
Oh hoh… teasing photo for those who wanted Shunji Iwai + Yu Aoi back together. xD
Since the first time we talked about what people said about Yu-chan on twitter brought out toshii9245 out of lurking, I thought I would keep on posting other fun tweets about Yu ;D
Let’s start off with this fan-made trailer of Center of the Universe, starring Shugo Oshinari and Yu Aoi~
I was re-watching the DVD for Swallowtail Butterfly that I bought after watching the film on YouTube xD – and Because I’m cheap, I bought the Hong Kong version, when the Japanese version comes with English subtitles. I don’t think it’s the DVD per se, but the way it was shot. I don’t really know what it is, it’s scratchy, and it could certainly be because the film is kinda old. However, I would like to see a clean better release by Criterion… of all of Shunji Iwai written and directed films~
First day of Wildground’s 2010 Japanese Film Blogathon for everything about J-Cinema. Check out everyone participating around the world!
I had a bit of a problem picking my topic for today, because I mainly talk about idols that act. However, I thought I would dedicate my first post to the first ever director I saw since my craze for J-Films began.


Okay, the Raiou review isn’t so ouch because it’s in Japanese, and it didn’t seem to talk much about the film – other than the synopsis – but they gave it 2/5 which… you know, it’s bad. It doesn’t really surprise me after Ryuichi Hiroki’s April Bride. We’re not talking about Shinobu Terajima — fully, in-your-face actress — with Ryuichi Hiroki. We’re talking about Eita and Nana Eikura — the idols.
But still, as an idol film, I think it’s gonna floor me. I’ve seen the clips, it’s got Yu-chan riding a horse in slow-motion. Screaming. Talking with an accent. Shooting an arrow. It’s got Yu-chan’s first proper on-screen kiss — it’s not an “in your head” kiss scene, it’s not a stolen kiss — it’s a proper romance.
Then Mark Schilling from the Japan Times – who also kicked FLOWERS in the shins – kicks Redline too. I’m gonna pick the phrases that sum up his review the best:
“Redline” is all about visceral thrills that peak in the first slam-bang, headlong race scene. The film then spends the next 90 minutes trying to top this opener — about 90 minutes too long for me.
…
But the first 10 minutes are terrific.
There you go. He gave it a 2.5/5
But he says the animation is good, which… I mean – have you seen the World Record short from The Animatrix? Same guy directing. I can’t wait to just feast my eyes. Maybe, if the story and action is as sucky as he says (not enough drama, again?) Maybe I’ll just watch it one more time. I mean, he did love Tekkonkinkreet.