It`s Boring Here, Pick Me Up Production Notes

Information and High-Res Images from Kadokawa Source: Kadokawa Pictures, ColorBird Inc. Official Site: taikutsu.jp (Japan)

A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

"It wasn`t supposed to turn out this way." A story of people who dream of somewhere else. Kadokawa Pictures has provided information, photos and a trailer for their new movie, It`s Boring Here, Pick Me Up (??????????, Koko wa Taikutsu Mukae ni Kite). The film is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by author Mariko Yamauchi. PRODUCTION NOTES Ai Hashimoto, Mugi Kadowaki, and Ryo Narita: three popular and talented young stars join with director Ryuichi Hiroki in a finely chiseled exploration of the vagaries of the human heart. ‘It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up’ comes from the short stories of Mariko Yamauchi, a writer who has mined the experiences of her generation in such works as Haruko Azumi is Missing’, also made into a motion picture. Starring is Ai Hashimoto, who first made her name in CONFESSIONS (??, Kokuhaku, 2010), and has since gone on to feature in titles like THE KIRISHIMA THING (???????????, Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo, 2012). Appearing with her is a cast of talented performers including Mugi Kadowaki, who came to prominence with her hard-hitting performance in LOVE`S WHIRLPOOL (???, Ai no Uzu, 2014), and Ryo Narita, whose stock as a young actor to watch has been rising since KISEKI: SOBITO OF THAT DAY (??? ???????, Kiseki Ano Hi no Sobito, 2017). Directing is Ryuichi Hiroki (THE MIRACLES OF THE NAMIYA GENERAL STORE), known for his love stories and his depiction of women’s emotions. The theme song is by FUJIFABRIC, a favorite band of the generation to which the film’s characters belong, and the cast also performs a rendition of the group’s hit ‘Madder Red Sunset’. This is a vibrant and very real evocation of youth as it begins to vanish, where dreams of worlds to conquer have yet to be buried in ennui and frustration.

STORY 27 year-old ‘I’ (Ai Hashimoto) has returned to her home town after ten years in Tokyo, where she went after high school in dreams of becoming ‘something’. Living with her parents, she freelances for a local magazine, but they treat her as an aimless ‘freeter’, and she feels that her life is going nowhere. She meets a friend from high school, and they decide to look up Shiina (Ryo Narita), who in those days was a boy generally admired as ‘cool, tall, the star of the soccer team, and friends with even the delinquents.’ On the way to see him, a golden memory of those days revives in her mind. Likewise Shiina’s old girlfriend, ‘me’ (Mugi Kadowaki), cannot forget him either. While she admired the idea of Tokyo, fear of what might await there held her back, and she has never left the home town. After Shiina himself left, one of his hangers-on approached her, and she has taken up with him largely because it’s more trouble to tell him no, but she is still obsessed with the glittering memories of those golden days of youth. Where will she find that ‘something’ that was not here, that might have been in Tokyo, that something she hoped to find in Shiina that would banish the ennui of her everyday life? And meanwhile, what has happened to Shiina himself? A vivid portrayal of women in a small Japanese city, nearing 30 and trying to find their place.

CREDITS Japanese Theatrical Release Date: Friday, October 19, 2018 (Nationwide Roadshow) Running Time: 97 Minutes Cast I: Ai Hashimoto Me: Mugi Kadowaki Shiina: Ryo Narita Shinpo: Daichi Watanabe Minami Yamashita: Yukino Kishii Akane Morishige: Rio Uchida Satsuki: Yurina Yanagi Endo: Yuki Kameda Manami: Kumi Takiuchi Nacchan: Yuki Katayama Asako Shiina: Kinuko Kisaki Koji Minagawa: Makita Sports Suga: Jun Murakami Staff Director: Hiroki Ryuichi Screenplay: Tomonari Sakurai Original Story: It’s Boring Here, Pick Me Up by Mariko Yamauchi (Published by Gentosha) Producers: Yasushi Udagawa, Yusuke Taguchi, Tsuyoshi Sugiyama Cinematographer: Tomoyuki Mizuguchi Production: “It’s boring here, pick me up” Production Committee Distribution: Kadokawa International Sales: ColorBird Inc. © 2018 “It’s boring here, pick me up” Production Committee

About Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Kadokawa Pictures is part of Kadokawa Shoten, which forms the axis of the expansive KADOKAWA CORPORATION. Kadokawa Shoten has maintained the company’s traditions since its founding, while continuously seeking to innovate at the same time. With their core operations based in publishing and film, represented by the Kadokawa Paperback, Kadokawa Pictures, and Kadokawa Anime labels, they continually release a wide range of content targeted to all age groups.