SciFi Japan
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    DEATH NOTE`s Kenichi Matsuyama and Tatsuya Fujiwara reunite for the thriller KAIJI: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER. Photo courtesy of 4Digital Media and Organic Marketing. © 2009

    Hit Japanese Thriller Comes to DVD in the UK Source: Organic Marketing Official Movie Site: kaiji-movie.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Megan Han and Alexandra Beedell

    Cover art for the UK DVD of KAIJI: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER, which goes on sale next week. Photo courtesy of 4Digital Media and Organic Marketing. © 2009

    KAIJI: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER (Kaiji: Jinsei Gyakuten Gemu, 2009) is based on Nobuyuki Fukumoto`s manga Ultimate Survivor Kaiji (Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji) and the 26 episode anime series by Madhouse Studios. The film stars Tatsuya Fujiwara (best known as "Light Yagami" in the DEATH NOTE films) as the titular character and features Kenichi Matuyama ("L") in a key supporting role, marking the first time the two have appeared onscreen together since that hugely successful series. A box office success in Japan (with a sequel planned for next year), KAIJI: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER will be released on UK DVD (Region 2, PAL) by 4Digital Media on July 26th. Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, playing Asian-themed slot games, vandalizing cars, and drinking. Two years later and his life is no better. But Rinko Endo (Yuki Amami), a debt collector for a shadowy financial consulting firm called Teiai (Love Emperor), unexpectedly arrives to collect payment on a missing friend`s loan that Kaiju had co-signed for years before. Due to an exorbitant interest rate the outstanding debt has ballooned far beyond Kaiji`s ability to pay. She offers Kaiji two choices: spend 10 years paying off the loan and interest, or board the organization`s gambling boat Espoir (meaning "hope" in French) for one night with a chance to fully repay his debt and possibly win a whole lot more. But the unscrupulous Endo is actually conning Kaiji, believing he won`t come back from his voyage. The games are rigged to increase the gamblers` debt and eventually force them into lives of indentured servitude. With his freedom and very survival at stake, Kaiji is up for the night of his life...

    20TH CENTURY BOYS` Teruyuki Kagawa plays the evil Yukio Tonegawa. Photo courtesy of 4Digital Media and Organic Marketing. © 2009

    KAIJI: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER

    Director: Toya Sato (GOKUSEN) Script: Mika Omori (DETROIT METAL CITY) Original Story: Nobuyuki Fukumoto Executive Producer: Toru Horikoshi Producers: Kazuhisa Kitajima and Yoshinari Shimatani Music: Yugo Kanno and Hirohide Shida Cinematography: Katsumi Yanagishima Visual effects: Ryo Nishimura Production Design: Hiroshi Koike Lighting: Kosuke Suzuki A Toho, NTV, Kodansha, Horipro, YTV, VAP, AX-ON, STV, MMT, SDT, CTV, HTV, FBS Production STARRING Kaiji Ito: Tatsuya Fujiwara (DEATH NOTE, DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME, BATTLE ROYALE 1 & 2) Makato Sahara: Kenichi Matsuyama (DEATH NOTE, DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME, L Change the WorLd, KAMUI, DETROIT METAL CITY) Yukio Tonegawa: Teruyuki Kagawa (20TH CENTURY BOYS trilogy, TOKYO SONATA) Rinko Endo: Yuki Amami (PONYO) Joji Funai: Taro Yamamoto (PRINCESS RACOON, BATTLE ROYALE) Koji Ishida: Ken Mitsuishi (PANDEMIC, 20TH CENTURY BOYS 1) Taro Otsuki: Suzuki Matsuo (ICHI THE KILLER, THE SHOCK LABYRINTH) Kazutaka Okada: Kei Sato (THE RETURN OF GODZILLA)

    Who will have the winning hand? Photo courtesy of 4Digital Media and Organic Marketing. © 2009

    DVD DETAILS STREET DATE: 26 July 2010 LABEL: 4Digital Asia REGION: 2, PAL RUN TIME: 130 mins approx CERT: 15 CAT NO: ASIA3816 BARCODE: 5034741381611 RRP: £15.99 LANGUAGE: Japanese SUBTITLES: English SPECIAL FEATURES / EXTRAS Original Japanese Trailer Making of Documentary

    Kaiji and the other gamblers must complete dangerous games, including walking a steel beam between the spires of a skyscraper. Photo courtesy of 4Digital Media and Organic Marketing. © 2009


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    Welcome to SciFi Japan, your source for news and information on science fiction, horror, fantasy and action movies, TV shows and videos.. from classics and old favorites, to upcoming productions and home video releases, to the odd and obscure titles you may never have heard of!

    The mainstream press has largely ignored Japanese tokusatsu (special effects) films, and when the genre has been covered by American news outlets and television the results were often inaccurate and condescending. On the other hand, there have been some excellent fan publications and websites devoted to these films, but Japanese studios have been extremely reluctant to deal with fan groups due to concerns over copyright infringement issues (some fans advocate and promote activities such as video bootlegging and unlicensed downloading). With no direct access to studio news and photos, fan reporting has often been forced to rely on secondhand info and rumors.

    What was missing was a professionally run English news outlet working directly with Japanese studios and filmmakers. So, in 2006, we brought together a talented group of published authors and reporters, film historians, reviewers, festival organizers, and movie makers with ties to the Japanese film industry to launch SciFi Japan (More information on our key contributors can be found here). The only English language news site press registered with all of the major Japanese studios and production companies, SciFi Japan is able to consistently bring accurate and exclusive information on Japanese films and shows to English speaking/reading fans worldwide.

    This site also receives updates from licensees and distributors of Japanese movies in North America, the UK and Australia, and we’re press registered with the major American studios as well. So, while our primary focus remains Japanese llive action and anime news we will rinclude international productions in our "International SciFii" and. "Asian Cinema" sections.

    And in 2012, we launched SciFi JAPAN TV, a web series featuring coverage of tokusatsu events and interviews with Japanese filmmakers. Each episode was shot on location in Japan exclusively for SciFi Japan by the Gaijin Channel production team. 

    SciFi Japan has grown by leaps and bounds over these past few years, and the site will continue to improve. So please bookmark SFJ and check back with us frequently… we’ll do our best to make it worth the effort!

     

     
     
     

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