Jamie

Lets make a (Sentai) Gundam show..?

I will be the first to admit I wanted to see this for only ONE actor, Fujiwara Tatsuya. Matsuyama Kenichi is a close second, and one of the main cast.

This has a lot of humor and silliness I expect from Matsuyama (maybe more of his older films…?) so I knew it was going to end up with some crazy scenes- and it did. It had some moments that I found cute or amusing, but most of it was a struggle for me to watch (I am still learning Japanese, and it has no subs as far as I know)

I will just say if you want to see this movie for the same reason as I did (Fujiwara) you might be disappointed. He is in it, he does steal the whole show, but he's not in it enough to truly save the movie (but he is the reason I will be rewatching that scene over and over)

I would say if you are a fan of the manga, live action show, or anime and just want more from the series this might be for you but for those that never watched or read it (like me) it's really going to confuse you.

I was able to watch this on iTunes Japan for those that are curious on where to get it. Again, it's not bad, if it had subs and/or I could understand it better I would find it more enjoyable but even as it is... Fujiwara really did steal the show (movie? Gundam?)

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Persona...who are we with or without a mask...?

The movie "Persona" has some dark themes and interesting setup for facing one's problems. Wearing a mask to give you freedom. The main character is strong, independent yet has moments of softness, which fits great in this movie. I really enjoyed Maya Kurosu's portrayal as the main character. This is major for me, as I don't normally put much thought in female actors, but her acting really stood out (a real shame she retired, but I respect her wishes).

I won't get into spoilers here, as I think this is a good movie for all to watch. It allows you to take a moment and think,"How many masks am I wearing in my life?" There is a mystery, and if I'm being honest (and biased) Fujiwara Tatsuya even at his second role (here. I'm sure there are more things he's done on stage that hasn't been listed) really pulled off the "Am I bad? Am I good? What am I...?" beautifully. He does have his "ham" moments but coming from a fan of his, that is what I am expecting. It's charming but compare to his newer work, it does not come off as strong.

Even so, this movie was a fun glance at his older work, and again the setup was interesting. I will say the music choice was hit or miss in some parts, but I did enjoy some of the background music in some bits, and I'm pretty sure I heard the sound effect from The Original Star Trek series, which amused me.

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Double Drive - Dragon Bonds

Let me get this out of the way, I'm know very little Japanese so watching this raw had its hiccups (also no spoilers here). But for what its worth, this movie was setup to more stand alone as the main character in the last two films (Fujita Rei) doesn't appear as much. I watched this film first before the others (main reason- Sato Ryuji) and for what it does, its good.

It does have its moments though (the cars. I like vehicles with a kick but it doesn't feel like they are truly in contact with the vehicles half of the time if that makes sense..?) but the story is interesting. The setup of stealing a car only for someone else to be tied in the trunk makes a great plot. If you want a good action/car film then this might be fun to watch. I've seen it a few times just because it has a charm that Sato Ryuji brings to whatever he touches (Fujita Rei as well) but if Sato Ryuji isn't your reason to watch then it might not be something for you as he's the main focus here (but could be a great introduction to him as well).

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