Hong Kong DVD distributor CN Entertainment will be releasing Shimako Sato‘s K-20: Legend of the Mask (K-20: Kaijin Niju Menso Den, 2008) on English-subtitled DVD next week. I wouldn’t expect much in the way of features considering CN releases are usually barebones, but DVD-9 is a very good sign picture quality-wise; they usually squash everything onto a DVD-5. Fans in North America may want to hold off until Viz Pictures comes out with their release of the film in the very near future.

Plot: In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.

Region 3, NTSC, DVD-9. Japanese DTS and Chinese-dubbed Dolby 5.1 audio tracks with selectable Chinese and English subtitles.

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The second “Hana Yori Dango” series, which aired on TBS in 2007 to massive ratings, concluded with a storybook ending—leaving the oft-sabotaged lovers Tsukushi Makino (Mao Inoue) and Tsukasa Domyoji (Arashi’s Jun Matsumoto) quite happy together and engaged following their senior prom. That probably would have been a perfectly legitimate spot to end the story; but if you’ve got a cash cow on your hands, one final harebrained adventure before the marriage ceremony surely can’t hurt. As expected, Hana Yori Dango: Final raked it in at the box office earlier this year, catering to female fans of all age groups by rehashing the whole “on-again, off-again” theme of the main couple’s relationship. Unfortunately, the extreme concentration on romance may alienate fans who enjoyed the original series more for its comedy and wacky cast of side-characters—none of whom really get a fair shake in the theatrical cut. On the other hand, if you’re in it for the romance and sappy love confession moments, this film may just make your head explode with glee.

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Ryutaro Kajino‘s first feature-length film, Pyocotan Profile, will be playing at Theater Tsutaya starting next Saturday (11/29). I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the plot for a while now. It’s not as much a language barrier as it’s a “wtf?” barrier. But here goes:

A group of teenage girls plan a trip for graduation and find a flyer advertising Gomuniku (rubber meat) Island. The flyer also says they can win prize money if they manage to capture a strange biological anomaly called a “Pyocotan”. Sayori is suspicious of the whole thing and decides not to go, but her two friends go anyway and are promptly abducted. Also, a secret about the Pyocotan is revealed that could doom the entire planet. To find her friends and save the planet Sayori sails to Gomuniku alone. Can the mysterious Pyocotan be captured?

Trailer after the break.

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The second full trailer for Shimako Sato‘s “K-20: Legend of the Mask” features a few more money shots than the first one that came out back in august (link). In the movie, a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and is forced to hunt down the real criminal—a man with the unique ability to change his appearance at will.

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The official website for Shimako Sato‘s K-20: Legend of the Mask(K-20: Kaijin Niju Menso Den) added a trailer within the past few hours. Thankfully it’s the real deal, not just a teaser. The movie is based on a So Kitamura novel which itself was inspired by Edogawa Rampo’s original source material.

The story is set in 1949 in the fictional capital city of Teito, where aristocrats monopolize most of the wealth. K-20, a mysterious man with the ability to change his appearance frequently targets the rich for his theft. One day he manages to trick police into thinking a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is the real criminal, leaving it up to Endo to escape jail and prove his innocence.

Meanwhile K-20 targets his next victim, Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu)—an heiress whose fiancé is Kogoro Akechi (Toru Nakamura), the famous detective who arrested Endo. But Endo still has a score to settle, and picks a fight with K-20.

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