Masked Rider - The First (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll describe the product in the order I saw it. Firstly, the title on the actual DVD is "Masked Rider the First", not "Kamen Rider the First" as shown/as it should have been.
Upon getting it, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find the supposed 2-disc set was, in fact, one DVD.
The special features are surprisingly well-put together, featuring the trailers (without subtitles), trailers for other projects from years back that the company that released this DVD has apparently acquired (as is frequently done with import releases), and, shockingly, a very in depth and detailed behind the scenes feature that I really enjoyed and that was actually subtitled.
The film itself has an acceptable subbing job, and I was pleased to find that there was no poor dubbing to suffer through, I suppose they finally ran out of monotoned voices to lazily read out lines.
Picture quality is a bit off, but that might be due to transfer stuff (though I don't know why, Japan uses NTSC too), subtitles are clear and easy to read, and the sound quality is excellent
Highly recommended for the Kamen Rider fan or even just someone who has been looking for a good piece of tokusatsu to show to a friend in the hopes of getting them interested too. This flick also makes a surprisingly good date movie, it has action and romance, some slow bits where you can easily get away with a bit of making out, as well as some unintentionally funny bits
NOT for kids though, there is totally a naked dude in part of this film, parents'll want to take a look at this before showing it to the kids. Also, parents'll want to figure out if their kid is really ready to read and watch a film at the same time.

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Takeshi Hongo, a man of extraordinarily keen intellect, has his promising future snuffed out by an evil secret society known as Shocker. They create experimental cyborgs in an attempt to take over the world. Eventually, Hongo is turned into a cyborg - Masked Rider 1 - but soon regains his self-awareness. Realizing that he is now controlled by evil, Hongo escapes.Shocker views Hongo as a traitor and dispatches a new, nearly identical cyborg - Masked Rider 2 - to destroy him. But they're too evenly matched and their duel ends in a draw. Growing impatient, Shocker sends two new cyborgs - Snake and Cobra - to kill them both. KAMEN RIDER THE FIRST is a new adaptation of the popular original manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

