Tora-san's Promise

Tora-san's Promise (男はつらいよ 寅次郎紙風船), also called Torasan and a Paper Balloon in some regions, is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Mikiko Otonashi as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Promise is the twenty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis
Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Mikiko Otonashi as Mitsue Kuratomi
 * Kayoko Kishimoto as Aiko Odajima
 * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
 * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
 * Hiroshi Inuzuka as Shigeru
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Takeo Chii as Kenkichi Odajima
 * Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
 * Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)

Critical appraisal
Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Tora-san's Promise is a middle-quality entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, though the series has a high standard. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Promise three and a half out of five stars.

Availability
Tora-san's Promise was released theatrically on December 28, 1981. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2008.