The Butt Detective is back—and this time, it's personal. A new film based on the beloved children's book and anime series debuts in Japan later this month, delving into the story of Oshiri Tantei's life before teaming up with his current partner, Brown. Titled Farewell, My Dear Oshiri , the film features a guest turn from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time star Riisa Naka as Daffodil, the detective's former partner. Take a look at the new trailer, which also features Kenjiro Tsuda (Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen ) as Daffodil's mentor Kinmoku: Related: Baikinman and Anpanman Team Up in New Anpanman Anime Movie Trailer The original Oshiri Tantei books are penned by author Troll. Since 2018, the books have been adapted into TV anime, shorts, and films. This marks the franchise's fifth movie. Oshiri Tantei the Movie: Farewell, My Dear Oshiri will debut in Japan Source: Comic Natalie...
- 3/1/2024
- by Kara Dennison
- Crunchyroll
"Humans forget us. There's no getting around that. There is but little time for you." Studio Ponoc in Japan has unveiled an official trailer for their latest fantasy adventure movie called The Imaginary, their second feature after Mary and the Witch's Flower previously (and the anthology project Modest Heroes). Based on the novel "The Imaginary" by A.F. Harrold, this was originally set to release in 2022 - we featured the first teaser trailer back in 2021. After being delayed for a few years, it's now set for open in Japan in December 2023, and sometime in 2024 for the rest of the world. An imaginary friend must return to his creator before he is forgotten or captured by an evil man who can see imaginary friends. "Can a boy who isn't there survive without a friend to dream him up?" The main Japanese voice cast includes Kokoro Terada, Rio Suzuki, Sakura Ando, Riisa Naka,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Let’s Get Divorced was released on 22nd June 2023 on Netflix, and will there be a season 2 or not? Let’s find out the details you need to know about the series.
If at any time you are confused that which series or movies you should go to watch ahead then I think you must always go with rom-com because they are perfect to suit every of your mood!!! So I should add one more to your list and that is Let’s Get Divorced Season 2!!!!!!
It’s about fledgling politician Taishi Shoji played by Tori Matsuzaka and beloved television actress Yui which is played by Riisa Naka trying to part ways after the former is snapped in public with a young reporter, Sakurako played by Lisa Oda.
As the title of the series itself suggest that it is something about partners who are trying to part ways but some twist come...
If at any time you are confused that which series or movies you should go to watch ahead then I think you must always go with rom-com because they are perfect to suit every of your mood!!! So I should add one more to your list and that is Let’s Get Divorced Season 2!!!!!!
It’s about fledgling politician Taishi Shoji played by Tori Matsuzaka and beloved television actress Yui which is played by Riisa Naka trying to part ways after the former is snapped in public with a young reporter, Sakurako played by Lisa Oda.
As the title of the series itself suggest that it is something about partners who are trying to part ways but some twist come...
- 7/4/2023
- by Bhavi Parihar
- https://dailyresearchplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/new-sam
Let’s Get Divorced; a Japanese Netflix series offers an unusually unsettling concept for a rom-com.
Taishi Shoji (Tori Matsuzaka) and famous television actress Yui (Riisa Naka) strive to reconcile when the former is seen in public with a young reporter, Sakurako (Lisa Oda).
However, their circumstances do not allow for a clean divorce, so various personal dramas and conflicting subplots conspire against the divorce throughout nine overlong episodes.
Let’s Get Divorced: Do Taishi and Yui Divorce? South Morning China Post
Despite working tirelessly and doing all in his power, Taishi is defeated by Soda by a few hundred votes. It tears his heart, but he continues to thank everyone who has supported him, and his team cheers for him.
When Taishi and Yui are alone, he gives her the divorce paperwork they both completed. Taishi doesn’t argue when Yui informs him that they should file it. They...
Taishi Shoji (Tori Matsuzaka) and famous television actress Yui (Riisa Naka) strive to reconcile when the former is seen in public with a young reporter, Sakurako (Lisa Oda).
However, their circumstances do not allow for a clean divorce, so various personal dramas and conflicting subplots conspire against the divorce throughout nine overlong episodes.
Let’s Get Divorced: Do Taishi and Yui Divorce? South Morning China Post
Despite working tirelessly and doing all in his power, Taishi is defeated by Soda by a few hundred votes. It tears his heart, but he continues to thank everyone who has supported him, and his team cheers for him.
When Taishi and Yui are alone, he gives her the divorce paperwork they both completed. Taishi doesn’t argue when Yui informs him that they should file it. They...
