JICC Summer 2008 Anime Series

The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) in Washington, DC, Embassy of Japan has always strived to screen more anime and live action. In the past, they've hosted the US premiere of Tekkonkinkreet with special appearance by Michael Arias himself, as well as a special screening of Vexille. They continue this trend this summer with several live action movies:

Umizaru 2: Test of Trust
July 16th, 2008, 6:30pm

Umizaru, or Sea Monkey, is the nickname given to Coast Guard Rescue Divers. The 2004 film Umizaru followed Daisuke Senzaki (Hideaki Ito) as he struggled through the training to become a diver, and his relationship with Kanna Izawa (Ai Kato). The story of Daisuke and Kanna was continued in a serialized drama series on Japanese television in 2005. 2006 saw Umizaru return to the big screen for Umizaru 2: Test of Trust, where Daisuke has become a star diver and leader for his outfit. Umizaru 2: Test of Trust has the second-highest total box office receipts ever in Japan. The films and television series are based on a popular run of comic books.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
Friday, July 25th, 6:30pm

A live-action ninja movie featuring two rising stars of Japanese cinema- Joe Odagiri and Yukie Nakama. Shinobi is about two rival ninja clans, the Koga and the Iga, who have honed their skills to super human levels.




Death Note
Friday, August 29th, 6:30pm

A live action film based on the extremely popular manga, starring Tatsuya Fujiwara from the Battle Royale films. The Death Note is a notebook of the gods of death. Anyone whose name is written in it will die.