ryuganji: film news from japan

These days it’s no surprise when Japanese television series are made into films, especially now that producers are announcing movie adaptations before shows have even hit the air (as with Tsutsumi Yukihiko’s audience-deficient “Sushi King” which is getting a film version regardless). So I guess I’m not taking much of a risk in speculating that, short of an unlikely ratings disaster, Motohiro Katsuyuki’s upcoming police action series “SP” is bound for the big screen.

It’ll be the “Odoru Daisosasen” (Bayside Shakedown) director’s first TV show for six years, and naturally it’s for Fuji. Okada Junichi, Tsutsumi Shinichi and Maki Yoko star as special police assigned to protect VIPs and combat terrorists (probably mates of the current justice minister). Handling the script is Kaneshiro Kazuki, author of the Naoki Prize-winning novel “Go” that became the film directed by Yukisada Isao and starring Kubozuka Yosuke. It’s probably no coincidence that he also wrote “Fly Daddy Fly”, which just happened to star Okada and Tsutsumi.

Just to show that my aversion to Johnny’s Jimusho hasn’t completely drowned my critical faculties in irrational hatred, I was quite impressed with Okada (member of idol group V6) and his turn in Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Hana”. What at first looked like yet another forced compromise by an indie director making his first foray into more commercial territory actually turned out to be a rather adept bit of casting, although I’m sure Kore-eda’s subdued and naturalistic direction played a large part in drawing out a more disciplined performance than Okada’s probably accustomed to with his TV drama roles (he wasn’t able to get quite the same result with Miyazawa Rie though).

On the other hand, the quality of Tsutsumi’s acting has taken an opposite trajectory. He got his break as Sabu’s regular leading man in his early films, giving nuanced portrayals of everyman characters on the run from organised crime, the police, and the strictures of society, before becoming a more conventional TV drama star and adopting the medium’s broad, unrealistic performance style. These days he’s most often cast as a mature secondary lead to a younger male or female protagonist, although he does have top billing in Harada Masato’s forthcoming “Moryo no Hako” and “Climbers’ High“.

Maki Yoko is the real one to watch though. She’s made a frequent habit of stealing scenes in supporting roles such as the staunch jump-kicking nurse in “Pacchigi!” and the unfortunate object of Odagiri Joe’s lust in “Yureru”, and has been plugging away at building a surprisingly eclectic and extensive stage, TV and film career that includes “Veronica Decides to Die”, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” and Motohiro’s “Summertime Machine Blues” and “Udon”. I always think of her as a more versatile version of Shibasaki Ko.

Thanks to Johnny’s and their Sith-like power to prevent any images of their stars from appearing on the web, I’ve had to make do with someone’s reckless snap of a magazine article about the show. I would’ve taken a photo of the banner ads on the train I catch to work, but it’s not easy taking my arms out of the arse-cracks of the salarymen squashed up against me. “SP” starts its run this Saturday, November 3rd at 11:10pm. (source: Zakzak)