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Netflix continues to deliver the action thrills, with the streamer’s latest disaster movie rebooting the action thriller that went on to inspire the beloved ‘90s Keanu Reeves outing, Speed. Boasting the perfect no-nonsense title, Bullet Train Explosion is exactly what it sounds like, and drops audiences onto a train that cannot slow down...or it’ll explode.

This adrenaline-fueled tale hails from Shin Godzilla director, Shinji Higuchi, and is a reboot of the 1975 movie The Bullet Train. Bullet Train Explosion stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kanata Hosoda, Non, Jun Kaname, Machiko Ono, Hana Toyoshima, Daisuke Kuroda, Satoru Matsuo, Suzuka Ohgo, Matsuya Onoe, Naomasa Musaka, Pierre Taki, Yajuro Bando, Takumi Saitoh. The action outing has now landed a solid score of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics heaping praise on the balance of action and drama, as well as the movie’s ‘70s throwback sensibilities.

Bullet Train Explosion landed with a bang...

Even at their most fantastical, high-concept blockbusters can prompt audiences to contemplate what might happen if their circumstances took place in real life. Frequently, the question is as simple as what would “actually” happen or how an individual would react if presented with a larger-than-life situation. But after watching local, national or even worldwide forces respond to an emergency or incident, it becomes easy — even natural — to compare that effort to what the characters in a movie do when they leap into action.

In that regard, “Bullet Train Explosion” meets a believability threshold that feels virtually unparalleled. Like his previous film “Shin Godzilla,” director Shinji Higuchi’s follow-up to the 1975 Japanese film “The Bullet Train” explores with meticulous and realistic detail what a bureaucratic response might be to, well, a scenario that’s likely only to happen in the movies. Even without a movie star fighting his way up and...

Bullet Train Explosion (新幹線大爆破 in Japanese) is a gripping Japanese action thriller directed by Shinji Higuchi, the visionary filmmaker behind the acclaimed Shin Godzilla. This film offers a modern reimagining of the 1975 Japanese classic The Bullet Train (Shinkansen Daibakuha). That original film served as inspiration for the 1994 Hollywood hit Speed. Bullet Train Explosion plunges audiences into a terrifying scenario: a state-of-the-art Shinkansen hurtling towards Tokyo with a bomb aboard, programmed to detonate if the train dares to slow down.

Bullet Train Explosion is a remake that refuses to be just a mere remake, delving into social conflicts and modernizing the 1975 classic.

However, politicians don’t fare well in this film.

Non-Stop to Danger: The High-Stakes Plot

Tension ignites with a chilling phone call to the Shinkansen General Operation Control Center. An anonymous caller, their voice masked by a modulator, reveals a deadly secret: a bomb has been planted aboard the Hayabusa No.

Directed by veteran filmmaker Shinji Higuchi and starring singer-actor Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Bullet Train Explosion is the latest lively, highly-charged tentpole title on Netflix’s Japanese slate. Higuchi has made some of Japan’s biggest blockbusters, including Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman and Attack on Titan.

Bullet Train Explosion follows a ‘shinkansen’ (bullet train) bound for Tokyo, which soon comes under a bomb threat. The bombs on the train will explode if the train slows below 100 kph, leaving the passengers and crew in peril. The film is a reboot of the original 1975 movie The Bullet Train, which inspired the Hollywood blockbuster Speed — with the latter starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock.

Amid the high-octane, action-filled sequences, Higuchi’s film also offers up several moral questions about life’s dignity and worth.

“When we make a film, we can do many things,” Higuchi tells Deadline. “We’re like God — we can...

Netflix is releasing Bullet Train Explosion on April 23, a new film by director Shinji Higuchi that updates the premise of the 1975 Japanese thriller The Bullet Train. The film centers on a Tokyo-bound bullet train rigged with a bomb set to detonate if the train drops below 100 kilometers per hour. As the vehicle speeds toward its destination, railway personnel, government officials, and a diverse set of passengers work to prevent catastrophe.

The film’s antagonist, whose identity remains concealed behind a voice modulator, demands ¥100 billion to disarm the device. Higuchi, known for his earlier work on Shin Godzilla and Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan, has a long history of incorporating public infrastructure into cinematic large-scale destruction. Trains have featured prominently in several of his past projects, including Shin Godzilla, where a Keikyu line train is destroyed, and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, which marked his breakout in the world of tokusatsu special effects.

Pop quiz, hot shot: There’s a bomb on a bullet train. If the Shinkansen drops below 100 kilometers per hour, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do!?

Well, one thing you don’t do is confuse “The Bullet Train Explosion” for a “Speed” remake set in a country with a functional public transportation system. For one thing, this sleek Netflix spectacle is actually a remake of the 1975 Ken Takakura/Sonny Chiba vehicle that inspired “Speed,” even though “The Bullet Train” was itself a response to American disaster films like “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno” (pour one out for free trade).

