My Broken Mariko – film review – Fantasia 2022 [Recommended]

My Broken Mariko / マイ・ブロークン・マリコ (2022)
Director: Yuki Tanada
Writer: Kosuke Mukai, Yuki Tanada
Cast: Mei Nagano, Nao, Masataka Kubota

This was a world premiere and a second screening will occur on Sunday, July 31.

Shiino (Mei Nagano) is a salary woman who discovers while watching the news that her best friend Mariko (Nao) has committed suicide. Saddened and shocked by this she steals Mariko’s ashes from her father and wonders what she can do for Mariko. Shiino decides to take her ashes to a place Mariko had once mentioned in the past.

The Girl from the Other Side – film review – Fantasia 2022

The Girl from the Other Side / とつくにの少女 (2022)
Director: Yutaro Kubo, Satomi Maiya
Producer: Naokado Fujiyama, Joji Wada
Cast: Jun Fukuyama, Rie Takahashi
Sound Designer: Shunsuke Watanabe
Editor: Akari Saito

This will have one screening on Sunday, July 16 with the director and writer in attendance.

A cursed dark being with horns and a tail discovers a sleeping girl in a dark forest. As a cursed being he knows not to touch her as it would transfer his curse to the girl. He becomes her caretaker and takes her to live in an abandoned little house. Despite being complete opposites they slowly form a bond but is it one that can last? Why was the girl seemingly abandoned?

J-Drama Review: Boys On the Run

Boys on the Run / ボーイズ・オン・ザ・ラン (2012)
[9 episodes, approx. 45 mins each]
Directors: Jota Tsunehiro, Akihiro Karaki, Ken Higurashi
Writer: Yuya Takahashi
Cast: Ryuhei Maruyama, Akina Minami, Airi Taira, Eriko Sato, Takumi Saito,

This series was adapted from the manga by Kengo Hanazawa. I don’t know how closely this series follows the manga but it is a mixed bag in many different ways. But at least in its first half it subverts some typical underdog love story tropes with a good dose of cruel reality. Characters are flawed, especially the protagonist who does cringe-worthy things that will definitely make a viewer feel second-hand embarrassment.

The main protagonist, Toshiyuki, is a sex craving late 20s virgin who’s never had a girlfriend but somehow manages to attract the attention of a young female coworker, Chiharu, who just started working at the same company. He’s able to do so in spite of not only suggesting they do an unthinkable exchange of one of his porno videos for one of her favorite mangas during a drunken conversation at an izakaya. But just before it seems that their relationship can begin, he makes a mistake that she cannot forgive. Chiharu ends up with Aoyama, an employee at competing company whom was initially on friendly terms with Toshiyuki and was giving him dating advice. Toshiyuki decides he will fight Aoyama despite clearly having no chance of beating him.

J-Drama Review: What Did You Eat Yesterday?

What Did You Eat Yesterday? / きのう何食べた？[Kinou Nani Tabeta?] (2019)
[12 episodes, approx. 30 mins each]
Directors: Kazuhito Nakae, Katsumi Nojiri, Kenji Katagiri
Writer: Naoko Adachi
Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Seiyo Uchino

This is adapted from a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, whose work I have read and appreciated before. It was one of the main reasons I decided to watch this drama. Shiro (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Kenji (Sieyo Uchino) are a male gay couple who live together. Shiro is a lawyer and likes to cook dinner at home. Kenji is a hairdresser. The series looks at their everyday lives as gay men and the challenges they face but also shows how to cook various dishing in almost as much detail as a cooking show.

This is a light series with low stakes drama and little bits of comedy here and there. There are a few emotional moments and some of the challenges that gay people go through are shown in a matter of fact manner without sensationalism. There is no overarching story and each episode is mostly self contained with each having essentially a how-to cooking segment.

These works predicted our lives in 2020

Quarantine during these COVID-19 times was unexpected by many but I found some works from the past that predicted what our lives would be like now.

