Maiko haaaan!!! (2007)

Kimihiko Onizuka is a salaryman infatuated with maiko (apprentice geisha) and whose greatest goal in life is to play a party game called "yakyuken" with one.

Director:

Nobuo Mizuta

Writer:

Kankurô Kudô

Stars:

Sadao Abe, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Ko Shibasaki

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sadao Abe	...	Kimihiko Onizuka
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi	...	Kiichiro Naito
Ko Shibasaki	...	Fujiko Osawa (as Kô Shibasaki)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Satoshi Hashimoto
Yûki Himura	...	Camera boy
Shirô Itô	...	Hiromi Suzuki
Katsumi Kiba	...	Genta
Midoriko Kimura	...	Yoshie
Shôko Kirisawa
Kazuki Kitamura	...	Doctor
Saori Koide	...	Komako
Kotomi Kyôno	...	Koume
Miki Maya	...	Komatsu
Katsuhisa Namase	...	Senzaki
Keiko Nishi

Storyline

Kimihiko Onizuka is a salaryman infatuated with maiko (apprentice geisha) and whose greatest goal in life is to play a party game called "yakyuken" with one.

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Plot Keywords:

punctuation in title | exclamation point in title | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Naito wins the election he can be seen colouring in the eye of a Daruma doll. These paper dolls are used as a kind of good luck charm by people who are hoping to pass an exam or get elected. The idea is you colour in one pupil and if you can succeed then colour in the other pupil.

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Connections

Referenced in Panel Quiz Attack 25: Episode dated 24 June 2007 (2007)

User Reviews

Could Have Been Really Good, but the Lead Actor Killed It

I'm a huge fan of Japanese comedies. I'm also a huge fan of Kou Shibasaki. Needless to say, I was really excited to see Maiko Haaaan at my earliest convenience. Some extremely positive reviews added fuel to my fire, but that anticipation began to wane within the first 10 minutes of watching this film.

To be frank, the biggest problem is the main actor – Sadao Abe. This guy proves to be extremely annoying with his persistent, hysterical screaming. When I looked up his filmography I got flashbacks of other irritating performances. Remember Ryuji the Unicorn from the excellent "Kamikaze Girls" (2004)? Well, he was easily the most annoying actor in that one. Remember that psycho kid from the great "Uzumaki" (2000)? Well, he was easily the most annoying actor in that film as well. Seriously, they should have found someone else for Maiko Haaaan and ramped down the unnecessary shrieking, because he single-handedly destroys the enjoyability of this film. Kou Shibasaki is great as always, but she's got nothing to work with here.

Another big negative is the script, which is shamelessly weak. The greatest strength of Japanese comedies is the scriptwriting. Trust me, no country outside of Japan could come up with "Survive Style 5" (2004). Maiko Haaaan is reminiscent of Wong Jing's Hong Kong comedies that use cheap hysterical behavior for comedy. Just pump your lead actor full of caffeine and have him scream and jump around. It simply doesn't work that well. Now, there are a few funny moments to be had (like the ramen noodle sponsored baseball game), but for the most part it ranges between cringeworthy and mediocre.

Listen, there are a bunch of much better Japanese comedies out there to see before this one: "Swing Girls" (2004), "Kamikaze Girls" (2004), "Survive Style 5" (2004), "Happiness of the Katakuris" (2001), "What Did the Lady Forget?" (1937), "Sukeban Boy" (2006), "Ohayo" (1959), the "Trick" television series, "Cutie Honey" (2004), "Bubble Fiction" (2007), "Warm Water Under the Red Bridge" (2001), "Karaoke Terror" (2003), "Crazy Lips" (2000), and "Adrenaline Drive" (1999) to name but a few.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 June 2007 (Japan)

Also Known As:

舞妓Haaaan!!!

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,764,611

Company Credits

Production Co:

Be-Wild, Nippon Television Network (NTV), Otona Keikaku

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1