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Inuyasha - Down the Well (Vol. 1) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rumiko Takahashi is one of the, if not the, most famous female manga artist in the world. With titles such as "Ranma" and "Maison Ikokku" in her resume, she has established a worldwide following and has garnered a reputation as the Queen of Romantic Comedy. Her latest undertaking, "Inu-Yasha", has already gained a cult following in the US and, like her other manga series, has been made into a successful anime series that has just a strong following in America. American publisher Viz, having already published twelve volumes in the US, now brings us the anime.
At first glance, "Inu-Yasha" seems like a typical anime series. Kagome, a Japanese high school girl, is transported to the feudal age of Japan through a magical well, where she unwittingly awakens a cocky, imprisoned half-demon called Inu-Yasha. You see, Inu-Yasha was after the Shikon no Tama, a powerful jewel that could grant him his wish to become full demon, but a village priestess called Kikyo stopped him with a mystical arrow. Suffering from untreatable wounds, Kikyo decides to die and take with her to her grave the Shikon no Tama. But get this: Kagome is apparently Kikyo's reincarnation, and she just so happens to have the Shikon no Tama with her! Then, through a bizarre set of circumstances, the jewel ends up shattering and scattering all over Japan, and now Inu-Yasha and Kagome have to team up and find these pieces.
Typical, huh?
Not quite.
You see, "Inu-Yasha" is a lot deeper than the first set of episodes will have you believe. Sure, it looks like something you'd find in just about every other fantasy anime series out there, but truthfully, the meat of the series is found in later episodes, when Takahashi demonstrates her true (if not bizarre) genius. But even with this in mind, the first three episodes found on this DVD do a really good job of starting the series and drawing you in. The characters are likable and three-dimensional, and the plot is executed at a reasonable pace. And with Takahashi's unique sense of humor spread all over, you know this series is over-the-top as well as dark and intriguing. Overall, the first three episodes are well done and should give the viewer a general idea of what to look forward to, even though Takahashi's plot twists are completely unexpected.
Visually, "Inu-Yasha" is one of the cleanest series around. The artwork isn't as clean as, say, that of "X: TV", but it's definately sharp and crisp enough to make an average viewer go "wow!". Character models present marvelous representations of their manga counterparts, backgrounds are vibrant and fully detailed, and movement is smooth and fluid. In short, "Inu-Yasha" is a beautiful series that does justice to its source material.
Sound wise, the music is a beautiful compliment to the visuals. It's not the most memorable of soundtracks, but Kaoru Wada's melodies are beautiful and wistful and can get emotional when they need to be. The one complaint I have, however, is that the songs tend to repeat themselves quite often and some songs are often nothing more than variations of other songs. But overall, the series' soundtrack has no real complaints. And the opening and ending...well, the ending song is really haunting and ends each episode on a perfect note, but who's idea was it to use a Korean boy-band song as the opening?
As for the English dub...to put it simply, the dub is above average. It does have its problems, but overall it's enjoyable. Richard Cox does a marvelous job as the half-demon Inu-Yasha, bringing the cocky anti-hero to life wonderfully. Monica Stori, unfortunately, stumbles at the beginning as the heroine Kagome. Many complain about her sounding too young, but I feel her biggest problem was that at first she didn't feel comfortable with her role. In later episodes she improves remarkably, but starting out she sounds somewhat stale and flat. Pam Hyatt does a respectable job as Kaede, but she can sometimes sound unenthusiastic and it's somewhat weird that she speaks in Old English and no one else does...
...which brings me to the dub's biggest problem: the script, written by Trish Ledoux, who also wrote the script for "Ranma". Trish has an annoying habit of using "Trishisms," which are cliches and catchphrases, in her scripts and it's these Trishisms that bring the dub down. Adding in her own "touches" such as the phrase, "Toto, I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore" makes the script feel dumbed down. Granted, the script doesn't drastically alter the story in any way, but these Trishisms are the biggest thing holding the quality of the English track back.
So in general, for die-hard fans of the show, the dub will be debatable because they associate the characters so much with the original Japanese voices and thus anything that doesn't fit will render the dub a travesty; nitpicking and complaints such as "they pronounce names differently" or "this voice sounds off" or "Kagome says, 'Sit, boy!'" will definately be popping up in many reviews to come. But for casual anime fans who won't have to go into the show with this kind of baggage for an incredibly popular series, the dub should satisfy.
Overall, the first volume of "Inu-Yasha" is a solid release. The only complaint I have about the show is that the content of the series was toned down from the manga to meet television standards (no full frontal nudity, not as much violence, etc.), but that's only a minor complaint. Many will complain about the episode count per DVD, but just remember that the Japanese got only two episodes on the first disc and you may feel better (maybe). But if you're still unsure as to whether you'll like this series or not, you can catch it on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in a very, very lightly edited format. And since the show gets better as the series progresses over its 90+ episodes (it's still running in Japan, by the way), there will be plenty more "Inu-Yasha" to get excited about in the future.

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Big Man Japan (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Saw this at Facets in Chicago last night, and it was amazing. It's one of those movies that I want to show to all my friends.
Fair warning, DON'T WATCH THE US TRAILER. They should fire whoever was responsible for that. This is a CGI action movie the same way "This is Spinal Tap" is a 90-minute live recorded performance by U2. That is to say, it's not. 90% of Big Man Japan is shot in a documentary style and it has a hilarious "slow burn" style of humor that is just not evident from the trailer. If you're expecting slapstick and big monster fights, you'll get some of that but it's not what the movie is all about. It's very Christopher-Guest-ish, so think "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show" (or again, "This is Spinal Tap").
I probably laughed harder at the ending to this movie than I did at anything all year, and I feel sorry for the people who didn't "get" it. Do yourselves a favor and watch some old tokusatsu like Ultraman or Spectreman before you see this. That is the genre that this movie is spoofing, so you should at the very least have a LITTLE familiarity with it. Beyond that, you don't need to be a huge Japanophile to love this, as the humor is pretty universal. This movie definitely earned its spot in my top 25 favorite comedies.

