The Movie: The Cherry Bushido
The Director: Hiroshi Akabane
The Cast: Fumika Shimizu, Hiroaki Tanaka, Rin Kijima, Rina Narita, Ryoma Ichihara, Satoko Ohshima, Kiyoshi Nakajo, Tomiyuki Kunihiro, Tokuma Nishioka
The Story: Shizuka, a college student, is recruited by a group named the "Japan Salvation Conference" for a mission. She and her pals leave their astral bodies and head for the spirit world to face the Great Demon of Hades that aims to destroy Japan.
The Review:
When I sat down to watch this movie, I was half expecting it to be a cheesy, poorly written barely watchable attempt at fantasy although I have to say I was surprised at how much I genuinely enjoyed watching it. There is a relentless optimism that is woven into every minute of the story that I couldn't help getting on board with and, while it borders on nationalist propaganda, I think the creators do a good job of making it accessible without being too blatant about the flag waving.
The hero of the story is Shizuka Yamato, played by Fumika Shimizu, who is a marital arts expert and member of a family that has strong roots in Japanese religion and a traditional sense of honor and respect for what the country is supposed to stand for. Shizuka takes the classic heroes journey of being an unexpected "chosen one" who is tasked with saving Japan from what is essentially the devil as he plots and schemes to destroy the country.
Overall, the storytelling is pretty basic and falls into a lot of predictable tropes although, as I mentioned still finds ways to be entertaining. I was especially impressed with the fight choreography and camerawork around the fight scenes to the point where it almost felt like a different movie during those moments. I'm not saying any of it will blow you away, especially if you watch a lot of martial arts movies, it was all just really well put together and thought out with several scenes that flowed through the action without cutting it up like most movies do. Always a bonus for me so well done!
I'm wondering if there are any plans to explore these characters further as the story feels like this might be just the beginning for Shizuka and her team of spiritually powered friends in a similar sort of way to how the Avengers come together in the first movie knowing they must now be ready for threats larger than what they face in this story. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing more if the filmmakers decided to go there with it. The story is fun, the cast is very likable, and the positive vibes are very refreshing.
The Verdict:
The Cherry Bushido is a fun fun filled with so much positive energy that it was impossible not to enjoy. The filmmakers capture the spirit of Japanese optimism while critiquing a government that is too slow and nervous to take action while doing everything it can to maintain a misplaced sense of honor.
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