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Fly Me to the Saitama

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Fly Me to the Saitama
Japanese theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji翔んで埼玉
Literal meaningFly to Saitama
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnTonde Saitama
Directed byHideki Takeuchi
Written byYuichi Tokunaga
Based onTonde Saitama
by Mineo Maya
Produced by
  • Hiroki Wakamatsu
  • Shinya Furugori
Starring
CinematographySohei Tanikawa
Edited byShinji Kawamura
Music byFace 2 Fake
Distributed byToei
Release date
  • February 22, 2019 (2019-02-22)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥3.76 billion (Japan)[1]

Fly Me to the Saitama (Japanese: 翔んで埼玉, Hepburn: Tonde Saitama, stylized as Fly me to the Saitama) is a 2019 Japanese comedy film directed by Hideki Takeuchi, based on the 1980s manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Mineo Maya.[2][3][4]

It was released to critical acclaim and received 12 nominations at the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize, taking home the Director of the Year, Screenplay of the Year, and Best Film Editing. It also won the Best Film at Blue Ribbon Awards.[5] With a gross of $32.8 million it was the 13th highest-grossing film of 2019 in Japan.[6]

Plot

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In present-day Saitama, Aimi Sugawara's parents are driving her to her engagement ceremony. Aimi's parents are upset that Aimi plans to move to Tokyo after the marriage because residents of Tokyo have long looked down on residents of Saitama. To avoid arguing, they pass the time by listening to the Saitama's local radio channel FM NACK5 [ja] , which is playing a supposedly historical drama about Saitama's fight for liberation from Tokyo's oppression and discrimination.

The radio drama unfolds as Momomi Dannoura, the son of the Tokyo governor, finds his social status at Hakuhodo high school threatened by the arrival of Rei Asami, a handsome male student who has been living in America. Unusually for a sophisticated Tokyo elite, Rei helps the "Z Class" students from Saitama in Hakuhodo high school, who live in poor conditions in a hut located off the main campus grounds.[7]

Momomi falls in love with Rei, but Rei is revealed to be a secret agent of "Saitama liberation front" sent to help achieve liberation from Tokyo by infiltrating the Tokyo elite. Rei's true identity is discovered by Momomi's family butler Akutsu, and Rei flees to return to Saitama and join the liberation movement. Momomi joins him after discovering a plot by Tokyo elites to destroy the Saitama resistance.

In fact, Akutsu was a member of the Chiba Liberation Front, and while pandering to Tokyo, he was also hostile to Saitama Liberation Front. The Saitama Liberation Front and the Chiba Liberation Front face each other across the Edogawa River near Nagareyama Bridge, at the provincial border of Saitama and Chiba. However, Momomi had come to a settlement beforehand when he discovered a lot of gold bars on Mount Akagi in Gunma that had been illegally accumulated by past governors of Tokyo. The two fronts then joined forces and attacked Tokyo for liberation. Rei and Momomi reveal Momomi's father's plot, removing him from power and achieving liberation for Saitama.

Finally, Momomi and Rei begin Duke Saitama's "Japan Saitamaization Plan," a plan to secretly spread Saitama's "unremarkable culture" throughout Japan.

Cast

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Legend Part

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Present Part

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Production

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Hiroki Wakamatsu [ja] (Fuji Television), the producer of this film, first worked with the director Hideki Takeuchi [ja], his colleague of Fuji TV at the time, and also with screenwriter Yuichi Tokunaga [ja] during the production of Train Man (TV series) (2005).[8] Wakamatsu and Takeuchi had worked together on popular Japanese TV dramas such as Nodame Cantabile (2006), but their opportunities to work together had decreased gradually.[8][9] Then, when Wakamatsu was transferred to film production department of Fuji TV, a collaboration opportunity came up. Wakamatsu initially proposed a different comic as the original work for the film. But Takeuchi brought the Mineo Maya's cult manga "Fly me to the Saitama [ja] "(1982-1983), which was piled up in a bookstore. [a]

In February 2015, Maya's eldest daughter Marie Yamada [ja], who is in charge of public relations of Maya, mentioned on social media about the "Fly Me to the Saitama" which was already out of print. This work led to it being reprinted by Takarajimasha in the December 2015, and it became a social phenomenon and a sudden boom, especially in Saitama Prefecture. This is the reason why the Maya's manga was piled up in bookstores when Diretor Takeuchi tried to make a movie out of it. Since the original story was unfinished, a new ending was needed to make it into a movie.[8][9]

Though, from the perspective of compliance, there were strong voices of opposition to the production of this film within Fuji TV about discrimination for a specific area, Saitama Prefecture. So, the planning of this film ran into difficulties.[9] In the end, the production was green-lit after the boss of Takeuchi and Wakamatsu decided that the combination of two would make an interesting film.[8]

Because of this film's crazy content, both Wakamatsu and Takeuchi were extremely worried that riots might break out among the people of Saitama Prefecture until the film was released.[8][b] Thus, they created a list of anticipated questions and answers for dealing with complaints from Saitama Prefecture's people, and distributed the list to the relevant departments at Fuji TV and Toei Company.[12] However, after the film was released, it turned out that these concerns were completely unfounded. There were hardly any complaints, and instead, the film received a lot of praise from various people in Saitama Prefecture, with saying things like, "They did a great job!"[8]

Reception

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Box office

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In the opening weekend it topped the Japanese box office with $2.33 million.[2] The film had grossed $32.8 million in Japan by May 2019.[13] By the end of 2019, the film had grossed ¥3.76 billion, making it the eighth highest-grossing domestic film of 2019 in Japan[14] and the 13th highest-grossing film of 2019 overall in Japan.[6]