- 7/1/2023
- by Mantisha
- https://dailyresearchplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/new-sam
“Let’s Get Divorced” is a Japanese series on Netflix starring Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, and Yuka Itaya.
The show is a comedy that prioritizes entertainment, amusement, and distraction from everyday life. It explores the problems of divorce, but without moralizing. The show is enjoyable, straightforward, and it’s almost impossible not to like the two main characters despite their differences.
The plot revolves around a couple who no longer love each other and wants to get a divorce. Despite their optimism, external circumstances make it challenging to achieve their goal. They must work together to navigate these obstacles and reach their desired outcome.
The show offers a pleasant view of modern Japan, where characters are caught between traditional and modern ways of life. It’s a comedy that lets two great actors do what they do best, making the audience laugh with their eccentric performances and comedic situations.
The show is a comedy that prioritizes entertainment, amusement, and distraction from everyday life. It explores the problems of divorce, but without moralizing. The show is enjoyable, straightforward, and it’s almost impossible not to like the two main characters despite their differences.
The plot revolves around a couple who no longer love each other and wants to get a divorce. Despite their optimism, external circumstances make it challenging to achieve their goal. They must work together to navigate these obstacles and reach their desired outcome.
The show offers a pleasant view of modern Japan, where characters are caught between traditional and modern ways of life. It’s a comedy that lets two great actors do what they do best, making the audience laugh with their eccentric performances and comedic situations.
- 6/22/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
"Let’s Get Divorced", directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue, is a new romantic 'sitcom' TV series, streaming June 22. 2023 on Netflix:
".. a rookie politician and his ambitious film actress wife struggle with their marriage life and decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. But the couple are highly optimistic about getting a divorce and getting on with their lives..."
Cast includes Tori Matsuzaka as 'Taishi Shoji', a philandering, third-generation politician with a sheltered upbringing and Riisa Naka plays his actress wife 'Yui Kurosawa'.
Click the images to enlarge...
".. a rookie politician and his ambitious film actress wife struggle with their marriage life and decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. But the couple are highly optimistic about getting a divorce and getting on with their lives..."
Cast includes Tori Matsuzaka as 'Taishi Shoji', a philandering, third-generation politician with a sheltered upbringing and Riisa Naka plays his actress wife 'Yui Kurosawa'.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 4/19/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
The twisted competition at the center of "Alice in Borderland" is back, and it looks like the games aren't done just yet. A "super teaser trailer" for season 2 of the popular show, which is based on the manga series of the same name by Haro Aso, was revealed during Netflix's Tudum fan event, and it looks like we're in for another wild ride.
The teaser shows the return of protagonists Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) after that massive cliffhanger at the end of the last season. After completing a number of increasingly deadly challenges, they learned to their dismay that there are even more coming as the games enter a second phase. We also get our first look at some of the other contestants roped into the games, as well as shots of the sadistic gamemaster Mira (Riisa Naka), who looks to be a more menacing presence this season.
The teaser shows the return of protagonists Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) after that massive cliffhanger at the end of the last season. After completing a number of increasingly deadly challenges, they learned to their dismay that there are even more coming as the games enter a second phase. We also get our first look at some of the other contestants roped into the games, as well as shots of the sadistic gamemaster Mira (Riisa Naka), who looks to be a more menacing presence this season.
- 9/24/2022
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
Netflix has greenlit a trio of series across Japan, Australia and Taiwan, featuring top talent.
Japanese sitcom “Let’s Get Divorced” follows a rookie politician and his actor wife who struggle with their marriage life and they decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. It is co-written by Japan’s top scriptwriters Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi and the cast includes Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.
The series is directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue and the TBS Sparkle production is produced by Aki Isoyama and Itsumi Katsuno with Naomi Satoh executive producing for Netflix. It will bow in 2023.
“Boy Swallows Universe” is an adaptation of bestselling Australian author Trent Dalton’s novel of the same name. “‘Boy Swallows Universe’ is about a boy who receives a message on a...
Japanese sitcom “Let’s Get Divorced” follows a rookie politician and his actor wife who struggle with their marriage life and they decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. It is co-written by Japan’s top scriptwriters Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi and the cast includes Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.
The series is directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue and the TBS Sparkle production is produced by Aki Isoyama and Itsumi Katsuno with Naomi Satoh executive producing for Netflix. It will bow in 2023.
