian undertones of Candy Man and Nightmare on Elm Street.
The film boasts some fabulous sets for the fighting scenes, such as an Edo period theme park, an aquarium and an indoor swimming pool. HD cinematography is technically robust, adequately showcasing the inventively-combined CGI and Japanese style action choreography -- which are used in moderation. Editing is clean and streamlined.
The narrative sags a bit when it settles on comically chronicling the school life of Yosuke and his equally deadbeat classmates. Yosuke's dream of challenging his dead friend Noto -- a rebel who fought for what he believed -- somehow seems too manga-like to ring true. However, the film draws attention to the apathy and spinelessness of contemporary youth. Indeed a teacher is disappointed with his students for NOT talking back, and just caving in to the system.
NEGATIVE HAPPY CHAINSAW EDGE
Digital Frontier Inc/Nikkatsu Studio/Nikkatsu Corporation
Credits:
Director: Takuji Kitamura
Writer: Hirotoshi Kobayashi
Based on the novel by: Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Producers: Suguru Matsumura, Kazuhiro Hirose, Akira Yamamoto
Director of photography: Gen Kobayashi
Production designer: Yasuyo Kawamura
Costume designer: Yukiko Kosato
Cast:
Eri Yukizaki: Megumi Seki
Yosuke Yamamoto: Hayato Ichihara
Watanabe: Yosuke Asari
Noto: Haruma Miura
Running time -- 109 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/11/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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