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BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrayal of an original superhero. As Big Man Japan, Daisato inherited the role of defending Japan against a host of bizarre monsters. He receives high-voltage electroshocks which transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high.However, where his predecessors were revered as national heroes, he is an outcast among the citizens he protects.

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BBC History of World War II: Hiroshima (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am from Hiroshima. My father was 15 years old and was deployed as a student worker at a ship yard at the time. He does not talk much about his experience, but told me bits and pieces about what he saw. When I was an elementary school student, we had to watch the video footage of the victims that was extremely graphic. So nothing in this program was new to me, although it was very interesting to see how nuclear fusions started inside the bomb.
Having said that, I think this program is a good overview for people who are not familiar with the event. It talks about how the bomb was developed, the political circumstances, the US military mission, GIs who engaged in the mission, and of course, the effect on the people in Hiroshima. There is little criticism or political overtones in the way the program was made, although it is clear that there were terrible misunderstandings between Japanese and US leaders, and that a handful of Japanese extremists led the country into ruins.
I wish the program talked more about the way the atomic bomb affected people long after the event. There is one section that describes the "mistery illness" that plagued the survivers, but it did not talk about the deformed babies born to the mothers who were pregrant at the time, or the cancers that many of the survivers suffered later in their lives. The program also did not mention anything about the American POWs who were detained in Hiroshima at the time. They all perished along with thousands of people of Hiroshima. I am not sure how many Americans know this.
My father is fine. His family lived in the suburbs so none died because of the event although some of the family heirlooms had burn marks that were visible even decades later. My mother's grandparents, however, lived right by the T-shaped bridge that was used as a target so no remains were found. I remember my grandmother used to go to the annual memorial service every year. Although it was somewhat difficult for me to see the suffering of people reenacted in the program, the stupidity of the leaders, and the happiness and the joy that Americans were feeling after the bomb was dropped (not because I am bitter or critical of their actions, but because they really did not realize what was going on in Hiroshima and that they opened the door to a new era of nuclear threats), we need programs like this so we can learn from the history and remember that the war is savage, no matter what side you are on, and that the war should really be the last resort to resolve a conflict.

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It was the defining moment of the 20th Century - the scientific, technological, military, and political gamble of the first atomic attack. This drama-documentary attempts to do what no other film has done before - to show what it is like to live through a nuclear explosion. Set in the three weeks from the test explosion in New Mexico to the dropping of the bomb, the action takes viewers into the room where the crucial political decisions are made; on board the Enola Gay; inside the bomb as it explodes; and on the streets of Hiroshima.