“Boy Swallows Universe” is an adaptation of bestselling Australian author Trent Dalton’s novel of the same name. “‘Boy Swallows Universe’ is about a boy who receives a message on a...
- 3/4/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Three siblings live on a secluded island known as “brothel island” and run the family business with four prostitutes. The oldest brother Tetsuo (Jiro Sato) manages the brothel but has a brutal and violent personality. The younger brother Tokuta (Takayuki Yamada) acts as Tetsuo’s subordinate, while the younger sister Ibuki (Riisa Naka) lives in the brothel dealing with a chronic illness. The family hides a cruel past.
The film is written and directed by Jiro Sato, an adaptation from his own 2009 stage play. It has been released in Japan in 2020-21.
Film review: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/11/transcendental-story-of-prostitution-jiro-sato-draws-a-family-portrait-in-a-brothel/...
The film is written and directed by Jiro Sato, an adaptation from his own 2009 stage play. It has been released in Japan in 2020-21.
Film review: https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/11/transcendental-story-of-prostitution-jiro-sato-draws-a-family-portrait-in-a-brothel/...
- 2/9/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Is there a better way to open the third (and final) installment of The Mole Song than to expose agent Reiji Kikukawa’s (Toma Ikuta) holliest parts to danger yet again? It would be almost unthinkable to have the tradition of penis gags cut off in this bats trilogy which takes the mickey out of Japan’s underworld and plays with clichés surrounding masculinity.
Nederland, Rotterdam, 11/01/2021, iffr vlaggen op de boompjes, foto Jan de Groen
Five years after “The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio”, Reiji is back with his new adventures which involve an interesting type of fusion kitchen and a batlle against Sicilian seaguls, one of the film’s craziest scenes. This opener is every inch Miike, lovely in its madly choreographed slapstick nonsense. Who the heck cares that the actual rescue act isn’t shown, the mood to see what happens after the beak attack will win over.
Nederland, Rotterdam, 11/01/2021, iffr vlaggen op de boompjes, foto Jan de Groen
Five years after “The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio”, Reiji is back with his new adventures which involve an interesting type of fusion kitchen and a batlle against Sicilian seaguls, one of the film’s craziest scenes. This opener is every inch Miike, lovely in its madly choreographed slapstick nonsense. Who the heck cares that the actual rescue act isn’t shown, the mood to see what happens after the beak attack will win over.
- 2/9/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Reiji (Ikuta Tôma) is possibly the more helpless member of the Japanese Police force; the full-on opening of the movie with a naked Reiji, covered only with a fig-leave-sized piece of newspaper and strapped to the hood of a car driven at top speed, leaves no doubts about the protagonist’s ineptitude and the silly tone of the film. Fast-rewind to few days before, and we see policeman Reiji in action. His actions are driven by righteousness but his clumsiness ends up giving no other choices to his superiors than to fire him, after his attempt to arrest an “untouchable” city councilor.
But – thinking again – who better than an incompetent loser can infiltrate the Yakuza without arising suspicions and carry on a potentially suicide mission without even realising? Following this train of thoughts, Reiji’s superiors decide to recycle him as a mole in the heinous Sukiya-kai yakuza clan,...
But – thinking again – who better than an incompetent loser can infiltrate the Yakuza without arising suspicions and carry on a potentially suicide mission without even realising? Following this train of thoughts, Reiji’s superiors decide to recycle him as a mole in the heinous Sukiya-kai yakuza clan,...
- 12/14/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
review by Levan Tskhovrebadze
Japanese director Jiro Sato regains traditions of Japanese cinema in his second feature “Brothers in Brothel” narrating a hapless story of being trapped in the patriarchal entropy of prostitution. The story and atmosphere are as mystic and unusual as in Kenji Mizoguchi, and at the same time, the director manages to draw the portrait of disaffection in a dysfunctional family in Yasujiro Ozu’s style. The allegory of being isolated and exploited is everlasting so the brothel is a metaphor that can be customized on each hopelessly vulnerable group… still, the screen is shedding hope all over the audience.
Six people are living in a brothel located in an isolated island – Tokuta (Takayuki Yamada) and Ibuki (Riisa Naka) who are also siblings of the owner Tetsuo (characterized by the director himself) and four prostitutes. Because these people have never been out of the island, their beliefs...
