“Dragons of Wonderhatch” is a new live-action/animation hybrid TV series, directed by Kentaro Hagiwara and Takashi Otsuka, starring Sena Nakajima, Daiken Okudaira, Rena Tanaka, Masaki Miura, Riko Narumi, Sumire, Go Morita and Mackenyu, streaming December 20, 2023 on Hulu and Disney+:
‘…born with the ability of ‘sound-color synesthesia’, that allows her to see colors when she hears certain sounds, ‘Nagi’ has spent her entire life feeling like she doesn’t belong.
“Dreaming of one day being able to fly, Nagi will soon come face to face with ‘Thaim’, another ‘misfit’ from a different world. Born in ‘Upananta’, Thaim has long been treated like an outcast for his inability to hear the voices of the dragons that inhabit his land. With the floating islands of Upananta slowly beginning to fall from the sky, the two will set off on an epic adventure spanning both live-action and animated worlds…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
‘…born with the ability of ‘sound-color synesthesia’, that allows her to see colors when she hears certain sounds, ‘Nagi’ has spent her entire life feeling like she doesn’t belong.
“Dreaming of one day being able to fly, Nagi will soon come face to face with ‘Thaim’, another ‘misfit’ from a different world. Born in ‘Upananta’, Thaim has long been treated like an outcast for his inability to hear the voices of the dragons that inhabit his land. With the floating islands of Upananta slowly beginning to fall from the sky, the two will set off on an epic adventure spanning both live-action and animated worlds…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
- 12/19/2023
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Spatiality and memory entwined serve as a unique harbinger of emotions. In the film “Wonderwall”, directed by Yuki Maeda, pain and laughter, hellos and adieus have a physical representation, embodied and etched in a messy room, a small kitchen with cheap meals, in a common area where fantasies are broached and decisions are reached. Nothing forms a community, a collective identity and a sense of fighting for something other than oneself like a shared space and a shared story.
Wonderwall is streaming as part of Jff+ Independent Cinema
The shared space in this case is the Konoe dormitory, where students from a university in Kyoto since the 1900s have stayed and lived. Residing in the dormitory has become a tradition in itself, as the young occupants here create their own rules, rules that celebrate their idiosyncrasies, their non-conforming spirit, their own kind of harmonious chaos. The university administration, however, wants to demolish the dorm,...
Wonderwall is streaming as part of Jff+ Independent Cinema
The shared space in this case is the Konoe dormitory, where students from a university in Kyoto since the 1900s have stayed and lived. Residing in the dormitory has become a tradition in itself, as the young occupants here create their own rules, rules that celebrate their idiosyncrasies, their non-conforming spirit, their own kind of harmonious chaos. The university administration, however, wants to demolish the dorm,...
- 1/7/2023
- by Purple Romero
- AsianMoviePulse
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...
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...
- 9/18/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Labyrinth of Cinema Review: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s Final Film is a Mammoth, Humbling Viewing Experience
There are so many critical and theoretical entry points for discussing a film so dense as Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema that it’s hard to know where to begin. One could easily spend countless hours and thousands of words mulling over all the literary and cinematic references, tonal jumps, and stylistic eccentricities. But one thing’s certain above all else: this mammoth final effort by Ôbayashi, an artist who so often destroyed the conventional boundaries of cinematic space in works like 1977’s Hausu, is a completely humbling viewing experience.
Displaying an unmatched breakneck momentum, Labyrinth careens through key moments in Japanese history and parallel genre universes with the inevitable directionality of a boomerang passing through multiple worm holes only to circle back again. Stylistically, Ôbayashi uses rear-projection and green screen to turn the classic iconography and archetypes of Japanese cinema into a plastic digital space where characters exist...
Displaying an unmatched breakneck momentum, Labyrinth careens through key moments in Japanese history and parallel genre universes with the inevitable directionality of a boomerang passing through multiple worm holes only to circle back again. Stylistically, Ôbayashi uses rear-projection and green screen to turn the classic iconography and archetypes of Japanese cinema into a plastic digital space where characters exist...
- 10/20/2021
- by Glenn Heath Jr.
- The Film Stage
Labyrinth Of Cinema, the final film by maverick filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi ; a love letter to the power of cinema will be playing on the big screen as it was intended.
The film will be released in New York at The Metrograph on October 20th, with a Los Angeles and regional release to follow in key theaters.
Labyrinth Of Cinema
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (House)
Cast: Takuro Atsuki, Takahito Hosoyamada, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Rei Yoshida, Riko Narumi, Hirona Yamazaki, Takako Tokiwa
The final film by Nobuhiko Obayashi finds the late director returning to the subject of Japan’s history of warfare following the completion of his “War Trilogy,” which ended with Hanagatami. On the last night of its existence, a small movie theater in Onomichi—the seaside town of Obayashi’s youth where he shot nearly a dozen films—screens an all-night marathon of Japanese war films. When lightning strikes the theater, three...
