Veteran effects man Takashi Yamazaki had a huge surprise hit a few years back with his period tear jerker Always: Sunset On Third Street. Set in Japan's post-war period it was an unabashedly nostalgic look back on Japan's hard times, with blue collar workers scrabbling to get by and a struggling writer forced to take care of a young boy. It was also an astounding technical piece of work, a stunning large scale recreation of the period, and the combination of pathos, nostalgia and technical chops proved too much to pass up. It swept the Japanese equivalent of the Oscars before going on a hugely successful festival run where it proved irresistible even for miserable bastards such as myself who generally hate having their heart strings so obviously played upon. It's a really good film and so Yamazaki did what any sensible director in his position would do: he made another one. Always 2 reunites the bulk of the principal cast from the first film, continuing along from where the first left off and generating nearly as much love throughout Japan as did the first. And now it's coming to DVD, the Japanese release dropping in May with English subtitles included.