Always - Sunset on Third Street '64 (DVD) (Deluxe Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2

Always '64, the third film of the series, is certainly no different. Five years have passed since the events of the second film, and even as the rest of the Tokyo continues its rapid societal changes during the economic boom, the people of Third Street remain just as friendly and warm as ever. Chagawa has found success as a writer, with adopted son Junnosuke and local bar owner Hiromi back at his side. However, a new, more popular writer is threatening his place at the magazine that is serializing his stories. Across the street in the Suzuki Auto family, Mr. Suzuki has trained loyal employee Roku into a great mechanic, even as she is falling head over heels for a local doctor. Meanwhile, the Suzuki-Chagawa feud continues, as Mr. Suzuki once again outdoes Chagawa when he becomes the first family in the neighborhood with a fancy new color television.

While Always '64 depicts a new stage in life for some of these characters (the kids are nearly unrecognizable here now that the young actors are in puberty), the spirit of the film remains the same. The shadiest characters will turn out to have the best intentions, and even the direst situations always come with light at the end of the tunnel. Watching Always '64 is like going home, checking in with people you have come to care about over the course of two movies. They're all flawed human beings (the men are often too proud, and the women often have no real personalities), but they're flawed in a lovable way.

Always doesn't seem to be the ideal film to show off new 3D cinema technology. However, if anyone can pull off shooting a sentimental tearjerker in 3D, it's probably director/visual effects supervisor Yamazaki Takashi. In addition to its cast of lovable characters and strong dose of nostalgia, the Always series is known for using the latest in special effects to recreate 1960s Tokyo. From the signature shot of the paper aircraft flying through the neighborhood to the use of 3D in showing the transformation of an angry Mr. Suzuki, it's clear that Yamazaki sincerely made an effort this time around to further enhance the world he has built over the three films.

Unlike the previous films, Always '64 offers a more definitive ending to the story than the previous films. Of course, the filmmakers will create ways to bring everyone back again if this installment makes money, but the ending here is so satisfactory that it's hard to imagine that the filmmakers can pull off a fourth film that retains the quality of the current trilogy. Then again, considering that Japanese cinema gave us long-running film series such as Otoko wa Tsurai yo (which went on for 20-plus films), it would be no surprise to see Always continue for many years to come. Despite my doubts, the truth is that I've come to like the Always series so much that I am willing to keep watching for as long as they're willing to keep making them.