The film will be released in New York at The Metrograph on October 20th, with a Los Angeles and regional release to follow in key theaters.
Labyrinth Of Cinema
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi (House)
Cast: Takuro Atsuki, Takahito Hosoyamada, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Rei Yoshida, Riko Narumi, Hirona Yamazaki, Takako Tokiwa
The final film by Nobuhiko Obayashi finds the late director returning to the subject of Japan’s history of warfare following the completion of his “War Trilogy,” which ended with Hanagatami. On the last night of its existence, a small movie theater in Onomichi—the seaside town of Obayashi’s youth where he shot nearly a dozen films—screens an all-night marathon of Japanese war films. When lightning strikes the theater, three...
- 9/12/2021
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Ghost Master: "Ghost Master (originally titled Gôsuto masutâ) is a Japanese horror-comedy that follows Akira Kurosawa, a nerdy assistant director working on the set of a low budget rom-com at an abandoned school. Burnt out on campy teen dramas, Akira dreams of becoming the ultimate horror master. When a conflict with the director, Atsushi Suzuki causes half the cast to strike, Akira is left in charge of the production. Ditching the scheduled project and pivoting to his own horror script, titled Ghost Master, Akira is shocked when his evil screenplay comes to life and begins possessing the cast, including the film’s star, Yuya. As a killing spree commences and the body count rises, Akira must band together with the crew and one remaining actress, Mana to stop the gruesome attacks.
Winner of “Best Film” at the 2020 International Fantasy Film Awards, Ghost Master is directed by Paul Young (“Flashback”) and...
Winner of “Best Film” at the 2020 International Fantasy Film Awards, Ghost Master is directed by Paul Young (“Flashback”) and...
- 6/24/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Films based on the making of a movie is something that’s no stranger to cinema, with the site even making a list of our favorites on the subject not too long ago, proving the diversity of the subject matter out there. Now, director Paul Young throws his latest attempt at the genre into the mix with this brazen horror/comedy feature screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg.
“Ghost Master” is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg:
Arriving on the set of his newest film, director Atushi Suzuki (Shinichi Shinohara), his cast of Yuya, (Mizuki Itagaki) Momose, (Marika Nagao) Kenshin (Motohisa Harashima), Mana (Riko Narumi) and crew, featuring assistant director Akira Kurosawa (Takahiro Miura) and sound recorder Keiko (Yuki Shibamoto) begin work on a romantic teen drama in an abandoned school. When a conflict with the script causes half of the gathered principles to walk out on strike, Kurosawa is...
“Ghost Master” is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg:
Arriving on the set of his newest film, director Atushi Suzuki (Shinichi Shinohara), his cast of Yuya, (Mizuki Itagaki) Momose, (Marika Nagao) Kenshin (Motohisa Harashima), Mana (Riko Narumi) and crew, featuring assistant director Akira Kurosawa (Takahiro Miura) and sound recorder Keiko (Yuki Shibamoto) begin work on a romantic teen drama in an abandoned school. When a conflict with the script causes half of the gathered principles to walk out on strike, Kurosawa is...
- 8/22/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Yayan Ruhian, Rirî Furankî, Hayato Ichihara, Mio Yûki, Pierre Taki, Denden, Tetsu Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Riko Narumi, Reiko Takashima, Lily Frankie, Masanori Mimoto, Shô Aoyagi, Manzô Shinra, Kiyohiko Shibukawa | Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi | Directed by Takashi Miike
I’m not sure if it’s from watching Battles Without Honour and Humanity or my love of the Crows Zero movies that did it, but I have to admit that I was very excited about Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse. Now that I’ve seen it, I may be a little confused but I’ll also admit to being in love with the insane little film.
Yakuza Apocalypse focuses on the story of Kageyama, a Yakuza who is ridiculed for his lack of signature tattoos down to his sensitive skin. When he witnesses the defeat of his former boss, whose decapitated head in turn bites him turning him into a vampire he turns into a vampire.
I’m not sure if it’s from watching Battles Without Honour and Humanity or my love of the Crows Zero movies that did it, but I have to admit that I was very excited about Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse. Now that I’ve seen it, I may be a little confused but I’ll also admit to being in love with the insane little film.
Yakuza Apocalypse focuses on the story of Kageyama, a Yakuza who is ridiculed for his lack of signature tattoos down to his sensitive skin. When he witnesses the defeat of his former boss, whose decapitated head in turn bites him turning him into a vampire he turns into a vampire.