The 2m social distancing rule comes up in various Asian dramas.

Manager Han Kyul telling employee Eun Chan to keep a safe distance of 2m away in Coffee Prince (2007).

Senpai Naoki reminding kouhai Kotoko to walk 2m away from him in Itazura na Kiss (2013).

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Takeo-kun making sure to have adequate protection before kissing his best friend Sunakawa-kun in My Love Story!! (2015).

J-Drama Review: Princess Jellyfish [Recommended]

Princess Jellyfish / 海月姫 [Kurage hime] (2018)
[10 episodes, approx. 45 mins each]
Director: Junichi Ishikawa
Writer: Yuichi Tokunaga
Cast: Kyoko Yoshine, Koji Seto, Asuka Kudo, Haruka Kinami, Rio Uchida, Rena Matsui, Eriko Tomiyami, Rika Izumi, Jun Kaname
Japanese w/ English subtitles

This is based on a manga by Akiko Higashimura and has been adapted into different mediums. I first discovered the story when I watched the live action movie (2014), which I enjoyed a lot. Then some time later I watched the anime series which was originally released in 2010 and I also liked it. Despite being released much later, the live action movie covered more or less the same amount of story as the anime series. However, in both cases the manga series was still in progress and had not yet been completed. This meant that certain subplots like the romance were left unresolved.

I was surprised to discover this recent live action TV drama adaptation. The main advantage that this adaptation had going for it is that it had access to the story of the whole manga series which completed its run in 2017. I have never read the manga (although I definitely want to) but I think if you’re a fan of the anime or film then you’ll definitely want to check out this drama because it goes much farther into the story. By the end of episode 4 and into episode 5, the series has pretty much covered the story that was shown in the anime and the film.

Children of the Sea – film review – Nouveau cinema 2019

Children of the Sea / 海獣の子供 [Kaijū no kodomo] (2019)
Director: Ayumu Watanabe
Screenplay: Daisuke Igarashi
Producer: Eiko Tanaka
Cast: Mana Ashida, Gorô Inagaki, Hiiro Ishibashi, Seishû Uragami

Synopsis

This is based on a manga. It is about a young girl with an innate connection to ocean animals. Thinking she’s alone, she meets a couple of boys who were raised in the ocean by dugongs. Besides that unconventional upbringing there is are other odd things about he boys and the mystery related to them goes far beyond their upbringing.

Review

Visually and aurally the movie is quite amazing. With music composed by Joe Hisaishi, that also signals that the soundtrack will be excellent. Scenes of all the variety of sea creatures in the ocean to lush greenery and vibrant flower above ground, there’s no shortage of incredible art. There’s also fair amount of zoom effects and camera shifts which appear to be computer aided. The animation is very high quality overall.

Tokyo Ghoul ‘S’ – movie review – Fantasia 2019

Tokyo Ghoul ‘S’ / 東京喰種 トーキョーグール S [Tokyo Guru S ] (2019)
Director: Kazuhiko Hiramaki, Takuya Kawasaki
Writer: Chuji Mikasano
Cast: Masataka Kubota, Shota Matsuda, Maika Yamamoto

Synopsis

This sequel (although I doubt that’s what ‘S’ stands for) has Kaneki facing off against an uber foodie ghoul, Tsukiyama, nicknamed the “Gourmet” who becomes obsessed with Kaneki due to him being a hybrid of ghoul and human. Tsukiyama wants to eat Kaneki. Obviously Kaneki does not want to be eaten.

Review

While I’m tempted to say the ‘S’ stands for stupid, I don’t think this sequel is all bad but it is a step backwards. Before getting to why that is, this sequel makes several references to the first movie. The main plot is simple enough that it could be understood without watching the first movie but a lot of background will be lost on those who didn’t watch the first movie or don’t remember it. I strongly suggest that you watch the first movie before this one. The first movie establishes the world and characters and the sequel assumes you’re already aware of all that.