This could be unsafe for work, depending on how cool your coworkers are (it was sent to me by a coworker so mine are cool^^). Don’t let your kids watch it though, they might get really disturbing nightmares…

They are living in the toilet…

Shiritsu Ebisu Chūgaku or Ebichu for short will release their debut single “Kari Keiyaku no Cinderella” on May 5th, 2012.

If you’re unfamiliar with Ebichu, I’m not surprised. Unlike their sister group Momoiro Clover Z. Which are gaining momentum very quickly, Ebichu had yet to debut. Ebichu are Mizuki, Rika Mayama, Natsu Anno, Ayaka Yasumoto, Aika Hirota, Mirei Hoshina, Hirono Suzuki, Rina Matsuno and Hinata Kashiwagi.

With 6 indies, DefSTAR Records must have thought it was about time for them to debut. I was lucky enough to see Ebichu live last Spring during Golden Week.

They were a lot of fun live. I found my favourite in Aika Hirota or Aiai, she has a really cute voice! I recently sat down to watch their first live DVD with friends and I asked “When are they going to debut?”. It was funny to hear the news just days after I asked.

I’m really looking forward to hearing ”Kari Keiyaku no Cinderella” when it’s released on May 5th. For now enjoy some great Ebichu PV’s!

As the March 11th anniversary approaches, images of torn down homes and debris-filled streets come to mind when people talk about Japan. However, for a long time a classic image of Japan is a street filled with the gentle flutters of cherry blossom petals. The cherry blossom seems linked to the Japanese people since ancient times with its ubiquitous presence in artworks to hanami–days devoted to viewing cherry blossom in blooms. In The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, a short documentary by Lucy Walker, Japan’s most beloved flower once again proves its power to move people by coming into bloom a month after the tsunami disaster. Even while enthralled on a broken earth, the cherry blossom comes to life at the start of spring and brings with it a comfort no other flower possess.

The film won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and is nominated for an Oscar as well. The film starts off with home-recordings of the tsunami rushing into town and washing away everything in its path. The survivors recounts their painful memory of the day’s event. However, life and color are returned for the disaster stricken area when the cherry blossoms come alive and provide the town with their gentle colors. I’m very excited to see this film and see the side of Japan that I am most impressed with. While their technology, food, and entertainment scenes are enough to impress anyone, for me it’s this ganbarimasu* spirit of Japan that I truly love. Click here to visit the film’s website and see if you can make it any of the screenings.

* ganbarimasu: means “to do your best”

In the year 20XX, a new type of trial system is introduced where any case is required to be solved in only 3 days. Rookie defense lawyer Phoenix Wright is looking to make a name for himself in this movie when he is tasked with what seem to be impossible cases to solve.  Phoenix Wright squares off against Miles Edgeworth, a formidable prosecutor judge, in heated battles of Objection! and Take That!

If you have played the first Ace Attorney game, you will be quite familiar with the story.  Three cases will be solved during the course of this film.  The first being the murder of Mia Fey, the second on the trial facing Miles Edgeworth for his ‘murder’ at Gourd Lake and the third unraveling the unsolved DL-6 incident.

Gyakuten Saiban is dated for a February 11, 2012 release in Japan with no window of an international release at this point.  Sadly, I’ll most likely have to wait for the DVD release before I get to enjoy any part of this film.  T_T

Both full-length trailers in all their glory are below if you feel the urge to see advanced courtroom drama.  I know for me, watching this beats viewing any other lawyer program out in current existence.  Visit the official website to see more (日本語)!

Sources: Gyakuten Saiban (Official) & 映画.com

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“Documentary of AKB48 Show Must Go On” will be released on January 27th, 2012. If you haven’t seen the trailer, make sure to check it out!

Source: AKB48 Journal, Official site

About the Film (Taken from the Official Magnolia Pictures website)

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father.

I think this film will be a great one and I am looking forward to seeing this in theatres if at all possible.  If not, I’ll probably just go out and buy it once it’s released to DVD.  I’ll also be saving up my money just in case I ever get the chance to go to this one of a kind sushi bar.  Looks like nothing in this world can compare.  n_n

Source: Jiro Dreams of Sushi – Official Website

Directed by: Takehiko Shinjo
Released: June 4, 2011

Main Cast:
Keiko Kitagawa as Yukari (Caroline) Hayasaka
Osamu Mukai as Jouji (George) Koizumi
Yusuke Yamamoto as Hiroyuki Tokumori
Shunji Igarashi as Isabella
Kento Kaku as Arashi Nagase
Aya Omasa as Miwako Sakurada

I first told you guys about the movie last November and I’ve been hoping to get a chance to see it soon. Well, I just so happen to find it the other day and immediately set out to watch it. Read on to see if you should too.

