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123 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vol. 1
It starts with friends recommending their manga books. It quickly turns into a reflection on the power of storytelling and how manga can some times get you through…
![Featured image for Tips for The Boy and the Heron [2023 Sept. 22 draft]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230922/1695389399.68849.104490.jpg)
Tips for The Boy and the Heron [2023 Sept. 22 draft]
This post includes a lot of spoilers for The Boy and The Heron. If you have not watched the film, I don't recommend reading it. Introduction Hayao Miyazaki's…
Berserk, Future Boy Conan, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, The Boy and the Heron
Revenge (1964) review
A classic – a jidai-geki that every cinephile should see.
Japanese Children’s Literature in English Translation
RJL’s booklists don’t include children’s literature, so here’s a list for your reference. Support RJL by buying through our links. Check out our Bookshop.org page. Middle Gr…
Ghost in the Regiment (憲兵と幽霊, Nobuo Nakagawa, 1958)
A treacherous military police officer comes to embody the evils of war in Nobuo Nakagawa’s eerie psychological horror.
Willful Murder (日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件, Kei Kumai, 1981)
A dogged reporter comes to the conclusion an industrialist was murdered but cannot say by whom in Kei Kumai’s searing exploration of the occupation and the economic miracle.
Hoarder On The Border (断捨離パラダイス, Takayuki Kayano, 2023)
A former concert pianist begins to see the world from a different angle after taking a job cleaning houses in Takayuki Kayano’s humanistic dramedy.
Turning Up the Creepy to Eleven in Blood on the Tracks Volume Three
Talking about Blood on the Tracks volume three.
Yakuza Graveyard (やくざの墓場 くちなしの花, Kinji Fukasaku, 1976)
A maverick cop finds himself sympathising with noble yakuza when confronted by entrenched corruption in Kinji Fukasaku’s jitsuroku-esque gangster drama.
Luminous Woman (光る女, Shinji Somai, 1987)
A pure-hearted mountain man descends into the hell of the model capital in search of lost love in Shinji Somai’s surrealist fable.
Let Him Rest in Peace 友よ、静かに瞑れ (1985) Director: Yoichi Sai
Let Him Rest in Peace, by director Yoichi Sai, is a solid noir set in an Okinawa shot with Western-genre stylings. Let Him Rest in Peace 友よ、静かに瞑れ (1985)…
Song of the Flower Basket (花籠の歌, Heinosuke Gosho, 1937)
The daughter of a tonkatsu shop finds herself with an overabundance of suitors in Heinosuke Gosho’s generally cheerful yet occasionally dark melodrama.
Typhoon Club (台風クラブ, Shinji Somai, 1985)
A collection of frustrated teens find themselves trapped within a literal storm of adolescence in Shinji Somai’s seminal youth drama
SF! A Booklist of Japanese Science Fiction in Translation
Support RJL. Check out our Bookshop.org page. Anthologies The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories ed. John Apostolou and Martin Greenberg The Future is Japanese: Science Fiction Futures and…
![Featured image for The Life and Works of Ryôichi Ikegami: Discussion with a gekiga veteran [50th Angoulême International Comics Festival]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230416/1681681211.57516.90667.jpg)
The Life and Works of Ryôichi Ikegami: Discussion with a gekiga veteran [50th Angoulême International Comics Festival]
Ryôichi Ikegami is one of the leading figures of the gekiga movement. Learn all about his life in this report of his visit to Angoulême.
Ginga no Uo - URSA Minor Blue (MUSE HD LD)
https://nyaa.si/view/1644522 Fansub credits can be found in the link above. This OVA's an odd one, though I don't mean that in a bad way. It...
Dead Angle (白昼の死角, Toru Murakawa, 1979)
A narcissistic conman takes ironic revenge on the post-war society in Toru Murakawa’s nihilistic crime drama.
The Silent Duel (静かなる決闘, Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
A doctor who contracted syphilis from a patient wrestles with desire and responsibility in Kurosawa’s post-war drama.
RPG Review: Final Fantasy 7 -Crisis Core Reunion-
So after completing FF7R earlier this year, I was really excited to finally play a remaster of Crisis Core with the same new graphics. (Except the CGI scenes…
The Shootout (凶弾, Toru Murakawa, 1982)
A trio of teenage boys end up on the run after an altercation with a needlessly authoritarian police officer in Toru Murakawa’s empathetic social drama.
Manga Review – Super Shoku King
SUPER SHOKU KING 極食キング (Goku Shoku King) TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Sports 1 Volume of 5 Volumes (complete) Media Do (Nihonbungeisha) Summary: Have a struggling restaurant? Well, one…
The Creature Called Man (豹は走った, Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1970)
A policeman on a mission squares off against an assassin intent on executing an exiled dictator in Kiyoshi Nishimura’s thorny geopolitical thriller.
Violent Streets (暴力街, Hideo Gosha, 1974)
A former yakuza’s attempts to leave the underworld behind are frustrated by gang intrigue and changing times in Hideo Gosha’s intense gangland drama.
Tsuyukusa (ツユクサ, Hideyuki Hirayama, 2022)
A middle-aged woman begins to rediscover joy after her car is hit by a meteorite in Hideyuki Hirayama’s charmingly quirky dramedy.