For another thing, Shinji Higuchi’s glossy new version — as fawning toward the East Japan Railway Company as the “Shin Godzilla” director’s kaiju movies have been skeptical of the Japanese government — isn’t fueled by unleaded suspense so much as it is by the sheer...

"I won't stop the train, even if it kills me." It's Speed on a bullet train! Netflix has launched the full official trailer for the action thriller movie Bullet Train Explosion from Japan, ready to watch later this month streaming worldwide. This is a surprise remake / reboot of the 1975 Japanese action classic Bullet Train, which many action filmmakers have been influenced by (Speed was much later). It's the brand new modern Japanese update like Shin Godzilla, and yep, it's even directed by the same guy who co-directed Shin Godzilla, and made the most recent Shin Ultraman. When panic erupts on a Tokyo-bound bullet train (known as Shinkansen) planted with a bomb that will explode if it slows below 100 km/h, the authorities race against time to save everyone. Starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, with Kanata Hosoda, Non, Jun Kaname, Machiko Ono, Hana Toyoshima, and Daisuke Kuroda. Thanks to support from the East Japan Railway Company,...

Pop quiz, hotshot: What happens if you take the co-director of Shin Godzilla, give him the premise of Speed and the bones of the classic 70s Japanese action thriller that inspired it, and stump up some serious Netflix moolah to let him fully off the leash? Answer: Bullet Train Explosion. Yes, having gotten his kaiju on with big lad twofer Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman over the last near-decade, filmmaker Shinji Higuchi's latest is an incredibly does-what-it-says-on-the-tin titled Netflix remake of Jun'ya Satô's 1975 joint Bullet Train. The set-up is simple — there's a bomb hooked up to a Shinkansen train that'll detonate if its speed drops below 100km/h, and there's a ransom being demanded by the nutter who rigged it — and the trailer's a doozy. Check it out below;

Sweeping drone shots, fraught passengers and even more fraught crew, and, sure enough, some big ol' bullet train explosions...

From Shin Godzilla co-director Shinji Higuchi, Bullet Train Explosion crashes onto Netflix on April 23.

Go off the rails with the explosive teaser trailer below.

The film is a modern remake of the 1975 Japanese action thriller The Bullet Train, which inspired the ’90s hit Speed.

A tense phone call comes into the Shinkansen General Operation Control Center. The caller claims that a bomb has been planted on the Hayabusa No. 60 bound for Tokyo, and it will explode as soon as the speed of the Shinkansen train drops below 100 km/h.

The caller demands 100 billion yen to disarm the bomb. A battle unfolds as the crew, passengers, and railroad workers race against time to avert disaster.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi leads an ensemble that includes Kanata Hosoda, Non, Jun Kaname, Machiko Ono, Hana Toyoshima, Daisuke Kuroda, Satoshi Matsuo, Suzuka Ohgo, Matsuya Onoe, Naomasa Musaka, Pierre Taki, Bando Yajuro, and Takumi Saitoh.

Shin Godzilla assistant...

Netflixhas unleashed the first trailer for what’s sure to be their next explosive action movie delight. Continuing to deliver the action thrills and spills, the movie has already carved out something of a genre legacy, with the streamer rebooting the action thriller that went on to inspire the beloved ‘90s Keanu Reeves outing, Speed. Boasting the perfect no-nonsense title, Bullet Train Explosion is exactly what it sounds like, and drops audiences onto a train that must maintain its high speed...or it’ll explode.

This adrenaline-fueled tale of the train that couldn’t slow down hails from Shin Godzilla director, who has already proven his affinity for merging spectacular visuals with human drama in the acclaimed 2016 kaiju outing. A reboot of the the 1975 movie The Bullet Train, Bullet Train Explosion stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, who reunites with director Higuchi after Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan. The rest of the cast includes Kanata Hosoda,...

Shinji Higuchi, renowned for his dynamic storytelling and spectacular visuals as seen in “Shin Godzilla,” is gearing up to release his latest thriller, “Bullet Train Explosion,” on April 23. This modern-day reboot of the classic film stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, marking another collaboration with Higuchi since their last project, “Doomsday: The Sinking of Japan.”

Set aboard the Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa No. 60 en route to Tokyo, the film thrusts viewers into a high-stakes scenario where a bomb will detonate if the train’s speed falls below 100 km/h.

The teaser trailer offers a glimpse of the action, showcasing impressive VFX where the train shudders violently, hinting at an explosive crisis. As the conductor, played by Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, announces the danger, a desperate race against time begins, involving the crew, passengers, and the Shinkansen General Operation Control Center.

The film features a diverse cast alongside Kusanagi, including Kanata Hosoda as conductor Fujii and Non as the driver Matsumoto.

