Since its debut, the Spirited Away stage play has been enchanting theatergoers in Japan and abroad. For 2024, two new actors will be stepping into the role of Chihiro/Sen, as seen in a pair of beautiful new posters. Actress and AKB48 graduate Rina Kawaei features in a bright, lantern-filled poster: Related: Ya Boy Kongming! Manga Goes Live with Stage Play Adaptation And Wasteful Days of High School Girls TV actor Momoko Fukuchi appears against a brightly moonlit night: Related: Howl’s Moving Castle-Inspired Ghibli Park 15-Second Promo Released Both actors will trade out the lead role with current stars Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi. Gkids has licensed the filmed performance of Spirited Away: Live on Stage , described thus: Chihiro’s family is moving to a new house, but when they stop on the way to explore an abandoned village, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation and Chihiro is whisked into...
- 2/20/2024
- by Kara Dennison
- Crunchyroll
Shinji Hamasaki started his career in commercials, directing a number of award-winning ones. In 2014, he directed his first short, “Time Slip Horibe Yasubei” while his feature debut came in 2020, with “Not Quite Dead Yet”. Now he returns to filmmaking with a new short, “Seen”, based on Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story “The Nose.”
Seen is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia
In black and white and with music that points towards a horror film, the movie begins showing a man putting on his apron, followed by the image of a woman, drawing manga in exhaustion, while the mirror in her desk that shows her face reveals that she is wearing an eye-patch on her left eye. The initial man works at a convenience store, but his huge nose draws the attention and ire of everyone that comes to the shop. As he reads comments on the web about his presence in the store,...
Seen is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia
In black and white and with music that points towards a horror film, the movie begins showing a man putting on his apron, followed by the image of a woman, drawing manga in exhaustion, while the mirror in her desk that shows her face reveals that she is wearing an eye-patch on her left eye. The initial man works at a convenience store, but his huge nose draws the attention and ire of everyone that comes to the shop. As he reads comments on the web about his presence in the store,...
- 6/24/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After releasing Lu Over the Wall to critical acclaim, director Masaaki Yuasa was met with a similar brief for his next feature, Ride Your Wave, by Japanese animation studio Science Saru.
“We were assigned with the same theme, ‘a love story involving a fantastic/out-of-this-world being,’” Yuasa recalls. “From there, we came up with the story about a guy who turned into water and a human girl.”
Turning into a meditation on loss, following Yuasa’s experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ride Your Wave centers on Hinako, a surfer whose life changes forever when the charming Minato rescues her from an apartment building fire. Thereafter, the firefighter tragically passes, but the romance between the two only continues to unfold, when Hinako finds that she can summon her lost love to appear, wherever there is water.
Distributed by Toho in Japan and by Gkids in the U.
“We were assigned with the same theme, ‘a love story involving a fantastic/out-of-this-world being,’” Yuasa recalls. “From there, we came up with the story about a guy who turned into water and a human girl.”
Turning into a meditation on loss, following Yuasa’s experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ride Your Wave centers on Hinako, a surfer whose life changes forever when the charming Minato rescues her from an apartment building fire. Thereafter, the firefighter tragically passes, but the romance between the two only continues to unfold, when Hinako finds that she can summon her lost love to appear, wherever there is water.
Distributed by Toho in Japan and by Gkids in the U.
- 2/8/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Water, as a conduit for romance and spirituality, has been en vogue as of late in Japanese feature animation. Entries in this wet subgenre, where young characters grapple with torrential rain and oceans to dazzling effect, as well as life lessons submerged in nature-based metaphors, include Makoto Shinkai’s box office hit “Weathering With You,” Ayumu Watanabe’s upcoming “Children of the Sea,” and Masaaki Yuasa’s mermaid tale “Lu Over the Wall.”
Returning to that liquid magic, Yuasa, who produces films through his own company Science Saru, makes a new splash with his third feature in three years “Ride Your Wave,” written by Reiko Yoshida, who also penned recent anime standouts “Okko’s Inn,” “A Silent Voice,” and “Liz and the Blue Bird.” Notwithstanding the saturation of H2O-fueled teen movies, the director-screenwriter pair filter a love story through an oddball premise addressing heroism and perseverance with robust notes of graphic originality.
Returning to that liquid magic, Yuasa, who produces films through his own company Science Saru, makes a new splash with his third feature in three years “Ride Your Wave,” written by Reiko Yoshida, who also penned recent anime standouts “Okko’s Inn,” “A Silent Voice,” and “Liz and the Blue Bird.” Notwithstanding the saturation of H2O-fueled teen movies, the director-screenwriter pair filter a love story through an oddball premise addressing heroism and perseverance with robust notes of graphic originality.
