#Yusuke Kawazu

[randomrichards]

THE HUMAN CONDITION 3: A SOLDIER’S PRAYER

From a lost soldier

To a prisoner of war

A good man broken

[byneddiedingo]

Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano in Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960) Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Yusuke Kawazu, Yoshiko Kuga, Fumio Watanabe, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi. Screenplay: Nagisa Oshima. Cinematography: Takashi Kawamata. Music: Riichiro Manabe. In addition to the shamelessly exploitative title Naked Youth, Cruel Story of Youth has also been released as A Story of the Cruelties of Youth. So is it the story that's cruel or the youth in it? Those who know Japanese can probably tell me which is closer to the original title, Seishun Zankoku Monogotari, but I suspect the ambiguity is intentional. It's a cruel story about cruel young people, with the usual implication that society -- postwar, consumerist, America-influenced Japan -- is to blame for the cruelties inflicted upon and by them. With its hot pops of color and unsparing widescreen closeups, the film puts us uncomfortably close to its young protagonists, Makoto (Miyuki Kuwano) and Kiyoshi (Yusuke Kawazu ). Makoto is just barely out of adolescence -- Kuwano was 18 when the film was made -- but carelessly determined to grow up fast. She hangs out in bars and cadges rides with middle-aged salarymen until the night when one of them decides to take her to a hotel instead of her home. When she refuses, he tries to rape her. But a young passerby intervenes and beats the man, threatening to take him to the police until the man hands over a walletful of money. The next day, Makoto and her rescuer, Kiyoshi, meet up to spend the money together. He's just a bit older --  Kawazu was 25, three years younger than the film's director, Nagisa Oshima -- and over the course of their day together on a river he slaps her around, pushes her into the water and taunts her when she can't swim, and seduces her with his mockery of her inquisitiveness about sex. When he doesn't call her again, she seeks him out and they become lovers. They also become criminals: She goes back to her game of hooking rides with salarymen and he follows them, choosing a moment when the men start to get handsy with Makoto -- sometimes she provokes them to do so -- to beat and rob them. Naturally, things don't get better from here on out, especially after Makoto gets pregnant. We can object to the film's sentimental attempt to redeem Kiyoshi, who starts out as an abusive young thug but is transformed by love, and there's some awkward coincidence plotting, like an abortionist who turns out to be Makoto's sister's old boyfriend. But Oshima's portrait of a lost generation has some of the power of the American films that inspired it, Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) and Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950), as well as the French New Wave films about the anomie of the young by Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard. It was only Oshima's second feature, but it signaled the start of a major career.

[dare-g]

Sad Vacation (2007)

[audiemurphy1945]

Farewell to Spring(1959)

[oh-sewing-circle]

"With intense expressions of love and lust, Swastika (1964) directed by Yasuzo Masumura, hailed by director Shinji Aoyama (Eureka) as the most important filmmaker in the history of postwar Japanese cinema, follows Sonoko Kakiuchi (Kyoko Kishida) as she falls victim to a school gossip along with Mitsuko (Ayako Wakao), an industrialist’s daughter, and soon they form a friendship that becomes a crazy sexual obsession, making Sonoko wild with envy and desire. Sonoko has a questioning husband in the form of Kotaro (Eiji Funakoshi) while Mitsuko has a clingy fiancé named Watanuki (Yusuke Kawazu). Sexual acts are mostly implied with body doubles used for intimate scenes, with emphasis placed more on the mental manipulations and mind games of the four central characters wrapped up in selfish desires and dilemmas."

[absencesrepetees]

cruel story of youth (nagisa oshima, 1960)

[folie-atwo]

夕陽に赤い俺の顔 Killers on Parade (1961, Masahiro Shinoda)

[satoshi-mochida]

Square Enix has released The Last Remnant Remastered for Switch via the Nintendo eShop for $19.99, the company announced.

The remaster first launched for PlayStation 4 in December 2018.

Here is an overview of the game, via Nintendo.com:

The cult classic RPG featuring team versus team battles finally arrives on Nintendo Switch!

Last released in 2008, The Last Remnant captured the hearts and minds of gamers with its enthralling story, countless characters and intricate battle system. Now this cult classic RPG is back with a Remastered version and is coming to Nintendo Switch with even more beautiful graphics, enhanced via an updated game engine.

There exists a world woven together by four races: Mitra, Yama, Qsiti, and Sovani.

In this world, mysterious objects called “Remnants” have existed since ancient times. Who created these objects? When? And for what reason? No one knew nor had the means to know, but continued to extract and use their colossal power.

However, the Remnants’ immense power gradually caused the world to fall out of balance. As further separation tore apart those who rule and those who follow, a war broke out―the beginning of a long and endless strife.

A thousand years later, this story begins.

Distinct Battle System

A command-style battle with ever-changing scenarios

Coming in contact with enemies on the field will trigger battles. Strategize and make full use of the commands that change constantly depending on the positions and state of friendly and enemy forces.

Morale of friendly forces greatly affects the outcome of battle

In battle, morale expresses the spirit of individuals and groups of both friendly and enemy forces. Higher morale has advantageous effects such as increasing the attack stat to deal more damage, or decreasing damage dealt by the enemy.

Square Enix also released “Inside The Last Remnant Remastered,” a 10-minute developer diary that looks at some of the secrets and anecdotes from the development of the game, featuring interviews with executive producer and writer Akitoshi Kawazu, art director Yusuke Naora, and director Hiroshi Takai.