Japanese director Jiro Sato regains traditions of Japanese cinema in his second feature “Brothers in Brothel” narrating a hapless story of being trapped in the patriarchal entropy of prostitution. The story and atmosphere are as mystic and unusual as in Kenji Mizoguchi, and at the same time, the director manages to draw the portrait of disaffection in a dysfunctional family in Yasujiro Ozu’s style. The allegory of being isolated and exploited is everlasting so the brothel is a metaphor that can be customized on each hopelessly vulnerable group… still, the screen is shedding hope all over the audience.
Six people are living in a brothel located in an isolated island – Tokuta (Takayuki Yamada) and Ibuki (Riisa Naka) who are also siblings of the owner Tetsuo (characterized by the director himself) and four prostitutes. Because these people have never been out of the island, their beliefs...
- 11/26/2019
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
The collage of different ideas that is usually the trademark of Miike’s cinema finds one of its apogees in “Zebraman 2”, a film that manages to portray a pointy sociopolitical satire about 2010 Tokyo and Japan in general, while incorporating a number of absurd ideas and a more than delirious narrative.
The story takes place in 2025, when Tokyo has been taken over by an eccentric Mayor named Kozo Aihara, who looks like he jumped straight from “A Clockwork Orange”, has changed the name of the city to Zebra City, and fully capitalizing on Zebraman’s heroics 15 years ago, has introduced Zebra time. This last concept is probably the most significant change, since, every day from 5:00 Am and for five minutes, all crime is legal. Among bosses raping their secretaries and a number of other crimes, the Zebra Police (who look like the members of a boy band...
The story takes place in 2025, when Tokyo has been taken over by an eccentric Mayor named Kozo Aihara, who looks like he jumped straight from “A Clockwork Orange”, has changed the name of the city to Zebra City, and fully capitalizing on Zebraman’s heroics 15 years ago, has introduced Zebra time. This last concept is probably the most significant change, since, every day from 5:00 Am and for five minutes, all crime is legal. Among bosses raping their secretaries and a number of other crimes, the Zebra Police (who look like the members of a boy band...
- 8/18/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“I never heard you open up like that before.”
“I hardly ever do.”
As the velocity of our global economy increases, we will see more of its accompanying symptoms. The rise in demands in many fields of work and service has led to a vast variety of consequences from a re-definition of our global work culture, but also in the way we deal with the inevitable sicknesses such as burn-out and depression. Even though many cultures may idealize the lonely, diligent worker, this image has become problematic regarding issues of physical and mental health. Considering today even primary school children have to take medication in order to be able to handle the pressures of school and their homes, defines quite clearly of the persistent damage we inflict on ourselves and others maintaining this image of the worker who never complains and delivers his/her services with a smile.
In general,...
“I hardly ever do.”
As the velocity of our global economy increases, we will see more of its accompanying symptoms. The rise in demands in many fields of work and service has led to a vast variety of consequences from a re-definition of our global work culture, but also in the way we deal with the inevitable sicknesses such as burn-out and depression. Even though many cultures may idealize the lonely, diligent worker, this image has become problematic regarding issues of physical and mental health. Considering today even primary school children have to take medication in order to be able to handle the pressures of school and their homes, defines quite clearly of the persistent damage we inflict on ourselves and others maintaining this image of the worker who never complains and delivers his/her services with a smile.
In general,...
- 5/30/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After walking into the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year with his utterly awful thriller/police procedural "Shield Of Straw" (our review), it was a reminder that for all of the Japanese auteur's frenetic, groundbreaking films, he has just as many that are forgettable stinkers. The hit to miss ratio for the filmmaker tends to be pretty balanced, and while we'll have to see just where "Mogura no Uta" ends up, there's no denying it hints at the energy and verve of some of his better movies. Based on the manga by Noboru Takahashi, the premise is right up his alley, with Toma Ikuta, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Ren Osugi, Takayuki Yamada, Takashi Okamura, Yusuke Kamiji and Riisa Naka starring in the "The Departed"/"Infernal Affairs"-esque plot about a cop infiltrating a criminal organization from the inside. As these teaser bears out, stuff will apparently get pretty wild and colorful,...
- 9/30/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
"I'm ready for anything - bring it on!" says the ever-confident lead of Yûya Ishii’s latest film, Mitsuko Delivers. In a similar vein to his 2010 film, Sawako Decides, Ishii explores quirky characters learning to take control of their lives.
