Kagen no tsuki (2004)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ken Nikai

Writers:

Ken Nikai (writer)
Ai Yazawa (comic)

Release Date:

25 September 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Do you believe in love after death? On the eve of her 19th birthday, Mizuki (Kuriyama) doesn't have a lot to celebrate about...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Comic | Manga

Cast

Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Mizuki Mochizuki
Hiroki Narimiya	...	Tomoki Anzai
Tomoka Kurokawa	...	Hotaru Shiraishi
Motoki Ochiai	...	Masaki Miura
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simon Britton	...	Evil Eye Bassist
Ayumi Ito	...	Sayaka Kamijo
Takanori Jinnai
Reika Kirishima
Maki Meguro
Anna Nakagawa	...	Sayaka's mother
Ken Ogata	...	Doujima
Nao Omori
Christopher Pellegrini	...	Assistant Director
Sakura
Hideto Takarai	...	Adam (as Hyde)
Yasuko Tomita
Tsuyoshi Ujiki

Also Known As:

Last Quarter (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

Japan:112 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS-Stereo

Certification:

Japan:G | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

BB Cable

The best movie I've seen in a while!

OK, I bought the Region 2 English Subtitled DVD of this movie and, first of all, I need to say that the subtitling was excellent despite several minor flaws along the way. Second of all, this film had some of the best special effects I've seen in a Japanese movie in a long time, far superior to those of the live-action Zeiram and Boogiepop films.

Third, the acting is superb. Chiaki Kuriyama plays Mizuki and Eve well, and Hyde (despite his bad English accent) plays Adam well. However, the film lies more with the characters of Hotaru, Miura, and Tomoki in their quest to help Eve from her entrapment in the house.

I only had a few small problems with the experience, but they did not take too much away from the film; the most major of these is a break in the flow caused by a short interlude explaining the meaning of Kagen no Tsuki, the "Last Quarter Moon," that feels almost completely out of place. Outside of this and a few small instances, the film was excellent and convincing.

Although some segments of the trailer make the movie seem slightly on the ridiculous side at times, the extreme emotions (mostly Tomoki, Mizuki's boyfriend, screaming) are accounted for well in the film, being extremely appropriate when they actually appear.

Overall, it was the best movie I've seen in years, with the most constant universe held within it. The characters and their circumstances feel real throughout the entire film. The first A+ film I've watched in years, and the most real. I can hardly wait to watch it again!