PROGRAMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
WITHOUT NOTICE
“Rental no Koi (Rental Lover),” premieres Monday, June 15 at 7:35 p.m.
Remi is the most popular “item” at the “Rental Lovers” company where no customer request is deemed too impossible, outlandish or difficult to fulfill as long as certain rules and time constraints are observed. The company motto is “The ultimate rental girlfriend” and they guarantee complete satisfaction and perfectly-met requests. Remi is the ideal girlfriend in every way. But she also exhibits a few distractingly different traits. She absolutely refuses to smile once a date “gig” is over, and she wears an odd-looking bandage on her neck. So who or what is Remi? Cyborg? Alien? Cat? Fully subtitled in English.
“Iryu Sosa SP 8 & 9,” premieres on Tuesday, June 16 at 7:35 p.m.
The quirky detective Itomura is back again! Still with Special Crime Management and Control Office of the Kyoto Police, in one-shot specials 8 & 9, he takes on new cases in beautiful Kyoto and challenges difficulties. Can Itomura continue to investigate in his own way focusing on things that the victims always carried and treasured in order to solve the cases and bring closure to the family of victims in Kyoto and the surrounding area? Fully subtitled in English.
“Wanitokagegisu (Swimming in the Dark),” premieres on Friday, June 19 at 7:35 p.m.
Tomioka, a late-night security guard at a supermarket, laments his drab and solitary life. Feeling it unnatural to exist alone, he wishes upon a shooting star one night for a true friend. Soon, a mysterious woman appears in his life. She is Azusa, a next door neighbor who instantly falls in love with him. But as a kind of social awkwardness, Tomioka is obtusely unaware of her feelings for him. Can love bloom between these two? Especially when compounded by the sudden emergence of a homeless guy who calls himself a “life wanderer,” and then an enigmatic death threat: “You will lose your mind within a year and die.” Life is suddenly turned upside down. Fully subtitled in English.
NGN 3 MOVIE CHANNEL (Spectrum Digital Ch. 679/HD 1679)
Premiere titles air on Friday. “Movie of the Month” premieres on the first Saturday. Movies are shown at various times. Check your digital on–screen guide for movie schedules, using either the GUIDE or INFO buttons (up to one week ahead). Or call NGN, Mon.–Fri. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 538–1966 for inquiries or to request an e–mail of NGN 3 programming information. All movies are in Japanese language with full English subtitles.
Movie of the Month
“Kazokuiro (Our Departures),” 2018 drama, 2 hours.
Directed by Yasuhiro Yoshida. Starring Kasumi Arimura and Jun Kunimura.
Traveling with her pre-teen stepson, Shunya, the widow Akira visits her late husband’s Kagoshima hometown to inform his father, Setsuo, of that husband’s sudden passing. Setsuo is dismayed by his son’s sudden death and flustered by his daughter-in-law and grandson whom he meets for the first time. Aki and Shunya have lost their home in Tokyo, so they convince Setsuo to let them move in with him in Kagoshima. For the boy who loves trains, Aki takes the test to become a train driver for the Hisatsu Orange Railway where Setsuo works. Will Aki, Shunya and Setsuo be able to overcome their trials and tribulations to find their own version of a family?
Movies in Alphabetical Order
“Akai Kageboshi (Revenger In Shadow),” 1961 samurai/ninja film, 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Jushiro Konoe, Kotaro Satomi and Michiyo Kogure.
An illegitimate child of famous ninja Hanzo Hattori, Wakakage, goes on the ultimate mission for vengeance.
“Gincho Nagaremono Mesuneko Bakuchi (Red Cherry),” 1972 action film, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Masukazu Izuka. Starring Mieko Kaji and Shinichi Chiba.
Nami returns to Tokyo to find Hoshiden, the man who killed her father 13 years ago. Now on the hunt for revenge, Nami becomes a Ginza club hostess while searching every alley and gambling spot for Hoshiden.
“Gokinzo Yaburi (The Shogun’s Vault),” 1964 samurai film, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Teruo Ishii. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Chiezo Kataoka and Tetsuro Tanba.
Veteran thief Tomizo teams up with Hanji, a former Vassal turned criminal, to steal the Shogun’s vault.
“Gokudo no Onnatachi Saigo no Tatakai (Yakuza Ladies: The Final Battle),” 1990 drama, 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Shima Iwashita and Rino Katase.
Two wives of gangsters come together to avenge the deaths of their husbands.
“Hachi-nen goshi no Hanayome (The 8-Year Engagement),” 2017 drama, 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Directed by Takahisa Zeze. Starring Takeru Sato and Tao Tsuchiya.
Based on a true story, a heartbreaking and a miraculous romantic tale of a man who waited eight years for his true love. Hisashi and Mai are a happy couple in their 20s who are engaged to be married. But three months before their wedding, Mai becomes seriously ill. Her heart stops momentarily, and she falls into a deep coma. Hisashi visits Mai at the hospital every day. With no idea if, or when, she will ever awaken, Mai’s parents encourage Hisashi to find someone else, but he refuses to give up and continues to pray for her recovery. As if his prayers are answered, Mai begins to regain consciousness several years later and even utters a few words. But tragically, she has suffered brain damage and has no memory of Hisashi.
