5 Upcoming Japanese Movies in April 2022 that will act as a wake-up call in many aspects of modern Japanese society. Aspects like the social-economic bubble in the late nineties have not affected only Japan’s standing but also the lives of the people and their future. There are also a ton of other problems that each society will have to get rid off in their own way, and multiple stigmas that have no place in a world where people have better access to education and aim for mutual understanding.
One Day, You Will Reach The Sea
April 1, 2022
Synopsis:
A film adaptation of Maru Ayase’s novel of the same title, starring Yukino Kishii and co-starring Minami Hamabe. Mana, who is shy and unable to express herself well, meets the free-spirited and mysterious Sumire, and the two become best friends, but Sumire suddenly disappears while on a trip alone. Five years have passed since her disappearance, and Mana is still unable to accept Sumire’s absence, and is repulsed by those around her who treat her as if she were dead. One day, Mana receives a video camera from Tono, Sumire’s former lover, whom she had treasured. What is left on the camera is the time Mana and Sumire spent together and Sumire’s secret that Mana did not know. Mana heads to the place where Sumire last traveled to face Sumire once more. Mana is played by Kishii and Sumire by Hamabe, with supporting performances by Haruki Sugino, Toshi Nakazaki, Mayu Tsuruta, Tomoko Nakajima, Yuzumi Araya, and Ken Mitsuishi. Directed by Ryutaro Nakagawa of “A Long Dream in April” and “Watashi wa Hikari ni nigiritteiru.
The Essence of the Movie:
Many Japanese Works deal with the theme of mourning our loved ones, who died or went missing because of external circumstances such as the Great Japanese Earthquake. It can be hard for the living to recover from not having a proper closure and the gradual feelings of struggle to get out of this mindset. The movie also makes real callbacks to the events and includes real-life accounts and stories similar to the ones conveyed by those who have survived and were directly affected by the disaster. It is a kind of a therapeutic movie that will help you move through a difficult phase in your life if you are worried about your newfound loneliness and grief and found yourself unable to move on.
If There Are No Cherry Blossoms In the World
April 1, 2022
Synopsis:
Saki (Renka Iwamoto [Nogizaka46]), a high school student who has not been attending school for some time, works part-time as an “end-of-life advisor.” Together with Keizo (Akira Takarada), an elderly gentleman she works with, they help people from all walks of life to live out their lives.
Saki’s job is fraught with danger, and she spends her days helping those who want to leave a will to their families in case of emergency, or those who have only a few days left to live and want to preserve their memories.
The Essence of the Movie:
Renka Iwamoto of “Nogizaka46” and renowned actor Akira Takarada star in this humanistic drama about the “Cherry Blossom Season” and “Preparing for one’s Death/End”. 「終活」or shūkatsu is an abbreviation for activities for the end of life .” It is a word that means various preparations for human beings to be aware of their own death and to reach the end of their lives , and to summarize their lives toward that point.
This concept reflects the modern social background Japan. Due to the decline in birthrate, and the high growth of the elderly population, there is a need for elderly people to prepare to end their lives without disturbing others, especially when they have no children. Compared to before the Showa era, human relations in the local community have become weaker, and the “end of life” is spreading as a social phenomenon.
The main matters are the preparation of funerals and graves for oneself during his lifetime, the arrangement of his life so that the survivors will not be inconvenienced, and the survivors can smoothly inherit their property. Ending notes and Wills are prepared in advance, and the government helps oversee the process. There is a rapid increase now in works that tackle this subject.
Ninzu no Machi (The Town of Headcounts)
April 1, 2022
Synopsis:
Aoyama is being chased and beaten by debt collectors, and is rescued by a bearded man wearing a yellow lampshade. The man says he will prepare a “place” for Aoyama. The man, who calls Aoyama “Dude,” invites Aoyama to a strange “town.
The residents of the “town” are managed by “tutors” in chiggers, and food, clothing, and shelter are guaranteed in exchange for simple labor. In exchange for simple labor, they are guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter. In addition, they can also enjoy the pleasures of sex with other people connected to them in the “town’s” social hall, the swimming pool.
Posting on the Internet, voting in elections under the guise of a different person: ……. For what? For whom? Time passes in the strange “town” as the residents accept these laborers uninformed and without deep thought.
