The creators of the upcoming Stephen Chow-produced film Shaolin Girl are having a hard time convincing Japanese bloggers it’s about Shaolin Kung-Fu at all. While some people have been mistaking the martial arts used in the film and its Hong Kong predecessor “Shaolin Soccer” for Shorinji Kempo - a Japanese martial art inspired by Shaolin Kung-Fu, others are convinced it’s about Kobayashi Shorin-ryu, an Okinawan style of karate. Apparently the kanji for “Shaolin” (少林) is so close to the kanji for “Kobayashi” (小林) that many Japanese blogs and online media outlets have been reporting on the two films under the titles “Kobayashi Soccer” and “Kobayashi Girl”.

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In what could be best described as a Japanese take on The Neverending Story, The Great Yokai War tells the story of a young boy named Tadashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) who moves to a small town after his parents get divorced and gets picked to be “Kirin Rider” at a local festival. The title, which equates to being a protector of all things good, proves to be more literal than symbolic as a group of cursed souls wage war on humans and yokai (monsters). Tadashi joins forces with the local yokai and even though he’s just a young boy they come to view him as their last ray of hope.

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Takashi Miike’s take on Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 western “Django”. In an odd twist, this version is set in historical Japan but all dialogue is spoken in English by non-English speakers. In the film the Genji and Heike clans rekindle old grudges after centuries of war with a buried treasure on the line. A mysterious lone gunman (Hideaki Ito) wanders into and town neither clan know who he’ll side with.

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A middle aged and washed up rally driver named Daibutsu (Show Aikawa) decides it’s time to make his comeback. With the support of his wife (Noriko Sakai) and young son he rebuilds his old Mitsubishi Starion 4WD, which he lovingly refers to as “Jackie”. To get back in the swing of things he starts challenging people to illegal street races. The film is based on a popular Shohei Harumoto manga which originally ran from 2000-2003.

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An ordinary college student gets caught up in “Project Persona”, a human experiment in which her personality is altered, giving her super-human fighting abilities and reflexes. She manages to escape the laboratory, but faces waves of attackers in her fight to get away. Young actress Mami Yamasaki puts her rhythmic gymnastics background to use in several Kenji Tanigaki-choreographed fight scenes.

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