Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: The Japanese animated film “Inu-Oh,” which takes place primarily in the 1300s, tells the story of a rock music duo that becomes popular, but secrets from their past affect their identities.
Culture Clash: The two musicians anger the ruling shōgun when the duo’s popular songs about historical events are rewritten versions of what the ruling power’s version of these events.
Culture Audience: “Inu-Oh” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime films that are compelling tales of non-conformity in the midst of pressure to conform.
A scene from “Inu-Oh” (Image courtesy of GKIDS)
“Inu-Oh” is an innovative reworking of a Japanese folk tale, with this anime movie making social commentary about what happens when two musicians from the 1300s give their own retelling of folk tales and suffer the consequences for it. The movie is filled with striking images, noteworthy original music, and a memorable story about identity and staying true to one’s self, even when there is pressure to change. Even though most of the film is set in the 14th century, the message is timeless. “Inu-Oh” had its world premiere at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival.
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa and written by Akiko Nogi, “In-Oh” is based on Hideo Furukawa’s historical novel “Tales of the Heike: Inu-Oh.” The title character of the “Inu-Oh” movie is the third son of a Noh dance troupe leader. Inu-Oh is treated like a freak because he was born with a deformed face, scaled-covered skin, a very long right arm, and his left arm and legs as stubs. Inu-Oh is forced to wear a mask in public. As a boy, his legs were restored when he learned how to dance by watching his father teach other people how to dance.
As an adult, Inu-Oh makes an unexpected friend named Tomona, who also has traumatic past related to his childhood. As shown in the beginning of the movie, agents of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (based on the real person), the third shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate that ruled from 1368 to 1394, ordered Tomona and his father to hunt for treasure underwater from shipwreck. The wrecked ship is from the defeated Heike people. Tomona and his father find the legendary Grasscutter Sword in a box on the ship. This magical sword, once uncovered, unleashes a force of energy that blinds Tomona and murders Tomona’s father in half by cutting him in half.
Tomona then goes on a quest that extends through his adulthood to find out exactly why this tragedy happened. He is accompanied by the ghost of his father. Tomona then meets a group of blind biwa players and joins this troupe. However, Tomona changes his name to Tomoichi, which makes it hard for his father’s spirit to know where Tomona/Tomoichi is.
Through a series of circumstances, Tomona/Tomoichi meets Inu-Oh. They decide to form a musical duo, with Inu-Oh as the snger/danger, and Tomona/Tomoichi as the biwa player. The movie puts a modern spin on the story by having the duo perform heavy metal music. The duo’s songs have lyrics that are revisions of folk tales.
This musical duo becomes so popular, large and rapturous crowds flock to see the performances. However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes upset because the lyrics do not conform to the official folk tales. The ruler is also worried that this musical duo will have too much influence over the masses and might prompt a revolution. And you can easily guess what might happen next when it’s decided that Inu-Oh and Tomona/Tomoichi are declared threats to the government.
The voices of the “Inu-Oh” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on the version of “Inu-Oh.” The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Avu-chan (of the rock band Queen Bee) as the adult Inu-oh, Mirai Moriyama as Tomona, Tasuku Emoto as Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, Kenjiro Tsuda as Inu-Oh’s Father, and Yutaka Matsushige as Tomona’s Father. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Joshua Waters as the adult Inu-oh, Sena Bryer as Tomona, Cory Yee as Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, Jason Marnocha as Inu-Oh’s Father, and Keythe Farley as Tomona’s Father.
In addition to having impressive animation, “Inu-Oh” skillfully explores themes of artistic freedom, as well as individuality versus society “norms.” The movie also respectfully handles disability issues without glossing over the prejudices experienced by disabled people. The music of Inu-Oh is catchy but might not be enjoyed as much by people who are inclined to dislike heavy metal. Overall, “Inu-Oh” is a creative triumph that anime fans will enjoy for how the movie uniquely combines ancient and contemporary storytelling.
GKIDS released “Ino-Oh” in select U.S. cinemas on August 12, 2022. The movie was released on digital and VOD on December 20, 2022, and is set for release on Blu-ray and DVD on January 24, 2023. “Inu-Oh” was released in Japan on May 28, 2022.
Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: The Japanese animated film “The Deer King,” which takes place primarily in various places in unspecified ancient time, tells the story of an exiled soldier named Van, who break out of prison, rescues a girl named Yuna, who’s about 3 or 4 years old, and they both go on the run together.
Culture Clash: Van and Yuna must avoid the spread of Black Wolf Fever, as well as the forces that wish to capture the king and the girl.
Culture Audience: “The Deer King” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime films and don’t mind if they are bland and predictable.
Yuna in “The Deer King” (Image courtesy of GKIDS)
“The Deer King” had the potential to be compelling anime. Unfortunately, the movie fails to capture the adventurous spirit of the novels and is bogged down by clichés, trite dialogue, and frequently tedious pacing. The animation visuals and voice acting are perfectly fine. It’s the way that the story is told that is a disappointment.
Directed by Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji, “The Deer King” is based on Nahoko Uehashi’s “The Deer King” novel series that began in 2014. The books were also made into a manga series. Ando makes his feature-film directorial debut with “The Deer King,” after previously being an animation whose work as an animation director on 2001’s “Spirited Away,” 2006’s “Paprika” and 2016’s “Your Name.” “The Deer King” had its world premiere at the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
It’s not necessary to know anything about “The Deer King” books or manga series to understand “The Deer King” movie, which takes place in a fantasy world in an unspecified ancient time. The movie has an introduction that explains background information for the story: “The kingdom of Aquafa was once ravaged by the empire of Zol. Fearing the mysterious Black Wolf Fever, Zol ceased invading Aquafa’s Fire Horse territory. Despite later skirmishes, both nations held their own. Now, Aquafa is under the dominion of Zol. Today, the fever is thought to be no more.”
A soldier named Van has been held prisoner in a salt mine controlled by the Zol empire. A pack of wolves attack some and kill some people near the salt mine. When the wolves pass by Van’s jail cell, Van notices that a wolf has girl who’s about 3 or 4 years old, who’s trapped inside of the wolf’s mouth. Van later finds out that the girl is named Yunacha, but she goes by her preferred nickname Yuna.
Van gets the wolf to drop Yuna, but Van is injured in the process when the wolf bites Van. The wolf’s bite gives Van supernatural powers to break out of the jail cell. Van takes Yuna, and the two of them escape and hide out from people who who are looking for Van, who had been taken prison after the Battle of the Kashuna River. Meanwhile, Black Wolf Fever (also known as Mittsual), which was thought to have disappeared, has returned and is now rapidly infecting communities.
During their journey, Van and Yuna meet a confident young man named Hohsalle Yuguraul, who calls himself a “sacred doctor”; a loudmouth brute named Mokokan; a female warrior named Sae, who has been tasked with tracking down Van; the ruthless Lord Utala, who blames the Aquafese people for brining back the “curse” of Black Wolf Fever; and farmer couple Tohma and Kiya, who give Van and Yuna some refuge. Magical deer creatures named pyuika are mentioned many times in the story and have a purpose that is very obvious.
For a movie that is supposed to be an action-adventure film, many parts of “The Deer King” are actually quite boring, especially in the middle section. Van has a backstory that is eventually revealed, and it’s the most sterotypical backstory that you can guess for a soldier who was all alone in the world when he became a prisoner of war in a world that has been plagued by Black Wolf Fever. Van and Yuna predictably bond like a surrogate father and a child.
