by Chris MaGeeBack in January when news came out about Riko Narumi's upcoming starring role in "Shodo Girls", the story of a girl who goes into a "performance calligraphy" competition, we knew that the film probably wasn't going to stray too far from the saccharine, feel good template of films like "Swing Girls" and "Hula Girls". Little did we know just how saccharine director Ryuichi Inomata would take the whole project. Now with the release of the trailer for "Shodo Girls" (being released in Japanese theatres in May) we get an overload of folksy humour, hyper-sentimental soundtrack, and enough "Gambatte yo!" spirit to choke even the most forgiving viewer. It's too bad really, given that the first time I personally saw Riko Narumi was in her impressive performance as a piano prodigy opposite Ken'ichi Matsuyama in "Shindo", a film that could have followed in the same template of "Shodo Girls" but thankfully didn't.
To get double your daily requirement of sugar sweetness head over to Nippon Cinema where Kevin Ouellette has the full trailer posted.
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1 comment:
"Hula Girls" doesn't really fit the mold, but "Waterboys", "Koi wa Go-shichi-go", "Oppai Volleyball" and countless others do... I'm hoping that these girls have to overcome apathy/adversity, learn a new skill, bond as friends, and find out who they are in the process! I also hope there's at least one inspirational speech by a teacher, and a "gambatte" moment where the underdogs have to dig deep and perform better than they ever have before to beat an unbeatable foe!
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