School Mystery (1995)
"Toire no Hanako-san" (original title)

There are two versions of "Toire No Hanako-san." The first version, released in 1995, was set in an elementary school and centered on a boy named Takuya and a new transfer student named ... See full summary »

Director:

Joji Matsuoka

Writers:

Takuro Fukuda, Joji Matsuoka (screenplay)

Stars:

Takayuki Inoue, Ai Maeda, Yuka Kono

Cast

Credited cast:
Takayuki Inoue	...	Takuya Sakamoto
Ai Maeda	...	Natsumi Sakamoto
Yuka Kono	...	Saeko Mizuno
Etsushi Toyokawa	...	Yuji Sakamoto
Nene Ohtsuka	...	Yuriko Suzuki
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kanako Fukaura	...	Hiroshi's mother
Yasuto Hida	...	Degenerate
Maya Imuta	...	Yuki Miyazaki
Chiaki Kuriyama	...	Little Child
Zo Ozawa	...	Principal
Kotaro Santo	...	Hiroshi Gato
Yuka Suzuki	...	Kanako Ota
Naoto Takenaka	...	Hiroshi's father
Kumiko Tsuchiya	...	Miss Kubota
Sakae Umezu	...	Tsubasa Sakamoto

Storyline

There are two versions of "Toire No Hanako-san." The first version, released in 1995, was set in an elementary school and centered on a boy named Takuya and a new transfer student named Saeko (Maeda Ai plays Takuya's younger brother). Takuya's classmates think that Saeko has been possessed by Hanako, the ghost that lives in the bathroom. The rumor is especially encouraged by a girl who has a crush on Takuya and is jealous since Takuya likes Saeko. The second version, released in 1998, centers on a group of high school girls (among them Maeda Ai and Nomura Yuka) who inadvertently release a demonic doll from a shrine outside of their school. Maeda Ai stars in both versions, although she plays a boy in the first movie, and a girl in the second. Prior to the second movie, there was a 1997 video series "Toire No Hanako-san, " that also dealt with a group of high school girls and their encounters with the infamous Hanako.

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 July 1995 (Japan)

Also Known As:

School Mystery

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Superb movie

Toire No Hanakosan is actually from 1998; the original 1995 version also starred Maeda Ai, although she played a boy in that version. The first version was intended more for an elementary school age audience and, although its premise and plot was more plausible than the 1998 version, it had an ending that was a major disappointment. The 1998 version is superior to the 1995 movie. Even though the premise of the 1998 version is a little less plausible, the pace and performances help to make it an exceptionally good film. Hopefully the 1998 version will be released someday with English subtitles so the U.S. audiences can enjoy this clever thriller.