The courtroom becomes his canvas!
3 years after "The Magic Hour"
- his much-anticipated new work

Director's Introduction

"Long time, no see everyone. Mitani here.
I'm just finishing up the project which will follow "The Magic Hour".
It's a comedy, of course. But this time, I've included elements of a courtroom thriller and a ghost story fantasy. For the finale, we get heart-wrenching drama, too.
Now I'm sure you're all totally confused about what kind of movie it is!
As there's a while to go before it hits the theaters, I thought I'd give out a little information beforehand.
Its title is "A Ghost of a Chance"
That's making it even more confusing, huh?
One thing's for sure, you'll never think of the phenomenon of kanashibari (supernatural sleep paralysis) in the same way again.
Oh, and don't forget the nickname of this movie in Japanese is
"Wonderful Kanashibari"
Koki Mitani

Emi (Eri Fukatsu) is a third-rate defense lawyer with zero prospects. One day, her boss, (Hiroshi Abe) assigns her a particularly unusual case. A man is suspected of murdering his wealthy wife (Yuko Takeuchi) but he has an alibi. At the time of the crime he claims to have been staying at a country inn where he suffered an attack of supernatural sleep paralysis or kanashibari. The only individual able to prove his innocence is the ghost of the vanquished samurai warrior who sat astride his chest the whole night.

Emi hurries off to the inn where she too has an attack of kanashibari. She opens her eyes to find the samurai warrior (Toshiyuki Nishida) sitting on top of her. Before she knows what she's doing, she grabs his hand and begs, "Please, come testify in court of law."

And thus legal history is about to be made as a ghost takes the stand!

A useless lawyer at the end of her tether...a disgraced samurai unjustly killed 421 years ago...a remarkable friendship!

Opposing them is the hard-nosed public prosecutor (Kiichi Nakai) who absolutely refuses to entertain any notion of the supernatural.

Under a harsh public gaze, the curtain goes up on the ghostly legal proceedings.

Koki Mitani's long-awaited fantasy/legal thriller/comedy.

Character Background

Eri FUKATSU (Emi HOSHO)
Entered the law to fulfill the dying wish of her famous lawyer father yet has failed to live up to expectations and has been losing case after case. Things don't look good for her future career.

Toshiyuki NISHIDA (Rokubei SARASHINA)
Back in the Warring States period of Japanese history, he was a military commander serving the Hojo clan. Wrongly executed as a spy 421 years ago, he's unable to enter Nirvana and has been haunting ever since.

Hiroshi ABE（HAYAMI Esq.）
The boss in Emi's law practice. A naive kind of guy but can be relied on in a pinch. In fact, behind-the-scenes, he supports Emi at every turn. Struggles with a sugar addiction despite clear medical advice.

Yuko TAKEUCHI（Fuko HINO）
The victim. President of a cosmetics company.

Yuko TAKEUCHI（Suzuko YABE）
The culprit. A buyer of fine art. She murders her sister by pushing her off a balcony then assumes her identity.

Tadanobu ASANO（Kenichi KIDO）
Historian and 26th generation descendant of Rokubei the samurai. Testifies in court by Emi’s request. Pours his energies into having a memorial erected to console the spirit of his long-dead ancestor.

Kiichi NAKAI（OSANO Esq.）
Top-notch public prosecutor. Calm, down-to-earth and strictly logical. Steadfastly refuses to believe in Rokubei's existence. Insists that the testimony of a supernatural being is legally inadmissible.

Character Quotes

★Eri FUKATSU
"With a title like this, it could only be a Mitani movie! I'm not sure if a haunting can be wonderful he assembled a wonderful cast and we worked hard to make this a wonderful film!"

★Toshiyuki NISHIDA
"This is my third film with Mr. Mitani. I feel that we nailed the essence of his special brand of comedy and I'm confident that we've made a top-level Mitani film. I hope you all laugh and walk out of the cinemas with a smile on your faces."