Tora-san's Grand Scheme

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Jon C Wonderful sentimental comedy It's good to see that the Tora-san series, which claims to be the longest running film series ever and has been wildly popular in its native Japan, has finally become available in North America with this AnimEigo box set of the first four films of the series, "It's Tough being a Man", "Tora-san's Cherished Mother", "Tora-san, His Tender Love", and "Tora-san's Grand Scheme". . The films might be described as formulaic sentimental comedies: in every episode the bumbling anti-hero Tora-san, a traveling salesman who supplements his income with occasional con games, visits his relatives in Tokyo, meets a damsel in distress whom he helps and falls in love with, and ends up not getting the girl and taking to the road again. But the formula doesn't become tedious -- these are the sorts of films where part of the attraction is seeing how they are going to handle the formula this time. The box set is excellent, with an informative booklet, excellent DVD transfer, and a choice of basic subtitles or fuller ones including some notes to explain things non-Japanese viewers probably wouldn't get. Not great art, but very entertaining. Suitable for family viewing, except maybe for occasional profanity. I think everyone would enjoy these, especially people who have any interest in contemporary Japan. It's to be hoped that AAnimEigo will continue issuing the series in this format. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/08/16 Full Review Audience Member The 4th film in the series starts off well, but with a new director in tow, the film becomes a little disjointed. This seriously should have been 2 movies, because that's what it seems like. It just seemed like watching 2 episodes of a TV series back to back and it was not like a cinematic story, which should be the expectation. But the actors are now comfortable in their roles, even if the story doesn't gel together. 1st story, Torajiro wins big money at the racetrack and decides to come back and buy his uncle and aunt's family a trip to Hawaii, promising not to embarass Japanese society while over there. Unfortunately, the travel agency was a scam and the money is stolen, so Tora tries to find a way to fix things, with hilarious consequences. But that's just the first half. In the 2nd, a schoolteacher moves into the uncle's house, who Tora-san of course falls in love with... Guess how that ends up. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Tora-san's Grand Scheme

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