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July 5, 2007

Graveyard of Honor

story

The main character of Graveyard of Honor was Rikio Ishikawa (1926-1956), who received his sakazuki (family bond) from Kaoru WADA, the chief of the Wada-gumi, in 1942. Ishikawa soon took charge of the black market in the South Exit area of Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. In an attempt to deal with complaints from one of his men, in 1946, he tried to negotiate with Wada but was instead ordered to sever his pinkie. Later that year, he severely injured Wada with a short sword, and the Boss took a month to recover from the attack. Ishikawa was imprisoned for eighteen months due to the attack, and upon his release, he was ordered to stay away from the Kanto Plain region (Tokyo area) for ten years.

Ishikawa moved to Osaka, but he returned to Tokyo in 1949 (well in advance of his 10-year ban) and shot fellow Yakuza Kouzaburo IMAI. Upon Ishikawa's surrender, he was sentenced to ten years in Fuchu Prison in Tokyo. On February 2, 1956, he committed suicide by jumping from the roof of Fuchu Prison. In his prison cell was his final corrspondence: a poem reading "Oowarai sanjyunen no bakasawagi" (It is so funny, my life of 30 years was a crazy party).

For his rebellion against Yakuza honor, Rikio Ishikawa became a legend in the Yakuza world.

cast

Tetsuji Togura:Tetsuro Tamba
Rikuo Ishimatsu: Goro Kishitani
Chieko Arimoto: Narumi Arimori
Yoshiyuki Kinoshita: Yoshiyuki Daichi


overview

Genre :

Action / Crime / Drama

Japanese Title :

Shin Jingi no Hakaba

Director :

Takashi Miike

Screenplay :

Shigenori Takechi

Original Story :

Goro Fujita

Year :

2002

Running time :

131 min

Country :

Japan

Distributor in US :

AnimeiGo


©2002 Toei Video Co.,LTD./Kadokawa Pictures,Inc.

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Warner Brothers premiers ONE MISSED CALL trailer at Comic Con in San Diego July 27, 2007.

Here's another film that took me completely by surprise. A Hollywood remake of Takashi Miike's "Chakushin ari," the movie follows a group of people who receive phone calls from their former selves, only to discover the exact date, time and details of their death.

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July 6, 2007

Dream Cruise

story

Jack, an American lawyer working in Tokyo is having an affair with Yuri, the wife of a valued client. Yuri is afraid that her husband Eiji knows. When Eiji's account develops a crisis, Jack finds both Eiji and Yuri about to embark on a day trip at sea. Eiji insists that Jack join them aboard their cabin cruiser, but Jack fears the husband's motives and dreads the ocean since he lost his younger brother to the sea 25 years ago. Because of Yuri, and his responsibility to his client, Jack reluctantly accepts. But when they sail from the Tokyo Bay into the open sea, this trip turns to terror, and the ocean has a terrible destiny for each.

cast

Yuri Saito: Yoshino Kimura
jack Millar: Daniel Gillies
Eiji Saito: Ryo Ishibashi
Naomi Saito: Miho Ninagawa


overview

Genre :

Horror

Japanese Title :

Dream Cruise

Director :

Norio Tsuruta

Screenplay :

Norio Tsuruta, Naoya Takayama

Original Story :

Koji Suzuki

Year :

2007

Running time :

88 min

Country :

United States / Japan

Distributor in US :

Starz Media


©2006 Starz Media, LLC

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

story

"I've got no interest in ordinary people. If there are any Aliens from Outer Space, Visitors from the future or those who are gifted with supernatural powers, come forward to me". That was a way the beautiful Haruhi Suzumiya introduced herself to the class on her first day of school.
It's not as if you're reading a Science Fiction Novel for crying out loud...but that was the way she behaved. Haruhi is serious about this from the bottom of her heart. Haruhi becomes upset, waiting for the Aliens that never seem to show themselves. She creates a club to search for the mystery of this world on her own and names this club, Suzumiya adds Oomph into Space Club or the SOS Club. If you join this Club for some cursed reason, your ordinary life may change quickly to a supernatural one!

cast

(Voice Cast)

Japanese Cast/
Haruhi Suzumiya: Aya Hirano
Yuki Nagato: Minori Chihara
Kyon: Tomokazu Sugita
Itsuki Koizumi: Daisuke Ono
Mikuru Asahina: Yuko Goto

English Cast/
Haruhi Suzumiya: Wendee Lee
Yuki Nagato: Minori Chihara
Kyon: Crispin Freeman
Itsuki Koizumi: Johnny Yong Bosch
Mikuru Asahina: Stephanie Sheh


overview

Genre :

SF Comedy

Japanese Title :

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu

Director :

Tatsuya Ishihara

Original Story :

Nagaru Tanigawa

Year :

2006

Running time :

30min X 14episodes

Country :

Japan

Distributor in US :

Bandai Entertainment Inc.

Official website:

http://www.asosbrigade.com/cms


©2006 Nagaru Tanigawa/Noizi Ito/ a member of SOS

Continue reading "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" »

One Missed Call

story

A graduate student must race against time to uncover the mystery of a ghostly killer who is murdering her friends through their cell phones. American remake of the first installment in the hit franchise from Japanese horror master Takashi Miike (AUDITION, DEAD OR ALIVE).

cast

Jack Andrews:Edward Burns
Beth Raymond:Shannyn Sossamon
Leann Cole:Azura Skye
Taylor Anthony:Ana Claudia Talancón


overview

Genre :

Horror

Japanese Title :

One Missed Call

Director :

Eric Valette

Screenplay :

Andrew Klavan

Original Story :

Yasushi Akimoto

Year :

2008

Running time :

88 mins

Country :

United States

Distributor in US :

WB

Official website:

http://onemissedcallmovie.
warnerbros.com/

Continue reading "One Missed Call" »

US version of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" introduced for American fans! Haruhi and SOS brigade rule the US.

There are works of anime that are more ambitious than The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. There's anime that's more artistic. Anime that's more cerebral. More exciting... More dramatic... But, few anime are as well tailored to their purpose as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Basically, it is THE anime for the anime fan. There are episodes that can amuse casual viewers, but the point of the series is to get the already self-indentified fans excited and thinking about this series. It's ability to intelligently poke fun at conventions of anime without being an outright parody, along with its ability to indulge in those conventions without being hypocritical allows it to breezily capture the appeal of popular trends.

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About July 2007

This page contains all entries posted to KPUSA in July 2007. They are listed from oldest to newest.

August 2007 is the next archive.

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