Ashurajou no Hitomi

Infobox Film
name = Ashurajou no Hitomi
あしゅらじょう の ひとみ


caption = Movie cover
director = Yojiro Takita
producer = Shochiku
writer = ?????
starring = Somegoro Ichikawa
Rie Miyazawa
Kanako Higuchi
Atsuro Watabe
Takashi Naito
Erika Sawajiri
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Shochiku Co., Ltd.
AnimeEigo
released =
runtime = 119 min.

Ashurajou no Hitomi (あしゅらじょう の ひとみ) is a 2005 Japanese film, starring Somegoro Ichikawa, Rie Miyazawa, and Kanako Higuchi. Being directed by Yojiro Takita, it is a movie adaptation of a Kazuki Nakashima play set in the 16th century. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459744/plotsummary]

Story

A beautiful oni named Bizan (Kanako Higuchi) appearing on Earth. She wants to bring the demon queen Ashura back to life, so the demons can take over the world beginning in Edo, which is modern day Tokyo. Opposing her is the Oni Makado, an army of demon slayers, which was created by the Japanese government. Izumo (Somegoro Ichikawa) once fought with the Makado, but resigned to become a kabuki actor after he thought he accidentally killed a young girl. Izumo soon encounters Tsubaki (Rie Miyazawa), who is a member of a group of an all-female acrobatic troupe who rob the citizens of Edo during the night. Falling deeply in love, Izumo notices a red, ugly scar on Tsubaki's shoulder, which is the mark of the demon queen Ashura. Meanwhile, Jaku, one of Izumo's ex-comrades (Atsuro Watabe), falls for Bizan, leads the Oni Makado over to the dark side. [http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=143655&buy=closed&PID=10125928&Tab=reviews&CID=18]

Casting

*Somegoro Ichikawa as Izumo
*Rie Miyazawa as Tsubaki
*Kanako Higuchi as Bizan
*Atsuro Watabe as Jaku Abe
*Takashi Naito as Nobuyuki Kuninari
*Erika Sawajiri as Yachi
*Fumiyo Kohinata as Nanboku Tsuruya IV
*Yukijiro Hotaru as Magotaro

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459744/fullcredits#writers]

Music

The theme song for the english-dubbed version is "My Funny Valentine", which is performed by Sting, and features piano playing by Herbie Hancock

Dvd Extras

The two-disc set contains special features on the second cd. The two featurettes are included: "The Making of Ashura" and "The Visual Effects of Ashura". The first featurette, running 25 minutes long, is a production documentary with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. The special features doc is 15 minutes long. Also included are a photo gallery, which is veiwed without a remote. Also included are trailers for other AnimeEigo films, and production notes for Ashura.

References

External Links