The new action thriller “Bullet Train Explosion”, directed by Shinji Higuchi, is a remake of the feature “The Bullet Train”, starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kanata Hosoda, Machiko Ono, Hana Toyoshima and Takumi Saitoh, streaming April 23, 2025 on Netflix:

“…tension mounts aboard the train ‘Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa No. 60’, bound for Tokyo, where a bomb is rigged to instantly detonate if the train's speed drops below 100 km/h.

“As panic grips the passengers following the announcement by conductor ‘Takaichi’…

“…the crew, passengers, and the ‘Shinkansen General Operation Control Center’ race against time to avert disaster.

“And then there is an explosion…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

"I will never stop it." Netflix has revealed a fantastic teaser trailer for an action thriller movie from Japan titled Bullet Train Explosion, arriving to watch pretty soon in April. This is a surprise remake / reboot of the 1975 Japanese action classic Bullet Train, which many action filmmakers have been influenced by. It's the brand new modern Japanese update like Shin Godzilla, and yep, it's even directed by the same guy who co-directed Shin Godzilla, and made the most recent Shin Ultraman. When panic erupts on a Tokyo-bound bullet train (known as Shinkansen) planted with a bomb that will explode if it slows below 100 km/h, the authorities race against time to save everyone. There's also an superb new poster showing Takaichi standing before the burning Hayabusa No. 60 train, capturing the extreme tension. Starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, with Kanata Hosoda, Non, Jun Kaname, Machiko Ono, Hana Toyoshima, and Daisuke Kuroda. This has some incredible footage,...

Netflix has revealed the complete ensemble cast and first teaser for “Bullet Train Explosion,” the upcoming thriller from “Shin Godzilla” co-director Shinji Higuchi.

While Tsuyoshi Kusanagi had previously been announced in the role of conductor Takaichi, the streaming giant has now disclosed the full roster of talent joining the project. Boarding the Tohoku Shinkansen Hayabusa No. 60 alongside Kusanagi are Kanata Hosoda as conductor Fujii, Non as driver Matsumoto, Machiko Ono as House of Representatives member Kagami, Jun Kaname as entrepreneurial YouTuber Todoroki, and Hana Toyoshima as student Yuzuki Onodera.

The supporting cast features passengers from diverse backgrounds, creating a cross-section of society trapped in the high-speed crisis. Takumi Saitoh completes the main cast as Kasagi, the general commanding officer of the Shinkansen General Operation Control Center coordinating rescue efforts.

Netflix’s newly released teaser showcases the film’s central premise: a bomb rigged to detonate instantly if the train’s speed drops below 100 km/h.

Netflix has revealed its 2025 slate of Japanese films and television series, with the streamer offering a rich mix of period series, action films and intriguing unscripted offerings.

The standout highlight from the lineup, and a potential breakout global hit, is the period series Last Samurai Standing. The series hails from filmmakers Michihito Fujii, Kento Yamaguchi and Toru Yamamoto and could appeal to fans of both FX’s Shogun and Netflix’s Squid Game with its survivalist premise and period setting. Junichi Okada leads the cast in this story that takes place at the tail end of the samurai era in Japan and is about 292 warriors who are invited to compete to the death for a cash prize. Last Samurai Standing is an adaptation of Shogo Imamura’s novel Ikusagami, which has already been adapted into a popular manga series.

‘Last Man Standing’

Hirokazu Koreeda’s Asura is among the streamer...

Netflix has unveiled its Japanese content slate for 2025, headlined by “Last Samurai Standing,” a period drama featuring 300 samurai warriors gathered at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, lured by the promise of a 100 billion yen prize. The series stars Junichi Okada, who serves as lead actor, producer and action choreographer.

“When most people think about samurai, they think about this very glamorous period in Japanese history,” says Netflix Japan content head Kaata Sakamoto. “But what a lot of people don’t realize is that, towards the end of the Edo period, the samurai lost a lot of their glamour and their power. ‘Last Samurai Standing’ is about what would happen if these warriors — the toughest and best in Japan — all of a sudden became common people and had to fight for their lives. Think ‘Shōgun’ meets ‘Squid Game.'”

The streaming giant’s lineup includes “Alice in Borderland” returning for its third season in September,...

A classic family drama in Koreeda’s style with a touch of thriller, “Light of My Lion” offers a thoughtful exploration of some challenging family dynamics. First broadcast in October 2024 on Japan’s TBS Television under a Japanese title meaning Lion’s Den, the series is now fully available on Netflix.

Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

Brothers Hiroto (Yuya Yagira) and Michito (Ryota Bando) form a small family unit or – better – a “pride” as Michito likes to remark. Michito, nicknamed Mi, is on the autism spectrum and although rather high-functioning, has been cared for by his older brother since their parents both passed away in an accident a few years earlier. In fact, Hiroto has been sacrificing most of his personal life to accommodate Michito’s needs since they were small children. However, there are no regrets, and the two live a seemingly happy life...

