Oratachi Niihama sa Iguda

Oratachi Niihama sa Iguda (俺らたち新浜さ行ぐだ) is a 1983 Yamataian comedy film directed by Yamada Hayao and stars Nishizumi Shintaro, Takebe Naoto, Akiyama Yasuo, and Reizei Sakurako. It is the first film in the Oratachi Niihama... comedy series, about a trio of rural farmers who attempt to reach Niihama and start a life there.

Synopsis
Ishihara Jun (Nishizumi Shintaro), Kan Hikaru (Takebe Naoto), and Fukuda Daiki (Akiyama Yasuo) are childhood friends who live in the small farming village of Kidamura in Masaki Province. As children, they competed for the affections of their classmate Wada Yuka, who eventually moved away to Niihama with her family. Thoroughly bored with village life and dissatisfied with the static and backwards lifestyle of the village, the three decide to head to Niihama to begin a new life, though all three separately secretly aim to find Yuka and resume their attempts to woo her. After a series of misadventures due to miscommunications with their parents and neighbours, the trio manage to leave the village in the Ishihara family car, which Jun's overbearing father reports as stolen.

Driving to the coast, the three friends pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a con artist who steals the car and most of their belongings from them when they stop for petrol at Kudō City and get into an argument in the convenience store. Left without a vehicle, Daiki makes a mistake while calculating the bus fare for the three of them to Niihama, leading them to believe that they did not have enough money after they spent a large portion of it on a luxurious breakfast at a seafood restaurant. They attempt to hitchhike, and they manage to get a ride on a truck carrying chickens to Momono City, but are kicked off by the driver when they accidentally release all of the chickens. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, the three argue and Hikaru flags down a taxi, wanting to head back home. After an impassioned speech from Jun, Hikaru decides to stay, and dismisses the taxi. They then realise they could have hired the taxi to bring them further south, sparking another argument.

Subsequently, they manage to hitch a ride with a middle-aged woman heading to Utano. Introducing herself as Rie (Reizei Sakurako), the woman behaves overly friendly with the trio and continuously uses sexual innuendoes which the men do not grasp. As it is getting late, the woman drops the men off at a motel and pays for a room and dinner for them all, but continues hanging around and provides the three with large amounts of alcohol. That night, she attempts to seduce Daiki, who is horrified and attempts to warn his friends who are carrying out drunken antics in the motel's onsen. After being chased by Rie onto the street, they get arrested by the Yamashiro Provincial Police for public nuisance and public indecency.

While in the station lockup, the three suddenly notice that one of their fellow inmates is the con artist who stole their car. After roughly interrogating him, they find out that their car has been impounded there as it was reported stolen in Masaki. After the three are released the next day with a stern warning, Jun reclaims the car by producing his licence and registration. With their car and belongings back in their hands, the three go to have breakfast at a local ramen restaurant to celebrate, only to sneak out when they find out that the proprietor is Rie.

Back on the road, they drive across the Tanaka Bridge to Noro, leaving Ōshima for the first time in their lives. Jun suggests celebrating this moment, but after their continuous bad luck following previous attempts at celebrations the other two veto the idea, and they nonchalantly drive past several restaurants offering free food to various categories of people that increasingly fit the trio's description. By the mid-afternoon, the three are increasingly hungry and finally stop to eat at Urahama. Amazed how close they are to Niihama, the three noisily converse in the diner. Their rough northern accent causes them to be mistaken for Gokudo enforcers, and the owner of the diner attempts to pay them off to leave him alone, which they refuse to accept out of confusion.

The situation escalates when actual Gokudo show up and believe the trio are trying to muscle in on their territory. When asked what family they belong to, Jun misunderstands and says that his family name is Ishihara, which also happens to be the clan that the real Gokudo thugs' clan is subordinate to. Apologising profusely, the Gokudo thugs flee from the scene. Confused with the whole situation, the three men continue their drive towards Niihama. After crossing the Inoue Bridge, they enter the Greater Niihama Area upon entering Takagi City as night begins to fall. As they near the city, they are amazed at the brightness of the urban sprawl and how the city seems to be endless.

Driving into the city, the men simultaneously decide to come clean and reveal their secret intentions to find their childhood sweetheart at the same time. This sparks another major argument, which is again mistaken by members of the public as a Gokudo altercation, and all three decide to go their separate ways. After a few minutes, however, they reunite after realising that they are completely out of their element here in Niihama. They decide to work together to make their way in the big city, though they would still be competing for Yuka's love. Almost immediately after they reaffirm their dedication to Yuka, a trio of attractive young women disembark from a bus in front of them, instantly drawing the men's attentions. Shortly after that, a large amount of police officers in riot gear suddenly show up to contain a 'large scale Gokudo fight', ending the film.

Cast

 * Nishizumi Shintaro as Ishihara Jun: The straight man of the group, though prone to a runaway imagination. He is very bored in Kidamura and dreams of riding the subway to work in an office every day.
 * Takebe Naoto as Kan Hikaru: The strongest of the group with a short temper, he idolises the football player Makino Maria and wants to play for the Niihama Seagulls.
 * Akiyama Yasuo as Fukuda Daiki: The bespectacled self-proclaimed genius of the group, though more well-versed at useless factoids than useful skills. He wants to get out of the village due to the advances of his neighbour Miki, an unattracive girl whom both their parents expect him to marry.
 * Hitachi Yasushi as Ishihara Daisaku: Jun's father, a strict rice farmer who expects Jun to inherit the farm.
 * Haga Yuki as Kan Akane: Hikaru's mother, who is unemplyed after a KazokuTen opened in the village and drove her general store out of business.
 * Hironuma Taro as Fukuda Masao: Daiki's father, the largely complacent and ineffective policeman of Kidamura.
 * Kurosaki Ryu as Conman Tanaka: A conman picked up by the trio who first steals their car, then later gets arrested by the Yamashiro Provincial Police.
 * Reizei Sakurako as Rie: A middle-aged woman from Utano who gives the trio a ride in her car and later attempts to seduce Daiki.
 * Iseki Hideo as Yamashiro Police Inspector Iseki: A police official of the Yamashiro Provincial Police.
 * Yasuburo Satoshi as Yamashiro Police Sergeant Yasuburo: A police officer of the Yamashiro Provincial Police.
 * Ozawa Hitoshi as Gokudo Kuze: A Gokudo who attempts to fight the trio after mistaking them for rival Gokudo.
 * Shibusawa Hideo as Gokudo Shibusawa: A Gokudo with a katana who attempts to fight the trio after mistaking them for rival Gokudo.
 * Nakamura Nobuhiko as Ishihara Jun (13 years old)
 * Watanabe Hiroki as Kan Hikaru (13 years old)
 * Makino Toshi as Fukuda Daiki (13 years old)
 * Fukumura Sakurako as Wada Yuka (13 years old)

Reception
Oratachi Niihama sa Iguda was well-received by the Yamataian public, who enjoyed its slapstick comedy and nostalgic look at life in rural villages. Oratachi Niihama sa Iguda is often credited with the sudden "Furusato Eiga" boom during the 1970s and 1980s, referring to films set in or partly involving rural village life. The 'road trip across Yamatai' format would also be replicated numerous times, and remains an extremely popular genre of film in Yamatai to this day.

The film is also believed to be the source of the "Masakan Idiot" trope often used in Yamataian media to this day, with characters from Masaki Province and North Ōshima in general often portrayed in a slapstick, ignorant or bumbling fashion.