The Vancouver Asahi (2014)

1918 -1942 , A Time Period passed . Vancouver Canada , a Japanese Community and the struggles and triumphs they faced , and the Spirit of a Baseball Team that won over many, and overcame ... See full summary »

Director:

Yûya Ishii

Writers:

Satoko Okudera (screenplay), Satoko Okudera

Stars:

Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kazuya Kamenashi, Ryô Katsuji

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Satoshi Tsumabuki	...	Reggie Kasahara
Kazuya Kamenashi	...	Roy Naganishi
Ryô Katsuji	...	Kei Kitamoto
Yusuke Kamiji	...	Tom Miyake
Sôsuke Ikematsu	...	Frank Nojima (as Sosuke Ikematsu)
Kôichi Satô	...	Seiji Kasahara
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Randy Brake	...	Spectator 2
Erik Brown	...	Baseball Player
Alexander Clemmens	...	Canadian Left Fielder
Philip Cotsford	...	Young Police Officer
Chris Darvall	...	Canadian worker 1
T.C. Deane	...	Commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,and a couple other Spots
Bruce Dunning	...	Bellows Oil Head Coach
Russell Goodall	...	Canadian Mountain Guard
Manami Honjô

Storyline

1918 -1942 , A Time Period passed . Vancouver Canada , a Japanese Community and the struggles and triumphs they faced , and the Spirit of a Baseball Team that won over many, and overcame barriers . A Story with history embedded in the Museum of Baseball in Vancouver Canada.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese canadian | vancouver | vancouver canada | baseball team | canada | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

"Vancouver no Asahi" official web site Official site

Country:

Japan Canada

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 December 2014 (Japan)

Also Known As:

The Vancouver Asahi

Filming Locations:

Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Akita Television, Ehime Broadcasting, Fuji Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the Canadian baseball players were or are affiliated with the US Navy

User Reviews

I wish they'd just stuck with the actual story and accomplishments of the Asahi.

This film is about a semi-pro baseball team that played in Vancouver from 1914 through 1941--a team you most likely never heard of, even if you live in Vancouver today. The Asahi was made up of mostly second-generation Japanese-Canadians and they were incredibly successful against their white counterparts.

If you want a history lesson that gives you all these facts, this is not what you're in for with The Vancouver Asahi. Instead, it looks at this time period through a 21st century lens and paints it more as a battle against racism and acceptance as opposed to a story just about the team and its accomplishments. To do this, the story is greatly simplified and the events greatly condensed--and it makes the movie a tad confusing chronologically speaking. Additionally, several subplots involving Japanese women's rights and the traditional male roles in Japanese homes are interspersed throughout the movie. As a result, you get the impression that the team was hated because of race prejudice and that just when the Asahi were finally becoming popular and accepted, the team was disbanded due to the outbreak of World War II. In some ways this does diminish what the team did. Think about it. The players were generally much smaller than their Canadian counterparts, so instead of trying to keep up by out-slugging them, the Asahi soon learned to play smarter--bunting, stealing bases and using finesse to more than make up for brawn. And successful they were--winning 10 championships due to their teamwork and skill. And, they WERE accepted and loved by many. Overall, I'd say this is a very good and technically well acted and directed film but could have been better had the script simply stuck with the actual story of these amazing men.