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It’s Tough Being a Blog Writer: Post Scriptum
Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007) [Film Review]
Always: Sunset on Third Street 2; or, All Folks Here
Those of us who survived should be as happy as possible.
As promised, I return to the world of Always: Sunset on Third Street with my review of the second part of the live-action trilogy made by director Takashi Yamazaki. Again, as I explained last week, please accept my apologies for the delay. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Those of us who survived should be as happy as possible.
As promised, I return to the world of Always: Sunset on Third Street with my review of the second part of the live-action trilogy made by director Takashi Yamazaki. Again, as I explained last week, please accept my apologies for the delay. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
Release Info
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki Starring: Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Koyuki
Language: Japanese Original Title: ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日 Runtime: 146 min
We reunite with the heroes of the first movie two years later. Mr Suzuki’s (Shinichi Tsutsumi) auto repair business thrives, whereas Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka) does his best to raise Junnosuke (Kenta Suga). However, Junnosuke’s biological father (Fumiyo Kohinata) is unwilling to let go, so he pesters Chagawa about giving up the child, pointing out the writer’s poor living conditions. In order to prove that he can provide for Junnosuke, Chagawa decides to take part in the literary contest to win the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. At the same time, Chagawa struggles to meet with Hiromi (Koyuki) and disclose his feelings for her.
Allow me to say that if you enjoyed the original Always: Sunset on Third Street, then you get the same package with the sequel, in which all the conflicts and touching moments are repeated. This sequel is not a bad film by any means, but it really feels like a washed down version of the first movie.
All things considered, Always: Sunset on Third Street is a decent continuation, but it does on build upon the first movie. Instead, it kind of resets the characters and starts over to achieve the same happy ending outcome. Still, I don’t regret watching it.
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Godzilla at the Oscars [Editorial]
I know I’m late to the party, but I just wanted to say that this award was deservedly earned by the creative team led by director Takashi Yamazaki. It is really touching and refreshing at the same time to see a creator who had a specific vision for a cinematic icon he cares about, and he was able to fulfil his vision without the studio interference (and on a small budget).
If you are (like me) hungry for more behind the scenes information about Godzilla Minus One, then please refer to the following videos I found on Youtube. The first one is, obviously, the grand moment of Yamazaki and the team receiving an Oscar. It’s so cute that not only the director, but also others had Godzilla action figures with them. These figures were the real awards for sure!
All things considered, I think this is my final geek-out post about Godzilla Minus One. I have already watched Yamazaki’s Always: Sunset on Third Street parts 2 and 3, but I have yet to review them. Unfortunately, I have very little free time recently not only because of work, but also because of the fact that I seriously try my strengths at creative writing. As a result, this activity consumes the usual time I had for writing reviews. Still, I remember about the blog, and I don’t want to abandon it. Thank you for reading.
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Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005) [Film Review]
Always: Sunset on Third Street; or, The Virtue of Selflessness
Think of it logically… You and I aren’t related in the slightest. We are completely strangers.
Continuing my obsession with Takashi Yamazaki, initiated by Godzilla Minus One, I decided to set aside some free time and check out the director’s previous cinematic endeavours. As a result, I am sharing my herein review of his 2005 movie Always: Sunset on Third Street.
Think of it logically… You and I aren’t related in the slightest. We are completely strangers.
Continuing my obsession with Takashi Yamazaki, initiated by Godzilla Minus One, I decided to set aside some free time and check out the director’s previous cinematic endeavours. As a result, I am sharing my herein review of his 2005 movie Always: Sunset on Third Street.
Release Info
Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki Starring: Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Koyuki
Language: Japanese Original Title: オールウェイズ 三丁目の夕 Runtime: 133 min
Tokyo, 1958. Japan is on the brink of technological advancements as TV broadcasts are becoming a nationwide thing, and the construction of Tokyo Tower is about to be completed. We follow the lives of inhabitants who live in a fictional neighbourhood called “Sunset on Third Street”. Mutsuko (Maki Horikita) is a young employee who arrives from the countryside to work in a car repair factory. Little does she know, the factory she is supposed to work at is actually a small repair shop owned by Norifumi Suzuki (Shinichi Tsutsumi), a bad-tempered head of a lovable family. Their neighbour is a good-for-nothing writer Ryunosuke Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka). He devoted his life to the craft of writing, but now he runs a shop selling toys and sweets. Suddenly, a local bar owner Hiromi (Koyuki) asks Chagawa to look after an abandoned boy Junnosuke (Kenta Soga).
