Bunshun Kiichigo Awards
Encyclopedia
The Bunshun Kiichigo Awards (文春きいちご賞 - Bunshun Kiichigo Shou), or Bunshun Raspberry Awards are Japan's answer to the American Golden Raspberry Awards
, awarded to the worst movies in Japan. It was started in 2004 by the Japanese publication company Bungeishunjū, Ltd.
Each year, up to 10 movies are nominated for the award.
The first film to win 1st Place was Devilman
(the live-action adaptation of Go Nagai
's anime
/manga
series), which had already gotten negative reviews in Japan.
The Bunshun Kiichigo Awards are not limited strictly to domestic films; American and foreign films were selected as candidates as well. They include Thunderbirds
(the live-action remake of Gerry Anderson
's classic puppet show), the Hong Kong film 2046
, War of the Worlds
(the 2005 remake), and The Da Vinci Code
.
Some of the candidates for this award have become very controversial, one such case being the animated film Tales from Earthsea
, directed by Gorō Miyazaki
, winning 1st Place for the "Worst Movie of 2006," an honor that outraged especially many anime fans. Even Goro's father, famed animator Hayao Miyazaki
, was not spared from this award; Howl's Moving Castle
won 4th Place for the Worst Movie of 2004, but even that minor nomination did not hinder the film's critical and financial success elsewhere.
Golden Raspberry Awards
A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day...
, awarded to the worst movies in Japan. It was started in 2004 by the Japanese publication company Bungeishunjū, Ltd.
Bungeishunju
, established in 1923, is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine Bungeishunjū. It also grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as the annual Naoki Prize for popular novelists. It also grants the annual...
Each year, up to 10 movies are nominated for the award.
The first film to win 1st Place was Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
(the live-action adaptation of Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
's anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
/manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series), which had already gotten negative reviews in Japan.
The Bunshun Kiichigo Awards are not limited strictly to domestic films; American and foreign films were selected as candidates as well. They include Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
(the live-action remake of Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
's classic puppet show), the Hong Kong film 2046
2046 (film)
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
, War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)
War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
(the 2005 remake), and The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
.
Some of the candidates for this award have become very controversial, one such case being the animated film Tales from Earthsea
Tales from Earthsea (film)
is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. The...
, directed by Gorō Miyazaki
Goro Miyazaki
is a Japanese film director of anime feature films, like his internationally-known father Hayao Miyazaki. Described as "reluctant" to follow his father's career, for decades Gorō chose to work in landscaping rather than animation....
, winning 1st Place for the "Worst Movie of 2006," an honor that outraged especially many anime fans. Even Goro's father, famed animator Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
, was not spared from this award; Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986. It won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was named an ALA Notable Book for both children and young adults. In 2004 it was adapted as an Academy Award-nominated animated film by Hayao...
won 4th Place for the Worst Movie of 2004, but even that minor nomination did not hinder the film's critical and financial success elsewhere.
2004
- 1st Place: DevilmanDevilmanis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
- 2nd Place: Casshern
- 3rd Place: Umineko
- 4th Place: Howl's Moving CastleHowl's Moving Castle (film)is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones...
- 5th Place: The VillageThe Village (2004 film)The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
- 6th Place: Godzilla Final Wars
- 7th Place: Thunderbirds (film)Thunderbirds (film)Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
- 8th Place (Tied): 20462046 (film)2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
- 8th Place (Tied): Cutie HoneyCutie Honey (film)is a 2004 Japanese tokusatsu film adaptation, produced by Gainax, of the 1970s manga and anime series Cutie Honey.The film stars popular Japanese model Eriko Sato as the hyperactive Honey. Directed by Hideaki Anno, the film loosely retells the classic story of Cutie Honey's battle to defend...
- 8th Place (Tied): The Chronicles of RiddickThe Chronicles of RiddickThe Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film which follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and...
2005
- 1st Place: Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
- 2nd Place: Takeshis'Takeshis'Takeshis' is a 2005 Japanese film directed, written, edited by, and starring Takeshi Kitano. It is the first film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, being followed by Glory to the Filmmaker!, and Achilles and the Tortoise....
- 3rd Place: War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds (2005 film)War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It is one of three film adaptations of War of the Worlds released that year, alongside The Asylum's version and...
- 4th Place: Sengoku Jieitai 1549Sengoku Jieitai 1549or Samurai Commando Mission 1549 is a feature-length film and manga series focusing on the adventures of a modern day Japan Ground Self-Defense Force element that accidentally travels through time to the Warring States period of Japanese history.Both the film and manga are based on Sengoku Jieitai...