The heroine, Mitsuko (an excellent Riisa Naka), is heavily pregnant and left to deal alone with the imminent birth of her son after her American boyfriend dumps her. She doesn’t dwell on the past, fleetingly looking at a photograph of near naked guys partying and later matter-of-factly commenting "He was kind of big and really black". Her new neighbour rejects her offers of kindness and when she tries to sell items to make money to pay for medical bills, she ends up being charged a removal fee. Moving out with nothing more than a suitcase to her name, Mitsuko remains remarkably calm, giving her last remaining coins to a...
The heroine, Mitsuko (an excellent Riisa Naka), is heavily pregnant and left to deal alone with the imminent birth of her son after her American boyfriend dumps her. She doesn’t dwell on the past, fleetingly looking at a photograph of near naked guys partying and later matter-of-factly commenting "He was kind of big and really black". Her new neighbour rejects her offers of kindness and when she tries to sell items to make money to pay for medical bills, she ends up being charged a removal fee. Moving out with nothing more than a suitcase to her name, Mitsuko remains remarkably calm, giving her last remaining coins to a...
- 7/20/2012
- Shadowlocked
Director: Yuya Ishii. Review: Adam Wing. “When the wind blows your way, go with it.” Mitsuko Delivers is the new film from Yuya Ishii (Sawako Decides), starring Riisa Naka (Love Strikes!), Aoi Nakamura (Quirky Guys & Gals) and Ryo Ishibashi (Audition). Yuya Ishii is certainly making a name for himself; Sawako Decides won the Best Director accolade at the Blue Ribbon Awards, and the Best New Director Award at the Yokohama Film Festival. Hikari Mitsushima led an impressive cast in an enjoyable comedy drama that encouraged you to embrace the mediocrity of life and overcome it. Flawed yet fruitful, Sawako Decides was overlong and inconsequential, but it was also blessed with enough quirky charm to see it through. His latest release, Mitsuko Delivers, takes similar themes and waltzes amongst the clouds with them. Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is in the closing stages of her pregnancy to an African American guy she met in California.
- 5/17/2012
- 24framespersecond.net
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Mitsuko Delivers belongs to a very small subset of world cinema that arrives on our shores; it is not a refined, robustly constructed drama like we are typically used to from abroad (after all, we usually get the very best of the litter). Instead it shares a more common DNA with American comedies, albeit still retaining a distinctly Japanese flavour. For these reasons Yûya Ishii’s (Sawako Decides) oddball concoction isn’t exactly a snug and satisfying fit, even though it has its share of amusing moments.
Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is pregnant and broke, having just split up with her American boyfriend, but withholding this from her parents, instead keeping up appearances that she is still in the U.S. With her head in the sky quite literally, she ends up following an amorphous cloud formation around town, soon enough arriving at the desolate tenement block...
Mitsuko Delivers belongs to a very small subset of world cinema that arrives on our shores; it is not a refined, robustly constructed drama like we are typically used to from abroad (after all, we usually get the very best of the litter). Instead it shares a more common DNA with American comedies, albeit still retaining a distinctly Japanese flavour. For these reasons Yûya Ishii’s (Sawako Decides) oddball concoction isn’t exactly a snug and satisfying fit, even though it has its share of amusing moments.
Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is pregnant and broke, having just split up with her American boyfriend, but withholding this from her parents, instead keeping up appearances that she is still in the U.S. With her head in the sky quite literally, she ends up following an amorphous cloud formation around town, soon enough arriving at the desolate tenement block...
- 5/16/2012
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
Dark Shadows (12A)
(Tim Burton, 2012, Us) Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley. 113 mins
Another expensive pop-gothic fantasy (remake) for Depp and Burton's gallery – how long before either they get bored or we do? This time Johnny's an effete 18th-century vampire, reawakened in 1972 to reunite with his dysfunctional Addams-like descendants and marvel at the modern world. Expect fish-out-of-water silliness, a light shade of darkness, and the usual descent into messiness.
Café De Flore (15)
(Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011, Can) Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent. 121 mins
Music and mystery add a great deal to this well-made emotional drama, which switches between a present-day DJ and a 1970s mother (Paradis) whose child has Down's syndrome.
Beloved (15)
(Christophe Honoré, 2011, Fra/UK/Cze) Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine Deneuve. 139 mins
Using flashbacks and musical moments, Honoré tells the story of a former prostitute, her daughter and the men in their lives.
(Tim Burton, 2012, Us) Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley. 113 mins
Another expensive pop-gothic fantasy (remake) for Depp and Burton's gallery – how long before either they get bored or we do? This time Johnny's an effete 18th-century vampire, reawakened in 1972 to reunite with his dysfunctional Addams-like descendants and marvel at the modern world. Expect fish-out-of-water silliness, a light shade of darkness, and the usual descent into messiness.