The voices of the “The Deer King” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on the version of “The Deer King.” The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Shinichi Tsutsumi as Van, Hisui Kimura as Yuna, Ryoma Takeuchi as Hohsalle, Tôru Sakurai as Mokokan, Anne Watanabe as Sae, Yutaka Aoyama as Lord Utalu, Chad Horii as Tohma, and Hiromi Kawakami as Kiya. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Ray Chase as Van, Luciana VanDette as Yuna, Griffin Puatu as Hohsalle, Luis Bermudez as Makokan, Erica Schroeder as Sae, Doug Erholtz as Lord Utalu, Stefan Martello as Tohmo, and Larissa Gallagher as Kiya.
“The Deer King” might satisfy people who will watch any type of animation, no matter what the quality is. But considering all the high-quality and entertaining animation that already exists, “The Deer King” falls short of what could have been offered in this movie. It’s not a terrible movie, but it’s not a very impressive one and should have been a lot better, considering the level of talented animation filmmakers who were involved. “The Deer King” just lumbers along with no surprises and absolutely no clever thrills.
GKIDS released “The Deer King” in select U.S. cinemas on July 15, 2022, after a two-night preview in association with Fathom Events on July 13 and July 14, 2022. The movie was released on digital and VOD on October 4, 2022, and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2022. “The Deer King” was released in Japan on February 4, 2022.
Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: This Japanese animated fantasy film takes place primarily in Japan, featuring characters that include humans, robots and monsters.
Culture Clash: Various heroes try to prevent a group of villains from reviving the evil Red Ribbon Army.
Culture Audience: “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” will appeal primarily to fans of the “Dragon Ball” manga and TV series, as well as people who are interested in sci-fi/fantasy anime about heroes versus villains.
Carmine, Magenta, Gamma 2, Gamma 1 and Dr. Hedo in “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” (Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll)
“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” offers a highly entertaining, rollicking story that is one of the best of the “Dragon Ball” anime movie series. Viewers don’t need to be familiar with the “Dragon Ball” franchise to enjoy the film. The movie has a typical “heroes versus villains” story as the basis for the movie’s plot. However, the memorable characters, the movie’s snarky comedy and the dazzling action scenes make “Dragon Bal Super: Super Hero” worth watching.
Directed by Sunghoo Park and written by Akira Toriyama, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is based on Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball” manga series, which has spawned anime series and several movies. The basic plot of “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is very easy to follow for anyone who isn’t familiar with anything in the “Dragon Ball” franchise. That’s because in the very beginning of “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” there’s a summary of relevant “Dragon Ball” history and characters to inform viewers why certain things might be happening. Fortunately, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is not cluttered with too many characters, which would lead to a lot of confusion.
In the “Dragon Ball” multiverse, Son Goku (the main protagonist in the “Dragon Ball” manga series) was a superhero who destroyed the evil Red Ribbon Army. Goku came from the Planet Vegeta and is of the Saiyan race. He came to Earth and had children with a human woman named Chichi. In “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” Goku’s eldest son Gohan could continue his father’s legacy, but he is caught up in his academic studies.
Gohan has a daughter named Pan (who’s about 5 or 6 years old), who is training to be a superhero with Piccolo, a former enemy of Goku who became a friend. Piccolo (who is the reincarnaton of the Great Demon King Piccolo) has a prickly “father figure” relationship with Gohan. A running joke in the movie is that Piccolo gets irritated when Gohan asks Piccolo to act like a babysitte/nanny and pick up Pan from school.
Meanwhile, Red Pharmaceuticals president Magenta is the son of Commander Red, the founder of the Red Ribbon Army. Magenta feels cheated out of his Red Ribbon Army legacy, so he hatches a plan to revive the Red Ribbon Army. In order to achieve his goals, Magenta recruits a 24-year-old eccentric genius scientist named Dr. Hedo, who is obsessed with research that will producer androids with superpowers.
Dr. Hedo was wealthy but blew his entire fortune on this research. Out of desperation, Dr. Hedo stole three bodies from a morgue, converted them into primitive androids, and made them work at a convenience store. Dr. Hedo was sent to prison for these crimes.
The movie shows how Magenta contacted Dr. Hedo shortly after Dr. Hedo’s release from prison. Magenta scoffs to his loyal and saracastic chauffeur Carmine about Hedo’s crimes and imprisonment: “He would’ve made more [money if he had just robbed the place. How stupid can a genius be? No matter. We’re not looking for business sense.”
Dr. Hedo finds it too tempting not to take Magenta’s offer of giving Dr. Hedo whatever funding that Dr. Hedo needs. Dr. Hedo tells Magenta: “I’ve got zero interest in wielding power. Continuing my research is all I care about.”
Dr. Hedo soon reveals what he considers to be his masterpiece inventions: two androids with superpowers named Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. On the outside, the two Gammas look identical (Gamma 1 wears a red cape, Gamma 2 wears a blue cape), but they have noticabely different personalites. Gamma 2 is the more arrogant and more risk-taking of these two androids.
Other characters in “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” include Bulma, a brilliant scientist on the hero team; Vegeta, who is Bulma’s husband and a prince of the Saiyan race; Videl, who is the wife of Gohan and the mother of Pan; Trunks, who is the son of Bulam and Vegeta; and Krillin, a former Goku rival who later became Goku’s friend.
The expected battles ensue between good versus evil. The fight scenes are high-energy and often suspenseful, even if viewers can easily predict a certain final outcome in any movie about superheroes. What makes “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” interesting to watch is that even among the heroes and villains, there are disagreements within each group, and loyalty to each other is not always guaranteed.
The voices of the “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on which version of “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” that you see. The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has the following Japanese voice actors for the film: Masako Nozawa (who voices the characters of Son Goku, Son Gohan, and Son Goten); Toshio Furukawa as the voice of Piccolo; Miyu Irino as the voice of Dr. Hedo; Hiroshi Kamiya as the voice of Gamma 1; Mamoru Miyano as the voice of Gamma 2; Volcano Ota as the voice of Magenta; Ryota Takeuchi as the voice of Carmine; Yūko Minaguchi as the voices of Pan and Videl; Aya Hisakawa as the voice of Bulma; Ryō Horikawa as the voice of Vegeta; Takeshi Kusao as the voice of Trunks; and Mayumi Tanaka as the voice of Krillin.
The English voice actors include Kyle Hebert as the voice of Son Gohan; Sean Schemmel as the voice of Son Goku; Robert McCollum as the voice of Son Goten; Christopher R. Sabat as the voices of Piccolo and Vegeta; Zach Aguilar as the voice of Dr. Hedo; Aleks Le as the voice of Gamma 1; Zeno Robinson as the voice of Gamma 2; Charles Martinet as the voice of Magenta; Jason Marnocha as the voice of Carmine; Jeannie Tirado as the voice of Pan; Kara Edwards as the voice of Videl; Monica Rial as the voice of Bulma; Sonny Strait as the voice of Krillin; and Eric Vale as the voice of Trunks.
“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” certainly benefits from Toriyama still being involved in the “Dragon Ball” franchise as a chief creator. It’s hard to imagine the quality of the franchise being quite as good without him. The cinematic versions of these characters do tremendous justice to the manga versions. Expect this “Dragon Ball” saga to continue to delight longtime fans, as well newcomers.
Crunchyroll released “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” in U.S. cinemas on August 19, 2022. The movie was released in Japan on June 11, 2022.
Some language in Japanese, Spanish and Russian with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Japan, the action film “Bullet Train” features a racially diverse cast of characters (white, black, Asian and Latino) representing the working-class, middle-class, wealthy and the criminal underground.
