Need a movie suggestion.

[Ryan-]

I'm looking for a modern Japanese romantic comedy. I'm not entirely certain this genre even exists but I'm guessing it does. It needs to be something very tame (PG, PG-13 area). Something I can show in a classroom setting. I'm lecturing on Valentine's Day and White Day and I want a nice time filler so I can get some grading done. Any ideas?

 

[Ashikaga]

You cannot go wrong with "Sabishinbou" directed by Nobuhiko Oobayashi.

It is a story of a highschool aged boy and his crush on a girl who attends an all-girl highschool nearby. One day, he is visited by this mysterious "girl" who looks like a clown who calls herself さびしんぼう. The film follows the romance between the boy and the girl as well as his strange relationship with Sabishinbou, who may be someone he really knows well (or he thinks he does).

The boy (Toshinori Omi, an Oobayashi film regular) lives in a temple (his Dad's a priest, played by the great Nenji Kobayashi) in a very beautiful town of Onomichi, Hiroshima. The characters are very endearing and realistic, and the actors are some of the best in the modern Japanese cinema. The cinematography is absolutely beautiful and the story, while it may sound odd the way I have described it, is funny, bittersweet and touching. I highly, highly recommend it.

Here is the IMDb page, where it receives 8.2 over-all rating. You can read about it on Wiki, too.

 

[Ryan-]

あいにく、見つけられない。

他の考えお願い!!!

 

[Toritoribe]

Whmm, that's too bad. Chopin's Tristesse played by the lead actress Tomita Yasuko is so impressive.
Trailer + one scene + Ending Theme of さびしんぼう



Here's more "light" comedy, 私をスキーに連れてって "TAKE ME OUT TO THE SNOWLAND."
私をスキーに連れてって - Wikipedia
(Sorry, I couldn't find English version.)

Short Trailer


a bit long digest
1


2


3


4


5


Typical bubble-era movie

 

[lonesoullost3]

A more recent one would be "Train Man" (Densya Otoko 電車男). I personally found this to be quite comedic and tame as you describe. It's actually based on a true story about a "figure otaku" (<--lecture topic?) who falls in love with a girl he saves from a drunk man on a train. Though being the anti-socialite he is, he needs help in wooing the woman and uses an online forum for dating advice - before AND during the dates (you can still find the original BBS thread online, though I have long lost the link). Highly recommended: Densha otoko (2005) - IMDb

 

[Ryan-]

窶彭ﾅｽﾃ披?冕 is exactly the kind of think I was looking for. Thank you!
Toritoribe, what is a bubble era movie?

 

[Dogen Z]

Heavenly Forest

Toritobe-san, thank you for recommending that movie--I'm a big fan of skiing movies, I'll have to look for that.

My suggestion is not really a romantic comedy, but it has funny scenes. It's more a sweet, romantic movie starring a very talented young actress, Aoi Miyazaki.

Here's a scene from Heavenly Forest:

[youtube]CTgmeiBgwes&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Swing Girls

Another suggestion is Swing Girls. Unlike the previous suggestion, it's not romantic but it is a comedy. It's about a class of high school slackers who have to spend the summer going to summer school in order to make up for their academic performance during the regular school year. While doing that, they decide to form a band and discover jazz--big band jazz. It's a classic, starring Juri Ueno.

I don't know if this is legal but it's on youtube, so can watch it here until it's deleted. Watch it in HQ-recommended.

 

[Dogen Z]

Cutie Honey - the movie

I want to add recommendation for two slightly older movies. Neither is romantic, but I'm sure high school students would enjoy them. They're slightly over-the-top comedies.

The first is the live action movie Cutie Honey, adapted from the anime. (I know there's a live action drama version, which I've never seen, but I'm sure it can't beat this movie.)

Starring babelicious Eriko Sato.

[youtube]Do27PL7ca9Y&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Dogen Z]

Kamikaze Girls

I had forgotten about this one, too. It's hilarious. Starring Kyoko Fukuda and Anna Tsuchiya. It's a buddy movie about 2 completely opposite types.