When their aging father’s affair brings four sisters back together, it rocks the foundations of their family. Written and directed by Cannes winner and Oscar nominee Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), the seven-episode domestic drama Asura stars Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, and Suzu Hirose. It’s based on writer Kuniko Mukōda’s 1970s miniseries Like Asura.

Stream all episodes now.

Check it out at the top of this page.

One winter day in Tokyo, the four Takezawa sisters — ikebana teacher Tsunako (Miyazawa), homemaker Makiko (Ono), librarian Takiko (Aoi), and restaurant server Sakiko (Hirose) — get together for the first time in a long while to discuss the exploits of their father, Kotaro (Kunimura). Takiko tells her siblings that Kotaro has been having a lengthy affair and even had a child out of wedlock. While the women are hesitant to believe Takiko, they promise to hide the allegation from their mother,...

Based on a collection of stories titled “You’re a Good Kid” by Hatsue Nakawaki, “Being Good” tells the story of a number of characters, inside and outside of an elementary school.

Okano is a newly graduated teacher who tries to communicate with his students while facing a plethora of crises. A boy wets himself because he is scared of asking for permission to go to the toilet; a girl is bullied because she is timid; a boy is victim to domestic violence, an issue that has made him distant. Moreover, every method he tries to solve these problems ends up with him being in trouble, by both parents and his superiors. Particularly in the last case, Okano almost becomes himself a victim of violence, when he confronts the boy’s father. The solution however, comes to him in the form of his sister’s young son, who manages to...

Despite the accolades and the occasionally triumphant comments from all over, Koreeda’s films after “Shoplifters” did not reach the level of his masterpieces. “Asura” however, a 7-episode series which was adapted from the 1979 drama titled “Ashura no Gotoku” and is now streaming on Netflix, is definitely masterful. Even more so, it proves that even a material that is soapy in its basis, can become something outstanding in the hands of the Japanese master.

Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix

The story takes place in the end of the 70s and revolves around four sisters. Tsunako is the oldest and a widow who is handling the flower arrangement in a restaurant, while retaining an affair with the owner, Sadaharu, who is running it along with his wife. She also has a son who is away while she also teaches ikebana. Eventually she is fired from the restaurant due to financial issues,...

Netflix's Asura has an impactful story anchored by great performances from its four lead stars: Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, and Suzu Hirose.

The seven-part drama series is based on Kuniko Mukōda's novel, Ashura no Gotoku, which revolves around four sisters who discover their father's affair.

As they try their best to hide the heartbreaking secret from their mother, more unnerving details about the sisters' lives are unearthed.

Read full article on The Direct.

Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest Netflix series, Asura, has been received very well – thanks to the brilliant storytelling, masterful direction, and fantastic acting performances by the cast. In this article, we’re going to look into who is playing what in the show and talk about the character for a bit.

Jun Kunimura as Kotaro

Veteran actor Jun Kunimura — whose most famous work is playing the Japanese priest in Korean director Na Hong-Jin’s The Wailing (2016), which I considered to be the greatest horror movie of this generation — plays Kotaro in Asura. The show begins with Takako discovering her seventy-something father – Kotaro – being unfaithful to her mother for a long time and even having a child. Kunimura is quite fantastic in the role, where most of the acting is done by expression and not words.

Keiko Matsuzaka as Fuji

Keiko Matsuzaka, who has a sprawling career and was also...

“Doesn’t everyone have something they’re not proud of?” This question, asked by the eldest sister Tsunako in the new trailer for Asura, sets the tone for a series that dives into family secrets and personal struggles. The Japanese drama remake, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, will premiere on January 9 and promises to engage audiences with its powerful story and talented cast.

The main cast includes Jun Kunimura as the sisters’ father Kotaro, Keiko Matsuzaka as their mother Fuji, and Masahiro Motoki as Makiko’s (Machiko Ono) husband Takao. Ryuhei Matsuda plays Katsumata, a private investigator who has feelings for Takiko (Yu Aoi).

Kisetsu Fujiwara appears as Sakiko’s (Suzu Hirose) boxer boyfriend Hide, while Seiyo Uchino portrays Sadaharu, a restaurant owner secretly involved with Tsunako (Rie Miyazawa). These supporting characters shine alongside the four sisters, building excitement for their on-screen dynamics.

Other notable roles include Yui Natsukawa as the wife of Tsunako’s lover,...

Premiering on January 9, Asura brings a fresh take on the classic Japanese family drama Like Asura, with top Japanese actors like Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, and Suzu Hirose.

Directed and written by Hirokazu Kore-eda (known for Shoplifters and Our Little Sister) and produced by Yasuo Yagi, the show offers a relatable look at family life and universal relationships. A newly released opening video shows the story’s 1970s setting, keeping the drama’s original feel.

The original Like Asura, written by the late screenwriter Kuniko Mukoda, set the stage for Japanese family dramas. Set in 1979, it follows four sisters — Tsunako, Makiko, Takiko, and Sakiko — as they deal with the shock of their elderly father’s affair.

