#Toko Miura

[beingharsh]

Drive My Car (2021), dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

[invisiblesometimesvisible]

Hi, fellow aspecs! For pride month in case you haven’t heard of other aspec films. Japan has two films in store around the years 2022 to 2023.

Left Photo:

“I Am What I Am” / “Freckles” / “Sobakasu”

- Directed by: Shinya Tamada

- You can watch this from today until June 19th for free on: https://watch.jff.jpf.go.jp/page/jffonline2024/ you just need to sign up and you’re all set (It may not be available to some countries). Those who can’t access that, you can message me for an alternative site! The film is about Kasumi Sobata, an aromantic asexual woman struggling in an amatonormative world.

Right Photo:

“People Who Talk to Plushies are Kind”

- Here we have an asexual character. If you wanna know where you can watch it, feel free to dm me here! || Story: Creating a portrait of sensitive teens and their concerns, Kaneko Yurina’s adaptation of Omae Ao’s novel takes us into the midst of the Plushy Club at a university. It is a place packed with furry and comforting friends whom the club members talk to in order to relay their anxieties and fears. Male student Nanamori and female students Shiraki, and Mugito are the latest club intake, each wrestling with issues such as love, masculinity and femininity, fear of others and sexism in society. (Source: OAFF.jp)

- Based on the Novel:

[bioskoop]

[snazzystarlight]

This song fuuuucks!! This is "FISHANDCHIPS" by Toko Miura as I see it because of synesthesia!

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[f1lms4ever]

I Am What I Am 2022 ‘そばかす’ Directed by Shinya Tamada

[splinteredsoul]

Drive My Car (2021)

dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

[musicinanime]

Shukusai feat.Miura Toko - RADWIMPS

Anime: Weathering with You

[aglitchinmatrix]

Reika Kirishima in Drive My Car (2021)

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: I Am What I Am

I Am What I Am is the exact sort of pleasant surprise that defines Japan Cuts for me. The synopsis on the festival website led me to believe that it would be a somewhat overwrought melodrama; what I got instead was a delightfully unconventional, subversive romcom that omits the “romance” entirely.

The plot revolves around Kasumi Sobata, an asexual thirty-year-old struggling to navigate the pressures of a society that expects women her age to quit their jobs, get married, and have a bunch of kids. Unfortunately, her family practically epitomizes conformity and traditional gender roles. Her heavily pregnant sister, for example, dutifully ignores the warning signs that her husband might be unfaithful. Her grandmother, meanwhile—fresh off her third divorce—insists that a “proper” wife should accept infidelity as an inevitability. Worst of all, her mother—misconstruing her lack of a love life as evidence of depression—frequently sets her up on impromptu “dates” with “eligible bachelors,” hoping to force the issue of wedded bliss through manipulation, subterfuge, and sheer tenacity.

The conflict ventures far beyond the tropes typically associated with the genre. The primary “obstacle” isn’t the protagonist’s reluctance to abandon her own ambitions (though that is a secondary concern); her very identity is at stake. Whenever she admits that she is incapable of experiencing physical attraction, her feelings are immediately dismissed, invalidated, and trivialized. A male friend, for instance, assumes that she is merely making an excuse to “politely” reject his (abrupt, clumsy) flirtatious advances; he subsequently ends their platonic relationship.

The movie’s visual style is simple, yet elegant. Most scenes unfold from a single camera angle, with only minor adjustments to the frame: a pan here, a lateral dolly move there, the occasional slow push-in. This minimalism prioritizes behavior rather than action, allowing the performances (as opposed to the editing) to guide the rhythm of the narrative—and the actors absolutely deliver in that regard! Toko Miura is particularly compelling as our hapless heroine; whereas the character that she portrayed in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was cold, aloof, and taciturn, Kasumi is sensitive, affable, and effortlessly funny—an impressive display of versatility.

Ultimately, I Am What I Am is a triumph of representation. It explicitly assures ace viewers that they are neither defective nor alone, encouraging them to express themselves freely and unapologetically—after all, no human being (queer or otherwise) should have to justify their existence; everybody deserves basic respect and dignity. The message is unsubtle by design—and that thematic transparency significantly deepens the film’s emotional resonance.

[girls-cry]

But even if you think you know someone well, even if you love that person deeply, you can't completely look into that person's heart. You'll just feel hurt. But if you put in enough effort, you should be able to look into your own heart pretty well. So in the end, what we should be doing is to be true to our hearts and come to terms with it in a capable way.

Drive My Car (2021) dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

[antinousamongthereeds]

[beingharsh]

Drive My Car (2021), dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi / Herakles, Euripides

[sickloev]

Drive My Car (2021), dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

[bioskoop]

[lostinmac]

I Am What I Am (2022)

Dir. Shinya Tamada

[bonniehooper]

Top Picks of 2022

My Top 20 Favorite Movies - #13: Drive My Car

Running Time: 179 minutes

Released: November 24th, 2021

Watched It: March 2022