It should be explained at the beginning that Always: Sunset of Third Street is actually an adaptation of a popular manga series created by Ryohei Saigan in 1974, and it is still in publication today. There was also a short-lived anime show in 1990, but I couldn’t find any information about it, and the MAL profile has no fan discussion whatsoever.
All things considered, I greatly enjoyed Always - Sunset on Third Street and I do not regret giving this movie a try. I have heard a lot about this film for a long time, but never actually knew what it is about. Well, now I really want to check out the remaining two parts of the movie trilogy, also done by Takashi Yamazaki. Certainly, this movie is for keeps. Like, please Criterion wake up and give this film a proper physical media treatment.
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Takashi Yamazaki is the GOAT [Editorial]
Even though it has been several months since the premiere of Godzilla Minus One, the fallout dust resulting from warm reception of the film across the globe has not settled yet. In January, the movie was re-released in Japan and the USA in a special version called Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color. What is more, the film received 12 nominations at the 47th Japan Academy Film Prize, and a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. In consequence Minus One is the first Godzilla production to be nominated for an Oscar(!)
I have already praised the film in review last month, so I am not going to repeat my comments. The reason why I am writing today’s post is to praise the mastermind behind Minus One: Takashi Yamazaki, the ultimate die-hard fan of King of the Monsters.
Yesterday, I accidentally spotted on Youtube an interview Yamazaki gave to Rotten Tomatoes and it absolutely made my day. Apart from having custom-made shoes, he had the audacity to bring with himself a Godzilla action figure. He is such a sweet fan boy who is not ashamed of his love for the franchise!
I have already praised the film in review last month, so I am not going to repeat my comments. The reason why I am writing today’s post is to praise the mastermind behind Minus One: Takashi Yamazaki, the ultimate die-hard fan of King of the Monsters.
Yesterday, I accidentally spotted on Youtube an interview Yamazaki gave to Rotten Tomatoes and it absolutely made my day. Apart from having custom-made shoes, he had the audacity to bring with himself a Godzilla action figure. He is such a sweet fan boy who is not ashamed of his love for the franchise!
In an interview, Yamazki says that he is open to the possibility of making “Godzilla Minus Two”, and I think Academy Awards offer the director a solid platform to convince Toho for one more shot at making a Godzilla flick. When I cooled down after reviewing Minus One, I would personally love to see Yamazaki’s take on a sequel in a time when Japan is rebuilding itself after World War II, but I would like the story to focus on entirely new characters. Please don’t bring the old gang because they deserved the happy ending!
I know this is just fanboying, but nothing will deny the fact that Oppenheimer and Godzilla Minus One ruled the cinemas in 2023. Both movies focused on the themes of nuclear weapons, destruction, and morality of man in their own unique ways.
To sum up, I salute you Takashi Yamazaki, your movie has transcended countries, languages, and generations in its quest to creep into the hearts of Godzilla fans across the world. You are the greatest of all.
*Feature image source. The remaining pictures used are promotional photos of Godzilla Minus One.
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You are going to carry that weight: Revisiting Cowboy Bebop [Editorial]
Men always seem to think about their past before they die, as though they were frantically searching for proof that they truly lived. ~ Jet Black
As promised last week, I am back with my blog post about the popular anime series from the late 1990s: Cowboy Bebop. Well, better late than never. Cowboy Bebop was part of my introduction into the realm of anime over 10 years ago, and I have been meaning to write about this show for a long time. However, as in the case of GTO, I avoided doing it because this show is such an all-time classic.
To be honest, I regard Cowboy Bebop together with Outlaw Star and Trigun as the Holy Trinity of the animated space western genre. However, all three series exhibit radically idiosyncratic styles. I mentioned in my special review of Outlaw Star that I have some issues with Cowboy Bebop, and today allow me to explain what I meant. Whereas Outlaw Star (and Trigun) seem very modernist and traditional with their approach towards the concept of a hero and his journey (the monomyth), Cowboy Bebop, in contrast, appears to be a deeply postmodernist show. It is, in fact, a disjointed, freewheeling story about a too-cool-for-school bounty hunter who is unable to escape his own past.
It is difficult for me to explain why, but I felt the need recently to revisit Cowboy Bebop. I tried to do this a few years ago (during the pandemic), but I tuned out after a couple of episodes, bitterly labelling the show as dated (that’s how hardwired I am in my unconditional love for Outlaw Star). However, now, as a person who is over 30, I looked at the show in a different light.
