Source: Nikkatsu Corporation Official Site: arcana-movie.com (Japan) Special Thanks to Emico Kawai "SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT UNTIL YOU CANT SHOOT ANY MORE”. This is the debut feature film of Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, my chief assistant director for many of my own films. Be sure not to miss the launch of this future master. -- Takashi Miike

Nikkatsu`s new horror/suspence film ARCANA (????, Arukana) opened in Japanese cinemas on October 19th. Based on Yua Kotegawa`s manga series of the same name -- serialized in Shueisha`s Weekly Young Jump from September 2000 to December -- film is directed by Takashi Miike alumnus, Yoshitaka Yamaguchi. ARCANA was shot in Joso, Ibaraki, in cooperation with the Joso Film Commission. STORY What would you do if you met yourself? While pursuing a gang of ruthless killers, Detective Murakami (Masataka Nakagauchi) is ordered to a gruesome crime scene. There he discovers Maki (Tao Tsuchiya), a beautiful young girl clutching the torn out heart of one of the victims. As the sole survivor of the mass killing, Maki is its prime suspect. However, she claims to have no memory of who she is; only that she was led to the scene by the voices of the dead. Though her explanation is dismissed as the lunatic ravings of a mad woman by his police higher-ups, Murakami takes note since he too is able to see the specters of the dead, a condition that has afflicted him since childhood and one he keeps hidden from the other detectives. Claiming the murder case as his is Yutaka Hashi (Goro Kishitani) from the Department of Spiritual Affairs, a small branch of the Japanese police devoted to the investigation of unexplained phenomena. Hashi explains to the somewhat disbelieving detectives that Japan is experiencing an overload of `alter egos` -- doppelgänger ghosts torn from the bodies of the living, which loathe humans and are on a campaign of murder and mayhem. With the evidence mounting against Maki, Murakami struggles to prove her innocence and stop the onslaught of alter egos from destroying Japan. DIRECTOR AND CAST

Born in 1975, director Yoshitaka Yamaguchi started his career under director Takashi Miike with THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS (????????, Katakuri-ke no Koofuku, 2001). He has worked as a first assistant director for several of Miike`s films, including SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (???????????????, Sukiyaki Uesutan Jango, 2007), YATTERMAN (??????, Yattaman, 2009) and ZEBRAMAN 2: ATTACK ON ZEBRA CITY (????????????????, Zeburaman: Zebura Shiti no Gyakushu, 2010). He is finally making his feature film debut with ARCANA. Cast in the role of Maki is Tao Tsuchiya in her first leading role. After winning the special jury award in the Super Heroine Audition Miss Phoenix in 2005, she made her debut in TOKYO SONATA (????????, 2008). In 2010, Tsuchiya played Princess Emerana Lourdes Esmeralda in ULTRAMAN ZERO: THE REVENGE OF BELIAL (???????? THE MOVIE ????????????, Urutoraman Zero THE MOVIE Chou Kessen! Beriaru Ginga Teikoku). More recently she appeared in the film SUZUKI SENSEI (?? ????, 2013) playing Somi Ogawa, a role for which she received high acclaim. ARCANA marks two firsts for the teenage actress, both as leading character and as a double role. Playing Detective Murakami, the male lead in ARCANA, is Masataka Nakagauchi. An actor with extensive stage experience, Nakagauchi`s film experience includes THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DEATH IN THE WORLD (??????????…, Shi Ga Futari Wowakatsumade…, 2012) and THE BOY AND I (?????, Osama to Boku, 2012). CREDITS Japanese Theatrical Release: October 19, 2013 Running Time: 80 Minutes Cast Maki/Satsuki: Tao Tsuchiya Detective Murakami: Masataka Nakagauchi Mieko Tomochika: Mitsuki Tanimura Yutaka Hashi: Goro Kishitani Nakabayashi: Takuya Uehara Michiru: Kaito Gaku Toriga: Hajime Taniguchi Taguchi: Masashi Taniguchi Staff Director: Yoshitaka Yamaguchi Original Story by: Yua Kotegawa Screenplay: Shotaro Oikawa Executive Producer: Keizo Yuri Producers: Tomoo Fukatsu, Shinjiro Nishimura, Seiichi Tanaka Cinematographer: Hajime Baba VFX Supervisor: Kaori Ohtagaki FX Supervisor: Kakusei Fujiwara Music: Ysyuke Hayashi Production: Django-Film, Nikkatsu Theatrical Distribution: Nikkatsu International Sales: Nikkatsu © 2013 Yua Kotegawa/Nikkatsu