On 11 September 2019 it was released on DVD and Blu-ray, charting for 43 cumulative weeks and peaking at 2nd place on Oricon's chart.[15][16]

Critical reception

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It was released to critical acclaim as received most (12) nominations at the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize, and won for Director of the Year, Screenplay of the Year, and Best Film Editing, as well won for the Best Film at Blue Ribbon Awards.[5]

In a 4⁄5 review in The Japan Times, Mark Schilling praised the film for taking a Japan-specific story and making it appealing to international viewers, and singled out lead actress Nikaido's ability to move between serious and humorous moments in her performance of Momori Dannoura.[7]

Sequel

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A sequel was announced on August 10, 2021. It features the main staff and cast returning to reprise their roles.[17][18] The film, titled Tonde Saitama ~Biwako Yori Ai o Komete~ (or Fly Me to the Saitama II), premiered in Japanese theatres on November 23, 2023.[19][20] In the opening weekend it also topped the Japanese box office with $2.77 million,[21] having a better commercial start than the previous film.[22] However, in the end in it grossed less, a total of $15 million,[23] and in a 3⁄5 review Schilling concluded that "...the goodies they make look dangerously tempting, but their film, unfortunately, is not ready for export".[20] The film had its North American premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 23, 2024.[24][25][26]

Note

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  1. ^ The cult manga "Fly Me to the Saitama" was written by Mineo Maya in 1982-1983. He is a native of Niigata City, one of the largest cities on the Japan Sea coast. Then, due to a conspiracy by his editors, Maya was forced to live in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, still a rural area in the South Kanto region in early 1980s. Maya was very frustrated by living near his editors in rural Saitama.[10] The frustration lead him to write this manga. Four years after, Maya could not endure the rural life in Saitama and moved to Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, then he lost the motivation to write this work. So the manga "Fly Me to the Saitama" was left unfinished by only three chapters.[11]
  2. ^ In Saitama Prefecture, Ageo riot [ja], Japan's largest civil riot after the World War II, actually occurred in 1973.

References

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  1. ^ "映画『翔んで埼玉』評価は?映画情報や予告動画". ピクシーン Pick Scene 映画の評価ランキングやネタバレ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-09-07.
  2. ^ a b "Tonde Saitama, Alita Rank #1, #2 in Japan Box Office". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  3. ^ "Tonde Saitama Live-Action Film Unveils Dazzling Cast Visual in Costume". Crunchyroll.
  4. ^ "Japan Box Office: Self-Deprecating Local Comedy Tonde Saitama Beats Long-Awaited Alita". Crunchyroll.
  5. ^ a b "「翔んで埼玉」武内英樹監督、作品賞に「ウソだろうと」…ブルーリボン賞". Hochi News (in Japanese). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Japanese Box Office For 2019". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b Schilling, Mark (2019-02-20). "'Fly Me to the Saitama': Tokyo takes on its revolting neighbors". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  8. ^ a b c d e f フジテレビ (2023-11-24). "映画『翔んで埼玉〜琵琶湖より愛をこめて〜』の若松プロデューサーに聞く…"置きにいかない"キャスティング、"遊ぶ"ポリシー、その作品作りへのこだわりとは？". フジテレビで働く人 (in Japanese). フジテレビ. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  9. ^ a b c 宮川翔・安田周平 (2019-03-28). "『翔んで埼玉』若松央樹Pが明かすヒットの要因　宣伝のストーリー＆こだわりの配役が功を奏す". Real Sound 映画部 (in Japanese). 株式会社blueprint. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  10. ^ "魔夜峰央さん　復刊の「翔んで埼玉」人気". YOMIURI ONLINE (in Japanese). 読売新聞社. 2016-04-07. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  11. ^ "魔夜峰央さんが語る『翔んで埼玉』未完の本当の理由". AERA dot. (アエラドット) (in Japanese). 朝日新聞出版. 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  12. ^ 映画ナタリー編集部 (2019-04-19). "「翔んで埼玉」監督がクレーム恐れQ&A作るも出番なし「全然使わなかった」". 映画ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  13. ^ "Fly Me to the Saitama (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Movies With Box Office Gross Receipts Exceeding 1 Billion Yen". Eiren. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  15. ^ "翔んで埼玉 通常版 (DVD)". Oricon (in Japanese). 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  16. ^ "翔んで埼玉 通常版 (Blu-ray)". Oricon (in Japanese). 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  17. ^ Schilling, Mark (2021-08-11). "'Fly Me to the Saitama' Sequel Gathers Original Cast for Another Affectionate Poke at Tokyo's New Jersey". Variety. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  18. ^ Loo, Egan (August 16, 2023). "Gackt, Fumi Nikaidō Reunite for Live-Action Fly Me to Saitama Comedy Film Sequel". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 27, 2023). "Live-Action Fly Me to Saitama Sequel Film's Teaser Reveals Title, November 23 Opening". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Schilling, Mark (2023-11-16). "'Fly Me to the Saitama II': Silliness abounds but the laughs do not". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  21. ^ "Tonde Saitama: Biwako Yori Ai o Komete". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "「翔んで埼玉」続編４日で興収６億超　全国興収ランキング１位、19年第１作対比160.9％". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 27, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  23. ^ "Tonde Saitama: Biwako Yori Ai o Komete". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  24. ^ "Fantasia's 28th Edition Awards Filmmaker Mike Flanagan, Closes with the World Premiere of André Forcier's Ababouiné". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  25. ^ "Fly Me to the Saitama II". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  26. ^ Navarro, Meagan (May 9, 2024). "Fantasia 2024 First Wave of Programming Includes Found Footage 'Shelby Oaks', 'Witchboard' Remake, and More". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
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