Like the “asura,” or fierce demigods from Buddhist stories, the sisters experience a storm of emotions, sometimes clashing but also finding deep connections. As they each navigate their own views on love and life,...

Written and directed by Palme d’Or-winning auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, Netflix’s Asura will premiere on January 9, 2025, the streamer said.

The Japanese series stars Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi, and Suzu Hirose.

Based on the novel Ashura no Gotoku by Kuniko Mukoda, Asura tells the story of four sisters: ikebana teacher Tsunako (Miyazawa), housewife Makiko (Ono), librarian Takiko (Aoi) and waitress Sakiko (Hirose). On one winter day, they gather together for the first time in a long while.

Takiko suspects that their aging father, Kotaro, has a lover and child. While the other sisters find this unbelievable, they promise to keep this from their mother, Fuji. However, this commotion brings to light various conflicts and secrets that lurk in the women’s lives.

The novel was adapted into a TV miniseries on Japanese broadcaster Nhk in 1979 and a feature film titled Like Asura in 2003.

The streamer added that like the “asura,...

Japanese art-house star Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Monster) is re-teaming with Netflix to write and direct Asura, a contemporary remake of a classic Japanese family drama series from the late 1970s. Starring popular actresses Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi and Suzu Hirose, the show has already finished production and will launch on Netflix on Jan. 9.

Kore-eda and his team have approached the series as a tribute to the influential Japanese TV writer Kuniko Mukoda, who scripted the original Like Asura and several other landmarks in the early days of the J-drama genre.

“With great respect for Mukoda and her influence on his career, Kore-eda infuses Asura with his unique vision, highlighting the independence and complexity of women,” Netflix said in a statement.

Notes Kore-eda: “What makes Kuniko Mukoda’s dramas so rich are the superficial poison exchanged in conversation and the love hidden behind those cruel words. The...

It feels appropriate that Tomoki Kanazawa’s “Sabakan” is set in the summer of 1986: the year Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me” was released. And while the two films end up very different, the Nagasaki-set family film starts with a very similar character dynamic.

Sabakan is screening at Camera Japan

Takaaki (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) is a struggling writer and divorcee. Suffering from writer’s block, he reminisces about the summer of 1986, when a shared experience with a classmate had a lasting impact. Kenji (Konosuke Harada) is from a poorer background than most at school; the eldest of five siblings of a struggling widow. While others tease Kenji, Takaaki (the younger played by Ichiro Banke) remains straight-faced. A fact that Kenji notices.

Unexpectedly that summer, Kenji drops in on Takaaki to take him to nearby Boomerang Island, where there have been recent sightings of dolphins. Along the way, they encounter delinquents,...

Japan Society announces Amiko directed by Yusuke Morii as the winner of the third Obayashi Prize at Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film. The film is selected from titles within Next Generation—the festival's sole competitive section introduced in 2020 dedicated to independently produced narrative feature films from emerging filmmakers in Japan.

The festival's only juried section, Next Generation awards the Obayashi Prize to the most accomplished title as determined by a jury of industry professionals. This year's distinguished jurors are: critic and essayist Moeko Fujii; Dan Sullivan, programmer at Film at Lincoln Center; and distributor Pearl Chan. The jury remarks:

“As Amiko peeks into calligraphy class watching other children practice discipline and character building, they play a game of who can spot her first. She is too much, too loud; she cannot be held inside the lines and there is no language to describe her. This is where the...

Winner of the Fipresci Prize in last year's Biff, Nao Kubota's “Thousand and One Nights” takes on a subject that has been dealt with in the Japanese cinema of the past, as in Shohei Imamura's “ A Man Vanishes” for example, but not so much in recent productions, regarding the sudden disappearances of men throughout Japan.

“Thousand and One Nights” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia

Tomiko Wakamatsu, a woman in her 60s, is working in the fish industry in the island of Sado, located in the Sea of Japan not far from Niigata. Her life, however, has been on hold for more than three decades now, since her husband Satoshi disappeared. Not being able to move forward, Tomiko is still searching and waiting, although a local man, Haruo, is quite keen on marrying her, something that both his mother, and a number of other people from the island insist on,...

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association held the 46th edition of its awards ceremony on March 10, 2023. The nominees are selected by industry professionals from the pool of film releases between January 1 and December 31, 2022 which must have screened in Tokyo cinemas. Award categories are modelled after Hollywood's Academy Awards®.

Following its success at the recent Blue Ribbon Awards, and leading with 13 nominations in 12 categories, Kei Ishikawa's “A Man” walks away with 8 Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The full list of winners is described below.

Picture of the Year

A Man

Shin Ultraman

Phases of the Moon

Anime Supremacy!

