Movies
A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth
Sweet but somewhat overly constructed coming of age drama. While there's plenty to like here, Maeda's drama is hardly original and the story about a comatose boy waking up after 12 years feels a little tacked on. The acting is fine and there are some stand-out scenes, but overall it's little more than solid filler for genre fans.
A cute but somewhat limited fantasy film that gets a bit too family-friendly in the second half. It's just a basic romance with a fun fantasy touch, there are some funny ideas scattered throughout, but considering similar films that were released around that time it feels a tad too flimsy to stand out. When Hikaru wakes up one morning, she finds herself with a fox tail on her backside. Nobody knows how the thing got there and Hikaru does a terrible job trying to hide this latest addition to her body. She quickly becomes a sensation, but she's not the only one who has grown a tail. Miyazaki is always pleasant, and she's perfect for these types of roles. There are some funny side characters and the mood is light from start to finish (even when there is some drama to wade through). A bit more attention to the presentation and a slightly edgier approach could've made this into a real gem, but alas.Read all