''Boutaoshi!'' ( / ''Pole Toppling!'') is a 2003 Japanese film. It was directed by Tetsu Maeda ('' School Days with a Pig''). and released on March 21, 2003. The film's screenplay was written by Minoru Matsumoto (''Dolphin blue: Fuji, mou ichido sora e''). It features artists from the

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, including members of

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

Flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

. Production committee members included those from

, Japan Skyway, Jesus Vision, Tokyo Theaters Company, Inc. and PAL Planning, with distribution by Tokyo Theater and PAL Planning. The film is based on the Japanese game

bo-taoshi , is a capture-the-flag-like game, played on sports days at schools in Japan. The game, traditionally played by cadets at the National Defense Academy (NDA) of Japan on its anniversary, is famous for its size, wherein two teams, totaling 150 ...

, a

capture the flag Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...

-like game played during school sports days. The song's main theme was " Fly Away" by Lead, of which Shinya Tanuichi - who played the lead character - is a member.

Plot

The film is based on the Japanese game

, a

-like game played during sports days in Japan. The game has since been banned as too dangerous. ''Boutaoshi!'' centers around the sport during its peak, due to the high injury rate among players. A group of students decide to create a team for their school's final tournament. The main character is Tsuguo Takayama ( Shinya Tanuichi), who has family issues, most notably with his father, who constantly belittles him after his mother's suicide (

Miyuki Matsuda is a Japanese actress, the widow of Yūsaku Matsuda, and the sister of Mami Kumagai. At the age of 17 she appeared in a television series, '' Tantei Monogatari'', starring Yūsaku Matsuda, who was then married. They started a relationship an ...

). He starts playing bo-taoshi, though initially he has little interest; after his father mocks bo-taoshi, Tsuguo becomes passionate about it. He discovers he has a talent for the sport and begins playing with his classmates and friends. The mischievous Isamu Hisanaga ( Kyohei Kaneko) sees him and comes up with a plan to test Tsuguo's skills. Tsuguo is conned into joining the final competition.

Cast

* Shinya Tanuichi as Tsuguo Takayama * Kyohei Kaneko as Isamu Hisanaga *

Akira Kagimoto Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

as Atsushi Tabuchi * Keita Furuya as Suzumi Manabu *

Hiroki Nakadoi is a former Japanese singer and actor. He is a former member of the boy band Lead and was their leader until retiring in 2013 to become a hairdresser. Biography Hiroki Nakadoi was born in Fujiidera, Osaka, Japan on July 26, 1985. He has two ...

as Toru Akasaka (Nakkan) *

Airi Taira , known by her birth and stage name , is a Japanese actress who She debuted in 1999 by winning the Da Pump's, ISSA's Sister Role Grand Prix for the movie Dream Maker. She played a lead role in the live action movie of ''20th Century Boys'' as the ...

as Sayuri Konno *

as Yuko Takayama *

Yukari Taki Please don't delete this article because this actor or actress is new and will play/is playing a lead, supporting or breakthrough role in the tokusatsu series "Kamen Rider Build" and will continue their career and make more roles, either lead or sup ...

as Miki Takayama *

Tomokazu Miura is a Japanese actor. Life and career Miura attended Hino high school in Tokyo. He was originally a member of rock group RC Succession, but was asked to leave the group by their management when they signed a record contract. However, impressed b ...

as Kotaro Ishigaki *

Nanako Takushi Nanako Takushi (2016) Nanako Takushi (''Takushi Nanako'', 澤岻奈々子, born 25 March 1976) is a J-pop singer from Okinawa, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situ ...

as Nurse * Yu Kitamura as MC *

Katsuya Kobayashi is a Japanese actor from Shimonoseki. Even though he and fellow Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love-exclusive Rider actor Mitsuki Koga/Kamen Rider Ketaros were only Kamen Riders within the movie, they did make a guest appearance during the fin ...

as Classmate

Release

''Boutaoshi!'' made its theatrical debut in Japan on March 21, 2003. It was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on August 20 of the same year.

References

External links

Boutaoshi! - AllCinema
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boutaoshi! 2003 films 2000s Japanese films Films set in Miyazaki Prefecture