
Marking its world
premiere this past Tuesday (February 8, 2005),
Azumi 2: Death or Love screened at the Roppongi
Hills's Virgin Toho Cinemas in the Roppongi section
of Tokyo. Giving the film a grand sendoff were
director Shusuke Kaneko and Azumi alumni Aya
Ueto, Yuma Ishigaki and Shun Oguri.
The show was heavily attended by the Japanese press.
Magazine and newspaper reporters crowded in front of
and to the sides of the stage, with the back row of
the theater a string of TV cameras. The capacity
audience was a mix of industry people and general
moviegoers, who had won tickets through promotional
giveaways.
Prior to the screening, short speeches were
delivered by the cast and director. Nineteen-year
old Azumi lead Aya Ueto started things off by
wowing the audience with a dazzling kimono and new
hairstyle. Costars Yuma Ishigaki and Shun Oguri
expressed their pleasure in returning to the now
budding series — despite the fact that both had been
killed off in the first Azumi! Not to be
outdone by Ms. Ueto, the two male leads wore flashy
kimono that reflected the manga influenced,
hyper-reality of the Azumi universe.
Director Shusuke Kaneko added his thoughts on the
evening and the production. A long time fan of
jidai-geki (Japanese period films), Mr. Kaneko
noted his pleasure in breaking into this cinematic
territory with Azumi 2. As with his giant
monster films, Mr. Kaneko has infused Azumi 2
with as much real flavor of its bygone setting in
order to give the film a fantasy world within the
real world feel.
Excerpts from Speeches:
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"People
ask me if Azumi has finally grown up. I
never thought of it like this when
making the new film. In Azumi 2, Azumi
suffers a lot. In this way, she seems
more adult. Azumi 2 is very different
from the first. We had a new director
and staff. I felt we were making a whole
different movie. So, please enjoy the
Azumi world and the Kaneko world!" |
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"I'm
playing Nagara again — and it's great!
The difference between the first and
now? Nothing! It's the same to me. My
theme when acting in this was to keep a
level of tension identical to the first
film and to carry over the atmosphere of
Azumi into Azumi 2." |
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"To be
honest, I was a little confused. Am I
Ginkaku or Nachi? I felt that though
Ginkaku inherited his personality from
Nachi, I should not play the part as I
did when playing Nachi in the first
Azumi — because he died!" |
 |
"As my
first jidai-geki movie, I was a little
nervous. But with the help of an
excellent cast and crew, I was able to
make not only a film with intense battle
scenes, but I could fill the movie with
plenty of human emotion. Please enjoy
Azumi 2 from its first to last frame!" |
Following the screening,
a private party to celebrate the premiere of
Azumi 2 was held at one of the restaurants
within the massive Roppongi Hills complex. Producer
Mata Yamamoto gave a booming greeting and a wish for
not only Azumi 2 to hit big at the
box-office, but for the night's celebration to be
just as big a hit. Things lasted well into the
evening, with cast, staff and well-wishers mixing
freely. Also in attendance was original Azumi
director Ryuhei Kitamura and many executives from
Toho Motion Pictures, inc.
During the course of
the night, director Shusuke Kaneko took the time to
express his thoughts on the experience of making
Azumi 2 for readers of The Shusuke Kaneko
Information Website:
"Coming into a series not of your own creation is no
easy task for a director. The world and style of
Azumi were first brought to the screen by
filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura. And he did so with flare
and a keen eye for action. When approaching Azumi
2, I knew that I didn't want to try to imitate
Mr. Kitamura's style. We are different kinds of
filmmakers.
For Azumi 2, I have taken the character of
Azumi and brought her feelings and heart to the
foreground. Yes, she is a killer — a child raised to
be a killing machine — but she is still a woman and
she has a very human heart. I believe this approach
to be important for movies that feature woman as the
central character.
Working with Azumi star Aya Ueto was very
enjoyable. She is a solid, professional actress. Aya
is interesting in that while a good girl deep down,
she also has a mischievous side to her personality.
I came to discover that this was one of her strong
points and is what enables her to play Azumi
convincingly. She can take up a sword and let this
part of her personality take over. Yet, once she
puts it down, and has replaced the sword with her
cell-phone, she is hardly different from any of the
girls you'd find in Shibuya or Aoyama.
Sometimes Aya understood Azumi's heart more than I
did! For example, early on in the production she
brought to my attention that Azumi is not a big
talker. So, we went through the script, discussed
her lines and together made many cuts. Aya is very
clever in this way. Still at the end of the day, she
would run up and give me a “bye-bye!” in a very
ordinary way.
Azumi 2 is my first venture into the
jidai-geki genre, and I learned much. Mostly, I
learned that they are not as simple to make as they
appear. Preparation is much longer than on a
conventional film — period clothes and wigs have to
be made, and finding locations without modern
touches is time consuming. Even in Kyoto, it is
difficult to find locations that don't show signs of
today's environment.
I very much enjoyed making Azumi 2 and am
planning to return to the jidai-geki genre in the
near future. Japanese history has always been a
passion and I hope to explore it professionally and
to give modern audiences a taste of how Japan was
during this colorful period."
Azumi 2: Death or
Love opens nationwide in Japan on Saturday, March
12, 2005. The Shusuke Kaneko Information Website
will be giving away ten press pamphlets signed by
the director. Eligible only to readers outside
Japan, send an email with mailing information to
Kanekoweb@yahoo.com. Winners will be chosen at
random on March 11 and announced on the website on
the following day, the film's opening day (unless
stipulated in your entry against this, where the
winner will then be listed as "anonymous"). Be sure
to mark the header, "Azumi 2 Pamphlet Giveaway".
For a
photographic look at the Azumi 2 premiere,
please click on arrow:

For a peek at last year's set of Azumi 2,
please click on arrow:

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