Watch the Switch version launch trailer and “Inside The Last Remnant Remastered” below.

Switch Trailer

Inside The Last Remnant Remastered

[manukyan]

3D OOH for NIKE AirMax Day 2022. This giant display is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo from CEKAI on Vimeo.

Director / Motion Design: Kota Iguchi Art Director: Rei Ishii

VFX Director Kim Sangyom(2H) Lead CG Designer Masahiro Okino(2H) CG Designer Atsuya Yagi(2H) Effect Artist Kim Singyom(2H)

3DCG Modeler Takahiro Shinoda 3DCG Animator Satoshi Kawazu 3DCG Modeler Miki Masamoto 3DCG Designer Atsuhiko Nakamura(nil) 3DCG Modeler Takahiro Shinoda

VFX producer Tatsuro Hayashi (LUDENS) CG Chief Production Manager Yusuke Toh(2H) CG Production Manager Atsushi Ishida CG Production Assistant Takuto Yamamori

Technical Support Akira Watanabe (LUDENS)

Music / Sound Design: DJ UPPERCUT(GROUNDRIDDIM) Music Producer: Yuya Ozawa(GROUNDRIDDIM) Recap Film: Yutaro Tagawa Online Editor Sahara Ogata(Digital Garden)

Producer: Taro Mikami Production: CEKAI

NIKE Brand Creative Yoshio Kato, Nanaka Sakurai, Danny Demers, Debbie Pan

[liuxiang]

3D OOH for AirMax Day2022. This large anamorphic display is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo from CEKAI on Vimeo.

Director / Motion Design: Kota Iguchi Art Director: Rei Ishii

VFX Director Kim Sangyom(2H) Lead CG Designer Masahiro Okino(2H) CG Designer Atsuya Yagi(2H) Effect Artist Kim Singyom(2H)

3DCG Modeler Takahiro Shinoda 3DCG Animator Satoshi Kawazu 3DCG Modeler Miki Masamoto 3DCG Designer Atsuhiko Nakamura(nil) 3DCG Modeler Takahiro Shinoda

VFX producer Tatsuro Hayashi (LUDENS) CG Chief Production Manager Yusuke Toh(2H) CG Production Manager Atsushi Ishida CG Production Assistant Takuto Yamamori

Technical Support Akira Watanabe (LUDENS)

Music / Sound Design: DJ UPPERCUT(GROUNDRIDDIM) Music Producer: Yuya Ozawa(GROUNDRIDDIM) Recap Film: Yutaro Tagawa Online Editor Sahara Ogata(Digital Garden)

Producer: Taro Mikami Production: CEKAI

NIKE Brand Creative Yoshio Kato, Nanaka Sakurai, Danny Demers, Debbie Pan

[randomrichards]

Cruel Story of Youth

[byneddiedingo]

Yusuke Kawazu and Mashiko Tsugawa in Farewell to Spring (Keisuke Kinoshita, 1959) Cast: Keiji Sada, Midori: Ineko Arima, Masahiko Tsugawa, Akira Ishihama, Toyozo Yamamoto, Kazuya Kosaka, Yusuke Kawazu, Yukiko Toake. Screenplay: Keisuke Kinoshita. Cinematography: Hiroshi Kusuda. Art direction: Chiyoo Umeda. Film editing: Yoshi Sugihara. Music: Chuji Kinoshita. The homoerotic edge of Farewell to Spring is obvious from the outset as five old friends reunite to discover the ways in which life has changed them: The young men seem more touch-feely than is usual in movies, especially Japanese ones. But director-writer Keisuke Kinoshita, who was himself as openly gay as possible in the Japan of his day, doesn't develop or exploit this bit of queerness. Instead, he's intent on exploring moral questions and social relationships: arranged marriages, the weight of Japanese history, political and economic change, and the choice whether to rat upon an old friend when it turns out that the friend has gone bad. Like many of Kinoshita's films, it ladles on emotion in the form of music -- some of it composed by his brother, Chuji -- rather than letting the story carry the emotional freight.

[clemsfilmdiary]

Red Angel / Akai Tenshi (1966, Yasuzō Masumura)

赤い天使　（増村保造）

10/2/20

[dare-g]

Good-for-Nothing (1960)

[audiemurphy1945]

Farewell to Spring(1959)

[glassesandmasks]

祭り//Matsuri

@fragilefortitude //Muse” Haru Okumura

  The coming of Spring was quickly approaching, the once bitter chill of winter had melted way into an almost soft, brisk, and fresh ozone that enveloped all of Japan.  Not quite the rainy season yet, thankfully, which meant many activities were to be held around Tokyo.  The most prominent of activities was the Kawazu-zakura Cherry Blossom festival, which luckily for Ren was still ongoing. It was a fleeting thought as he ascended the stairs, leading to the roof of Shujin Academy, but perhaps he should invite one of his cohorts to view it with him before he left. 

  Glancing down at his phone, he skimmed over the text messages once more, finally landing on the reason he was still at school.  Haru Okumura had requested his help with moving gardening materials, in which he happily obliged, their bond growing stronger since the defeat of Yaldabaoth.  While perhaps Ann, or even Yusuke, would enjoy the cherry blossoms, asking Haru to accompany him felt a little more appropriate.  She adored flowers, after all, and it was an endearing trait about her.

“Sorry I’m running late,” Ren greeted the girl, offering a small smile and a wave of hand.  “I’m here now, what do you need me to do?”