Search results
133 results, page 1 of 3
RPG Review: Final Fantasy VII ~Rebirth~
Cloud is about to have the ultimate yaoi battle…inside his head. ::extremely one-winged angel voice:: YAOI VIBES ⚠️ This Post Contains Spoilers for FF7 Rebirth ⚠️
The Mad Mermaid
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Tokarev (トカレフ, Junji Sakamoto, 1994)
The discovery of a pistol concealed under a vending machine provokes a prolonged crisis of power and masculinity in Junji Sakamoto’s tense psychological drama.
Yakuza Hooligans (893 愚連隊, Sadao Nakajima, 1966)
A gang of petty criminals get in over their heads while working with the yakuza in Sadao Nakajima’s ironic crime movie.
492 – One Shot 72 – Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths
This week we talk about X-Men '97, The End of Evangelion, The Three-Body Problem, Fujou wo Nuguu Hito, and more! Then we discuss how war is bad with…
Review: Leap (2020)
Leap 夺冠 Hong Kong/China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 134 mins. Director: Chen Kexin 陈可辛 [Peter Chan]. Rating: 8/10. Celebration of women’s volleyball in China’s modern development is shaded by…
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 2
By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga…
Nonnonba by Mizuki Shigeru
The back of this manga describes itself as a “poetic memoir,” though I feel like the term semi-autobiographical might also apply. It’s basically the lightly fictionalized story of…
Angry Rice Wives (大コメ騒動, Katsuhide Motoki, 2021)
Village women start a small revolution over the increasing price of rice in Katsuhide Motoki’s historical drama.
Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (前科おんな殺し節, Atsushi Mihori, 1973)
Former cellmates band together to take out a duplicitous yakuza in Atsushi Mihori’s expertly crafted slice of pinky violence
This Week in Games - You Can't Keep Shigeru Miyamoto Down
Miyamoto and two other game industry titans have no interest in retiring any time soon. Plus: Jack Black's new video game film role, Twitch's nudity snafu, and more!
Stuff on the Office Desk: Still a Pain to Transform
A couple of weeks ago, I was finally able to get rubber tires for my SND-08 The One figure from, well, SND. To those unfamiliar, this is their…
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 1
By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga…
This Week in Anime - Shigeru Mizuki
Halloween may have passed but that won't stop Nicky and Steve from taking a deep dive into the OG of horror manga, Shigeru Mizuki.
Happy Halloween with GeGeGe no Kitaro!
As per our usual tradition, TSHS and our partners have cooked up some subtitled Kitaro episodes. GeGeGe no Kitaro (1968) – episode 24 In episode 24 of the…
Halloween Special Review: The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) review
Nakagawa succeeds in delivering an unforgettable finale that, due to its hallucinatory feel, mesmerises the spectator with its haunting imagery.
Halloween Special: the Yokai Guy
Manga master Shigeru Mizuki breathed new life into the undead
124 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vol. 2
James and Steven discuss the concluding adult arc of the manga, breaking it down using Joseph Campbell’s monomyth template. And even speak of the bonus skull kid chapters,…
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.