Keiko Kitagawa plays the main lead as Yukari Hayasaka opposite Osamu Mukai who plays her love interest George Koizumi. Yukari is a high school student who for the most part has been studying her life away because her mother told her to do so. Contrastingly, there’s George who studies fashion design and lives life how he see fit with parents who are never really there. George and his friends (Isabella, Arashi, and Miwako) have started their own label called Paradise Kiss. Upon seeing the tall Yukari as she crosses the streets, Arashi quickly wants her to be a model to show off their clothe at their school’s upcoming fashion show. Yukari scoffs at the idea, but their short and often traumatic encounters linger on her mind. Maybe studying isn’t really her thing despite her best efforts. Paradise Kiss is about an aimless girl who finds her life’s path through the people she meets. We are who we hangs out with, and true friends comes in all sorts of ways. The important thing is knowing who they are.

Yukari's fancy school

The movie opens with fancy cupcakes, nail polish, pretty things, and pretty people. Pretty much anything girly you can think of is there in the opening. Luckily, the rest of the movie isn’t so gender biased, but has quite a nostalgic feel to every scene with everything in a beige, old photograph-ish color like the anime. While the cinematography is great, I unfortunately can’t say the same for Keiko’s acting abilities. Now I’m not Japanese, but the way she blurts out a line and reply right after someone just finish talking just look and sound really staged. She does progress quite nicely as the movie goes along, but the beginning was a bit painful to watch. However, what’s even more painful is seeing Keiko modeling. Her character, Yukari, eventually takes a liking to modeling and gets more and more gigs. I suppose it kinda makes sense that she starts out really awkward, but by the end of the movie when she’s a successful model it was still awkward! Maybe it’s fashion thing, what do I know? Thankfully, the remaining cast members were great! Everyone plays their part beautifully. It was a shame the leading lady couldn’t perform just as well.

(from left) Isabella, Arashi, and George

Yukari trying on a dress, and Miwako to the right

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible movie, but a bit of a let-down for fans of the anime. However, someone who has never heard of the story before might find this pretty good and worth investing 116 minutes in. The story-line and main theme of finding your own path in life isn’t something new. The real strong point in the story for me was the relationship between the characters and how they show their devotion in this modern world. A text, a call, or just a warm hug to make your friends feel better. That aspect is lost in the movie as the director simply concentrates on telling the events in Ai Yazawa’s story. Everything happened just as scripted down to “the dress” everyone puts all their efforts in. Unfortunately, while it was an excellent skeleton of the story, the meat, bones, and soul just weren’t there. The ending was changed for some reason. Perhaps to throw in that creative flare (being sarcastic). Couple that with inconsistent chemistry between the casts and Keiko’s flat performance, I have to say I was disappointed.

Overall Rating: C

Mano Erina will become the first female junior high school student Kamen Rider in this year’s “Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Fourze & OOOs MOVIE Taisen MEGAMAX” movie.

Releasing on December 10th, 2011. “Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Fourze & OOOs MOVIE Taisen MEGAMAX”, will star Mano as a Kamen Rider for the first time.

Since Mano’s solo debut in 2008, she has appeared in countless television dramas and movies. Could this be the highlight of her acting career?

I know there’re a lot of Kamen Rider fans out there so this should come as exciting news!

A movie inspired by Galileo Galilei’s music is set to premier at London’s 2011 Raindance Film Festival on October 9th. The movie is called “Kanseitou(Control Tower)” and was first released in Japan in April 2011 and now it’s coming to the UK. “Kanseitou” is the first song written by the rock group and aims “to capture the emotion behind the chords and translate the lyrics’ message in a medium that transcends the language barrier.”.

Director Takahiro Miki decided to make the movie based on the song after hearing it performed live. The lead singer Yuuki Ozaki commented, “We were surprised and thrilled when we first heard about the project”, he continued by saying “Kanseitou was about those feelings we had as teenagers, battling against an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as time inevitably ticks on.”

“Kanseitou” takes place in Galileo Galilei’s hometown Wakkanai, Hokkaidō and tells how two alienated, directionless youths find their place in life through music. The song “Kanseitou” is from Galileo Galilei’s debut album “Ame Nochi Galileo” that was released on the 21st of January 2009.

You can watch the trailer below:

If you want to know more about Galileo Galilei, you can check out a post we’ve made about them some time ago: Galileo Galilei

Source: SparkPlugged

It was announced on the official website that the 4 member vocal group GReeeeN will release a new single on 16th of November called “Koibumi ~Love Letter~”.

The title track will be the theme song for the movie “Antoki no Inochi”. The movie cast includes: Okada Masao, Eikura Nana, Harada Taizo and Matsuzaka Tori. The movie is directed by the famous director Takahisa Zeze and it’s based on the novel of the same name by Masashi Sada. ”Antoki no Inochi” made its worldwide debut in the “World Competition” segment of the 35th Montreal World Film Festival and won the Innovation Award. The movie will be released on 19th of November.

You can watch the trailer and check out the song in the movie trailer below:

Source:  http://www.universal-music.co.jp/greeeen/news.html