Review: Hero (2022)
Hero 世间有她 China/Hong Kong, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Directors: Li Shaohong 李少红 (I), Chen Chong 陈冲 [Joan Chen] (II), Zhang Aijia 张艾嘉 [Sylvia Chang] (III). Rating: 6/10.…
Laughing Target
Orphan concludes (for now) its Rumiko Takahashi festival with the third Rumic World OVA, 1987's Warau Hyouteki ( Laughing Target ). This is...
Death Note, Laughing Target, Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Nozomi Witches, One Pound Gospel
Manga Review – SHOKU-KING
SHOKU-KING 食キング TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Adventure, slice-of-life 5 Volumes of 27 Volumes (complete) Media Do (Nihonbungeisha) Summary: Throughout Japan, there are restaurants on the verge…
My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ, Hayao Miyazaki, 1988)
A pair of sisters rejoice in the wonder of the natural world while befriending a fluffy forest creature in the charming Studio Ghibli family animation.
Murder, She Spoke
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono Called Shunoban at the Suwa Shrine in Aizu
These days shunoban is commonly known as shunobon. It appears as shunobon on yokai.com and in my book The Fox's Wedding. The reason for the spelling change is…
The Island Closest to Heaven (天国にいちばん近い島, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1984)
A young woman comes to a new understanding of herself while travelling abroad in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s laidback kadokawa idol movie.
Pick of the Week: A Bevy of Riches
SEAN: This is a ridiculously stacked week for manga fans. Viz has a hot new Jump series in Dandadan, Seven Seas gives yuri fans what they’ve always wanted…
Manga Review – Risky Business
Risky Business 邪道 (Jadou) TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Drama 3 Volumes of 4 Volumes (complete) Media Do (Nihonbungeisha) Summary: Tenshakaku is an immensely popular ramen chain, with its…
Kimami ni Idol
Kimama ni Idol (Free-Spirited Idols) is a 1990 comedy OVA based on a manga by Kotani Kenichi. It tells the madcap tale of three teenage girl...
Fruits Basket, High Speed Jessie, Kaleido Star, Kizuna, Nozomi Witches
The Age of Assassins (殺人狂時代, Kihachi Okamoto, 1967)
A mild-mannered professor is dragged into an international conspiracy in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist adventure.
Kill! (斬る, Kihachi Okamoto, 1968)
An ambitious farmer and former samurai turned wandering yakuza are swept into intrigue when seven samurai arrive to bump off a corrupt lord in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist jidaigeki.
Manga Review – Kuishinbo
Kuishinbo 喰いしん坊！ TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Comedy, sports 5 Volumes of 24 Volumes (complete) Media Do (Nihonbungeisha) Summary: Office worker Mantaro is broke, so he enters a store’s…
Spiraken Manga Review Ep 486: Shigeru Mizuki’s Tono Monogatari
In this myth filled episode, Xan reviews a collection of myths and fairy tales adapted by a 90 year old manga ka. How does it look? Well, sit…
Manga Review – Kenka Ramen
Kenka Ramen 喧嘩ラーメン TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Comedy, sports 3 Volumes of 17 Volumes (complete) Media Do (Nihonbungeisha) Summary: Yoshitsune is the leader of a gang, and his…
This Looks Like a Model Kit! SND Returns with new “IDW” Optimus Prime Figure
Third-party group Shigeru Ningyo Do (or SND), who released upgrade kits for the Combiner Wars Optimus Prime/Menasor molds, is back after several years with a new standalone figure.…
Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de 2
Haruka Naru Toki no Naka de ( In a Distant Time ) is an otome game franchise developed by Ruby Party. It spans at least a dozen…
Ah My Buddha!!, The Story of Saiunkoku, Waza no Tabibito, Ai no Kusabi, Batman: Gotham Knight
Three Toho Classics and the Work of Sci-Fi Illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki
I’d heard of Japanese science fiction illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki before, since he’s mentioned in Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa (Wesleyan University Press,…
Manga Review – Chow Down Champs / Super Food Bowl
Chow Down Champs Super Food Bowl 大食い甲子園 (Oogui Koushien) TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Sports 3 Volumes of 6 Volumes (complete) Media Do (NIHONBUNGEISHA) Summary: Fifteen years ago, Momotaro…
Manga Review – Battles of the Wandering Chef
Battles of the Wandering Chef 包丁無宿勝負旅 (Houchou Mushuku Shoubu Tabi) TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru (story/art), TAGAWA Yasuyuki (drafting cooperation) Seinen – Sports 2 Volumes of 4 Volumes (complete) Me…
Manga Review – Bakumeshi! / Food Explosion!
Bakumeshi! Food Explosion! ばくめし! TSUCHIYAMA Shigeru Seinen – Adventure, slice-of-life 3 Volume of 6 Volumes (complete) Torico / Media Do (NIHONBUNGEISHA) Summary: It is said that there’…
Terror of Yakuza (沖縄やくざ戦争, AKA Okinawa Yakuza War, Sadao Nakajima, 1976)
A recently released foot soldier is caught between his psychotic boss, an amoral underling, and the encroaching mainland yakuza in Nakajima’s jitsuroku gangster picture
RPG Review: Final Fantasy 7 Remake
This is a Cloti shipping zone Well finally that they ported FF7R to PC and there was a sale I decided to buckle down to play the last…
Mama wa Idol (1987) [Drama Review]
Mama wa Idol; or, Woman of the House It’s tough being a mother! Well, I guess we could say that Miho Nakayama went meta way before John...
The History of Tatsunoko – 5 – Maturities
If one single work were to sum up Tatsunoko’s entire production, it would probably be Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. By far the studio’s most iconic series, it was…