The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star

The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star (or known simply as Road to the Agency Star ), also known as Yoko Takashima's Attraction ~Performance for the New Star~ (高島陽子の魅力 ~新星のパフォーマンス~ Takashima Yōko no Miryoku ~Shinsei no Pafōmansu~), is a 2003 English-language Bangla-Japanese musical adventure film directed by Noriko Matsumiya and the story was written by Naoko Takeuchi (the artist who behind the Sailor Moon franchise) and Shakib Panna. This film was based on the 1998 musical novella The Adventures of Yoko Takashima by Takeuchi herself. This film is dedicated to the recently-deceased Kokoro Minajima.

Jointly produced by Super Talkie International (now Super Talkie Pictures, who behind Eri Naam Dosti/Ties Never Die from 2000) of Bangladesh and Japan Media Group of Japan, this was the first movie from The Adventures of Yoko movie trilogy. It was premiered on November 27, 2003 at the MetLife Dome, and then finally released generally a day later in Japan. It was a commercially successful film from Super Talkie International with over $250 gross against the budget of $100. Critics received the film its positive to mixed reviews, as well as the voice actress and singer Nana Mizuki's miraculous performance, as well as from her fans. Nana's official fan club, S.C. NANA NET, is currently distributing the film since 2018.

This film starred Mizuki and Erika Sato in their lead roles, as well as featuring the Indian musician Usha Khanna and the J-Pop singer Mamoru Miyano. This also marked Mizuki's on-screen appearance on film since the 2000 film Bonfire Killers.

The enhanced/revised version was made in late 2019 as The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star -re:ATTRACTION- by The Florian Film Project, Project Dreamin' Believers, and innocent starter motion pictures. This version was directed by Noriko's her younger sister Patricia Matsumiya, but never released on theaters. They released a direct-to-video and web video instead. It was released on November 27, 2020 as a DVD/Blu-ray Disc by Project Fate.Alicia Amusement Creative.

Plot
The film starts at the morning on the Times Square at Manhattan, New York, the opening note says as you can see:

"New York City, 7:45 AM. People love to see the famous stars on the Times Square of New York. They liked their performances of the history of music, but they wanted to see the live again. But the one girl who travelled to the USA but she thought that her jewelery and treasure are missing..."

Yoko Takashima (played by Nana Mizuki), a Japanese foreign girl, seems to be confused about her missing jewellery and an diamond treasure after going a trip to New York, which are from her home. Her family thinks about her jewellery must be stolen by the burglars. However, to get these back, Yoko Takashima, for her best performance ever, must dance and compete for her glory and legend! After thinking, she went to the theater and met the manager, Josh Barker (played by Kimmy Katkar), said that Yoko must dance and compete the dancing contest to become the "agency pop star". Her family should wait until Yoko cames back.

She went back to her family, but however, her mother Sultana (played by Usha Khanna) had a bad feeling about the audience. Yoko and her family went into the hotel. Later on, Emiko Hayashi (played by Erika Sato) met Yoko at the hotel, said that Yoko seems to be confused about her missing jewellery and treasure, and let her to be stay gold. Yoko's father Hiroto (played by Mamoru Miyano) said that Yoko will get this prize when she finished, and after that, Yoko and Emiko teamed-up together to work-out their best to sing and dance at the theater! In doing so, They set up her duo YokoEmi, and wore their school idol outfits at the theater's changing room, as well as meeting her friends, and the announcer James Synchell (voiced by Crystal Stainton) said that the dancing will start in ten minutes. Thus, Yoko and Emiko's idol adventures begin!

At the half of the movie, the Evil Entertainment Overlord, known as the Parade Raiders, is planning its murder to Yoko Takashima, who became a idol a hour ago. They hated her because the leader doesn't want idols to do a "dance", but his members should raid the Times Square by shooting people. One of the members said that they don't want to kill themselves and people, but going to kill crew and managers of the theater.

Meanwhile, Yoko and Emiko went to the hotel room and said that they meet each other tomorrow, so Yoko said Emiko a "really good night". Emiko goes home, and Yoko goes sleep on her hotel room. In the late morning, Yoko wakes up and tells her parents that she wants to get her missing ones back.

The members of the Parade Raiders went into the Times Square at Manhattan after they accepted its plans, ruining the people's lives at the afternoon. Instead of killing the staff of the theater, they killed citizen people of the Times Square. Some are partially killed, and some are injured. They managed to escape from being arrested by the police. After this, the banner "THIS IS A STRONG CRIME SCENE, PLEASE DO NOT ENTER TIMES SQUARE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE" has put in by the police, as they clean its road and building up.

Yoko's parents saw the news that something went wrong within the Manhattan, and decided to call Yoko to stop them, Yoko and Emiko, after wore their outfits along with her friends, must fight against the Parade Raiders, as well as its leader, Mangla Hamala (played by Rajesh Kumar). Yoko and Emiko quickly defeated him with their bats, and the Parade Raiders are abolished for good (by sending them to the jail).

At the end of the movie, Yoko and her parents and friends are looking for the next trip on the ship, as the sun sets. They are saying goodbyes to the people they saved until the next adventure begins...

