Marriage Counselor Tora-san
Synopsis. In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acquaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance, now settled and married, will again become attracted to Tora-san's wandering existence. Tora-san becomes attracted to a female barber, but must break off their relationship so that she too can live a secure life. She instead gets into an abusive relationship with a motorcyclist. Critical appraisal. Stuart Galbraith IV writes that "Marriage Counselor Tora-san" is a better  entry in the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" series, though it differs considerably from other films in the series, both formally and thematically. Tora-san's wandering life is portrayed harshly, rather than light-heartedly, and his family's stable life is shown in the more positive light. Galbraith concludes, "With its darker tone and atypical structure, "Tora-san's Marriage Counselor" is like a breath of fresh air following a series of recent, somewhat repetitive entries." The German-language site molodezhnaja gives "Marriage Counselor Tora-san" three and a half out of five stars. Availability. "Marriage Counselor Tora-san" was  released theatrically on August 4, 1984. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1987 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.