Culture Clash: A down-on-his luck American assassin has conflicts with international criminals during a ride on a fast-moving train traveling through Japan.
Culture Audience: “Bullet Train” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of star Brad Pitt; the novel on which the movie is based; and movies that give more importance to loud violence instead of an interesting and innovative story.
Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in “Bullet Train” (Photo by Scott Garfield/Columbia Pictures)
The jumbled and repetitive “Bullet Train” is just a fast-moving train wreck. The movie has plenty of famous co-stars but ultimately has little substance or imagination as an action comedy. “Bullet Train” over-relies on too many similar gags until it all becomes very dull and obnoxious. After a while, the action starts to look stale and formulaic. With few exceptions, the movie’s characters are no better than soulless, computer-generated characters in a video game.
Directed by David Leitch and written by Zak Olkewicz, “Bullet Train” is based on Kōtarō Isaka’s 2010 Japanese novel “MariaBeetle,” which was translated in English and renamed “Bullet Train” in 2021. In the book, all the characters are Japanese. The “Bullet Train” movie has a cast of international characters, with characters from the United States and the United Kingdom getting most of the screen time. Characters from Japan, Russia and Mexico are secondary characters. “Bullet Train” takes place primarily in Japan but the movie was filmed at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.
Prior to directing “Bullet Train,” Leitch directed the action feature films “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (released in 2019) “Deadpool 2” (released in 2018) and “Atomic Blonde,” released in 2017. What all of these movies have in common is that they bit off more than they can chew. They’re very energetic when it comes to action scenes, but they’re very cluttered with sloppily edited characters and plot tangents that don’t necessarily serve the story very well. “Bullet Train” follows that same pattern. A better director would bring more finesse and charm to these movies instead of trying to make audiences think that violent action scenes are enough to make a good action flick.
People don’t really need to read the “Bullet Train”/”MariaBeetle” novel before seeing the “Bullet Train” movie. In fact, people who don’t know anything about the novel might be less disappointed in the “Bullet Train” movie, which dumbs down a lot of things about the novel. The “Bullet Train” movie removes a lot of the intrigue and personality that can be found in the novel, and substitutes it with an emphasis on staging scenes that are supposed to be outrageously violent.
In the “Bullet Train” movie, seven people on board the Nippon Speedline train going from Tokyo to Kyoto find their lives colliding and interwined because of various criminal activities:
Ladybug (played by Brad Pitt) is a cynical and unlucky American assassin, whose current mission is to steal a briefcase full of ransom money.
Tangerine (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a smooth-talking British assassin who likes to wear suits and gold jewelry but sometimes loses his seemingly suave cool with his hair-trigger temper.
Lemon (played by Brian Tyree Henry) is Tangerine’s more even-tempered adoptive bother/partner in crime, who takes a more philosophical view of their assassin work and who is fixated on the children’s book/cartoon character Thomas the Tank Engine.
The Prince (played by Joey King) is a sociopathic killer who disguises her evil by looking like an innocent teenage schoolgirl. (The character of the Prince was male in the “Bullet Train” novel.)
Kimura (played by Andrew Koji) is a quiet, low-level criminal from Japan who’s out for revenge against the Prince for a heinous act committed against Kimura’s son.
The Hornet (played by Zazie Beetz) is a sneaky assassin who usually goes undercover in disguise.
The Wolf (played by Benito A Martínez Ocasio, also known as Bad Bunny) is a ruthless assassin/gang leader from Mexico.
Ladybug is in constant communication through earpieces with his no-nonsense boss/handler Maria (played by Sandra Bullock), who inexplicably seems to know and see everything on the train. (And no, Ladybug isn’t wearing a secret hidden camera.) Maria is ultimately a character that doesn’t add much to the story except to make Ladybug look even more bungling and foolish than he needed to be.
But in some ways, this odd-couple pairing of Maria and Ladybug would have made a better movie if focused on these two characters, because Bullock (in the limited time that she has in “Bullet Train”) brings a certain charisma to the role that “Bullet Train” lacks overall. Unfortunately, only Maria’s voice is heard for most of “Bullet Train,” which lessens the impact of Bullock’s talent for physical comedy (facial expressions and other body language) that would have benefited “Bullet Train.” It isn’t until toward the end of the movie that Maria appears on screen.
The only interesting trivia note about “Bullet Train” is that cast members Pitt, Bullock and Channing Tatum (who has a useless cameo in “Bullet Train”) were co-stars in another 2022 movie: the romantic comedy “The Lost City.” Neither movie is award-worthy, but at least the comedy in “The Lost City” was depicted in a more skillful way. “Bullet Train” has some sporadic moments where the jokes land as intended, but the rest of the comedy falls very flat. Tatum and “Deadpool” movie franchise star Ryan Reynolds have “Bullet Train” cameos that are quick and underwhelming.
The messy plot of “Bullet Train” involves the kidnapped, unnamed son (played by Logan Lerman) of a Russian mob boss called the White Death (played by Michael Shannon), with Tangerine and Lemon having the responsibility of guarding the son on the train and carrying a briefcase full of ransom money. Ladybug’s job is to steal the money. A running gag in the movie is that Ladybug has encountered some of these criminals before in assassin assignments that he botched, but he has forgotten about these experiences until he’s reminded of them.
Lots of shootouts, explosions, and bloody fights ensue. There’s also a recurring plot device involving snake poison and a Taiwanese Blue Beauty snake. Masi Oka (as the Conductor) and Karen Fukuhara (as Kayda Izumi Concession Girl) have utterly thankless and forgettable roles in this schlockfest.
Except for the wisecracking Ladybug and Kimura’s humble florist father The Elder (played by Hiroyuki Sanada), the characters in “Bullet Train” come across as very hollow, and viewers will have a hard time connecting with most of these characters. There’s no clever mystery in this story that will keep viewers guessing. “Bullet Train” certainly delivers if people want lackluster jokes and cartoonish violence, but it just adds up to a lot of mindless hot air.
Columbia Pictures will release “Bullet Train” in U.S. cinemas on August 5, 2022.
Culture Representation: The Japanese animated film “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” which takes place primarily in an unnamed village in Japan, tells the story of an unlucky-in-love single mother named Nikuko and her teenage daughter Kikuko, with a cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Kikuko is somewhat of an outsider at her school, where she pines over a boy she has a crush on, she longs to be accepted by a clique of popular girls, and she is often embarrassed by her mother’s goofy and larger-than-life personality.
Culture Audience: “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime films about family love and the true meaning friendship.
Nikuko (voiced by Shinobu Ôtake) in “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” (Image courtesy of GKIDS)
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” tells a moderately entertaining story about an eccentric single mother and her teenage daughter, who is the story’s narrator. This comedy/drama anime film isn’t great though. It has some problematic mocking of the title character’s large body. The movie’s title is a little misleading because Nikuko (the mother character, voiced by Shinobu Ôtake) isn’t in the film as much as you might think a title character would be. The story is really about Nikuko’s daughter Kikuko (voiced by Cocomi), who is Nikuko’s only child. The movie spends a lot of time on Kikuko’s social interactions with Kikuko’s peers.
Directed by Ayumu Watanabe, “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is based on Kanako Nishi’s 2014 novel of the same name. The novel was also made into a manga series. Satomi Ohshima wrote the “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” movie screenplay. The movie’s animation and performances from the voice actors are perfectly fine. The screenplay is where “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” falters the most.
The beginning of “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” has a montage, with voiceover narration from Kikuko (who’s about 14 or 15 years old), explaining some of Nikuko’s background. Nikuko has a pattern of choosing love partners who are liars, cheaters and con men. These loser boyfriends break Nikuko’s heart and often drain her of her money.