Cast
The entire cast of characters according to the ending credits of the film:


 * Nana Mizuki as Yoko Takashima


 * Usha Khanna as Sultana Takashima, Yoko's mother


 * Mamoru Miyano as Hiroto Takashima, Yoko's father


 * Erika Sato as Emiko Hayashi, Yoko's best friend


 * Mariya Takeuchi as Subaru Kinoshima


 * Inori Ishaque as Haruko Oshima


 * Shakib Khan as Susumu Oshima, Haruko's uncle


 * Inori Minase as Yuko Hayashi, a child star from the theatre


 * Sumar Aka as Vikram Razi, an Indian executive in-charge of the agency


 * Nana Patekar as Jahami Khan


 * Kaori Kumi as Oko Komatsu


 * Crystal Stainton as James Synchell, the announcer for the dance challenge (voice-over)


 * Jack Matterson as Chuck Johnson


 * Ichika Naegi as Inori Razi, Vikram's daughter


 * Rajesh Kumar as Mangla Hamala, the Parade Raiders' leader


 * Hibiki Miyasaki as Emiko Shednam


 * Hiromi Ito as Nang-Kum Jueng


 * Artonia Olivier as Linna Miyamoto


 * Yuko Oshima as Anna Miyamoto


 * Alice Caseline as Emma Drecker


 * Laurence Olivier as a man in Yoko Takashima's flashback


 * Lauren Misker as a woman in Yoko Takashima's flashback


 * Yui Ogura as Riko Takashima, Yoko's daughter


 * Kimmy Katkar as Josh Barker, the agency manager

Production
The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star was announced on the 2002 International Japanese Film Carnival at Nippon Budokan, when Nana Mizuki starred on her first film Bonfire Killers, and she wanted her next one. The film was completed in two years.

Story
The Volume 2 of Nana's Magazine had the early stages of The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star where the story is being written as revised version from Naoko Takeuchi's novella. Nana Mizuki said:

"I believe that I'm thought my story is being made by the producers of my film. The Japan Media Group hired me to do my best to my fans, and I was excited for getting my role for Yoko! That was NANA-tastic!!"

Music & Lyrics
A Swedish composer Ericka Johannson, better known as Ericka Holland, performed a music for the film. These are released on December 1, 2003 as Road to the Agency Star: Original Soundtrack. The closing credits theme is "Koishiteru..." (I'm doing love...) by Nana Mizuki, who acted her lead role for the film. This song is included on her eighth single "still in the groove" and third album DREAM SKiPPER. Nana even used her awarded song "What cheer?", which also from her album, for the film's finale segment (final battle against the Evil Entertainment Overlord). "Koishiteru..." was also used as the trailer song for the 2019 Friends Forever mini-special The Dylan and Patricia's Eternal Love with King Records and Walt Disney Records.

Release in Bangladesh
Due to being co-produced by Super Talkie International and Japan Media Group, The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star was released in Bangladesh by S.S. Productions Limited on December 9, 2003 with Bengali subtitles. This has available only as the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation 35mm print. Shabana translated its entire texts in the Bengali language, meaning the Bangladeshi people can watch the entire movie at the theater. There is no Bengali dub for the movie.

Like Ties Never Die and the original release, the last words on the movie's credits, "A Film by Super Talkie International", also appeared on the end of the Bangladeshi (along with United Kingdom) release, hence the company produced two movies.

Release in United Kingdom
Midnight Film Distributors, one of the British distributors for the foreign films, edited the film to alter the scenes, as well as the music, opening note, and ending credits. They released the film on January 21, 2004, which was Nana Mizuki's 24th birthday, in the United Kingdom.

Kokoro Minajima Memorial
The film's beginning text has a statement that Road to the Agency Star is dedicated to an actress and model from Saitama Prefecture, Kokoro Minajima, born on July 6, 1969, who inspired Nana Mizuki to be a "good star" and got fell accidently from a balcony during her vacation trip to Mt. Fuji on July 5, 2003, one day before her 32nd birthday, and the falling accident took her life. The producers of the film gave her a memorial, but this also appears on the next two movies, The Dancing Agent and Sailor Summer Vacation. Her sister, Marisa Minajima, directed the fourth movie, Miraculous Party!.

"Kokoro was the best magical model I ever met in my life, but I'm sure that I will miss her so much. May god bless you, Mrs. Minajima!"

- Patricia Matsumiya, director Noriko's younger sister

Japan v. S.S. Productions Ltd.
The case was started when Starchild saw S.S. Productions doing a Bengali subtitles for the film without permission in 2003. S.S. Productions CEO Shabana had the decisions that she don't like making her films, but doing an film distribution for all of the Japanese films. Nana Mizuki told Shabana that the Bangladeshi film distributors don't distribute all of the Japanese films, including Road to the Agency Star, but she thought that Shabana was an producer. Therefore, they reached a case after Starchild contacted the Japanesae government before they broke out, as the Chief Justice said that distributing Japanese films in Bangladesh is allowed, but not musical films. After the decisions against Shabana and between Starchild and S.S. Productions, Nana Mizuki won the case, and Shabana decided to stop distributing Japanese films. The last film that S.S. Productions distributed was The Dancing Agent, in 2005.

Awards
The film was nominated for the several awards. The Adventures of Yoko: Road to the Agency Star won the Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture – Drama, Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Song in the 61st Golden Globe Awards, and Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture in the 8th Golden Satellite Awards.