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Michael Jackson - Live in Japan (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wanted to see concert footage other than the all too well known Bucharest dvd with footage that showed more of the audience than Michael and his band (except when they were doing dance moves.) While that DVD is good it's not the Michael I like to see performing nor the Michael I am used to seeing perform. This particular DVD concert footage doesn't have the familiar song lineup. Not too much out the norm but there are songs from the J5 days. Not just the cute little J5's medley (I'll be there, I want you back, The love you save, etc.) but the young adult J5's. Songs like 'It's the things I do for you', 'Shake your body down', 'Lovely one' and 'Heartbreak Hotel'.
This is more of the type of concert I like because he not only danced his butt off but he sings too. Many people forget he could actually sing...and well! He mixes up his dance moves but he doesn't forget to sing here and it's a real treat. Although, by the time he gets to 'Billy Jean' he's a little winded from all the dancing but quickly recovers for a very entertaining, loonngg 'Shake your body down'. In my opinion, I see him smiling more here than any other concert footage I've seen since he was a shorty. He seemed to be having a good time here, egging the audience on to participate in a Whoo hoo fest! Or having back and forth vocal exchanges with his background singers.
Now with all this praise you may be wondering why I didn't give this dvd 5 stars. Well, it's the clarity, plain and simple. The sound is okay but it looks as if someone recorded this onto a VHS tape, put that recording onto another VHS and then copied the copy onto DVD with stereo sound. If you feel you need clarity to enjoy your concerts, then this is definitely not the one you should buy. I must admit I was very pissed because I think the concert as a whole is great but to see it in such a 70's format in this digital age is ridiculous.
I don't know who thought this was good enough to put out on the market but who ever it is needs to be shot. Twice! I set out to purchase this before Mike's passing was announced. Although, I am not happy with the way this views I am glad I purchased it. Bottom line; After watching this concert, it's understood why the brother could self assuredly say, 'I'm Bad' and no one could argue that fact!
RIP 'MJ didn't play'

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MJ THE KING OF POP..The seventh son...Since the beginning of his musical career at the age 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson Five. Michael has made musical history like no one before. An avalanche of hits beginning with I Want You Back and continuing for over four decades have guaranteed him a prominent place in the Pop Music Hall of Fame. The DVD footage is from the Michael Jackson BAD album concert tour of Japan, on September 14, 1987 in Yokahama Japan. Essentially a greatest hits performance by one of Pop music's most important artists. A truly vital part of THE KING OF POP'S recorded legacy!

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Afro Samurai (Director's Cut) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)There's no doubt that Afro Samurai has a cool and simple concept and a very bloody style. In this future world of feudal Japan nothing seems to matter but two headbands that represent the two best fighters. To get to the number one fighter you must go through the number two and to get to the number two you must go trough everyone else. This way of life that nobody should have to live especially a child who has nothing but the headbands and revenge on his mind. As a child Afro saw his father who was the number one fighter at the time get massacred by a man named Justice. After the fight is over Justice takes the number one headband off of the head of Afro's father, which was not too far away from his body. Justice tells Afro something similar to what Uma Thurman said to Vivica A. Fox's daughter in Kill Bill, that if he wanted revenge he would fight him when he came for him.
Afro took those words very seriously and took a few things of his fathers including his very cool Katana. Afro immediately went from an innocent child to an almost emotionless man with a ton of weight on him as he begins his vengeful journey. Afro Samurai is a unique anime or story for that matter. You don't see too many people willing to put out a story with basically nothing but very bloody fight scenes for about two episodes before a really good story starts up. Especially in a 5 part series where the episodes are only between 20 and 30 minutes long. I can't lie because I love stuff like that and it made Afro Samurai all the more tempting to finish watching. The second is that this was a pricy anime to make costing $1 million per episode so I'm sure a few viewers from the Hip hop community were expected to watch this. Even if you're an action film fan you have to admit when there's too much action and not enough story Even in a revenge tail like Kill Bill with a certain scene that this anime could relate to 88 times over it had a mystery and story.
Afro was on the verge of being in the too much and not enough category and then a cool story hits you somewhere around the end of episode two. Flashbacks of Afro's life are showed, you see him as a kid again and the people who took him in and gave him his gritty skills. All throughout the 5 part series you see that the money was well spent because the animation is amazing and beautiful. The things that Afro does with his skills are crazy and this animation was a giant step up for anime samurai fight scene, it was flawless. The voice actors are great including Sam Jackson who is great for co-producing this and putting his foot in it.
I think it would have been cool to actually give Afro a real name, it's cool for people that take him on to call him Afro but I think he should have had a name for his other life before he became the Afro Samurai. In other words I kind of wish the story went just a bit deeper with a little bit more complexity. I think that Afro Samurai is a great series that everyone should see especially to view its beautiful quality.

