First Feature from Brand-New Studio Sets Tone with Panache
Sneak Preview Screening: "Mag Mag" (Maga Maga Onna)
followed by a Q&A with director Yuriyan Retriever and executive producer Muneyuki Kii
Thursday, January 29 at 6:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan 2026 112 minutes
Directed by: Yuriyan Retriever
Written by: Eisuke Naito
Produced by: Daisuke Takahashi, Kota Ishizuka
Starring:
Sara Minami, Oshiro Maeda, Aoi Yamada, Akari Takaishi, Jo Kujo, Fuku Suzuki,
Mizuki Maehara, Atsuko Hirata, Tetsu Hirahara, Takumi Saitoh, Rena Tanaka
Film courtesy of K2 Pictures
No one should be surprised that the first release from K2 Pictures - a bold new Japanese studio launched in 2023 by acclaimed producer Muneyuki Kii, partnered with celebrated directors Takashi Miike, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Miwa Nishikawa, Shunji Iwai and Kazuya Shiraishi - is a genre flick. But by putting Japan's most popular comedian, Yuriyan Retriever, in the director's chair, what might have become just another bloody horror-revenger in male hands instead finds humor and an emotional core in its twisted love story (reportedly based on Retriever's own painful romantic experiences).
"Mag Mag" opens with a chilling legend: "If you see her, it’s too late. If she falls in love with you, only death can free you." And who is "she?" She is the Mag Mag ghost, and she is targeting a high school where the playboy Hiroshi (Maeda) is a student. At least he is until the ghost falls in love. But love is fickle and Hiroshi is not her only victim. When Sanae (Minami), who begins to investigate the murders, vows revenge, she unwittingly enters a tangled web of truth, lies, black magic… and stalking.
Retriever crafts a work that's heavily (and sometimes hilariously) influenced by classic J-horror films, even mounting a brief but marvelous parody with cameos by some of the genre's most famous names. An exuberant mixture of comedy and horror, with liberal dabs of bullying, body shaming and heartbreak, “Mag Mag” has a little something for everyone - and then some.
Please join us for this sneak preview of the groundbreaking "Mag Mag" before the Japan release on February 6, 2026.
For more (in Japanese): https://k2pic.com/film/mmo
Director YURIYAN RETRIEVER is a celebrated Japanese comedian, actress, voice actress and solo artist affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo, Japan's largest entertainment company. Known for her English-language sketches, impersonations, and bold comedic style, she rose to national fame after winning the 2021 KTV R-1 Grand Prix, making her Japan's top solo comedian. She gained international attention from two appearances on "America's Got Talent." She has appeared on numerous TV shows/series, and starred in the Netflix hit "The Queen of Villains" (2024), for which she won Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2025 Asian Academy Creative Awards. The J-horror satire "Mag Mag" marks her debut as director, and has received the Halekulani Vanguard Award at the 2025 Hawaii International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Montreal New Cinema Festival, the NETPAC Award at the 2025 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and several other honors. Retriever has now moved to LA to become the next Clint Eastwood.
Executive Producer MUNEYUKI KII joined Toei Eiga Kogyo in 1995, working as a theater manager, launching Japan's first live-viewing business and overseeing Toei's overseas expansion. In 2014, he transferred to Toei Co., Ltd. and began building a successful career producing work by noted auteurs like Shunji Iwai (2016, "A Bride for Rip Van Winkle," 2023, "Kyrie"), Takashi Shimizu (2019-2024, "Howling Village" series), Kazuya Shiraishi (2018/2021, "The Blood of Wolves" series), Takashi Miike (2020, "First Love"), Isao Yukisada (2023, "Revolver Lily"), and Hideaki Anno (2023, "Shin Masked Rider"). In 2023, he founded K2 Pictures, a bold new Japanese studio, partnering with acclaimed directors Hirokazu Kore-eda, Takashi Miike, Shunji Iwai, Kazuya Shiraishi, Miwa Nishikawa and animation powerhouse Mappa.
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online.
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Karen Severns, Film Committee