Every time Nikuko has one of these bad breakups, she then moves to another city in Japan, as if she wants to start a new life and try to put her heartbreak behind her. It’s mentioned that Nikuko grew up in an unnamed small town. She moved to Osaka at age 16, and then Nagoya at age 27, and then Yokohana at age 30, and then Tokyo at age 33. And now, at age 35, Nikuko has moved with Kikuko (whom she calls Kukurin as a nickname) to an unnamed small city in Japan.
Nikuko and Kikuko live on a small fishing houseboat owned by Nikuko’s friendly boss Sassan (played by Ikuji Nakamura), who also owns a restaurant/bar called Uwogashi Grill House. Nikuko, who works as a server at Uwogashi Grill House, has had working-class jobs all of her life. She was working at another bar where she met one of her swindler ex-boyfriends. Nikuko doesn’t like to discuss who Kikuko’s father is, so Kikuko has gone through life not knowing anything about her father.
All of Nikuko’s relocations and romantic disappointments have left her “tired,” according to Kikuko. Despite being unlucky in love and experiencing a lot of betrayal, Nikuko has a jolly and exuberant personality. She’s very friendly to strangers, but she doesn’t have many friends. It’s an indication that underneath her extroverted persona, Nikuko is hiding a lot of loneliness and emotional pain.
However, Nikuko gets her greatest joy from being a mother. Kikuko and Nikuko love each other very much, but Kikuko is in that teenage stage of life where Kikuko wants more independence. Nikuko has her share of quirks. As Kikuko explains in the movie’s introduction, Nikuko likes to make puns about numbers and kanji. Nikuko also has an almost juvenile outlook on life, because she likes to make childlike jokes with people. By contrast, Kikuko is serious-minded and introverted.
Nikuko is also the type of person who’s impossible not to notice in a room, because she often talks loudly and can be clumsy. Nikuko also occasionally gets drunk in public. When she gets drunk, she becomes even louder and goofier. And when a parent acts this way, you know what that means for a child, especially if that child is a teenager: That parent is often an embarrassment to the child.
The beginning of “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” somewhat oddly lists Nikuko’s measurements, which seems redundant because people watching the movie can already see that she’s a large-sized woman, in terms of her weight proportion to her body. But for anyone who cares, Nikuko’s measurements are listed as being 151 centimeters tall (which is nearly 5 feet tall) and weighing 67.4 kilograms (or about 148 pounds). One of the movie’s flaws is that it seems fixated on Nikuko’s body size as a way to explain why Nikuko is a social misfit.
It’s not really body shaming, but several times throughout the movie, Nikuko’s body size and eating habits are used for slapstick jokes. She often falls down or gets into physically uncomfortable predicaments because of her weight. There are also multiple scenes of Nikuko devouring large quantities of food, because the filmmakers obviously intended viewers to laugh at Nikuko when she eats.
The movie also has some unnecessary and tacky scenes of Nikuko farting or burping. No one watching this movie needs to know how Nikuko’s digestive system is processing gas, but there it is in unavoidable scenes in “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko.” The movie also hints that Nikuko might have sleep apnea, based on the way she loudly snores and seems to have some difficulty breathing when she sleeps. Any health issues that Nikuko might have are treated as jokes—and this mockery is the movie’s biggest failing.
Nikuko’s physicality is used as the movie’s “comic relief,” but it’s not the movie’s main story. Most of “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is about Kikuko’s angst over her social situation at her school. This not-very-original teen storyline has Kikuko wanting to be liked by a clique of popular girls, led by a snob named Mori.
Kikuko has a schoolmate named Maria (voiced by Izumi Ishii), who was Kikuko’s closest friend at school. However, Maria has been shunned by Mori and her clique, just because they think Maria isn’t cool enough to hang out with them. Because Kikuko wants to be accepted by Mori’s clique, Kikuko has recently been snubbing Maria too. Kikuko says in a voiceover about her social life at school: “When I transferred here, Maria was the first one to talk to me.” And now, Kikuko says she doubts that Maria will ever talk to her again.
Kikuko, who has a tomboyish appearance, is also insecure about how she looks. She has a secret crush on a schoolmate named Ninomiya (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), who is somewhat of a loner and has a reputation for being a little rebellious. Ninomiya, a shaggy-haired teen who has long bangs that almost cover his eyes, seems to know what Kikuko has a crush on him because he notices that she often stares at him.
One day at school, when Ninomiya and Kikuko are talking with each other, he praises Maria for “dressing like a princess and looking feminine.” This comment makes Kikuko jealous, so she tells Ninomiya that Maria had a plan to be the center of attention, and it backfired. Kikuko tells Ninomiya it’s the reason why Mori’s clique has made Maria an outcast.
It’s a catty side to Kikuko that makes her look small-minded and petty. When Ninomiya points out that Maria and Kikuko used to be close friends, Kikuko has to come to terms with how she also played a role in enabling bullying and making Maria feel excluded. The movie shows how Kikuko then handles this reckoning.
Meanwhile, the movie continues with scenarios that show Kikuko being embarrassed by Nikuko. They take a mother-daughter trip to an aquarium. You can easily predict what happens when Nikuko encounters a wet floor.
And then, there’s a School Sports Day at Kikuko’s school, where students and their parents compete against each other in athletic competitions. You can also easily guess what that means for Nikuko and Kikuko. Ninomiya will be watching whatever ends up happening, which adds to Kikuko’s anxiety about this event.
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” has a lot of slapstick comedy, but the movie takes a sharp turn into serious drama when a secret is revealed in the last third of the film. It’s here where “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” somewhat redeems itself in how it portrays Nikuko, who no longer becomes a caricature in this part of the movie. How this secret is revealed puts Nikuko in a different context than just embarrassing herself and Kikuko in a buffoonish way.
The reveal of this secret is meant to add more depth to the story, but it comes so late in the movie, some viewers might perceive it as a manipulative plot twist. Other viewers might be emotionally moved by this secret, while some viewers might even shed some tears over it. After the secret is revealed, it brings up some questions that the movie never answers. Even with all of its shortcomings, “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” has a meaningful message about family love and true friendships, but viewers have to watch a lot of the movie’s cliché-driven scenarios before it finally gets to this message.
GKIDS released “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” in select U.S. cinemas on June 3, 2022, with a sneak preview on June 2, 2022. The movie is set for release on digital, VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on July 19, 2022. “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” was originally released in Japan in 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Japan, in the fictional city called Samurai Town and in a fictional area called Ghostland, the action film “Prisoners of the Ghostland” features a cast of predominantly white and Asian characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A mysterious man is forced to find a ruthless leader’s enslaved concubine, who has escaped.
Culture Audience: “Prisoners of the Ghostland” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Nicolas Cage and anyone who likes action movies that have more style than substance.
Bill Moseley (center) in “Prisoners of the Ghostland” (Photo courtesy of RLJE Films)
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” has impressive production design and cinematography, but this visually stylish action flick is too much of an incoherent mess in all other areas to be a truly enjoyable experience. Nicolas Cage’s die-hard fans, who automatically praise everything he does, will probably like “Prisoners of the Ghostland” just because he’s in the movie, in spite of the film’s very obvious failings. Unfortunately, the “Prisoners of the Ghostland” story just too cliché, but the filmmakers try to distract from this unoriginality by cluttering up the movie with predictable fight scenes and some bizarre characters.
