Takahiro Sato Movies
A detective has a tight deadline to crack a case that could claim the lives of millions in this crime drama, a spin-off from the Desu Notu (Death Note) franchise. L (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a cop with a serious sweet tooth and a fondness for gadgets who has been handed a very important assignment. A group of environmental radicals who want to decimate the Earth's population in the name of a greener world have gotten their hands on a potent man-made virus that could wipe out half the globe if it is released. It's L's job to track down the eco-terrorists and see that the virus is kept under wraps, but after signing his own name in the Death Book, he's given himself only 23 days to bring the radicals to justice. L: Change the World was the opening-night attraction at the 2008 Udine Far East Film Festival and was a major box-office success in Japan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenichi Matsuyama
Director Shusuke Kaneko picks up right where Death Note left off with this sequel to the box-office phenomenon that finds Light finally giving in to his dark side. In the first Death Note, Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) focused his wrath on the criminal element, but these days the troubled teen is a bit more hasty in wielding his deadly pen. Lately, Light has taken to eliminating just about anyone who happens to get on his bad side -- a disturbing development that finds the police stepping up their efforts to discover the mysterious killer's true identity. Public opinion is split about what to make of Light's murderous exploits; while some view him as a godsend, others deride him for assuming the roles of judge, jury, and executioner. To the regular citizens, Light has taken on a godlike role and is frequently referred to as Kira (a katakana variation on the work "killer"). It seems that the teenage detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama) is hot on Light's trail, and as the clueless police task force continues to speculate, Light does his best to throw L's investigation off balance. When yet another notebook is dropped by death god Rem, adorable television personality Misa Amane (Erika Toda) discovers it and realizes that she now has the power to identify other notebook owners. Now, despite the fact that Light and Misa fall for each other hard, Light knows that their relationship can only end in disaster and attempts to keep his distance despite a growing emotional attachment to the pretty popular icon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
Released into Japanese theaters in 2006, director Shusuke Kaneko's stylish adaptation of the best selling manga quickly trampled The Da Vinci Code on Japanese screens and subsequently and set box office records in Hong Kong and all across Asia. The plot picks up as aimless law student Light Yagami (Tetsuya Fujiwara) discovers a mysterious notebook in the middle of the street. Soon thereafter, Light discovers that if he writes a name in the notebook, that person will instantly die (generally of a heart attack). Of course it doesn't take long for Light to realize the extraordinary power he now holds, and before long he hatches a plan to rid the planet of crime by scribbling the name of notorious criminals in the pages of the powerful notebook and make the world a safer place for decent citizens everywhere. But Light isn't alone in his mission, because his new companion Ryuk - a flying god of death who only Light can see and who also happens to be the true owner of the notebook - is always there to egg him on and get a little laugh from the criminal holocaust. Over the course of the next few weeks, Light does away with millions of nefarious baddies and the global crime rate drops by seventy percent. Still, the police aren't too happy that a regular civilian seems to be taking the law into his own hands. Perhaps the only person capable of discovering Light's true identity is L (Kenichi Matsuyama) - a brilliant teenage detective with a taste for sweets and remarkable deductive reasoning skills. When the police chief (Takeshi Kaga of the hit television series Iron Chef) - who also happens to be Light's father - is assigned the task of unmasking the elusive killer, things really start to get interesting. A fast paced, goth-infused, cat-and-mouse thriller, Death Note was followed at the box office by the equally successful sequel Death Note: The Last Name just a few short months later. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, (more)
- 2004
Filmmaker Katsuhito Ishii takes a break from the post-Tarantino excess of such highly-stylized outings as Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl for this low-key look at an eccentric family residing in a quiet countryside town just north of Tokyo. The Haruno family is a five-piece clan living the simple life in Japan. The summer sun shining gently down, this quiet quintet is transformed into a six-piece when urban-dwelling uncle Ayano (Tadanobu Asano), a successful music producer, arrives to visit his family and confront his feelings for the ex-girlfriend who married another man after Ayano moved to the city. As the lazy days pass by, each member of the family is followed in a series of episodic vignettes. Eccentric grandfather Akira (Tatsuya Gashuin) seems to reside in a wondrous universe of his own making, while imaginative mother Yoshiko (Satomi Tezuka) is attempting to re-establish herself as an anime artist and hypno-therapist father Nobou (Tomokazu Miura) practices his trade on willing family members. Meanwhile, on the youthful side of the clan, son Hajime (Takahiro Sato) attempts to get his hormones in check following the arrival of a pretty new classmate, while haunted daughter Sachiko (Maya Banno) stealthily attempts to avoid her massive doppelganger - a mysterious figure who seems to be tracing the girl's every move. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mayo Banno, Takahiro Sato, (more)