Wandering

Team from A Man Animation of the Year

Inu-Oh

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Suzume

One Piece Film Red

The First Slam Dunk

Director of the Year

Kei Ishikawa – A Man

Takashi Koizumi – The Pass: Last...

Coming-of-age dramas often focus on challenges that affect us all and how they can be overcome. But Yusuke Morii's “Amiko” focuses very much on a child that isn't like anyone else, and as such, those around her don't know how to deal with her, as a story of a unique life sees a unique comedy in a strong directorial debut.

Amiko (Kana Osawa) lives in a suburb of Hiroshima with her father (Arata Iura), pregnant mother (Machiko Ono) and older brother. They have what appears to be a very simple life of a young family, with a humble father, diligent mother and caring older brother for his eccentric and enthusiastic little sister. But tragic events strike, and the family all have their lives shaken up. All that is, apart from the naïve and bright-eyed Amiko.

While the rest of the family show clear signs of grief, Amiko is still...

One of the prestigious national cinema awards in Japan presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, the 65th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards announced its winners on February 24, 2023. The nominees are selected from movies released in 2022 within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Leading with 6 nominations, A Man by Kei Ishikawa, wins Best Film while Plan 75 by Chie Hayakawa picks up Best Director and Best Actress for Chieko Baisho. The full list of winners is described below.

Best Film

A Man

Kingdom 2: To Distant Lands

Small, Slow But Steady

Missing

Silent Parade

Dr Coto’s Clinic

Plan 75

Motherhood

Fragments of the Last Will

Wandering

A Man Best Director

Kei Ishikawa – A Man

Shinzo Katayama – Missing

Takahisa Zeze – Tombi: Father and Son; Fragments of the Last Will

Chie Hayakawa – Plan 75

Ryuichi Hiroki – 2 Women, Motherhood; Phases of the Moon

Best Actor

Sadao Abe – Lesson in Murder; I am...

Quite a different romantic movie than the usual style of the category, “The Tale of Nishino” essentially begins with the death of the protagonist, after hanging out with ex-girlfriend Natsumi and her daughter Minami, and then makes a flash forward ten years later when Nishino returns as a ghost to Minami, with the two attending his funeral. There the girl talks to a friend of his, who shares a rather extensive story about his past, and particularly his relationship with a number of women, all of which, though, ended up dumping him.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The unusual story is based on the homonymous novel by Hiromi Kawakami, and for the most part, focuses on the everyday life of Nishino, the fact that many women found themselves attracted to him, and his effort to not say no to anyone, which actually is the...

Director of some of the best Japanese movies we have seen after 2010, with titles like “The Great Passage” and “The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue” under his belt, Yuya Ishii seems, however, to be experiencing an out of form recently, with his last works being interesting, but not on the same level with the aforementioned, for example. Let us see how he fared with his latest work, “A Madder Red”.

“A Madder Red” is screening at Nippon Connection

The film begins with a car crash that sends Yoichi, lead singer of a band, husband of Ryoko and father of a young boy named Junpei, to death. 7 years later, the boy is now a middle school student who is facing bullying for his mother’s work, since the fact that she is a sexual worker seems to have been revealed. Ryoko, however, also covers the expenses of her father-in-law,...

The concept of motherhood, and particularly the questions of if all women should be able to be one, and what is the impact of parenthood in the shaping of children, is one that has been presented repeatedly in Japanese cinema, with films like “Sunk Into the Womb” giving some of the darkest answers to these questions. Takahisa Zeze also examines the concept in “Tomorrow’s Dinner Table”, in an adaptation of the homonymous novel by Michiko Yazuki.

“Tomorrow’s Dinner Table” is screening as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme

Rumiko is a freelance writer, married to freelance photographer Yutaka. Her blog is quite popular, as her “ramblings” about her constantly fighting children (the older boy seems to be perpetually angry while the youngest cannot stop crying) resonate with a number of mothers, although she also has to face another issue, since her husband does not seem to...

7 years ago, Yoichi (Joe Odagiri) died in a traffic accident. His wife Ryoko (Machiko Ono) did not receive compensation from her husband’s death. She has since raised her son Junpei (Iori Wada) by herself. Junpei is now a middle school student. Ryoko also cares for her father-in-law, who lives in a nursing home and she also runs a cafe. Her care is in a difficult situation due to Covid-19, while Junpei experiences bullying at school.

Based on Keigo Higashino’s 2012 novel of the same name, “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store” is the first of two adaptations of Higashino’s book, the second being Han Jie’s “Namiya” starring Jackie Chan. Hiroki’s cinematic take on this intricately woven tale is presented wonderfully thanks to some strong performances and a carefully structured narrative.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is screening at Japan Society

For many years, Yuuji Namiya (Toshiyuki Nishida) answered letters from strangers asking for advice and left his responses in the milk box outside his general store. Now, in 2012, Atsuya (Ryosuke Yamada), Shota (Nijiro Murakami), and Kohei (Kanichiro Sato), take refuge in the abandoned shop while on the run from the law. The arrival of a letter in the dead of night prompts the trio into leaving, yet they’re unable to get away from the run-down shop. By deciding to respond to the letter,...