Directed by Sion Sono, “Prisoners of the Ghostland”(which takes place in fictional areas of Japan) is essentially a post-apocalyptic film that blends elements of Western movies and samurai movies. “Prisoners of the Ghostland” (written by Aaron Hendry and Reza Sixo Safai) has the over-used “male hero who has to save a woman” concept as the basis for the protagonist’s main mission in this story. Maybe it’s a joke or maybe the filmmakers were just too lazy to come up with a name for the protagonist (played by Cage), but he doesn’t have a name in the movie. He’s listed in the film credits as Hero.
The Hero character is not exactly an upstanding, morally righteous person. He’s in prison for a bank robbery where he and his partner in crime, named Psycho (played by Nick Cassavetes), murdered several innocent bystanders. (This bank robbery is shown in a very bloody flashback.)
Psycho was in a prison transport vehicle that crashed into a truck carrying nuclear waste, which caused a massive explosion, leading to much of the area becoming a wasteland disaster area. (“Prisoners of the Ghostland” was filmed in Japan and Los Angeles. The movie had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.)
A corrupt and twisted leader named the Governor (played by Bill Moseley) has created a settlement community called Samurai Town, which is a combination of a modern Japanese city and American Old West village. As such, people in Samurai Town either dress in traditional Japanese clothing or cowboy/cowgirl gear. The Governor keeps women as sex slaves, whom he calls his “granddaughters.”
One of the enslaved women has escaped. Her name is Bernice (played by Sofia Boutella), and the Governor lets Hero out of prison to force Hero to find Bernice and bring her back to the Governor. As part of this mercenary task, the Governor forces Hero to wear a black leather outfit that is rigged with a detonator. The bomb on the suit will go off if Hero does not return Bernice in two days.
There are voice recognition buttons on the outfit’s sleeves, so that Bernice can speak into these devices to confirm that she is with Hero. Electro-chargers have been placed around Hero’s neck and testicles that will detonate if he tries to take off this outfit before the task is completed. Instead of taking the black Toyota Celica that has been offered to him, Hero instead decides to leave on a bicycle.
The Governor has a samurai bodyguard/enforcer named Yasujiro (played by Tak Sakaguchi), who catches up to Hero and tells him to use the car, and Hero obliges. However, Hero ends up crashing the car and is carried into a bombed-out area called Ghostland, which can be best be described as a rebellious steampunk community. The leader of the Ghostland tribe is the demented Enoch (played by Charles Glover), who knows that Bernice is there, but he’s doesn’t want to let her go.
You know where this story is headed, of course. The rest of “Prisoners of the Ghostland” is just a series of one obstacle after another for Hero, who gets into a lot of fights along the way. And did we mention that there are also some zombies in this post-apocalyptic world? (How unoriginal and unnecessary.)
Unfortunately, none of the uneven acting in “Prisoners of the Ghostland” elevates this shoddily told story. The dialogue in this movie is simply atrocious. “Prisoners of the Ghostland” tries every hard to be perceived as a zany action movie, but there’s no wit, charm or unpredictability to this story. For an action flick, it’s got dreadfully sluggish pacing in too many areas.
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” also has a lot of characters that are either too bland or so wacky that they’re trying too hard and are therefore annoying. Cage is just doing another version of the angsty loner type that he has already done in many of his other films. The villains are hollow. And most of the supporting characters—including Bernice’s friends Stella (played by Lorena Kotô), Nancy (played by Canon Nawata) and Susie (played by Yuzuka Nakaya)—are underwritten and underdeveloped.
It seems like “Prisoners of the Ghostland” was made with the idea that it will be a cult classic that will inspire other movies, similar to what director George Miller’s 1979 post-apocalyptic action classic “Mad Max” ended up doing for sci-fi action cinema in a “wasteland” setting. However, “Prisoners of the Ghostland” doesn’t have enough meaningful characters to care about to see again in spinoffs or sequels. “Prisoners of the Ghostland” is just an empty exercise from filmmakers who think that all you need to make a good action movie are memorable set designs, a well-known actor as a headliner, and a variety of fight scenes. That’s not enough to save “Prisoners of the Ghostland” from being a disappointing mishmash of superficial self-indulgence and amateurish storytelling.
RLJE Films released “Prisoners of the Ghostland” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on September 17, 2021. The movie was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 16, 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in Japan, the dramatic film “Drive My Car” features an all-Asian cast characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: While grieving the death of his wife, a theater director, who’s in charge of staging the Anton Chekhov play “Uncle Vanya,” finds himself unexpectedly tangled up in the life of the young female driver who was assigned to chauffeur him.
Culture Audience: “Drive My Car” will appeal primarily to people interested in artsy, well-acted but somewhat long-winded movies about personal relationships and trying to heal from grief.
Masaki Okada and Hidetoshi Nishijima in “Drive My Car” (Photo courtesy of Janus Films)
The emotionally layered and very drawn-out “Drive My Car” won’t appeal to people with short attention spans, but it’s an immersive journey that memorably depicts the complexities of human lives. It’s a three-hour movie where the last hour is the best hour. Until then, viewers have to watch how the story slowly unfolds to show how grief can be both a burden and an emotional shield. If viewers have the patience to sit through the first two hours of the movie, they will be rewarded with some knockout acting in that last third of the movie.
“Drive My Car” is based on Haruki Murakami’s Drive My Car” short story that was in his 2014 short-story collection “Men Without Women.” “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe adapted the story into the “Drive My Car” screenplay. The movie, which had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it won three awards for Best Screenplay, FIPRESCI Prize Competition and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. “Drive My Car” then earned four Oscar nominations: Best Picture (the first movie from Japan to get this Academy Award nomination in this category); Best Director; Best Adapted Screenplay; and Best International Feature Film, a category in which “Drive My Car” has received numerous prizes, including an Academy Award.
In the beginning of “Drive My Car” (which takes place in Japan), 47-year-old writer/actor/director Yûsuke Kafuku (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) is seemingly happily married to his younger wife Oto Kafuku (played by Reika Kirishima), a former actress who now works as a screenwriter on a TV drama series. They both live in Tokyo. The movie’s opening scene shows the two spouses cuddling naked in bed, in a post-coital embrace. Oto tells Yûsuke a story about a teenage girl who sneaks into the house of a 17-year-old boy named Yamaga, who is her high school crush. Yûsuke asks questions about how this story will evolve.
Oto doesn’t know it yet, but his wife doesn’t have much longer to live. He drives her to work, and she introduces him to an actor named Kôshi Takatsuki (played by Masaki Okada), who’s in his mid-to-late 20s. On another day, Yûsuke comes home unexpectedly to find Oto and Kôshi having sex with each other, but they do not see Yûsuke. A shocked and dismayed Yûsuke quietly leaves, without telling either of them what he saw.
After witnessing this act of infidelity, Oto suddenly dies of a brain hemorrhage, with no warning signs that this would happen. To try to take his mind off of his grief, Yûsuke agrees to got to Hiroshima to be a visiting artist doing a residency at a theater workshop that’s staging the Anton Chekhov play “Uncle Vanya,” which Yûsuke will be directing. Yûsuke is assigned a chauffeur to drive him while he’s working at the festival: Masaki Watari (played by Tôko Miura), a mostly solemn and quiet woman who is 23 years old.
At first, Yûsuke refuses the idea to be driven around. However, the festival supervisors Yuhara (played by Satoko Abe) and Gong Yoon-soo (played by Jin Dae-yeon) insist that Yûsuke have a driver because a previous artist in residence accidentally ran over and killed someone in the past. And to prevent any further liabilities, all artists in residence are required to have a professional driver as part of the job.
