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Toronto Japanese Film Fest to Show Guskō Budori Anime Remake Film

The Toronto Japanese Film Festival will be screening The Life of Guskō Budori (Guskō Budori no Denki) at its June 13-28 event in Toronto. The screening will mark the film's North American premiere. In addition, the festival will screen the North American premiere of the live-action film adaptation of Kyoko Okazaki's Helter Skelter manga and the Canadian premiere of the live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga.

The Life of Guskō Budori, which opened last July, is the second anime adaptation Kenji Miyazawa's (Night on the Galactic Railroad) classic fairy tale of a young man named Guskō in the Tohoku forests of northeastern Japan in the 1920s. After an onslaught of droughts and natural disasters, Guskō is forced to leave his home and search for a better life elsewhere. Guskō joins a group of scientists at the Ihatov Volcano Department, which deals with the same natural disasters that drove Guskō from his home.

Actor Shun Oguri (Hana Yori Dango, Hana-Kimi, Detective Conan, Uchū Kyōdai, Arakawa Under the Bridge) starred in the title role. Actress Shiori Kutsuna (live-action Beck & Detective Conan) made her voice-acting debut as Guskō's little sister Neri, and Gisaburô Sugii (Night on the Galactic Railroad) wrote, storyboarded, and directed the film.

The Helter Skelter film stars Erika Sawajiri (SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade, 1 Liter of Tears drama series) as Ririko, a model who underwent extensive plastic surgery to attain her beauty. The clinic who performed Ririko's surgeries goes under investigation for questionable business practices, and Ririko's body starts to deteriorate. As the model's prominence in the entertainment industry begins to falter, so does her sanity. Mika Ninagawa (Sakuran) directed the film, which opened in Japan last July.

Keishi Ōtomo's live-action film adaptation of Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga stars Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider Den-O, Rookies, Beck) in the film's titular role. Emi Takei (Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu, For Love's Sake/Ai to Makoto) plays the heroine Kaoru Kamiya. Yuu Aoi (Hana and Alice, Honey and Clover) plays Megumi Takani, Munetaka Aoki (The Last Message Umizaru, live-action The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) plays Sanosuke Sagara, and Taketo Tanaka plays Yahiko Myōjin. Yosuke Eguchi (Shonan Bakusozoku and Tokyo Love Story) as Hajime Saitō, Kouji Kikkawa (Let's Dance With Papa) as Jine Udō, and Teruyuki Kagawa (From Up on Poppy Hill, 20th Century Boys) as Kanryū Takeda round out the cast. The film opened in Japan last August.

Thanks to Kavin Ng for the news tip.