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Ice Cold Soul and a Jones For Revenge
Afro Samurai (voiced by Academy Award nominated Samuel L. Jackson) is an epic tale of a black samurai's hunt for Justice (voiced by Ron Perlman: Hellboy Alien Resurrection ) who murdered his father. With music score by The RZA ( Kill Bill Wu Tang Clan) Afro Samurai blends traditional Japanese culture, funky technology and hip hop to create a brutally fresh entertainment experience.
Director's Cut features:
15 MINUTES OF NEVER BEFORE SEEN FOOTAGE
Exclusive Manga art from Afro Samurai Creator, Takashi Okazaki
In the Booth with RZA - Music Production Tour
Director's Cut Edition of Afro Samurai is a 2-disc set with over 170 minutes of action!
All the cool action at a hot new price!

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Train Man : Densha Otoko (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Train Man spends his days either working in the back of an office building aiding his fellow employees with his computer skills or wandering the shops in Akihabara purchasing anime and manga paraphernalia, video games, and other things that otaku enjoy. Living in his parent's home, the Train Man is ensconced within the safe confines of his fandom, but he is far from content. At 22 years old the Train Man has yet to have a girlfriend and in fact feels that he is undeserving of a woman's love. However, one day upon the train his humdrum life changes completely.
After purchasing a few random anime knickknacks, the Train Man boards a train and is soon humiliated by a couple when they notice the items that he has purchased. Yet, it is on this same train that the love of the Train Man's life boards. Of course, being painfully shy, the Train Man does not approach the woman, but when she is later accosted by a drunken salaryman, played by the abrasive Osugi Ren, the Train Man comes to the woman's aid. Although terrified of the larger man, the Train Man stands his ground and defends the woman who has already grasped his heart.
In order to thank the Train Man, the woman asks for his address and soon sends him a couple of Hermes tea cups. Having no real life friends to turn to, the Train Man does what a number of other otaku do: turn to the Internet for help. On a message board, seven people come to the Train Man's aid, including three otaku who hang out everyday at a manga café, a lonely nurse who cannot get over her boyfriend, a shut-in, or Hikikomori in Japanese, a person who has basically cut themselves off from the world and generally pursue their hobbies in their home while being supported by their parents, and a husband and wife whose relationship is on the rocks. With the aid of these individuals the Train Man pursues his romance. However, can the Train Man truly rely on others for the pursuit of his own happiness?
I was honestly reluctant to watch this film at first mainly because I thought the story was quite hackneyed: nerdy guy meets beautiful girl and lives happily ever after. However, Train Man escapes this cliché because of the sympathetic if pathetic figure cut by the actor Yamada Takayuki. Certain scenes in which the Train Man, Yamada's character's name of the message board, talks to Hermes, the name the Train Man gives the woman of his dreams on the message board, on the phone or in person are almost painful to watch because his nervousness is almost palpable. I found myself both encouraging and cursing the Train Man in my mind when he was trying to take the relationship to the next level. Also, I think that the interaction amongst the message board members was quite humorous and well done. Also major kudos to the caster for casting Nakatani Miki in the role of Hermes. Nakatani, although very attractive, is not as stunning as Ito Misaki who played the role of Hermes in the televised version of Train Man. However, Nakatani's character is incredibly sweet and one can easily feel why the Train Man becomes so enraptured with her. A fun film that pulls at the heartstrings, Train Man does a wonderful job reviving a threadbare genre. Since the film is based on a true story, one wonders if a number of nerdy Japanese guys have come to the aid of woman being harassed on trains since its release?


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Computer engineer Otaku (the Japanese term for "geek") is an average young man, dressed in unstylish clothes and dorky glasses. But as luck would have it, he encounters a pretty young woman on a commuter train and saves her from a lecherous molester, falling in love with her at first sight. A few days later he receives a thank-you message from the woman along with a set of Hermes teacups. Having never had a girlfriend or received a gift from a girl in his life, Otaku seeks out his pals on his BBS website for advice using his codename Train_Man (Densha Otoko): "How should I ask her out?" Deeply interested in Train Man's first love, his BBS pals eagerly supply him with advice. Encouraged by their support, Train_Man undergoes a total makeover for his first-ever date with "Hermess". Little does he know that he is about to ignite an Internet phenomenon...