One day, Aoyama meets a new resident, Beniko. She says that she came to this town to look for her missing sister. Unlike the other residents, Aoyama is concerned about her troubled state of mind. ……
Already released in 2020, but coming to Netflix in April 2022
The Essence of the Movie:
Dystopian mystery that acts as a Microcosm of Japanese society, and reflects the number of “Missing” people on the rise, the number of “Unemployed” and emphasizes the strange habits of people whose habits were distorted in this way. The people of this town are used to living according to someone’s arrangements. Through votes and SNS posts and demonstrations, and their will is forced by someone’s agenda, just like real-life trends and how they are created based on the intentions of sponsors. The “will of the people” that moves major events such as politics and diplomacy may also be a “hoax” created by someone’s guidance….For the residents of a town, it is like selling out their own will, but in the first place, was there ever such a thing as one’s own will in the real world? Even if you say that your actions are dictated by someone else’s opinion, if you don’t have any particular opinion of your own to begin with, then what is the difference in where you live and what you do? This movie portrays a solid system that aims at exposing what it means to be free in our modern day.
I’m just a little unlucky right now
April 8, 2022
Synopsis:
A film adaptation of the novel of the same title by Yuki Ibuki of “The Season the Dog Was There” and “Recipe for 49 Days” starring Tetsuji Tamayama of the NHK TV series “Massan” and directed by Kenji Shibayama of “Perfect World: A Miracle with You”. Hiroki Tachibana was once in the limelight as a nature photographer for TV programs traveling to unexplored regions, but he lost everything when the bubble economy burst and has lived for 15 years just to pay off the debt he was saddled with by the office president. After giving up everything and working desperately to pay off his debts, Tachibana was now in his 40s. One day, a friend of his mother’s asked Tachibana to take her picture, and through taking the picture, he remembered the joy of holding a camera that he had forgotten. Trying to start over again, Tachibana moves to Tokyo and starts living in a share house. The people living there are people who, like Tachibana, have lost their way in life. In addition to Tamayama playing the role of Tachibana, the supporting cast includes Takuma Otoo, Mai Fukagawa, Dancho Yasuda, and Kazuya Takahashi.
The Essence of the Movie:
A bubble is an economic cycle that is characterized by the rapid escalation of market value, particularly in the price of assets. This fast inflation is followed by a quick decrease in value, or a contraction, that is sometimes referred to as a “crash” or a “bubble burst.”
The Japanese economy experienced a bubble in the 1980s after the country’s banks were partially deregulated because of WWII. This caused a huge surge in the prices of real estate and stock prices. The dot-com boom, also called the dot-com bubble, was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s. It was characterized by excessive speculation in Internet-related companies. During the dot-com boom, people bought technology stocks at high prices—believing they could sell them at a higher price—until confidence was lost and a large market correction occurred.
Social problems related to the economic buble became facts of life rather than shocking revelations, and the Japanese reluctantly came to recognize that the good old days of the high-growth era and the Bubble Economy were history. The broad social consensus that characterized postwar Japan, stressing economic growth as the prime national goal and personal advancement as the prime individual one, has fractured, leaving many to wonder and debate what defines Japanese identity in a new century and a new economic, political, and social context. At the same time, Japan is struggling to find solutions for many pressing issues, most of which (immigration, an aging society, environmental concerns) are shared by other liberal democracies around the globe. This is a movie about the personal aftereffects of this heavy subject.
He’s Expecting
April 21, 2022 (Netflix)
Synopsis:
The main character, Kentaro Hiyama, is played by Takumi Saito and his partner, Aki Seto, by Juri Ueno in “Hiyama Kentaro’s Pregnancy or He’s Expecting in English” which will be distributed exclusively on Netflix. The trailer begins with a scene in which Hiyama, who is enjoying a smooth sailing life, both at work and at home, is faced with an unexpected event: pregnancy. Hiyama’s work is hampered by morning sickness, his boss scowls at him for not telling him that he is pregnant, and he is bewildered by the various physical changes that have occurred. Aki also never thought she would become a parent, so she is very upset when she learns of Hiyama’s pregnancy. However, Aki’s friend says to her, “It’s a good age where men are able to give birth!” The woman’s words made her think twice, and she suggested that Hiyama give birth to the child. After a heated discussion, Hiyama decides to have the baby. …… The cast members who support the two, including Mariko Tsutsui, Lily Franky, Ryo Iwamatsu, and Kazuya Takahashi, also made an appearance.
The Essence of the Movie:
It takes time to overturn the “natural” that is being reviewed every day, but this work, which depicts the replacement of the roles of men and women in the present age, will be an antithesis of a new era against the bad old common sense. Aki grows up with Hiyama, and challenges him with her negative concepts of family and freedom, by imposing her own values. It is a work that will also give you a chance to deepen your understanding of gender, minorities, LGBTQ, and so on, especially through a specific period in life such as Childbirth.
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