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Botchan

Name: Botchan
Genre: Drama
Released: 2016-01-03
Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Nao Matsushita, Arata Furuta, Norito Yashima, Koji Yamamoto

2016 | 120 min | Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With almost no lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for people who like stories about real, flawed people. One to watch when you can give it your full attention.
The mood: Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace: Quiet, then quietly devastating, at 2 hr.
What might put you off: It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
Not the one if you want explosions or easy laughs.

Botchan (Kazunari Ninomiya) has sense of strong justice and does not lie. He is offered a teaching job at a middle in a small village far away from his hometown of Tokyo. Botchan accepts the position and begins to work as a math teacher. The assistant principle there wields absolute power. Botchan has a hard time dealing with his fellow teachers and the students.

How it earned its rating

CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
AwardsNot counted
Awards data unavailable, so this isn't counted
Reach & staying powerSolid
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 25K people sought it out in the past year

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Cast & crew

Directed by Masayuki Suzuki

Kazunari NinomiyaBotchan
Nao MatsushitaMadonna
Arata FurutaYama Arashi
Norito YashimaNodaiko
Koji YamamotoUranari
Naoki MatayoshiSoseki Natsume
Machiko Washio
Mitsuhiro OikawaRed Shirt
Koichi SatoPhysics School Principal
Yuko AsanoMadonna’s mother