- 5/3/2016
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Stars: Yayan Ruhian, Rirî Furankî, Hayato Ichihara, Mio Yûki, Pierre Taki, Denden, Tetsu Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Riko Narumi, Reiko Takashima, Lily Frankie, Masanori Mimoto, Shô Aoyagi, Manzô Shinra, Kiyohiko Shibukawa | Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi | Directed by Takashi Miike
When considering the work of a director who often makes up to six or seven films a year, you might be forgiven for assuming that most of these would be low-key, simple productions focusing on small sets of characters. Not so in the case of Takashi Miike, the filmmaker behind such eyebrow-raising fare as the ultraviolent Ichi The Killer, zombie musical comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris and contemplative drama The Bird People in China. Never one to shirk an ambitious project for the sake of an easy life, Miike’s latest film sees him on world-ending form with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Kageyama is a low-level Yakuza thug bullied by his fellow gangsters...
When considering the work of a director who often makes up to six or seven films a year, you might be forgiven for assuming that most of these would be low-key, simple productions focusing on small sets of characters. Not so in the case of Takashi Miike, the filmmaker behind such eyebrow-raising fare as the ultraviolent Ichi The Killer, zombie musical comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris and contemplative drama The Bird People in China. Never one to shirk an ambitious project for the sake of an easy life, Miike’s latest film sees him on world-ending form with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Kageyama is a low-level Yakuza thug bullied by his fellow gangsters...
- 12/14/2015
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
"Yakuza vs. Yakuza Vampires. The war that will decide the future of Japan."Popular Japanese film website Eiga.com has unveiled a new teaser poster for Miike Takashi's eagerly anticipated horror gangster mash-up, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld (極道大戦争). It's the first poster to feature the main cast, and it's just as cool as one would expect from a Miike film. Front and center is Ichihara Hayato (Kageyama), with Riko Narumi (Kyoko) on the left, and Lily Franky (Kamiura) on the right. Shibuhawa Kiyohiko, Takashima Reiko, Exile's Aoyagi Sho, Pierre Taki, Yuki Mio, Denden, and The Raid's Yayan Ruhian make an appearance.It's also been revealed that the mysterious metal baseball bat-wielding figure in a frog suit that pops up in the very last seconds of...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/19/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Director: Keralino Sandorovich. Review: Adam Wing. Every day is pretty much like any other, that is of course, unless your name is Ayame (Riko Narumi) and you live in a world created by Keralino Sandorovich. With a pin-up career going nowhere fast, Ayame takes on the PR role of ‘police chief for the day’, a job that would normally require her to put on her best smile and act like she works for the police department. Unfortunately for Ayame, today is not a normal day. The staff at the police station insist on treating her like a real police chief and look to her for advice, enthusiasm and instruction. Which is bad enough in itself, but add to the mix an ex-boyfriend who works as a detective at the station, and you’re starting to have a very bad day indeed. Things are a little more complicated than that though,...
- 5/2/2012
- 24framespersecond.net
From Third Window Films
Starring: Riko Narumi (Bushido Sixteen, Yamagata Scream, Trick: The Movie), Kento Nagayama (Villain, Hard Romanticker, Liar Game)
Sakura Ando (Love Exposure, 8000 Miles 2, Sweet Little Lies),Megumi Okina (The Grudge, Shutter, Red Shadow)
DVD Release Date: 14 May 2012
Pre Order Now (link below)
Synopsis
Have you ever experienced a day when you are carrying on as usual just like the day before but strange things keep happening one after another on that particular day? This is a slapstick comedy, like Kafka’s novel, filled with incongruous nightmares and nonsensical laughter.
Ayame (Riko Narumi) is an unsuccessful girl celebrity, who happens to take on the PR role of a “police chief for a day”. The job of a campaign girl is to smile and act as a police chief for one day. It should have been a simple job, however, the police station staff treat her like the real...
Starring: Riko Narumi (Bushido Sixteen, Yamagata Scream, Trick: The Movie), Kento Nagayama (Villain, Hard Romanticker, Liar Game)
Sakura Ando (Love Exposure, 8000 Miles 2, Sweet Little Lies),Megumi Okina (The Grudge, Shutter, Red Shadow)
DVD Release Date: 14 May 2012
Pre Order Now (link below)
Synopsis
Have you ever experienced a day when you are carrying on as usual just like the day before but strange things keep happening one after another on that particular day? This is a slapstick comedy, like Kafka’s novel, filled with incongruous nightmares and nonsensical laughter.
Ayame (Riko Narumi) is an unsuccessful girl celebrity, who happens to take on the PR role of a “police chief for a day”. The job of a campaign girl is to smile and act as a police chief for one day. It should have been a simple job, however, the police station staff treat her like the real...
- 4/20/2012
- by Tiger33
- AsianMoviePulse
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