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The Cove (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)The new documentary "The Cove" tells a story the Japanese government would rather not be made public.
Richard O'Barry, the principal subject of the film, wrestles with almost constant feelings of remorse. In the mid 60s, he served as the technical advisor for the successful television show "Flipper"; he helped find, train and care for the dolphins who played the title character. The success of the series is viewed as the catalyst to the creation of "Ocean Parks" around the world, places like the various "Sea World" parks, where thousands of people visit every year to watch dolphins, whales and other sea creatures perform tricks. O'Barry learns of a small fishing village in Japan, Taijii, where the main business is to capture dolphins and herd them into captivity. They sell the best dolphins to parks, exhibits, "swimming with dolphins" type businesses and more, earning as much as $150,000 for the best of the best. But what do they do with the rest of these creatures? The ones that don't sell? O'Barry knows and he wants to expose the truth to the world in an effort to put a stop to it.
He enlists the aid of Louie Psihoyos, a documentary filmmaker, who assembles a team of people. They begin to gather all of the equipment they will need for the project and make many plans on how to infiltrate the secret areas before they set off for Japan. As soon as they arrive, the sheer amount of baggage (all of their equipment) catches the attention of the authorities and they are quickly under surveillance. The police visit O'Barry many times, each time trying to get him to admit his guilt. He doesn't trust them and they don't believe him.
As soon as they arrive in Taijii, O'Barry gives them a tour, always wearing a face mask, afraid some of the fishermen will kill him if they could get their hands on him. They pass a Dolphin Museum, complete with a happy, smiling dolphin painted on the side. O'Barry quickly explains how ironic this is.
Using techniques that are probably more common to a "Mission Impossible" sequel, they come up with a plan to infiltrate this heavily guarded area, place some hidden cameras and get some proof on film.
As we watch them go through these incredibly over the top security measures, the story slowly comes into focus. This is one of the most interesting elements of the story, of the film. Initially, O'Barry appears as though he could be a crackpot, the type of guy who probably smoked too many illegal substances once and now sees conspiracies around every corner. But as the story progresses, we start to see what he is talking about and realize he is right, just extremely passionate about the cause.
As he and the other volunteers work their way through the plan, we pick up more pieces of the puzzle until we learn the full truth.
And the truth is shocking. And watching video of this is only more disturbing.
Naturally, these fishermen have gone through the trouble of capturing these dolphins. The dolphins that aren't purchased by a "Sea World" like organization must be put to good use. And the use these fishermen come up with is pretty unsettling.
This is a film we should all see, to help spread the word. If we spread the word, we can put a stop to what is happening in Taijii, Japan.

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In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan, behind a wall of barbed wire and "Keep Out" signs, lies a shocking secret. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji engage in an unseen hunt for thousands of dolphins. The nature of the work is so horrifying, a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep it hidden from the world. But when an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embark on a covert mission to penetrate the cove, they discover that the shocking atrocities they find there are just the tip of the iceberg.

