Foster Daddy, Tora!

Foster Daddy, Tora! (男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌) aka Torasan's Song of the Seagull is a 1980 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ran Itō as his love interest or "Madonna". Foster Daddy, Tora! is the twenty-sixth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis
Tor-san takes care of the teenage daughter of a friend after he dies. He takes the girl to Tokyo where she wishes to study, and becomes worried over her romantic life.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Ran Itō as Sumire
 * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
 * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
 * Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
 * Gajirō Satō as Genkō
 * Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
 * Takehiro Murata as Sadao Kikuchi
 * Tatsuo Matsumura as Professor Hayashi

Critical appraisal
Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his roles in Foster Daddy, Tora! and the following entry in the series, Tora-san's Love in Osaka (1981). Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Foster Daddy, Tora! is one of the top films in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, and "like the best entries, both funny and sweet". The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Foster Daddy, Tora! three and a half out of five stars.

Availability
Foster Daddy, Tora! was released theatrically on December 27, 1980. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1999, 2002, and 2008.