Café De Flore (15)
(Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011, Can) Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent. 121 mins
Music and mystery add a great deal to this well-made emotional drama, which switches between a present-day DJ and a 1970s mother (Paradis) whose child has Down's syndrome.
Beloved (15)
(Christophe Honoré, 2011, Fra/UK/Cze) Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine Deneuve. 139 mins
Using flashbacks and musical moments, Honoré tells the story of a former prostitute, her daughter and the men in their lives.
- 5/11/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
A whimiscal comedy from Japan in which our pregnant, broke but feisty heroine follows a wafting cloud to whatever awaits her
A whimiscal comedy from Japan that struggles to cross over successfully at first, hampered by a fey opening that sees our eponymous protagonist – pregnant, broke, but feisty – follow a wafting cloud to whatever awaits her. Bolstered by an engaging performance by Riisa Naka, Yûya Ishii's fable follows Mitsuko as she winds up in the backwater tenement she briefly lived in as a child, and sets out to reinvigorate the forlorn, morose inhabitants. It isn't exactly a laugh a minute, and some of the comedy is way too broad, but it exerts a quiet hold.
Rating: 3/5
World cinemaAndrew Pulver
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
A whimiscal comedy from Japan that struggles to cross over successfully at first, hampered by a fey opening that sees our eponymous protagonist – pregnant, broke, but feisty – follow a wafting cloud to whatever awaits her. Bolstered by an engaging performance by Riisa Naka, Yûya Ishii's fable follows Mitsuko as she winds up in the backwater tenement she briefly lived in as a child, and sets out to reinvigorate the forlorn, morose inhabitants. It isn't exactly a laugh a minute, and some of the comedy is way too broad, but it exerts a quiet hold.
Rating: 3/5
World cinemaAndrew Pulver
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 5/10/2012
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★☆☆ Yûya Ishii's Mitsuko Delivers (2011) tells the story of a young single woman in the ninth month of her pregnancy who relinquishes her fate to the wind, drifting through life like a wayward cloud. Starring Riisa Naka, Aoi Nakamura and Ryo Ishibashi, Ishii's latest feature is a quintessential slice of contemporary Japanese cinema with a refreshing, original twist.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 5/10/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Mitsuko is in her ninth month of pregnancy, but that doesn't stop her taking the lead when all around her are floundering. Yuya Ishii's breathless comic drama has satire, brio and originality to burn.
Being young, unmarried, broke and nine months pregnant is something that would get a lot of girls down, but titular character Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) won't let these things impede her quest to be “cool” in Yuya Ishii's new comedy Mitsuko Delivers. Mitsuko's unsuccessful parents still think she is in California, where she fell pregnant, but their daughter has other plans. She leaves her...
Being young, unmarried, broke and nine months pregnant is something that would get a lot of girls down, but titular character Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) won't let these things impede her quest to be “cool” in Yuya Ishii's new comedy Mitsuko Delivers. Mitsuko's unsuccessful parents still think she is in California, where she fell pregnant, but their daughter has other plans. She leaves her...
- 2/27/2012
- by Lindis Kipp
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 33rd edition of the Pia festival wrapped on Friday, September 30. A week and an half in the rather dowdy National Film Theatre saw a slew of hipsters, film students, pedants, critics and film fans making their annual pilgrimage to check out the newest of the new – with hopes of discovering the newest and best of the Japanese film scene. Pia has played host to the first-time efforts of such folks as enfant terrible Sono Shion as well as the more gentle international festival favorite, Naomi Kawase. Recently they’ve been nurturing the career of whipsmart indie wunderkind, Yuya Ishii. This year’s festival opened with the Japanese premiere of his newest feature, Mitsuko Delivers. Like the best of Ishii’s work Mitsuko Delivers delivers a smart social satire couched in situation comedy. Riisa Naka handily plays a very pregnant Mitsuko, who embarks not only on controlling her own life,...
- 10/5/2011
- by Nicholas Vroman
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Over the weekend, it was announced that 21-year-old actress Riisa Naka will be starring in Yuya Ishii’s Hara ga Kore Nande.
Naka will play a 24-year-old woman named Mitsuko who’s 9 months pregnant to an unknown father, but still puts aside her own problems to help others. Her character is described as having a deep sense of duty and humanity, traits which are getting less and less common in modern society. The hope is that Mitsuko’s disposition will tug at the heartstrings of Japanese audiences much like the Tora-san character did through the Showa era.
