The best Akio Kaneda’s comedy movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Akio Kaneda’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Akio Kaneda.
Sugar & Spice
6.1/10
Recently graduated from high school, 17-year-old Shiro (Yagira Yuya) decides to put off college and work at a gas station instead. Shy and introspective, Shiro understands he is at a turning point of his life, but is unsure of what lies ahead. Though his parents disapprove of his decision, he has the support of his flower child grandmother (Natsuki Mari) who declares that a gas station is a romantic place for life's drifters. Surely enough, soon a new co-worker, college student Noriko (Erika Sawajiri), drifts into Shiro's life. He falls headfirst into a bittersweet first love that ushers him into the world of adulthood.
The Funeral
7.2/10
At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The remainder of the film is episodic, moving from one incident to another over the course of the three-day funeral, which is held (as is customary) in the home. These incidents contrast old ways and new ways, young and old, ritual ceremony and true feelings, often comically, but sometimes with real poignancy.
All Under the Moon
6.5/10
A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in '90s Tokyo.
Top Stripper
4.9/10
In this irreverent take on a coming-of-age story, young man Yoichi (Kensuke Miyawaki) falls head-over-heels in love with Gloria (Kaori Okamoto), who works at the local strip joint. Innocent Yoichi attends Gloria’s shows every day as his mind is filled with images of her. Unlike many hot and heavy pink films of the time, there is a lot of levity to Top Stripper, along with profound moments of bittersweet disappointment familiar to the young love genre. Still early in his career, Yoshimitsu Morita was one of the handful of young, radical directors who were given the opportunity to explore the visual medium via the constraints of the pink genre. The creative shots, framing, and overall playfulness are a must-see. This film was the first of the pink films that Morita directed and was made one year before he directed his iconic The Family Game.
