The 48th Japan Academy Awards came to a close in Tokyo on March 14th local time. The fantasy comedy "Samurai: The Last Mile" directed by Junichi Yasuda defeated rivals such as "True Identity" and "The Last Mile" to win the Best Picture Award, becoming the biggest dark horse of this year.
"The Samurai Traveler" is set in the late Edo period. The protagonist, Shinzaemon Kosaka, was originally a samurai of the Aizu domain. During a fierce battle with the samurai of the Choshu domain, he was struck by lightning and fell unconscious. When he woke up, he found himself traveling to the modern Japanese period drama filming set. Faced with a completely unfamiliar environment and the mental shock of learning that the Edo Shogunate had perished 140 years ago, he was once confused, but eventually decided to rely on his superb swordsmanship to make a living on the set as a stuntman specializing in being hacked to death, which triggered a series of ridiculous events.
Poster of "Crossing Samurai"
Long before it won the Japan Academy Award, "The Samurai" had already completed a counterattack. This independent production was written and directed by the unknown Junichi Yasuda. The entire crew consisted of only a dozen behind-the-scenes staff, and the starring actors Yamaguchi Makiya, Tomie Norimasa, Fukuda Yoshihiro, and Inoue Hajime were not first-line stars. When the film was released in August last year, it was only shown in one theater in Ikebukuro. After that, it quickly became popular due to word of mouth from the audience. It was not until September that it was gradually released in large theater chains, and eventually expanded to more than 300 theaters across Japan. To this day, the film is still showing in some theaters, and the box office revenue has exceeded 1 billion yen.
When they took the stage to receive the award, the creators of "The Samurai" were very excited. Director Junichi Yasuda choked up and cried: "I want to dedicate this award to my father who passed away last year and taught me to persevere in everything, and Mr. Seizo Fukumoto who always told me, 'If you work hard, someone will see it.' I really thank you all very much." Seizo Fukumoto, who passed away in 2021, was famous in the Japanese entertainment industry for his ability to play the role of a minor character who was killed. He was called "the man who was killed 50,000 times" and "Japan's first actor who was killed." In addition to the Best Picture Award, Junichi Yasuda also won the Best Editing Award for the film.
Director Junichi Yasuda (second from right) and lead actor Maki Yamaguchi (third from left) took the stage to receive the award. Image source: Japan Academy Awards Association
The lead actor of "Crossing Samurai", Mamu Yamaguchi, said, "As an independent film, this film started out in a small theater. It was just a tiny ray of light at the beginning. But with the support of countless people and the love of the audience, I can stand on such a shining stage today. An audience member who has watched this movie many times told me that every time he went to the theater, it was like meeting the characters in the film, which moved me deeply. Everything this movie has given me will become a place I can return to in my heart in the future. I am really grateful to Director Yasuda for giving me such an opportunity. Thank you to all the audiences who support us, thank you very much!"
The Japan Academy Awards is one of the most authoritative, influential and representative film awards in Japan, and is known as the "Japanese Oscars". However, since the organizer, the Japan Academy Awards Association, is mainly composed of personnel from four large film companies, Shochiku, Toho, Toei, and Kadokawa, and about 4,000 members who are entitled to vote are also mostly from these companies, the nominated films are basically produced by these large companies. Therefore, for a long time, the Japan Academy Awards have been regarded by senior movie fans as a place where these companies tear each other apart and divide pork, and are not as professional as the Film Junpo Awards. The outspoken director Takeshi Kitano has also criticized these large companies for monopolizing the award, and it is difficult for small independent production companies to make a name for themselves. The winning of the independent film "The Samurai" this time is believed to be able to reverse the above negative impressions to a certain extent.
Poster of "Apricot Luck"
In terms of acting awards, 24-year-old Kawai Yumi won the Best Actress Award for "Apricot Luck", which is also the first important award she won in her acting career. 28-year-old Yokohama Meteor won the Best Actor Award for "True Identity", which is also his first important acting award after the Newcomer Award. His partner in the film, Yoshioka Riho, won the Best Supporting Actress Award. The film's director Fujii Michito also won the Best Director Award.
The Best Supporting Actor Award went to Takao Osawa, who played the Qin general Wang Qi in "Kingdom 4". The film was also the most awarded work at this year's Japan Academy Awards. In addition to the Best Supporting Actor Award, it also won three technical awards including Best Cinematography.
This year, the Japan Academy Awards added a special award, the "Best Theme Song Award", to honor the most influential movie theme song of the year. Japanese rock band Mrs. GREEN APPLE became the first winner with "Dear" created for the movie "Dear Home".
In addition, many actors including Anna Yamada (Golden Kamuy, True Identity), Eiji Akaso (Six Lying College Students, If Tokugawa Ieyasu Becomes Prime Minister), and Jun Saito (Let's Sing Karaoke!) won the Best Newcomer Award.
[48th Japan Academy Awards Winners List]
Best Film: "The Samurai"
Best Director: Michito Fujii, "True Identity"
Best Actress: Yumi Kawai, "Apricot Luck"
Best Actor: Yokohama Meteor (True Identity)
Best Supporting Actress: Yoshioka Riho, "True Identity"
Best Supporting Actor: Takao Osawa, "Kingdom 4"
Best Animation: "Looking Back"
Best Foreign Language Film: Oppenheimer
Best Screenplay: Akiko Nogi, "The Last Mile"
Best Cinematography: Zuo Guanglang, "Kingdom 4"
Best Editing: Junichi Yasuda, "The Samurai"
Best Lighting: Hiroyuki Kase, "Kingdom 4"
Best Music: Yuko Sebe, "Let's Go Karaoke!"
Best Art: Masumi Miura, "Cells at Work! Live Action"
Best Recording: Kazushige Yokono, "Kingdom 4"
Best Newcomer:
Saito Asuka, "The End of My Child"
Shibuya Nagisa "Who is that child?"
Anna Yamada, "Golden Kamuy", "True Identity"
Akaso Eiji "Six Lying College Students" "If Tokugawa Ieyasu Became Prime Minister"
Itagaki Rikio, "Cells at Work! Live Action", "The Eight Dogs", "Onmyoji 0"
My Sunshine by Yue Shan Jing Da
Saito Jun "Let's sing karaoke!"
Shintaro Morimoto "True Identity"
Topic Award:
Movie: "Return of the Dangerous Detective"
Actor: Shintaro Morimoto (True Identity)