“Hanafubuki Tekka Matoi (Glorious Standard Bearer),” 1957 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Directed Toshikazu Kono. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Hitomi Nakahara.
A fireman exposes the corrupt activities of merchants.
“Hibari Torimonocho Jiraiya Koban (Secret of the Gold Coin),” 1958 samurai film, 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukuda. Starring Hibari Misora and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
A girl detective, Oshichi, exposes a ploy by a retainer of daimyo.
“Hitokiri Gasa (Vanquished Foes),” 1964 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Ryoraro Otomo, Hashizo Okawa and Satomi Oka.
Skilled assassin Kanjuro’s services are called upon to put an end to the ugly turf battle between two yakuza families, Mitsuwa and Aikawa.
“Inazuma Touge no Ketto (Showdown at Lightning Pass),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 31minutes.
Directed by Nobuo Nakagawa. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa and Shinjiro Ebara.
A story about a spear master’s spiritual and martial discipline.
“Irezumi Hantaro (Tattoo of Love),” 1963 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Satomi Oka.
Gambler Hantaro risks his life and reputation to save young Onaka from the shady lifestyle.
“Kodomo Tsukai (Innocent Curse),” 2017 horror, 1 hour and 51 minutes.
Directed by Takashi Shimizu. Starring Hideaki Takizawa and Mugi Kadowaki.
A suburban town is shaken by a series of mysterious child disappearances and suspicious adult deaths. A rumor begins to spread on the Internet that any adult who suddenly encounters a returned “child” will die mysteriously three days later. Local newspaper reporter Shunya Ezaki refuses to believe that children are killing adults, and begins to investigate the truth behind the strange deaths. Who on earth is “Kodomo Tsukai”? And what kind of dark fate do the abducted children drag their adult victims toward?
“Kogarashi Monjiro Kakawari Gozansen (Secret of Monjiro’s Birth),” 1972 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Starring Bunta Sugawara and Etsuko Ichihara.
Secrets surrounding Monjiro’s birth are revealed.
“Kujakujo no Hanayome (Bride of Peacock Castle),” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Shoji Matsumura. Starring Ryutaro Otomo and Hibari Misora.
A hunter is a given a task of taming a daughter of the Shogun in preparation for her marriage to the lord.
“Mito Komon (Lord Mito),” 1957 samurai film, 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Chiezo Kataoka and Utaemon Ichikawa.
This most celebrated all-star movie version of the popular series features Tsukigata Ryunosuke as Mito Komon, the sage who wanders the countryside rectifying government corruption along with his faithful attendants Suke and Kaku.
“Nihon no Don Kanketsu-hen (Japan’s Don Emerges),” 1978 action film, 2 hours and 11 minutes.
Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Starring Toshiro Mifune and Chiezo Kataoka.
Double-crosses and back-stabbings while the biggest yakuza bosses battle for the title of “Godfather of Japan” between eastern and western families. Violent story and an all-star cast — a must see!
“Ooka Seidan Chidori no Inrou (The Medicine Case),” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
Magistrate Ooka Echizen faces a crime over a pillbox.
“Ooshobu (Grand Contest),” 1965 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Umetsugu Inoue. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Hashizo Okawa.
Story of a vagabond, masterless samurai and magistrate who form an unusual friendship.
“ReLIFE,” 2017 drama, 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Directed by Takeshi Furusawa. Starring: Taishi Nakagawa and Yuna Taira.
Twenty-seven-year-old Arata Kaizaki becomes unemployed after quitting his job after only five months. He meets a mysterious man named Ryo, who urges him to participate in an experimental social reintegration program called “ReLIFE” that enable him to rejuvenate his appearance by 10 years for a period of one year by taking an experimental drug. Arata re-enters high school as a student, where he gradually forms a strong bond with a unique group of classmates but once the one-year experiment expires, he will be erased from their memory. What will the future hold for him after ReLIFE?
“Sanbyaku Rokujugo-ya (365 Nights),” 1962 drama, 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Directed by Kunio Watanabe. Starring Hibari Misora, Ken Takakura and Yukiji Asaoka.
A touching drama depicting a love triangle between a young architect, Koroku, and two women, Ranko and Teruko. Ranko comes from a wealthy family and is offering to repay Kotaro’s family debts in exchange for marriage, but Kotaro is in love with his landlord’s daughter, Teruko. Things are further complicated when the wicked Tsugawa takes interest in both women, for his own marriage.
“Shin Kyodai Jingi (Code Between Brothers: All New),” 1970 drama, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Kiyoshi Saeki. Starring Saburo Kitajima and Bunta Sugawara.
The story of three brothers, the oldest of which inherits gang leadership.
“Wakasama Zamurai Torimonocho Jigoku no Sarayashiki (Case of A Young Lord),” 1956 jidaigeki, 57 minutes.
Directed by Konnosuke Fukuda. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Yumiko Hasegawa and Michiko Hoshi.
A master swordsman guards a mercer’s heirloom, a precious plate given by the Shogun, against bandits.
“Yogiri no Joshuji (Road In The Mist),” 1963 samurai film, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Kokichi Uchide. Starring Hibari Misora, Jushiro Konoe and Isao Yamagata.
Okinu, the beautiful daughter of a feudal lord, discovers her true identity and leaves her lavish life behind to avenge her birth father’s death.
