Posts Categorized: Japanese Movies

Nov 7 2019

Keiko Kitagawa cast in mystery film “First Love”

Keiko Kitagawa is cast in mystery film “First Love.” The film is based on novel “First Love” by Rio Shimamoto. This is Rio Shimamoto’s third novel to be adapted into a feature film, following 2017 movie “Narratage” and 2020 movie “Red.” Her novel “First Love” is the winner of the 159th Naoki Prize. Popular movie director Yukihiko Tsutsumi (“Trick: The Movie“) will helm the movie version. For the film, Keiko Kitagawa will play psychologist Yuki Makabe. She researches into a case where a university student girl murdered her father. Filming for “First Love” began October, 2019 and finishes mid-November, 2019. Shooting takes place in the Kanto area of Japan.

“First Love” will be released sometime during 2021 in Japan.

Nov 6 2019

Koichi Sato, Yuriko Ishida, & Hidetoshi Nishijima cast in movie “Silent Tokyo: And So This Is Xmas”

Koichi Sato, Yuriko Ishida, and Hidetoshi Nishijima are cast in movie “Silent Tokyo: And So This Is Xmas.” The film is based on 2016 novel “And So This Is Xmas” by Takehiko Hata (“Unfair: The Movie“) and directed by Takafumi Hatano (“SP: The Motion Picture“). Story for the film is set on Christmas Eve where a series of bombings occur. Filming for the began on October 28, 2019. A movie set in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture has been created to recreate the streets of Shibuya, Tokyo. About 10,000 extras are being used on that movie set.

“Silent Tokyo: And So This Is Xmas” will be released winter, 2020 in Japan.

Oct 29 2019

Main trailer & poster for movie “Kaiji: Final Game”

Main trailer & poster added for live-action film “Kaiji Final Game” starring Tatsuya Fujiwara, Sota Fukushi & Nagisa Sekimizu. Movie is based on manga series “Kaiji” by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and is the third installment in the Kaiji films. In addition, more supporting cast members have been revealed in the film. The newly announced members are Yuki Amami, Suzuki Matsuo, Katsuhisa Namase, Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Masato Ibu and Toshiki Seto. Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Masato Ibu and Toshiki Seto will play new characters and did not appear in the prior films.

“Kaiji Final Game” will be released  January 10, 2020 in JApan.

Oct 29 2019

Trailer for movie “Howling Village”

Trailer added for horror film “Howling Village” starring Ayaka Miyoshi. The trailer begins with captions that states in Japanese “Exist at Kyushu.” In addition, supporting cast members have been revealed for the movie. Now cast in the film are Ryota Bando, Renji Ishibashi, Masanobu Takashima, Reiko Takashima, Hinata Kaizu, Rinka Otani, Tsuyoshi Furukawa, Hina Miyano, Minori Terada, Megumi Okina and Takamasa Suga. Movie is directed and co-written by Takashi Shimizu (“Ju-on“).

“Howling Village” will be released February 7, 2020 in Japan.

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Oct 28 2019

Haru & Ryo Narita cast in movie “Yayoi, March: 30 Years That I Loved You”

Haru & Ryo Narita are cast for lead roles in romance film “Yayoi, March: 30 Years That I Loved You” (literal title). Also cast in supporting roles are Hana Sugisak,  Kenshi Okada, Yukiyoshi Ozawa and Hitomi Kuroki. The film is written and directed by Kazuhiko Yukawa. For Kazuhiko Yukawa, who has written many drama series screenplays, this is his second film as a director following 2017 movie “A Loving Husband.” Story for “Yayoi, March: 30 Years That I Loved You” spans 30 years and follows the love between two people who hid their feelings for each other. Meanwhile, the first teaser trailer has been added on AsianWiki.

“Yayoi, March: 30 Years That I Loved You” will be released March 20, 2020 in Japan.

Oct 28 2019

Main trailer & poster for movie “AI Amok”

Main trailer and poster added for movie “AI Amok” starring Takao Osawa, Kento Kaku and Alice Hirose. The film is written and directed by Yu Irie (“Vigilante“). The caption on the poster states in Japanese “That day, the selection of life begins.” In the movie, Takao Osawa plays scientist Kosuke Kiryu. He created an artificial intelligence for medicine, but that system goes amok. The system plans to kill people it feels are not fit to live. Meanwhile, the movie’s theme song has been revealed in the main trailer. The theme song is “Bokura o Matsu Basho” by singer-songwriter AI.

“AI Amok” will be released January 31, 2020 in Japan.

Oct 28 2019

Main trailer & poster for live-action film “Signal 100”

Main trailer & poster added for live-action film “Signal 100” starring Kanna Hashimoto & Shido Nakamura. The film is based on manga series “Signal 100” written by Arata Miyatsuki (“Impossibility Defense“) and directed by Lisa Takeba (“Haruko’s Paranormal Laboratory“). Meanwhile, the movie’s theme song has been revealed, which is “Carry On” by female singer yukaDD(;´∀｀). The theme song appears in the main trailer.

“Signal 100” will be released January 24, 2020 in Japan.

Oct 28 2019

Trailer & poster for movie “The Back of Shadow”

Trailer & poster added for movie “The Back of Shadow” (literal title) starring Gou Ayano and Ryuhei Matsuda. The film is based on 2017 novel “Eiri” by Shinsuke Numata and directed by Keishi Ohtomo (“Rurouni Kenshin“). The novel won the 157th Akutagawa Prize in 2017. The film follows the friendship of two men who are co-workers and its dissolution due to dark secrets held by one of the men.

“The Back of Shadow” will be released February 14, 2020 in Japan.

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