- 5th Place: Princess RaccoonPrincess Raccoonis a 2005 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki. The "raccoon" of the English title is actually a translation for the tanuki. It is a love story set in the musical genre and stars Zhang Ziyi as a tanuki princess and Joe Odagiri as the banished prince she falls in love with...
- 6th Place (Tied): Spring Snow
- 6th Place (Tied): AlexanderAlexander (film)Alexander is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role...
- 6th Place (Tied): Kita no Zero-Nen
- 9th Place (Tied): Tonbi ga Kururito
- 9th Place (Tied): Tokyo Tower
2006
- 1st Place: Tales from EarthseaTales from Earthsea (film)is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. The...
- 2nd Place: Sinking of Japan
- 3rd Place: The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
- 4th Place: Nada Sousou
- 5th Place: The PromiseThe Promise (2005 film)The Promise is a 2005 Chinese epic fantasy film directed by Chen Kaige and starring Jang Dong-gun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse. The film is based on the wuxia romance The K'un-lun Slave, written by P'ei Hsing at the time of the Tang Dynasty.First released in mainland China on...
- 6th Place: Limit of Love: UmizaruLimit of Love: Umizaru, also known as Umizaru 2: Test of Trust is a 2006 action drama film directed by Eiichiro Hasumi. It is the 2nd feature length film and third of the Umizaru projects, following on from the film Umizaru and the 11-episode drama series Umizaru Evolution...
- 7th Place: YeonrijiYeonrijiNow and Forever is a 2006 South Korean film directed by Kim Seong-joong and starring Choi Ji-woo, Jo Han-seon, Choi Sung-kook and Seo Young-hee.- Plot summary:...
- 8th Place: RoughRough (manga)is a romantic comedy swimming manga by Mitsuru Adachi. It was published by Shogakukan in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from 1987 to 1989, and collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. The series was adapted into a live action film in 2006, released in Japan by Toho....
- 9th Place: Angel-AAngel-AAngel-A , directed by Luc Besson, is a French fantasy and romantic drama featuring Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen. The film was premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival of 2007.- Plot :...
- 10th Place: Christmas on July 24th Avenue
2007
- 1st Place: Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and SeaGenghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Seais a 2007 Japanese - Mongolian historical drama film depicting the life of Genghis Khan.-Cast:*Takashi Sorimachi as Temüjin/Genghis Khan*Rei Kikukawa as Börte*Mayumi Wakamura as Hoelun*Kenichi Matsuyama as Jochi*Yoshihiko Hakamada as Hasar*Go Ara as Khulan...
- 2nd Place: KoizoraKoizora, or for short, is a 2005 best-selling Japanese coming of age and romance novel written by Mika. Originally posted on the cell phone website "Mahō no iLand" , where chapters would be released exclusively for mobile reading, Koizora received a hard print publication from Starts Publications in...
- 3rd Place: Last Love
- 4th Place: Ai no Rukeichi
- 5th Place: Glory to the Filmmaker!Glory to the Filmmaker!is a 2007 Japanese film written, directed, edited by the film's lead star Takeshi Kitano. It is the second film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, following Takeshis, and concluding with Achilles and the Tortoise.-Movie Style:...
- 6th Place: DororoDororois a Japanese manga series from the critically acclaimed manga creator Osamu Tezuka in the late 1960s. The anime television series based on the manga consists of 26 half-hour episodes. It was made into a live-action film in 2007....
- 7th Place: Saiyuki
- 8th Place (Tied): Ore wa, Kimi no Tame ni Koso Shini ni Iku
- 8th Place (Tied): HeroHero (2007 film)Hero is a film based on the 2001 TV series of the same name.Casting of this film, with the original casts from the TV series, includes the new casts from the special drama, which aired in 2006...
- 10th Place (Tied): Inland EmpireInland Empire (film)Inland Empire, sometimes styled as INLAND EMPIRE, is a 2006 mystery film written and directed by David Lynch. It was his first feature-length film since 2001's Mulholland Drive, and shares many similarities with that film. It premiered in Italy at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2006...
- 10th Place (Tied): The Mourning ForestThe Mourning ForestThe Mourning Forest is an 2007 Japanese film directed by Naomi Kawase. It won the Grand prix at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of a nurse who is grieving for her dead child...