A Fistful Of Dollars Welcome to this week's Stay-At-Home Seven suggestions of films to catch on television and streaming services. As always, you can read last week's column here. Plus check out our Streaming Spotlight on cinematic battles that defy expectations.

Like Father, Like Son, Film4, 1.30am, Tuesday, November 17

Keita (Keita Ninomiya) is a bright six-year-old whose workaholic dad Ryota (Masaharu Fukuyama) likes control and order. He's not a bad man but he likes things to stay in place. So when the hospital where Keita was born calls to say they need to set up a meeting, he tells his wife Midori (Machiko Ono - who more or less bends to his every whim - "I hope it's nothing messy." Sadly for him, it's something very messy indeed - the news that his son is not really his son at all but rather a child belonging to provincial shopkeepers Yukari and Yudai.

Ten years after becoming the youngest winner of the Camera d’Or, Naomi Kawase returned to Cannes and claimed the Grand Prix, for the “Mourning Forest”, a film focusing on grief as experienced in Buddhism.

The movie is split in two acts. The first takes place in a retirement home, where most of the patients suffer from senile dementia. The two protagonists of the story are a caregiver, Machiko, and Shigeki, a senile old man who frequently acts as a child, sometimes with bad consequences. Soon, the two of them start to connect through their grief, as Machiko is mourning her lost child and Shigeki his dead wife. Eventually, they decide to take a drive in the country, but after an accident, they find themselves in a two-day journey to the forest, and in a number of dangerous situations. The trip, however, provides them both with catharsis.

Masanori Tominaga, known from his documentary “The Echo of Astro Boy’s Footsteps” (2011) about Matsuo Ohno and narratives like “Pandora’s Box” (2009), which was based on a story written by Osamu Dazai, returns to the silver screen with a biopic about Akira Suei, Japan’s famous erotic-magazine editor. Even though the erotic images – including the work of Nobuyoshi Araki – were the main attraction of New Self, Weekend Super, and Shashin Jidai, these magazines also featured articles about various underground cultural phenomena and the work of distinguished writers like Genpei Akasegawa and Shigesato Itio. Now, With Tominaga’s adaptation of Suei’s biographical essay “Suteki na Dainamaito Sukyandaru” (1982), we finally get a chance to explore the life of one of the most controversial editors of the eighties.

Dynamite Graffity is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival

It took only one explosion to radically change the subjective trajectory of...

Eureka! Entertainment has announced the latest titles to join its revered Masters of Cinema label, with highlights including Josef von Sternberg’s The Saga of Anatahan and Naomi Kawase’s The Mourning Forest. The last film directed by von Sternberg, already in the collection with The Blue Angel and The Last Command, The Saga of Anatahan (also known as simply Anatahan) is the story of 12 Japanese soldiers, marooned on a remote island during WWII, who tear each other apart over control of two pistols and a beautiful local woman. The film will be receive a dual-format release on 14 August. Cannes darling Naomi Kawase won the Grand Prix in 2007 for The Mourning Forest, the story of a bereaved care-giver (Machiko Ono) who embarks...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Japanese movie distributor, Gaga Corporation, has won the distribution rights for the international release of the upcoming horror thriller, Museum, by director Keishi Otomo (Rurouni Kenshin). The movie will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros, Japan, and is due for release on 12th November.

Based off the cult-favorite manga of the same name, Museum is a tautly drawn out thriller in which the detective, Hisashi Sawamura, becomes embroiled in a serial-killer case that that threatens to become personal and draw members of his family into the sordid and dangerous affair.

Shun Oguri (Crows Zero, Kisaragi) is confirmed to star as the lead detective, while Machiko Ono (Like Father, Like Son, Climbers High) is to play the estranged wife. It has yet to be revealed who plays the serial killer.

Director, Keishi Otomo, is an experienced hand at converting manga into live action pieces, having previously directed the Samurai drama series,...

Exclusive: The manga adaptation stars Shun Oguri.

Japan’s Gaga Corporation has snagged the international distribution rights to director Keishi Otomo’s upcoming horror thriller Museum.

Based on the cult manga, the film stars Crows Zero star Shun Oguri as a detective hunting down a serial killer. Machiko Ono, who starred in director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Like Father, Like Son, will play his estranged wife. The actor who will play the mysterious serial killer has yet to be revealed.

Warner Bros Pictures Japan will roll out the film domestically on November 12.

Otomo is no stranger to turning manga into live action dramas. He previously directed the Rurouni Kenshin series of samurai dramas.

Gaga’s slate also includes Kore-eda’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title After The Storm, which it is co-distributing with Wild Bunch and manga adaptations Itazurana Kiss The Movie and Ū-ki Yamato’s Drowning Love.