Masaki asks Yûsuke if he objects to her being his driver because she’s a young woman. He denies it and says because his red Saab Turbo is an older car with quirks that someone who’s unaccustomed to the car might have a hard time driving. Masaki assures Yûsuke that she’s a very experienced driver. And she makes a deal with him to reassure him: If he’s unhappy with her driving, he can take over at any time.
A lot of the screen time in “Drive My Car” is about these car trips, with lots of scenic aerial shots of the car driving on coastal highways or on busy city streets. But the soul of the story is what develops inside of the car, as Yûsuke and Masaki slowly get to know one another and open up to each other about some of the emotional pain in their lives. Masaki is a financially struggling, aspiring actress, but she has had to put those plans on hold to survive in low-paying “gig economy” jobs to pay her bills.
Meanwhile, “Drive My Car” has numerous scenes about the audition process and rehearsals for “Uncle Vanya.” Observant viewers will notice the parallels in the “Uncle Vanya” story and what Yûsuke goes through in the movie. One of the actors who auditions for the play is Kôshi, who is cast in the role of Vanya, even though Kôshi thinks that he’s too young for the part.
Kôshi thinks that Yûsuke is a more age-appropriate actor for the role, but Yûsuke refuses, because he says that the Vanya role is too emotionally draining, and Yûsuke wants to focus on directing the play. Yûsuke also explains that he’s doing unconventional casting for this version of “Uncle Vanya.” At first, it seems like Yûsuke could be setting up Kôshi to fail in a role that’s beyond Kôshi’s talent and life experience. However, as time goes on, it’s revealed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways why Yûsuke doesn’t want to be an actor in this production.
Kôshi is a ladies’ man who wants Yûsuke to be his acting mentor. However, Yûsuke is somewhat standoffish with Kôshi at first. The movie shows if Yûsuke eventually tells Kôshi that he knows that his late wife Oto and Kôshi had a sexual fling. Kôshi has some other secrets, which are also revealed. There are hints that Kôshi is hiding something when, on more than one occasion, he angrily confronts a man taking photos of him when Kôshi is out in public.
“Drive My Car” is a story about the frailty of relationships and surprising revelations that occur through human connections. Without wallowing in heavy-handed preaching, “Drive My Car” is an artfully made film that invites viewers to show more empathy for people who might seem to have stable or successful lives, but who might be privately going through some emotionally devastating struggles. The movie doesn’t present any easy answers to life’s problems, but it does advocate for people to open their minds to others who might become unexpected companions during times of overwhelming grief and loneliness.
Janus Films released “Drive My Car” in select U.S. cinemas on November 24, 2021. HBO Max premiered the movie on March 2, 2022.
Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: This Japanese animated fantasy film takes place primarily in Tokyo and Kyoto (and briefly in Sendai City), with teenagers as the lead characters and adults as supporting characters.
Culture Clash: A socially awkward 16-year-old boy, who is haunted by the spirit of childhood friend, decides to become a sorcerer to put this break the curse of the spirit.
Culture Audience: “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” will appeal primarily to fans of the “Jujutsu Kaisen” manga and TV series, as well as people who are interested in sci-fi/fantasy anime.
Panda, Maki Zen’in and Toge Inumaki in “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” (Image courtesy of Crunchyroll)
In this dazzling and often comedic prequel to the “Jujutsu Kaisen” series, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” should please fans of the series as well as impress new fans who might have this movie as their first “Jujutsu Kaisen” experience. “Jujutsu Kaisen” follows a familiar pattern of anime about teenagers and other young people who have magical powers. Unlike most male protagonists in anime, the central character in “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” is wracked with insecurities.
Directed by Sunghoo Park and written by Hiroshi Seko, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” is based on Gege Akutami’s “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” manga series, which is a prequel to the “Jujutsu Kaisen” series. If you’ve made it this far in the review, chances are you’re familiar with the series already. If not, you don’t have to know what that the “Jujutsu Kaisen” series is about to understand or appreciate “Jujutsu Kaisen 0,” which could be viewed as a stand-alone movie.
In “Jujutsu Kaisen 0,” Yuta Okkotsu is a lonely and insecure 16-year-old, who is called on to become a reluctant sorcerer. The movie opens in November 2016, in Tokyo, where Yuta is being attacked by four bullies in his school. Suddenly, a giant ghost that looks like a monster appears and fights back, severely injuring the bullies. Who or what is this ghost?
The avenging spirit is Rika Orimoto, Yuta’s childhood best friend, who died when they were about 9 or 10 years old in their hometown of Sendai City. Rika was tragically killed when she was hit by a car on a street, and Yuta witnessed everything. Not long before she this accident happened, Rika had given Yuta a promise ring and vowed that they would get married to each other when they became adults. Rika also promised to never leave Yuta.
It’s a promise that has caused problems for Yuta, who is blamed for injuring the bullies. Rika has also aggressively come to Yuta’s “rescue” on other occasions, with violent results. Meanwhile, a group of unseen judges gather to decide what will happen to Yuta. The judges have summoned a young adult sorcerer named Satoru Gojo to go to Yuta and train him to banish the spirit of Yuta, among other things.
Satoru Gojo tells a skeptical and terrified Yuta that Yuta will be taken to Jujutsu High, a special school for sorcerer training. Feeling like an outcast anyway, Yuta goes along with the plan. There are only three others who are part of this training program:
Maki Zen’in, a sassy and sarcastic know-it-all, who initially disrespects Yuta, because she thinks that Yuta doesn’t have what it takes to be a successful sorcerer.
Toge Inumaki, who is quiet and less combative than Maki, and who his more willing to help Yuta.
Panda, a panda that provides a lot of comic relief for being over-exuberant, which can lead to clumsy moments.
The rest of the movie follows their adventures in sorcerer training, as well as what happens in the inevitable showdown to rein in Rika. “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” doesn’t fall into the trap that other adventure films fall into when they try to clutter up the story with too many characters. By keeping the story streamlined, focused and easy to understand, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” can have wide appeal to many different age groups.
The voices of the “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on which version of “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” that you see. The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Megumi Ogata as Yuta Okkotsu, Yuichi Nakamura as Satoru Gojo, Kana Hanazawa as Rika Orimoto, Mikako Komatsu as Maki Zen’in, Koki Uchiyama as Toge Inumaki and Tomokazu Seki as Panda. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Kayleigh McKee as Yuta Okkotsu, Kaiji Tang as Satoru Gojo, Anairis Quiñones as Rika Orimoto, Allegra Clark as Maki Zen’in, Xander Mobus as Toge Inumaki and Matthew David Rudd as Panda.
One thing in “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” that might be an issue for some viewers is how it depicts the female characters as the most problematic. Rika’s obsessive love and her appearance in monster form are over-the-top ways to make feminine infatuation look demonic. She also has temper tantrums that make her look mentally ill. In addition, Maki is the most difficult living human in the story. However, there is some redemption for at least one of these female characters, even though she’s portrayed as very antagonistic for most of the story.
The visually striking animation in “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” is at its best during the last third of the movie, when the biggest battles happen. The movie’s pacing keeps a level of interest that serves the story quite well. Overall, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” is the type of anime that does justice to the manga version. Stay for the end-credits scene if you want a hint of how the story might continue in a movie sequel.
Crunchyroll released “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” in U.S. cinemas on March 18, 2022. The movie was released in Japan in 2021.
Available in the original Japanese version (with English subtitles) or in a dubbed English-language version.
Culture Representation: This Japanese animated fantasy film takes place primarily in unnamed village and in an online virtual world called U, with teenagers as the lead characters and adults as supporting characters.