Although Naka admitted playing a pregnant woman was a particularly difficult challenge at this stage of her career, the belly prosthesis seems to have helped her get into character. “It’s heavy enough cause joint pain,” she said. “It makes the whole body feel heavy like a pregnant woman.”
Ryo Ishibashi has also been cast in the film,...
Naka will play a 24-year-old woman named Mitsuko who’s 9 months pregnant to an unknown father, but still puts aside her own problems to help others. Her character is described as having a deep sense of duty and humanity, traits which are getting less and less common in modern society. The hope is that Mitsuko’s disposition will tug at the heartstrings of Japanese audiences much like the Tora-san character did through the Showa era.
Although Naka admitted playing a pregnant woman was a particularly difficult challenge at this stage of her career, the belly prosthesis seems to have helped her get into character. “It’s heavy enough cause joint pain,” she said. “It makes the whole body feel heavy like a pregnant woman.”
Ryo Ishibashi has also been cast in the film,...
- 4/18/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Confessions, Villain, 13 Assassins, and the other winners of the 2011 Japan Academy Prize have been announced. The 34th Annual Japan Academy Prize, “often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-sho Association for Excellence in Japanese Film. Award categories are similar to the Academy Awards.” The award ceremony was held on February 18, 2011 at the New Takanawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. The full listing of the 2011 Japan Academy Prize winners is below.
Picture of the Year
Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Animation of the Year
Kari-gurashi no Arietti (The Borrowers)
Director of the Year
Tetsuya Nakashima, Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Screenplay of the Year
Tetsuya Nakashima, Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Satoshi Tsumabuki, Akunin (Villain)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Eri Fukatsu, Akunin (Villain)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Akira Emoto,...
Picture of the Year
Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Animation of the Year
Kari-gurashi no Arietti (The Borrowers)
Director of the Year
Tetsuya Nakashima, Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Screenplay of the Year
Tetsuya Nakashima, Kokuhaku (Confessions)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Satoshi Tsumabuki, Akunin (Villain)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Eri Fukatsu, Akunin (Villain)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Akira Emoto,...
- 2/19/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Sometimes Takashi Miike's freewheeling imagination spits out something glorious; profane, demented, moving or profound. Sometimes it grinds to a halt, jammed up with abortive experiments like his Masters of Horror entry Imprint and unfortunately, Zebraman 2 is another one of these. It could only have come from Miike - it's shot through with the kind of inspired, childlike madness only he could deliver - but it's also a bloated, directionless mess of a movie, fun while you're forcing it down but liable to leave you wondering why you bothered afterwards.
It starts not long after the first film, where everyman schoolteacher Ichikawa (Shou Aikawa) transformed into the titular superhero to save the world from destructive, body-snatching little green men. He's world famous, but it's taken its toll, with his wife and friends shunning him now he's pursued by fans and news crews round the clock. Then abruptly he wakes up...
It starts not long after the first film, where everyman schoolteacher Ichikawa (Shou Aikawa) transformed into the titular superhero to save the world from destructive, body-snatching little green men. He's world famous, but it's taken its toll, with his wife and friends shunning him now he's pursued by fans and news crews round the clock. Then abruptly he wakes up...
- 11/24/2010
- Screen Anarchy
This looks more like a music video for the Zebra Queen (played by cutie Riisa Naka) than a proper trailer but I just assume Takashi Miike knows what he’s doing…
[See post to watch Flash video]
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into “Zebra City” and completely covered in black and white. Every morning at 5:00am, the sensational singing voice of a woman called Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) can be heard resounding throughout the city. Suddenly, a man named Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) awakes with no idea of where he is. In his confusion, he’s shot at by police and barely manages to escape. After falling unconscious again, he’s rescued by a man in a strange costume and soon finds himself in a small commune outside of the city. Their leader recognizes Shinichi as the school teacher turned super hero who saved Earth from an alien invasion 15 years ago before suddenly disappearing.
[See post to watch Flash video]
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into “Zebra City” and completely covered in black and white. Every morning at 5:00am, the sensational singing voice of a woman called Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) can be heard resounding throughout the city. Suddenly, a man named Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) awakes with no idea of where he is. In his confusion, he’s shot at by police and barely manages to escape. After falling unconscious again, he’s rescued by a man in a strange costume and soon finds himself in a small commune outside of the city. Their leader recognizes Shinichi as the school teacher turned super hero who saved Earth from an alien invasion 15 years ago before suddenly disappearing.