In May, the company picked up international rights to its...

The proverbial Top Ten List. A sacred tradition passed down by our cinematic elders. This is the fourth time I have partaken in this holy tradition, and one thing has remained constant is that this list is never set in stone. As we catch up with more films we missed or rewatch our favorites it causes us to like a movie more or less causing this list to change. In fact in 2012 and 2013 I ended up seeing my number one film of the year after I wrote up my Top 10. So the question becomes, “Why Do it?”. Well, for one it’s fun. At least I find it an enjoyable exercise as I try to break down the year that was. I watched 163 movies that were released in 2014. Narrowing that 163 down to a Top 10 is a challenge I enjoy.

Looking at 2014 as a whole it is evident it was a pretty good year.

Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Rirî Furankî, Jun Fubuki, Shôgen Hwang, Kirin Kiki, Jun Kunimura | Written and Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda

When a family is having a baby one thing they do is trust the hospital they choose to look after the mother and baby. What if something happens in that hospital though and the babies are swapped? I know this is something we often see in “true life story” movies, but when the film comes from Japan and is from globally acclaimed director Hirokazu Koreeda you know get the feeling that you may be in for something just a little special. That is what you get with Like Father, Like Son (Soshite Chichi Ni Naru).

When Ryota (Masaharu Fukuyama) and Midori (Machiko Ono) receive a phone call from the hospital where their son was born their lives are turned upside down when they are told that the...

It's no surprise that director Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Like Father, Like Son" picked up the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and that jury president Steven Spielberg promptly bought the rights to a Us remake. This trenchant and humane family drama bears the mark of a master craftsmen whose sharp cinematic style never overshadows a sensitivity to the inner lives of everyday people.Though the setup, like the title, smacks of melodrama, the story unfolds believably as two sets of parents living in Tokyo learn from a blood test that their children were accidentally swapped at the hospital. For six years, Ryota (Masaharu Fukuyama), a workaholic architect, and wife Midori (Machiko Ono) have raised young son Keita (Keita Ninomiya). But he was never theirs to begin with.Keita biologically belongs to Yudai and Yukari, two shopkeepers who have Ryota's real son, Ryusei. Kore-eda wisely skirts the obvious cultural commentary...

Title: Like Father, Like Son Director: Hirokazu Koreeda Starring: Masaharu Fukuyama, Yoko Maki, Jun Kunimura, Machiko Ono, Kirin Kiki, Isao Natsuyagi, Lily Franky, Jun Fubuki, Megumi Morisaki. Director Hirokazu Koreeda depicts a touching, poetic and harrowing adventure through parenthood. What makes a child similar to his parents? Does the blood-line prevail over living every day of your life raising a child, even if he doesn’t share your lineage? These questions are explored with great delicacy and veracity in ‘Like Father, Like Son.’ Nonomiya Ryota is a man who has established himself in his profession, he is very hard working and extremely competitive. One day he is called with his wife [ Read More ]

The post Like Father, Like Son Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

This is the full trailer for Japan's live-action big screen adaptation of of the anime film Kiki's Delivery Service. I have to admit the trailer put a smile on my face. It looks like it will be an adorable film. The story follows "a young girl named Kiki who must leave her home for a year to begin training in witchcraft. After saying goodbye to her friends and family Kiki leaves on her broom and begins her new life in the town of Koriko seaside with her trusted cat Jiji."

Anime fans, there will be slight changes from the story told in the anime as the live-action Kiki's Delivery Service will be based on Kadono's first two volumes while the 1989 anime from Studio Ghibli only covered the first. There are six collected volumes in total that chronicle the tales of Kiki and her black cat Jiji so it seems likely...

Kiki’s Delivery Service Trailer. Takashi Shimizu‘s Kiki’s Delivery Service (2013) movie trailer stars Fuka Koshiba, Machiko Ono, and Hiroshi Yamamoto. Kiki’s Delivery Service‘s plot synopsis: “The story follows a young girl named Kiki (Fuka Koshiba) who must leave her home for a year to begin training in witchcraft. After saying goodbye to [...]

Continue reading: Kiki’S Delivery Service (2013) Movie Trailer: Live-Action Film Version...

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便), based on the children's fantasy novel by Eiko Kadono, is directed by Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge franchise) and stars Fuka Koshiba, Machiko Ono, Hiroshi Yamamoto. The film is slated for theatrical release in Japan on March 1st, 2014. The story follows a young girl named Kiki (Fuka Koshiba) who must leave her home for a year to begin training in witchcraft. After saying goodbye to her friends and family Kiki leaves on her broom and begins her new life in the town of Koriko seaside with her trusted cat Jiji. Kiki's Delivery Service was also adapted into an animated film by acclaimed director and Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. Released in an English-dubbed version by Disney in 1998, with Kirsten Dunst as Kiki and the late Phil Hartman as...