Culture Clash: A misfit teenage girl creates an online persona called Belle, who becomes the most popular singer in the universe, and she befriends a hunted creature called Dragon under this new persona in this online world.
Culture Audience: “Belle” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in anime films and unique interpretations of Disney classics.
Hiro and Suzu in “Belle” (Image courtesy of Studio Chizu)
“Belle” is more than just another version of “Beauty and the Beast.” It’s a highly imaginative, visually stunning and emotionally stirring film that embodies some of the best anime of the 21st century. Written and directed by Mamoru Hosada, “Belle” captures the essence of “Beauty and the Beast” but also brings many unique elements to the story, so that “Belle” shouldn’t be considered a remake but a true reimagining.
The central character in Belle is a misunderstood student named Suzu, who is about 15 or 16 years old. She lives with her unnamed widower father in a small, unnamed village in Japan. Suzu is somewhat of a loner who has been depressed and grieving over the loss of her mother about five or six years earlier in a tragic accident, when her mother saved a girl from drowning in a river, and Suzu witnessed her mother’s death.
Because of this trauma and grief, Suzu has grown emotionally distant from her father, who tries to connect with Suzu. But she usually acts irritated by him, so they don’t communicate much with each other. Suzu has self-esteem issues too. She doesn’t think she’s as attractive and intelligent as her peers, so she tends to be quiet and emotionally withdrawn from people. She pours her thoughts into her journals, where she writes and sometimes sketches illustrations.
Suzu is haunted by the memory of begging her mother not to go in the river to save the drowning girl. This memory is shown as a flashback multiple times in the movie. Suzu writes in her journal: “Why did mom go in the river and leave me behind? Why was a stranger’s life more important than her life with me?”
At school, Suzu’s only real friend is a sassy computer whiz named Hiro, who sometimes gives pep talks to Suzu to boost her confidence and other times outright insults Suzu when she becomes frustrated by Suzu’s self-pitying ways. Hiro has a blunt way of communicating that might sometimes hurt people’s feelings, but Hiro believes it’s just being brutally honest.
For example, one day at school, Suzu and Hiro admire from afar a pretty and popular student named Ruku, who is described as “the school princess” and president of their student class. When Suzu laments to Hiro that she will never be as pretty and popular as Ruku, Hiro agrees. However, Hiro comes up with an idea that she thinks will help Suzu with her self-esteem issues.
In “Belle,” there’s an online virtual universe called U, where people can create their own personas/avatars, using their real-life DNA. Here’s how U is described in the movie’s opening scene: “U is the ultimate virtual community, created by five sages called the Voices, who preside over the intellect of this world. It’s the biggest Internet society in history that’s still growing with 5 billion registered users.”
The description continues: “U employs body-sharing technology. Your avatar in U is called AS. It is already created, based on your biometric information. You can’t start over in reality, but you can start over in U.”
Hiro suggests that Suzu create a new persona in U. At first, Suzu is reluctant and a little scared to do so. But when she tentatively starts fiddling around with the app to create a U avatar, she accidentally scans a photo of Ruku from a student group photo and can’t reverse this action. And the next thing you know, Suzu has a new U persona: a pink-haired beauty named Belle, whose only facial characteristic that she shares with Suzu are Suzu’s freckles.
One of the things that Suzu is self-conscious about in real life is her singing. But as Belle in U, she immediately becomes not just a hit singer but also the most popular singer in the universe. That’s because, as explained in the movie, the body-sharing technology of U brings out people’s hidden strengths in their U avatars. Belle’s sudden fame gives her millions of fans, but also the inevitable backlash from “haters,” some of whom are other U celebrities who are envious that Belle has surpassed them in popularity.
Seeing this online criticism upsets Suzu. When she complains to Hiro about it, Hiro has this response: “They’re just jealous. If you only get compliments, you only have hardcore fans. Minor league. In U, stardom is built on mixed reception.” Hiro adds, “Be more confident!”
When Suzu worries that people will find out that she’s Belle, Hiro says in response: “Nobody will ever guess that Belle is a mousy country bumpkin like you.” Because Belle has become a rich and famous singer, Suzu feels guilty about getting all this money under a fake persona. And so, Hiro tells Suzu: “Don’t worry. I’ll anonymously donate every dollar to charity.”
There’s a lot more trouble in U than online trolls and bullying. Seven months earlier, a mysterious creature called Beast (also known as Dragon) has been wreaking havoc by physically lashing out at random residents of U. The attacks have gotten so bad, Beast has now become a wanted entity who is sought after by law enforcement for punishment.
Beast has horns and wears a cloak designed to look like there are bruises on the coat. Other than that, no one seems to know who the Beast really is. Eight superheroes called the Justices, who are the protectors of U, are on the hunt for Beast. The leader of the Justices is a blonde alpha male named Justin, who is the most ambitious one in the group who wants to find and capture Beast.
Through a series of circumstances, Belle ends up meeting Beast, who lives as a recluse in his castle. He is very standoffish and rude to her at first. He even orders her to leave on more than one occasion. But eventually, Belle ends up gaining Beast’s trust, and they become close. Belle is aware that Beast is being hunted, but she is determined not to betray him by turning him into the authorities.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Beast and guessing the real identity of Beast have become an obsession for the residents of U. All sorts of people are accused of being Beast, with many having to prove their innocence. And this guessing game becomes big business, as Beast merchandise and other Beast-related ventures become hot-selling moneymakers. It’s this movie’s clever commentary on how gossip and fads quickly spread.
One of the ways that “Belle” is a big departure from other interpretations of “Beauty and the Beast” is that there is no romance between Belle and Beast. Instead, they form a genuine friendship that doesn’t always go smoothly. Suzu/Belle’s feels a connection to Beast, because they are both lost and wounded souls who want to hide their true selves from the world.
“Belle” also offers an incisive view of how people create online personas to feel better about themselves because they don’t like their lives in the real world. The movie also doesn’t shy away from depicting how this fakery can actually backfire in people’s attempts to boost their egos. With Suzu, it somewhat messes with her mind that she’s so popular in U, but she’s still an ignored “nobody” in the real world. People around Suzu go crazy for Belle, so Suzu starts to wonder if they would still feel the same way about Belle if they knew Suzu was the real person behind this avatar.
However, Suzu isn’t quite the outcast that she thinks she is. At school, Suzu seems to be oblivious to attention from a fellow student named Shinobu Hisatake, whom she rejects every time he makes an attempt to hang out with her. Suzu and Shinobu have known each other since childhood. He’s described as someone who proposed marriage to Suzu when she was 6 years old.
Another student at their school is Kamishin, who is bullied by some other students for being eccentric. Kamishin has started a canoe club where he is the only member. He seems comfortable with who he is, but could he be hiding any dark feelings about being a social pariah? Suzu, Hiro and Shinobu all know Kamishin, but they aren’t close friends with him.
Meanwhile, viewers will also be wondering who’s the person behind the Beast avatar, who definitely identifies as male. That’s why in addition to being a story about love between friends, “Belle” is also a mystery. There’s a major plot development in “Belle” that’s a big departure from the usual “Disney princess movie” formula. This twist to the story comes in the last third of the film and results in the movie’s biggest emotional moments.
“Belle” not only has a richly layered story, but the anime visuals are top-notch. The world of U can be dark and foreboding (such as Beast’s castle) or a brightly lit, vibrant paradise filled with fantastical whimsy, such as the environment where Belle does her musical performances. Suzu’s world is also vividly designed as a small town that affected by modern technology. The songs in “Belle” suit the story, but the visuals and screenplay are the movie’s strongest high points.
