Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2009

Director Katsuyuki Motohiro is best known for the phenomenally successful action series Odaru Daisosasen (“Bayside Shakedown”), but he also does pretty well with comedy. Although Summer Time Machine Blues (2005) was a dud, Motohiro has crafted a winner with Magare! Supun, which premiered at last month’s Tokyo International Film Fest. Yone (Masami Nagasawa) is the assistant director of a TV show investigating paranormal phenomena. She’s tasked with finding people who have real supernatural powers, which suits her just fine—since childhood, Yone has had paranormal experiences of her own. The adventure starts when wannabe psychic Kanda (Hideto Iwai) invites her to a café where, unbeknownst to him, a group of five real—and very private—psychics hang out. This fairytale has both impeccable timing and a fine sense of irony, in addition to some rib-tickling physical humor. Yone’s bumbling, sweet character makes the denouement all the more effective, and the depiction of the psychic circle perfectly treads the line between comedy and absurdity. English title: Go Find a Psychic! (108 min)