Always - Sunset on Third Street 2 (DVD) (Deluxe Edition) (First Press Limited Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2

It's now 1959 Tokyo (a few months after the events of the first film), as aspiring author/candy store owner Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka, in another award-winning performance) is still struggling to get custody of adopted son Junnosuke from his rich father. Knowing that Chagawa can't afford to raise the kid, the father gives him an ultimatum: make it as a writer or lose Junnosuke to the good life. At the same time, Chagawa is also trying to patch things up with Hiromi (Koyuki), who was forced to close her neighborhood bar at the end of the first film and pay off her debt as a stripper.

Meanwhile, the Suzuki Auto family welcomes new member Mika, a spoiled cousin from a family that just lost their fortune and now has to stay with the Suzukis while her father is away on business. Initially displeased by the run-down life, Mika slowly drops her rich-girl façade and begins to become a part of the family. Company employee Mutsuko (mistakenly called Roku because of the kanji characters in her name) is courted by an awkward classmate also trying to make it in Tokyo. Even neighborhood doctor Takuma is back, still feared by the kids and this time seen trying to lure raccoons with yakitori.

In fact, keeping with the neighborhood's feel-good atmosphere, everyone is still happy and well, despite the major changes up ahead in Japanese society. Even the ice man, dismayed by the neighborhood's change from ice boxes to refrigerators in the first film, now finds a fulfilling career as the neighborhood popsicle man. Originally based on a comic, the Always series is an ideal looks at the good ol' days when people in the neighborhood helped each other despite petty arguments, when kids still got along with each other, and small-time businesses could dream of becoming major corporations. The films are all about how these people overcome their difficulties and come out happy in the end. As a result, there's a naturally likeability in the films, mainly because they try so hard to be pleasing.

Also taking on the job of the visual effects director, Yamazaki ups the ante for the second round of his museum of Showa nostalgia, opening the film on a bravura fantasy sequence featuring Godzilla destroying the neighborhood. From then on, the computer visuals simply supplement the film, with nicely rendered images of the newly-built Tokyo Tower and the old Nihonbashi business district prominently in the background. Even though Yamazaki borders on self-indulgence with a few too many cutaway shots of his computer-generated Tokyo, his visual effects nicely adds to the film and is an important factor to its cinematic success.

Fortunately, even though Yamazaki and his co-writer Ryota Furuzawa do sometimes resort to using the usual speeches and swelling music to enhance emotions, much of the emotional moments work in Always 2. Part of that is due to the familiarity of the characters and the fact that some of their issues are carried over to the second film, which means that audiences who liked the first film naturally want to see them resolved this time around. However, that factor can only carry over to those who did watch the first film. Newcomers who try to take on the 145-minute sequel will likely be lost until they figure out on their own who the characters are. That may have been the film's kiss of death with critics: Yamazaki and co. take no time at all to reestablish the characters and simply places the audience into the neighborhood. Despite the introduction of new characters, Always 2 is a film without a beginning. Instead, with its episodic structure, it feels like an extended episode of a television drama. As a result, Always 2 may bring back the same feel-good values and solid storytelling that made the first film a success, but it's also created strictly for the fans, and will only work with the fans.

Nevertheless, judging by the amount of money the sequel made at the box office, Toho doesn't have to worry about excessive fan service. Yamazaki's blend of modern cinematic skills and old-fashioned characters help broaden the range of potential audiences. While the elderly will appreciate the glorified look of their youth, the middle-age audience will connect with the solidarity of the neighborhood characters, and the young will be touched by the emotions experienced by the charming characters. Even though the issues are tied up with a neater bow here, there are still plenty of angles to explore in the lives of those in Third Street . If Yamazaki can keep up the standards he has set up with these two films, I say bring on Always 3.

by Kevin Ma