- 2/21/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
"If you stay with your head underwater, you'll never learn to ride the waves." GKids has released the first official Us trailer for the latest anime from beloved Japanese filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa, of the films The Night Is Short Walk on Girl and Lu Over the Wall previously. This already premiered in Japan last summer, and is playing for only one night in the Us in theaters before arriving on VOD. This cute romance is about a surfer and firefighter that meet and fall in love. The Japanese title translates to When Riding a Wave, With You, and the film is described as "a deeply emotional new film that applies his trademark visual ingenuity to a tale of romance, grief and self-discovery." It looks spunky and adorable. Featuring the voices of Ryôta Katayose, Rina Kawaei, Honoka Matsumoto, & Kentarô Itô. Reviews say it's "a charming & heartfelt story about loss and clinging to life.
- 1/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
What’s the easiest way to tell the next generation of anime directors’ work apart from the creative shadow of those who came before — and especially from the look and feel of Studio Ghibli? Easy, just listen to the soundtracks they choose to define their movies’ personalities. Makoto Shinkai connects with a younger demo by setting his films to the boy-band stylings of a J-Pop group called the Radwimps, while Masaaki Yuasa embraces an even more mainstream sound with “Ride Your Wave” by leaning on Generations from Exile Tribe, turning their hit single “Brand New Story” into more than just a theme.
Plenty of couples have a favorite tune, but Yuasa uses this silly love song so often in the film, it practically becomes a joke unto its own — the conduit by which a young woman struck by tragedy calls her boyfriend back from the beyond. The dead dude, Minato,...
Plenty of couples have a favorite tune, but Yuasa uses this silly love song so often in the film, it practically becomes a joke unto its own — the conduit by which a young woman struck by tragedy calls her boyfriend back from the beyond. The dead dude, Minato,...
- 11/5/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
I must say, my first impression, composed of the outline and poster of this movie, was: “Oh please, not another corny romantic culinary drama.” In Japan, there has always been an audience craving for food and craftmanship orientated content. The long list of contemporary dramas ranges from Asadora’s like “Massan” (2014) to the Netflix hit “Midnight Diner” (2011) and also includes big oversea successes “An” (2015). The Japanese movie industry, therefore, has a very big output serving this demand. I was even more surprised when I actually saw the movie and I had to admit, that the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” once more was accurate.
“For Love’s Sake” is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The plot of Naoki Segi’s “For Love’s Sake” offers a pretty simple and predictable fish-out-of-the-water scenario. Shirio (Rina Kawaei), obligated to her incredible palate for wine, is the...
“For Love’s Sake” is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The plot of Naoki Segi’s “For Love’s Sake” offers a pretty simple and predictable fish-out-of-the-water scenario. Shirio (Rina Kawaei), obligated to her incredible palate for wine, is the...
- 6/10/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
After experimenting with his form of boundary-pushing, cinema-as-memory films to great, succesful lengths with his last three narrative features–not to mention Voyage of Time, which we’re still awaiting an actual U.S. release for–Terrence Malick will return to more of a traditional script with his WWII drama Radegund, hopefully releasing later this year. But first, after splicing in avant-garde and experiential touches with his last few films, he’s making the natural step into virtual reality.
Premiering at South by Southwest Festival–where he gave a rare public talk last year–on March 13 is the Vr experience Together, which is directed by Malick and shot by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Silence, The Wolf of Wall Street, Brokeback Mountain). Clocking in at 5 minutes and 46 seconds and featuring music by Simon Franglen, see the synopsis below, as well as the first look above.
“Together” is a Vr experience about the power of human connection.
Premiering at South by Southwest Festival–where he gave a rare public talk last year–on March 13 is the Vr experience Together, which is directed by Malick and shot by cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Silence, The Wolf of Wall Street, Brokeback Mountain). Clocking in at 5 minutes and 46 seconds and featuring music by Simon Franglen, see the synopsis below, as well as the first look above.
“Together” is a Vr experience about the power of human connection.
- 2/8/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Following the announcement that John Krasinski's A Quiet Place will be the opening night movie at SXSW, the anticipated Midnighters genre slate has now been revealed, including the buzzed-about Hereditary (read Heather Wixson's Sundance review here), Leigh Whannell's Upgrade, Jenn Wexler's The Ranger, and Field Guide to Evil.
