Kagen no tsuki (film)

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Kagen no tsuki
Directed by	Ken Nikai
Written by	Ken Nikai
Starring	Chiaki Kuriyama, Hiroki Narimiya, Tomoka Kurokawa, Motoki Ochiai, HYDE
Release date(s)	2004
Running time	112 min
Language	Japanese
IMDb profile

Kagen no tsuki (下弦の月～ラスト・クォーター; Kagen no tsuki～lasuto kuootaa; Kagen no tsuki - Last Quarter) is a 2004 Japanese film directed by Ken Nikai, based on Ai Yazawa's manga of the same name.

1 Plot Summary
2 Trivia
3 Differences from the Manga
4 External links

[edit] Plot Summary

Taken from the back cover of the US release's case:

Do you believe in love after death?

On the eve of her 19th birthday, Mizuki (Kuriyama) doesn't have a lot to celebrate about. Her mother recently committed suicide, her stepfamily bothers her, her boyfriend has been cheating on her and her best friend has betrayed her. Hurt and disillusioned, Mizuki runs from everything and is drawn by some unknown force to a dilapidated estate. Deep within the house Mizuki discovers the mysterious Adam (Hyde), playing a hauntingly familiar melody on the guitar. Melancholy and full of secrets, it seems that Adam, and the house, have a strange, irresistible link to Mizuki. Can Mizuki's boyfriend and a couple of well-meaning schoolchildren uncover the secret of what happened 19 years ago and free Mizuki before the last quarter of the moon falls?

[edit] Trivia

Tomoki Anzai's cell phone number is "09054001342". You can see it on Mizuki's cell phone while she's with Adam, Scene 5: "Gentle Breeze", 17 minutes and 11 seconds into the film.

If you watch the credits to the end, starting from 1 hour, 51 minutes and 44 seconds, you see a special scene between Adam (Hyde) and Sayaka (Ayumi Ito) while the end of "The Cape Of Storms" (called "Last Quarter" in the movie) by Hyde plays. They are floating out on a lake in a small boat. Sayaka tells Adam "In your next life, come find me, no matter what. Promise?" to which Adam silently nods as a response. While holding Sayaka's hands, Adam notices an oar fall out of the boat, he attempts to retrieve it. When he finally reaches the oar and looks towards Sayaka, she has disappeared, he then simply sits alone in the boat and hangs his head in sorrow.

This scene is believed to be a reference Siesta ~Film of Dreams~ (released December 1, 1994), a collection of four films created by each member of rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel, in which HYDE (who plays Adam) is a member. Siesta ~Film of Dreams~ was directed by Ken Nikai, as well. Hyde's film, entitled "窓-Fenêtre-" (Window), featured a similar scene, where he is seated in a boat with a girl, like Sayaka. He drops the oar into the water and it starts to float away when the girl disappears and he is left alone, like Adam.

[edit] Differences from the Manga

In the manga, there are four children who help Eve, they are: Hotaru Shiraishi (the only one able to see her in both the movie and the manga), Sae Kayama, Tetsu Sugisaki and Masaki Miura. While in the movie, only Masaki and Hotaru help her, but are later assisted by Tomoki.

In the manga, Mizuki called a taxi to get to Adam before the last quarter of the moon fell, this is where she hears him play Last Quarter, on the radio of the taxi. While in the movie, she simply runs to where he is, and never hears him play on the radio.

In the manga, Sayaka is 17 when she dies, Mizuki is 17 when she goes into the coma, and Tomoki/Adam gave her the red gem necklace (with the initials "S.K." imbedded inside it) for her 16th birthday. While in the movie, they were both 19, and were given the necklace for their 18th birthday.

Adam's last name is never mentioned in the movie, his grave simply says:

"Rest in Peace, Adam.

So where do I sail? A ship losing control. My cries swallowed up, lost in the raging sea.

So where has love gone? Will I ever reach it? The Cape Of Storms echoes the pain I feel inside."

His last name is given in the manga as "Lang".