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Seance (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ever since Hideo Nakata's Ringu achieved international acclaim, Japanese film companies have pushed hard to capitalize on that film's success. While much of this effort has, admittedly, produced other high-quality and interesting horror films, even the worthwhile efforts tend to follow set formulaic schemes. Many Japanese directors get so caught up in sleekly packaging mere repeats of previous scare scenes that they forget to experiment or even create a coherent world or story for the horror to occupy. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, however, constantly puts a new spin on the genre. From Cure to Charisma, Kairo to Doppleganger, horror's role in Kurosawa's films is always changing. The ways in which he experiments makes even his weaker efforts, as SEANCE regrettably shows itself to be, required viewing for film enthusiasts.
The film is most interesting in its first half, which is more marital drama than supernatural thriller. Junko Sato (Jun Fubuki) is a medium who, between the seances she performs, works with graduate student Hayakawa (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) on a study chronically the potential for mediums to help the police in solving serious crimes. Junko's husband, Katsuhiko (Koji Yakusho), is a sound engineer on the way up, having recently finished his first major television project. Unfortunately for him, he leaves a large case unlocked as he records audio near Mount Fuji, and a young kidnapped girl, fleeing from her captor, picks it as a safe hiding place. Without noticing, he locks the case and takes it home with him; the poor girl remains locked inside until Junko, looking into the same kidnapping case at Hayakawa's behest, feels the girl's presence and discovers her unconscious body. She is not yet dead, though this is perhaps unlucky, and Junko leaps at this opportunity to prove, through a hoax, that her abilities are real and useful. The plan seems to work just fine, until the girl mysteriously turns up dead and her ghost begins to haunt the Satos.
What could have been quite an ordinary horror film, or, like the original, a fairly by-the-numbers thriller, under the control of many other directors is made truly interesting with Kiyoshi Kurosawa at the helm. Kurosawa's stated love for American films from the middle of the century is apparent throughout: the characters' lives beat at the slower pace pervading older American films, and the camerawork, pacing, and music suggest other elements of those films. And towards the end of the first hour, when things start to go downhill for our protagonists, Kurosawa creates a fantastically foreboding atmosphere. Things left off-screen are crucial parts of scenes, and somehow Kurosawa keeps their presence etched in our minds. When these elements start to disappear, replaced by an jarringly quicker pace, unconvincing special effects, and a drastic change in the film's focus, SEANCE begins to misfire. The plot is thrown to the wind (at a couple of occasions, it is as if in the world of the film fingerprinting does not exist), and any cohesiveness in characters, too, disappears. Despite all of these problems, Kurosawa keeps his audience glued to the screen and appeals so strongly to base instinct that these intellectual qualms, which seem so obvious in hindsight, must be almost searched for in context.
Only Jun Fubuki gives a performance as believable and multi-faceted as is to be found in most of Kurosawa's other work. This is no fault of the other actors, though, but seems to be inherent in the script. Koji Yakusho's character is, for most of the film, merely a plot device to help demonstrate and develop his wife's character. It is when the film's focus suddenly shifts to him that things begin to feel awkward, though this, also, is none of his fault. Yakusho has a brilliant way of making adrenaline and violence seem natural and almost warranted, and the rare scene where he physically beats the phantom haunting he and his wife could only be pulled of believably by Yakusho. The rest of the cast, including Ren Osugi and Sho Aikawa in brief cameos, all have simple, plot-advancing roles to play and do them well enough, it's just a pity that none of them were given any real opportunities to develop fleshed-out characters.
For the first hour or so, SEANCE is among Kurosawa's most engaging and interestingly approached films. That the second half is so disjointed (not in the deliberate, helpful way of some of Kurosawa's other films like Doppelganger) is therefore more disappointing than if the whole film had been simply mediocre. Still, for a film made within the confines of a made-for-television horror outing, SEANCE is an impressive show of Kurosawa's creativity and talent.

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Based on Mark McShane’s novel, Séance on a Wet Afternoon (Kôrei), Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s international award-winning thriller stars Kôji Yakusho (Shall We Dance) as Kôji Sato, a sound effects engineer, and Jun Fubuki (Pulse) as his psychic wife. When a missing young girl escapes her kidnappers and hides in Kôji’s equipment case while he is recording sounds in the woods, the stage is set for a scheme to promote her psychic abilities. But the couple’s hoax goes terrifyingly awry in this unsettling and atmospheric shocker from one of Japan’s new masters of horror.

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