You can check out the full list of Midnighters below, and visit the official SXSW website for more information on the festival's schedule.
From SXSW: "The SXSW Midnighters section is a perennial favorite for SXSW audiences thrilled by the weird, electric, and sometimes terrifying selections. Featuring 10 genre films, including 6 World Premieres, the slate includes dark comedies, thrillers, Sci-Fi, mystery and slasher horror from a mix of established and first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters, as well as 12 additional films, which are included in the 132 total features now to be screened at the SXSW 2018 Film Festival.
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative...
You can check out the full list of Midnighters below, and visit the official SXSW website for more information on the festival's schedule.
From SXSW: "The SXSW Midnighters section is a perennial favorite for SXSW audiences thrilled by the weird, electric, and sometimes terrifying selections. Featuring 10 genre films, including 6 World Premieres, the slate includes dark comedies, thrillers, Sci-Fi, mystery and slasher horror from a mix of established and first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters, as well as 12 additional films, which are included in the 132 total features now to be screened at the SXSW 2018 Film Festival.
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative...
- 2/7/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
This year’s South by Southwest Conference and Festivals has announced the remainder of its film festival program, including the full run of their Midnighters, Shorts, Virtual Cinema, Music Video, Title Sequence, and the brand-new Independent Episodic lineup, along with a number of additions to their Features slate. Additionally, the festival has announced that the North American premiere of Wes Anderson’s highly anticipated new stop-motion feature, “Isle of Dogs,” will serve as the event’s Closing Night Film, following the film’s world premiere at Berlin. The festival has also added a number of Sundance favorites, including “Sorry to Bother You,” “Blindspotting,” and “Science Fair.”
This year’s Midnighter’s section — a long-time favorite of the genre-loving SXSW audiences — features 10 genre films, including six world premieres, with offerings that span dark comedies, thrillers, sci-fi, mystery, and slasher horror from a mix of established and first-time filmmakers.
Highlights include Ari Aster’s “Hereditary,...
This year’s Midnighter’s section — a long-time favorite of the genre-loving SXSW audiences — features 10 genre films, including six world premieres, with offerings that span dark comedies, thrillers, sci-fi, mystery, and slasher horror from a mix of established and first-time filmmakers.
Highlights include Ari Aster’s “Hereditary,...
- 2/7/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The official website for the upcoming film recently updated with a poster featuring the three main characters, also revealing its official title “Death Note Light up the New world”.
The sequel film is set 10 years after the first two live-action films, focusing on a battle for the new six different death notes fall to the human world. Shinsuke Sato (Gantz, Library Wars) will direct the screenplay by Katsunari Mano (Aibou TV drama series). Warner Brothers Japan will distribute it from October 29, 2016.
The poster features Tsukuru Mishima (Masahiro Higashide, center), Yugi Shion (Masaki Suda, left), and Ryuzaki (Sousuke Ikematsu, right). It contains the text, “A decade after that incident … Six new Death Notes have been scattered.”
In the new film’s story, a highly advanced information society is beset by global cyber-terrorism in 2016. New charismatic figures, who “inherited the DNA” of Light and the detective L , emerge. The successors of the...
The sequel film is set 10 years after the first two live-action films, focusing on a battle for the new six different death notes fall to the human world. Shinsuke Sato (Gantz, Library Wars) will direct the screenplay by Katsunari Mano (Aibou TV drama series). Warner Brothers Japan will distribute it from October 29, 2016.
The poster features Tsukuru Mishima (Masahiro Higashide, center), Yugi Shion (Masaki Suda, left), and Ryuzaki (Sousuke Ikematsu, right). It contains the text, “A decade after that incident … Six new Death Notes have been scattered.”
In the new film’s story, a highly advanced information society is beset by global cyber-terrorism in 2016. New charismatic figures, who “inherited the DNA” of Light and the detective L , emerge. The successors of the...
- 4/22/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Tokyo (AP) -- Two members of the all-female Japanese pop group AKB48 and one staffer have been injured by a saw-wielding man at a fan event. Japanese media reports and a statement on the group's official blog say that 18-year-old Anna Iriyama and 19-year-old Rina Kawaei were cut on their hands and head. A male staff member also was cut on the hand. They were taken to a hospital late Sunday afternoon for treatment. Police arrested the attacker, a 24-year-old unemployed man. The incident happened in Takizawa city in northeastern Japan. AKB48 is
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- 5/26/2014
- by The Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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