THE LAST MAN: THE MOVIE Reunites Masaharu Fukuyama And Yo Oizumi For The Latest Feature Film Chapter
The film reunites the stars of the hit TBS drama which aired in April of 2023!
shochiku
TRUE IDENTITY Reveals Official Trailer For Michihito Fujii’s New Cat-And-Mouse Whodunit Thriller!
Following a pair of teasers released over the summer, Shochiku has unveiled the official trailer for new mystery crime thriller, True Identity. The film is directed by Michihito Fujii who also penned the script with co-writer Kazuhisa Kodera, based on Tamehito Somei’s 2020 novel. True Identity stars One Last Bloom actor Ryusei Yokohama who plays Kaburagi, a man on the run for murder. With every development turning over something different for the relentless detective pursuing him, the investigation soon brings into question just who his suspect really is. Also starring are Rhio Yoshioka, Shintaro Morimoto, Anna Yamada, and Takayuki Yamada. Catch the official trailer and poster below ahead of the film’s November 29 release in Japan!
TRUE IDENTITY Teaser Sees Ryusei Yokohama On The Run In Michihito Fujii’s New Cat-And-Mouse Crime Thriller
The first official trailer has arrived for True Identity, the latest from Hard Days director Michihito Fujii, who most of us know has been busy knocking out his next venture for Netflix with Last Samurai Standing. Seperately and for now, we have the first official teaser and promo bits for the upcoming suspense thriller which goes before audiences in Japan from Shochiku on November 29. True Identity features Usogui, The Village and One Last Bloom star Ryusei Yokohama from a script by Fujii and co-writer Kazuhisa Kodera, based on Tamehito Somei’s 2020 novel. It centers on Kaburagi (Yokohama), a man on the run for murder, and with every development turning over something different for the relentless detective pursuing him, the investigation soon brings into question just who his suspect really is. True Identity also stars Rhio Yoshioka, Shintaro Morimoto, Anna Yamada, and Takayuki Yamada. The first teaser below went live […]
HONEKO AKABANE’S BODYGUARD Teases First Look At The Blonde-Haired Protector In First Pictoral Promo
A new manga adaptation is underway with romantic action comedy, Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguard, according to coverage by Comic Natalie over the weekend. Junichi Ishikawa is directing from a script by Hiroyuki Yatsu, based on Masamitsu Nigatsu’s 2022 Kodansha publication for Weekly Shonen Jump, as well as U.S. digital portal, K Manga. A first look announcement was also released as well, featuring actor, recording artist and Snow Man member, Raul. As the manga tells it, secrets are abound as the story unfolds of the adopted daughter of a lawyer, and her third-year delinquent classmate, Ibuki (Raul) who is assigned to secretly protect her from the raft of deadly assassins trying to kill her, and ensure her graduation. More casting and production details remain pending as the film is reportedly expected to wrap in June in time for an August 2 release from Shochiku. Take a look below!
A TRUE NOVEL: Post-WW II Japan-Set TV Drama In The Works
L.A.-based Upgrade Productions is pairing up with Japanese production label Shochiku (Tora-san franchise) to produce eight-part series drama, A True Novel. Acclaimed writer Riko Sakaguchi (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Mary and the Witches Flower, After The Rain) is penning the series. Based on the best-selling Japanese novel from Minae Mizumura, which won the Yomiuri Prize for Literature in 2003, A True Novel is inspired by Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights”. A sweeping narrative set in the decades after World War II in Japan and the US, this series will bring to life a love story spread over three generations as told by different characters. Shochiku’s Shuhei Akita is tapped to produce the series alongside Matt Brodlie and Jonathan Kier from Upgrade Productions, the label itself exec producing the series. The move marks a new one for Upgrade as it aims to produce premium local language productions for a global […]
The Crows Are Coming, As HIGH & LOW: THE WORST Is Announced For Late 2022 Sequel Release!
We may never know what becomes of the mysterious figure, “Bulge”, hinted at with the end of 2017’s High & Low: Final Mission. I’m not really sure, though it’s exciting to think about now that the hit action franchise is back in the headlines. More to the point, Japanese trade news sites are now reporting the early Fall 2022 release of a sequel to Shigeaki Kubo’s High & Low: The Worst, from Shochiku, in a new video which you can view above, and a poster announcement featuring the cast which you can check out further below on this page. The sequel, to be directed by HiGH&Low franchise co-scribe Norihisa Hiranuma (director of DTC Yukemuri Junjo hen From High & Low), will bring back a mix of both returning and new cast members; Actors Kazuma Kawamura, Hokuto Yoshino, Ryuji Sato, Fuju Kamio, Kohei Fukuyama, Ryu, Takahide Suzuki, Satoshi Uekiya, Ken Nakajima […]
THE FABLE: CHAPTER TWO Returns Junichi Okada Back To Legendary Action Comedy Thrills This February!
Coming in as a delightful surprise to anyone who can’t read Japanese entertainment periodicals but nonetheless tries to follow along, a sequel is currently on the way with The Fable: Chapter Two, following last year’s inaugural hit action comedy based on Katsuhisa Minami’s 2014 manga. Adapted for the screen by Yusuke Watanabe (Joker Game, Gatchman) with action direction by the Jackie Chan stunt team, The Fable follows Akira (Okada), a legendary underworld hitman who, despite being assigned by his boss to hide in a small village under an alias, finds himself challenged to do so when faced with Yakuza thugs, and an expert killer chasing his own glory. The film made the festival rounds and ultimately landed at the 18th New York Asian Film Festival, which allowed me an opportunity to write a review you can check out here. For the sequel, Okada rejoins director Kan Eguchi, and actress Fumino […]
Watch The New Trailer For Chiba Seiji's NINJA HUNTER!
Imagine you’re a ninja, suddenly awake with no memory, surrounded by dozens of dead ninjas, and the only clues you have are images of female ninja who also happens to be dead…and to top it off, you’re already in the middle of a ninja war! What do you do? That’s the question Chiba Seiji asks with actor Mimoto Masanori leading the cast for the new action thriller, Ninja Hunter, and in full display of just the sort of ninja action and spectacle you could expect from the director who brought you Kunoichi and Alien VS. Ninja in recent history. Having made its film festival run in the past year, the film is finally heading to Japan cinemas on October 24, and we now have a new trailer this week to share below! SYNOPSIS: In 1581 during a grueling feud between 2 ninja clans, Tao, a ninja from the Iga Clan, […]
NINJA THE MONSTER Kickstarts Shochiku's New Film Initiative
Budgets are usually an issue for some directors; I guess the opposite is true for risk when it comes to some studios. Me, personally, I’m all for a director using as much money as possible to allow the creative process to fully flourish and make the film not only excellent, but memorable. And there are directors who are able to achieve this on various productions throughout the world with low budgets, as opposed to Hollywood where studios will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make a film, a move that can go one of two way depending on the title, which brings us the latest from Shochiku. Back in 2010, rival studio, Nikkatsu launched a short series of small-budgeted productions subsidized under production label, Sushi Typhoon, producing and distributing gonzo cult favorites like Deadball, Yakuza Weapon, Cold Fish and Mutant Girls Squad before shutting down in 2011. Four years […]
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