The voices of the “Belle” characters are portrayed by different actors, depending on which version of “Belle” that you see. The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) has Kaho Nakamura as Suzu/Belle, Takeru Satoh as Beast/Dragon, Lilas Ikuta as Hiro, Ryō Narita as Shinobu, Shōta Sometani as Kamishin, Kōji Yakusho as Suzu’s father, Sumi Shimamoto as Suzu’s mother, Tina Tamashiro as Ruka and Toshiyuki Morikawa as Justin. There’s also a U.S. version, with the dialogue dubbed in English, that has Kylie McNeill as Suzu/Belle, Paul Castro Jr. as Beast/Dragon, Jessica DiCicco as Hiro, Manny Jacinto as Shinobu, Brandon Engman as Kamishin, Ben Lepley as Suzu’s father, Julie Nathanson as Suzu’s mother, Hunter Schafer as Ruka and Chace Crawford as Justin.
Even though “Belle” is a great anime achievement, the movie was not nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Hosoda’s 2018 film “Mirai” was Oscar-nominated in this category, even though “Belle” is a far superior movie. We’ll never really know why “Belle” got snubbed by the Academy Awards, but a logical explanation might be that not enough Academy Awards voters saw “Belle.” With or without an Oscar nomination, “Belle” is worth seeing as a visual treat and as an emotionally touching story of substance.
GKIDS released “Belle” for special sneak-preview screenings in select U.S. cinemas on January 12, 2022. “Belle” arrived in wider release in U.S. cinemas on January 14, 2022. The movie was originally released in Japan in 2021.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Japan and in Brazil, the action flick “Yakuza Princess” features a predominantly Asian cast of characters (with some white people, black people and Latinos) representing the working-class, middle-class, wealthy and criminal underground.
Culture Clash: A trinket shop worker, who was orphaned as a baby, finds out that she comes from a powerful Japanese crime family, and it’s her destiny to be a samurai-sword-wielding warrior.
Culture Audience: “Yakuza Princess” will appeal primarily to people who interested in violent action movies and don’t care if the plot is an idiotic mess.
Masumi and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in “Yakuza Princess” (Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
Japanese women rarely get to star in an action flick, so it’s a shame that “Yakuza Princess” is such mindless junk that isn’t even a worthy showcase for the female protagonist. The men in this incoherent movie actually get most of the screen time. The movie’s title character is more of a sidekick who’s in service of a story that cares more about what happens to a European stranger who ends up in Brazil and in Japan to look for a mysterious and rare sword. In other words, don’t be fooled into thinking that the “yakuza princess” is the only leading character in this horrible movie. It’s a “bait and switch” title where the female protagonist’s fate is largely decided by men.
Directed by Vicente Amorim, “Yakuza Princess,” is based on Danilo Beyruth’s graphic novel “Samurai Shiro,” which would have been a more accurate title for this movie because the film puts a lot of emphasis on a character named Shiro. Amorim co-wrote the “Yakuza Princess” screenplay with Fernando Toste, Kimi Lee and “Yakuza Princess” producer Tubaldini Shelling. Unfortunately, having four people write this movie’s screenplay just means that four people, instead of the usual one or two screenwriters, made a mess of the story.
In “Yakuza Princess,” so much screen time is given in the beginning to Shiro (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), viewers will start to wonder at what point they’re going to see the “yakuza princess” part of the movie. There’s a lot of scenes of Shiro getting into fights and trying to find out who he is and his purpose in life before significant time is spent on the identity of the “yakuza princess.” The men of the yakuza (the term used for Japanese mafia) also spend a lot of time fighting with each other before viewers see any of the “yakuza princess,” her fighting skills and her identity journey.
Shiro actually doesn’t have a name for the majority of the film because he’s a European stranger who has amnesia for most of the story. He wakes up strapped to a hospital bed in São Paulo, Brazil, with no idea of who he is and why he’s there. Shiro doesn’t waste time in breaking out of the hospital in his first of many bloody action scenes. He then spends most of the story looking for a rare samurai sword, which has a connection to a Japanese woman in her early 20s named Akemi (played by Masumi), who lives in São Paulo and works as a trinket shop employee.
Akemi is really a “yakuza princess,” who finds out that her immediate family members (her parents and older brother) were killed in a mass murder when she was a baby in Japan. She was kidnapped, and ended up spending most of her life in São Paulo. This isn’t spoiler information because this massacre and kidnapping are shown at the very beginning of the film.
Akemi’s family wasn’t an ordinary family. She came from a family called the Takikawa clan, which had an influential hold on a crime syndicate in Japan. There was a power struggle in the syndicate that resulted in her father’s enemies plotting the massacre to get him and his heirs out of the way so the enemies could take over. These foes know that someone saved Akemi from being murdered along with her family. Whoever kidnapped her did so to put Akemi into hiding under a new identity in São Paulo, which has a large Japanese community.
But here’s why “Yakuza Princess” is so moronic: Akemi is supposed to be shocked when she finds out that she comes from a crime family. And yet, the first scene of her in the movie shows Akemi getting trained in samurai sword fighting skills from a middle-aged man named Chiba (played by Toshiji Takeshima), who has told her that her grandfather brought her to Chiba when Akemi was 6 years old.
And then, when Chiba is training Akemi, Chiba says, “You have the vocation to become a great warrior, but to fulfill it, you must leave your grief and anger.” Akemi replies, “I’m trying.” Chiba then gives her a samurai sword and says, “Let discipline shape your mind. You and your sword must become one. Allow this principle to guide you in your journey. It’s what your grandfather wanted.”
Anyone with common sense can see that all this talk about being destined to be a warrior and Akemi having a grandparent who wanted her to have fight skills all add up to her having a family that wants her to get extensive training to defend herself for a good reason. It’s all pretty obvious, but Akemi is too simple-minded to figure it out. You’d think she’d be curious about why her grandafather wanted Akemi to have these fight skills, since she’s an orphan who’s not in touch with any of her biological family members.
But apparently, Akemi has to wait for Shiro to show up so he can help solve the mystery of her past. It’s all so very patriarchal. And just like a princess fairy tale where an ordinary young woman transforms into a princess during a milestone event, Akemi becomes an ass-kicking warrior on her 21st birthday. It happens when she’s celebrating her birthday by doing karaoke at a bar, and she’s sexually harasssed by a creep. The next thing you know, she’s doing high kicks and martial arts brawling until a cop breaks up the fight. He best friend Samara (played by Ndudzo Siba) also gets involved in the fray.
“Yakuza Princess” is one of those mind-numbing martial arts movies that thinks a bunch of fight scenes strung together are enough to make up for a flimsy plot. Unfortunately, none of the acting is very good either. Rhys Meyers has an “I don’t care, just give me my paycheck” attitude that seeps through his performance. Masumi is best known as a singer and makes her feature-film acting debut in “Yakuza Princess.” All it shows is that Masumi needs to take more acting lessons.
And the feuding villains who want Akemi dead because she’s the rightful heir to her father’s yakuza empire are all so forgettable and generic. There are some time-wasting scenes showing how a yakuza thug named Takeshi (played by Tsuyoshi Ihara) is competing with another yakuza thug named Kojiro (played by Eijiro Ozaki) to be the top-ranking henchman for their boss, who views this rivalry like watching two schoolboys squabbling. The inevitable torture and fight scenes involving these gangsters are absolutely soulless. And so is this entire movie.
Magnet Releasing released “Yakuza Princess” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and VOD on September 3, 2021.
