Have you ever seen the film
"Ore wa, kimi no tame ni koso shini ni iku" (english title "For Those We Love")? It's a film that shows the last few days/weeks in the lives of young (some as young as 17 years old) Kamikaze pilots, flying their bomb-laden Ki-43 Hayabusa "Oscar" fighter planes into American warships, and the people who took care of them during their last few days...
"A film about Japan's World War II suicide pilots has opened strongly in Japan and is expected to earn more than $17 million at the Japanese box office, Daily Variety reported today (Wednesday). The movie, For Those We Love, was written by writer-turned-politician Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo. A spokesman for Toei, the film's distributor, said that the kamikaze drama is drawing a wide audience -- from teenagers to those who were alive during the war. Although Ishihara, 74, is regarded as a staunch nationalist, the film reportedly comes across as pacifist, some reports have suggested. Director Shinjo Taku told reporters Tuesday, "I think the military leaders of the time were despicable. ... They took these pure, inexperienced young men and sent them off to die. I think they should take responsibility for that."
In my opinion, it's kinda like apples and oranges, Ron. These guys (the Japanese) looked at the world from a totally different perspective, and while they might have feelings of pity and guilt at seeing Americans die in an American war film, what about their own feelings of nationalism and sense of pride as a nation during the war? I think that, even if a movie/series like "The Pacific" would leave them teary-eyed, it will never replace the feelings of loss, pride and sense of Nationalism that would stir in them if they viewed a homegrown movie like "For Those We Love" (I've seen it, I myself have been moved to tears...it's much more emotional than "Letters from Iwo Jima" or "Men of the Yamato").
-RODION