Director Shinobu Yaguchi must have a really good therapist, because over the span of his 15-year career his films have been getting progressively more upbeat and, dare I say it; downright bubbly. Falling in line with that logic—but in reverse—is his debut effort Down the Drain (Hadashi no Picnic), the story of a typical teenage girl named Junco (Saori Serikawa) who commits a fairly innocuous crime only to see her life spiral out of control with one unbelievable chain of bad luck after another. Who knew the guy that brought us Waterboys and Swing Girls could have such a mean streak?

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The official website for Shinobu Yaguchi‘s Happy Flight was recently updated with a fancy new layout; and with that update comes a brand new 32-second teaser taking the place of the old one. For those of you that want to check out the old one, see this post from July 19th with the video clip and full cast information.

As most of you probably know, Yaguchi is the man who brought us comedies like Waterboys, Swing Girls, and My Secret Cache. He tends to be a perfectionist while writing scripts, and in preparation for making an airline comedy he spent years learning the ins and outs of that industry. So while it’s kind of agonizing to wait years between projects, it’s always worth it. Tease ahoy!

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Maybe I’m immature, but there’s just something about an unexpected punch in the face or kick to the head that’s undeniably amusing. The brand new Love Fight trailer has both, as you can see for yourself after the break.

The movie is based on a novel by Eri Makino called “Seibo Shojo”. Izuru Narushima (Midnight Eagle) directed and Takao Osawa (also Midnight Eagle) served the dual role of supporting actor and producer. The story involves a boy named Minoru (Kento Hayashi) who’s always been a bit of a weakling. Throughout his childhood his spunky female friend Aki (Kie Kitano) watched out for him and protected him from bullies. One day he meets Osawa’s character who trains him how to box. Then when he finally gets stronger than Aki she decides to take up boxing herself, which obviously drives him crazy. Predictably, the mutual boxing obsession brings up all sorts of strong new emotions between them.

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Guilty pleasures don’t get much guiltier than Noboru Iguchi’s geeky 2006 fleshfest, Sukeban Boy. Iguchi, who’s sort of a 14-year-old trapped in an adult’s body, caters to a fanbase of likeminded otakus by putting out no-budget releases that incorporate elements from his porn background, goofy comedy, and copious amounts of gore. His cheaply produced, easy to market style of exploitation is probably the reason Fever Dreams/Media Blasters tapped him to direct their recent DVD hit, The Machine Girl, but if you really want to understand what the guy is about “Sukeban Boy” is probably a purer representation (i.e., free from the influence of US expectations).

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In 19-year-old Tokyo Visual Arts College student Tomoko Fukai‘s directorial debut, Umeda Yuko no Kokuhaku (Yuko Umeda’s Confession), she wanted to tell a story that draws from her own experiences and the experiences of her friends to make it as realistic as possible.

In the film, 20-year-old TVA graduate Remi Yakihiro plays Yuko, a young woman who works at a gyūdon (beef bowl) shop by day and a sexy cabaret club by night. Yuko hates to lose and has an unyielding spirit. She believes men are good-for-nothing creatures but that doesn’t keep her from dating them—a lot of them. In fact she even keeps a journal in which she rates each of her conquests accordingly. However, one day she begins obsessing over a specific intellectual-looking man named Yamada (Kikujiro Honda) who’s been coming into her gyūdon shop. And what’s worse, he seems to be immune to her favorite sexy pose.

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