Tag: yu aoi film discussion

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Mushishi – Bugmaster

    Now, let’s see… I wrote this review a long while ago. So long ago that I ended up watching the anime series xP

    I’ve re-checked this review to try and have a balance between someone who didn’t know anything about Mushishi, and someone who saw the anime, and I think this review serves its purpose. Many of the things I felt weren’t properly built up, are in fact because the anime is very episode-based, and not much of a series… which I liked by the way. The anime is really REALLY great, so if you’re thinking of watching it after (or before) the film, go watch it.

    Anyway… here we go~~

    Something about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    This is a 2006 Live Action adaptation of the Manga series by Yuki Urushibara, featuring ubiquitous creatures called Mushi, which most humans are incapable of perceiving. However, there are few who possess the ability to see and interact with them, one of them is Ginko who refers to himself as a Mushishi (or Bugmaster), traveling from place to place to research Mushi and help people suffering from problems caused by them.

    The film corresponds to chapters 2, 7, 9 and 15 of the Manga.

    Genre: Fantasy
    Starring: Joe Odagiri, Nao Omori, Makiko Esumi, Yu Aoi
    Duration: +2hrs

    You know the drill. Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hachimitsu to Clover – Honey & Clover

    Let’s start with what the film is about:
    Live Action version of the famous manga series Hachimitsu to KURO~BA, it follows the lives of five art school students, who are trying to find their way through life and love. Takemoto is not a very good art student… preferring to talk about Japanese castles and models. Morita (Yusuke Iseya – Kiraware Matsuko no Issho, Blindness) is an amazing artist, but fears the real world and prefers to stay behind in the safety of college life. Mayama (Ryo Kase – Tokyo!, PAKO to Mahou no Ehon, GUGU Datte Neko de Aru) is in love with (and stalking) his boss, while Yamada is head over heels for him. And Hagumi (Yu Aoi) is a child prodigy…

    Genre: Drama, Light Comedy
    Starring: Sho Sakurai,Yu Aoi, Yusuke Iseya, Ryo Kase, Megumi Seki
    Appearances by: Masato Sakai, Shido Nakamura
    Duration: nearly 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead!

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Otoko-tachi no Yamato

    Delay, again~~~ SORRY! xD Yamato took a bit longer to re-watch. I really feel it’s been just sitting… there… ANYWAY! Next up is Honey & Clover, which has also been just sitting there~~~ Promise to try to re-watch sooner.

    Something about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    Otoko-tachi no Yamato is a 2005 Japanese war film telling the story of Kamio, a teenage boy who ended up fighting in World War II on board of the biggest Japanese battleship, and its crew who ultimately met its death in battle.

    Genre: War, Drama
    Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoka Suzuki, Sosuke Ikematsu, Kenichi Matsuyama, Shido Nakamura,Yu Aoi
    Appearances by: Kimiko Yo, Kayoko Shiraishi, Takahata Atsuko
    Duration: +2hrs

    Alert!!! Spoilers ahead!

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Nijuuyon no Hitomi – 24 Eyes

    Something about the film:
    (From AsianMediaWiki)
    Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world and their place in it, despite the fact that she knows full well that most of them will die in the war.

    Genre: Drama
    Starring: Hitomi Kuroki, Kaoru Yachigusa
    Appearances by: Akira Emoto, Yu Aoi, Shun Oguri
    Duration: +2hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Guuzen nimo Saiaku na Shounen – Worst by Chance

    Decided to do this one already! Just to get going… this goes all the way back to… Before Hana & Alice? 2003! A lot of faces on this one… you might recognize many~

    About the film:
    A 2003 film directed by Su-yeon Gu about a high school student named Hidenori Kaneshiro (Hayato Ichihara) who lives in Tokyo as a Korean-Japanese, who gets bullied for being half-Korean despite being raised Japanese. Because of this, he’s developed a reckless answer to life’s problems by not caring about anything in the real world… except maybe his sister.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy
    Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Mika Nakashima, Shin Yazawa, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
    Special appearances by: Akira Emoto, Rie Tomosaka, Yu Aoi, Kimiko Yo, Yoshinori Okada
    Duration: +1:50hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Henshin

    You’re in luck! Well, that depends on perspective~~ I was lucky (or not) to watch Henshin and it turned out to be the film right after my previous review, so I killed two birds with one stone. So here we go…

    Something about the film:
    (by me, ‘coz everyone misguided me to this film)
    A 2005 film about Junichi (Hiroshi Tamaki), who has recently gone through a brain operation, and while his recovery seems to be going on the right direction, not all is well inside his head. Before the surgery, Junichi was a nice guy, hard working, a painter… and a loving boyfriend to Kei (Yu Aoi). Now, however, he has quit his job, has violent outbursts, has stopped painting, and is not longer interested in his girlfriend.

    Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller Drama with Romance
    Starring: Hiroshi Tamaki, Yu Aoi
    Duration: +1:30hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hoshi ni Natta Shounen – Shining Boy & Little Randy

    *hoot hoot* sorry for the little delay~~~ But here we go!

    As always, a little about the film:
    This 2005 film stars Yuya Yagira (Tetsumu), of Dare mo Shiranai (Nobody Knows) fame – a role that earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival – as a young man who wants to become the first Japanese elephant trainer.

    Genre: Drama
    Starring: Yuya Yagira, Takako Tokiwa, Yu Aoi
    Based on the novel by: Sayuri Sakamoto
    Duration: +1:30hr

    Spoilers ahead, and I mean it this time.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Kame wa Igai to Hayaku Oyogu – Turtles Swim Faster than Expected

    So it’s been almost a month since the last Film Discussion because I thought it’d be good to keep Hula Girls up while it was playing on TVs in Latin America. So expect more reviews more often this time around… unless they show other Yu Aoi films on cable, of course. And Happy New Year!!

    So this Kame movie, or Turtles Swim Faster than Expected, comes after Hana & Alice according to various filmographies…

    What’s the movie about?
    (from AsianMediaWiki)
    Film starring Juri Ueno as Suzume Katagura an ordinary housewife (despite how only being 23), whose husband goes overseas on business leaving behind his pet turtle at her care. She lives her days monotonously, wondering if she will ever be noticed, until the day she spots a tricky ad sticker searching for spies.

    Genre: Comedy
    Starring: Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi, Ryo Iwamatsu, Eri Fuse
    Duration: 1:30hr

    There’s a 2-part at CrunchyRoll [Part1, Part2]

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – HURA GARU – Hula Girls

    This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).

    This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD

    Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…

    A little about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
    Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
    Duration: 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Nanako to Nanao – TV Movie

    I was gonna apologize for not getting the time to write a new review, luckily I found that this reviewed followed next. Yay! xD

    Nanako to Nanao – Ane to Otouto ni Nareru Hi

    I have no idea where to put this since it’s not a film, but it’s also not a series. Sure it is, for some reason, labeled as a TV show or series… but no. It’s a TV movie, people. What is the difference between a film/movie and a TV movie, you say? Well, first it’s medium… then it’s budget and resources. In the end, you can almost always tell the difference between one and the other.

    What’s this TV movie about?
    Well… let’s see~ It’s a 2004 NHK Made-for-TV-Film about a high school girl named Nanako (Yu Aoi), who is often labeled as weird and anti-social due to trust issues with people caused by the betrayal she feels her dad committed. Seven years after his death, Nanako is thrown into the unusual situation to cohabit with her half-brother, Nanao (Yuri Chinen).

    Genre: Drama… kinda cute, but drama.
    Starring: Yu Aoi, Yuri Chinen
    Duration: 1:15hr

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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