I really do not want to nitpick Cowboy Bebop, so let me say that after so many years, this anime is still great fun. I nearly forgot how good some of the episodes were, and the light-hearted storylines really brought a smile to my face, such as Stray Dog Strut, Gateway Shuffle, Toys in the Attic, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Wild Horses. This is exactly the type of cheerful, escapist entertainment I needed.
Evidently, we have stand alone episodes about the tragedies of side characters Spike encounters/has to fight, as in the case of Asteroid Blues, Sympathy for the Devil, Heavy Metal Queen, and Waltz for Venus. Spike confronts these characters in the fashion of 1980s action drama heroes (see Magnum PI) and these interactions, and their unfortunate fates, make him grow as a protagonist.
Nevertheless, Spike’s past is not the only concern of the show. Jet Black faces his own demons in Ganymede Elegy and Black Dog Serenade, and so does Faye Valentine in My Funny Valentine and Speak Like a Child. The way the supporting characters have to deal with their trauma is done perfectly. Time and time again, they try to avoid it, escape it, but the past eventually catches up with them and forces them to evaluate their identity. Jet and Faye really “carry that weight.”
Still again, what about Spike? He confronts Vicious head on three times in the show, and this ultimately leads to his death. Perhaps the character truly needed this kind of bleak retribution (he wanted to know if he is alive), but I as an audience member did not. Spike choses death instead of carrying his weight (isn’t it cutting corners?), and this ultimately makes the show a downer, especially if you are a 30/40-something adult dealing with responsibilities of life.
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Was Great Teacher Onizuka Right? [A Personal Perspective]
We cannot go back to the past, no matter how hard we try. No matter how wonderful it was. The past is nothing but the past. ~ Eikichi Onizuka
Hello and welcome to my first blog post of 2024 after a long-ish, six week break. First of all, I feel that I need to explain my absence. Evidently, I wanted to continue writing right after Christmas but a set of personal circumstances forced me to adjust my schedule. In addition, I did not have time (and I was not in the mood) to watch absolutely anything. In fact, throughout January, I managed to see some random stuff on TV and only one(!) movie, which was Amadeus (1984).
What is more, there is one more important factor responsible for my absence that is connected with the topic of today’s editorial. That is to say, I have made a New Year’s Resolution to become a better teacher for my students. Yes, some of the readers may already know this from the context of my previous reviews and articles. I have been working as a high school teacher for two years now (previously I worked at a university), and it is a very challenging profession at times. Of course, everybody has a different perception of it, depending on their place of birth, but where I live, it is not a line of employment held in high esteem by society (but more on that later).
Thankfully, things did calm down towards the end of December and I had some time to recharge my batteries and think clearly. It was at that time when I made a firm decision to limit the overbearing paperwork to an absolute minimum and focus primarily on regaining that teaching spark. I even began to re-educate myself, looking for the latest information on classroom management techniques and learning/acquisition strategies other than traditional textbook cramming.
To be honest, I am a fan of the whole franchise, but the 1998 series with Takashi Sorimachi stole my heart, and to date remains my favourite interpretation of GTO. I have been meaning to write about this drama on the blog for years, but I never felt I had anything innovative to say about this all-time classic. However, in this article, I would like to put it in perspective with regard to my work.
Ultimately, Onizuka’s teaching purpose is about conveying life wisdom to his students. He is not teaching them hard theory, but how to live a life. In this manner, Onizuka is yet another fictional teacher in the pantheon of mentor characters like John Keating, Mark Thackeray, and William Hundert who always strived to inspire their students and often treated them like adults. Perhaps this is the most uplifting takeaway from GTO for any struggling teacher: Onizuka persistently broke the stale teacher/student power dynamic, going out of his way to show his students that he does not look down on them.
Point of the matter is that you will not learn anything about classroom management techniques from GTO (you are better off watching Dragon Zakura instead); however, GTO teaches you about employing a different approach towards your students. Onizuka, in contrast to fellow peers in the teacher’s lounge, understands that teaching is actually a relationship game. Hating your students will not get you anywhere. You should make an effort and familiarise yourself with them, even when they are troublemakers. Remember their names, ask them about their interests. greet them at the beginning of every lesson, and say goodbye when they leave.
All things considered, the past six weeks of teaching were extremely rewarding for me. This is not the time and not the place to get into personal specifics, but my adjusted approach resulted in many unexpected, kind-hearted situations with my students, and I feel really proud because of that. My thanks go to my dear friend @penel from MDL who was willing to patiently hear my stories.
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