- 3/8/2010
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
Here comes stripey fury! It's a second trailer for Takashi Miike's Zebraman 2, the sequel to his 2004 hit that reunites the director with writer Kankuro Kudo and star Sho Aikawa in another very silly ode to Japanese hero culture.
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into "Zebra City". In the Zebraman's absense, a woman calling herself Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) has formed a zebra army and instituted "Zebra Time" throughout the city by force. Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) suddenly wakes up with no recollection of his past, but instinctively returns to his super hero ways.
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into "Zebra City". In the Zebraman's absense, a woman calling herself Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) has formed a zebra army and instituted "Zebra Time" throughout the city by force. Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) suddenly wakes up with no recollection of his past, but instinctively returns to his super hero ways.
- 3/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
[See post to watch Flash video]
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
The film stars Riisa Naka as Akari, the 18-year-old daughter of the protagonist of the original novel, Kazuko Yoshiyama (played by Narumi Yasuda). When Kazuko is injured in a car accident and falls into a coma, Akari leaps back in time to the 70s to seek out her mother’s first love, Kazuo Fukamachi. Instead, she meets a college student named Ryota (Akiyoshi Nakao) who helps her with her search.
[via Nippon Cinema]...
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
The film stars Riisa Naka as Akari, the 18-year-old daughter of the protagonist of the original novel, Kazuko Yoshiyama (played by Narumi Yasuda). When Kazuko is injured in a car accident and falls into a coma, Akari leaps back in time to the 70s to seek out her mother’s first love, Kazuo Fukamachi. Instead, she meets a college student named Ryota (Akiyoshi Nakao) who helps her with her search.
[via Nippon Cinema]...
- 12/22/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
Looks like good ‘ol Miike just can’t get away from the super hero thematic, so after his live-action adaptation of Yatterman he now presents the sequel to his 2004 super hero comedy Zebraman. You can see the first teaser below, a short TV spot is available at the Japanese website. Zebraman 2 will open across Japan on May 1, 2010.
[See post to watch Flash video]
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into “Zebra City”. In the Zebraman’s absense, a woman calling herself Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) has formed a zebra army and instituted “Zebra Time” throughout the city by force. Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) suddenly wakes up with no recollection of his past, but instinctively returns to his super hero ways.
[via Nippon Cinema]...
[See post to watch Flash video]
Synopsis via Nippon Cinema:
In the year 2025, Tokyo has been transformed into “Zebra City”. In the Zebraman’s absense, a woman calling herself Zebra Queen (Riisa Naka) has formed a zebra army and instituted “Zebra Time” throughout the city by force. Shinichi Ichikawa (Show Aikawa) suddenly wakes up with no recollection of his past, but instinctively returns to his super hero ways.
[via Nippon Cinema]...
- 12/20/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
[Our thanks to Christopher Bourne for the following review.]
“Go Don’t.” In a late scene in Eriko Kitagawa’s lovely and bittersweet high school romance Halfway, love-struck senior Hiro (Kii Kitano) scrawls these two Japanese characters on a piece of paper, a gesture that perfectly expresses her confusion over whether to let her boyfriend Shu (Masaki Okada) go to college in Tokyo, far from her hometown of Hokkaido. Hiro, in the waning days of the school year, has finally landed the dreamy basketball star she has been pining after for a very long time. This happens by very serendipitous circumstances, when she feels faint while watching Shu at a game and has to see the school nurse. Hiro relates excitedly to her friend Meme (Riisa Naka) her intention to finally tell him how she feels, and soon after goes to sleep. When she awakens, she talks of her dream in which she finally gets the courage to express her love to Shu.
“Go Don’t.” In a late scene in Eriko Kitagawa’s lovely and bittersweet high school romance Halfway, love-struck senior Hiro (Kii Kitano) scrawls these two Japanese characters on a piece of paper, a gesture that perfectly expresses her confusion over whether to let her boyfriend Shu (Masaki Okada) go to college in Tokyo, far from her hometown of Hokkaido. Hiro, in the waning days of the school year, has finally landed the dreamy basketball star she has been pining after for a very long time. This happens by very serendipitous circumstances, when she feels faint while watching Shu at a game and has to see the school nurse. Hiro relates excitedly to her friend Meme (Riisa Naka) her intention to finally tell him how she feels, and soon after goes to sleep. When she awakens, she talks of her dream in which she finally gets the courage to express her love to Shu.
- 7/10/2009
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
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