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Chicago Japan Film Collective – Virtual Screenings Thoughts
I don’t think that the Chicago Japan Film Collective needs too much introduction on my blog. I’ve covered the two in person screening for Sayuri, and Qualia with…
November 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back one and all to my little monthly round-up. Keeping with the spirit of the past month, I just want to say I’m incredibly thankful for all…
Chicago Japan Film Collective – Qualia
This happened to be the closing night feature film for the fourth annual Chicago Japan Film Collective (CJFC). I had managed to snag a ticket, but couldn’t drag…
Natsume November – Manga Review
Beginning Note: This review covers Natsume’s Book of Friends to volume thirty, specifically up to chapter 123. While I intend to keep this review spoiler free, I will…
Chicago Japan Film Collective – House of Sayuri
I actually stumbled upon knowledge about the Chicago Japan Film Collective (CJFC) back in 2023. Due to moving and timing though I wasn’t able to attend the screenings,…
Library Loot Round-Up: What Would have been the Halloween Special
I make secret plans for the blog. They just don’t quite always come to full fruition. I found a good stash of manga at my library, as always…
Natsume November – Talking About Natsume’s Soundtrack over the years
I’m not going to pretend for a second that I know much about anime soundtracks. I have a higher then average understanding of how to read music, what…
Natsume November – Season Seven Mid-series Musings
Fair warning: this does contain light spoilers – comparison from manga to anime in this post. It does not spoil any actual narrative or character developments in the…
Phoenix Talks Pop Culture Japan
Natsume's Book of Friends, Natsume's Book of Friends 4, Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7
Chicago International Film Festival – Cloud
When I was getting in line for this film, I was genuinely surprised at how long the line was. This particular film probably had the biggest turn out…
Chicago International Film Festival – My Sunshine
Another beautiful day in Chicago, and it was another film in theaters due to the Chicago International Film Festival. I was really lucky that I snagged a ticket,…
October 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome one and all, to the least creepy blog post of them all. I’m trying to be creative here folks, and I am floundering. Still, you guys know…
Chicago International Film Festival – Super Happy Forever
I headed out once again to Chicago, for the Chicago International Film Festival. With the Kore-eda retrospective finished, there were still three other Japanese films in the lineup…
OVA October: Ariel Visual and Deluxe
Somewhere along the lines of my internet browsing I saw a visual for the series Ariel. Which is a the light novel series from 1986 that only finished…
Nobody Knows with post-screening Question and Answer Commentary at the Chicago International Film Festival
Having just watched After the Storm, I had a bit of time to kill before attempting to rush for Nobody Knows. I got real food for dinner, puttered…
After the Storm Movie and Question and Answer Synopsis at the Chicago International Film Festival
I’m not someone who pays too much attention to big movie festivals, despite be relatively local to many. My twin was nice enough to tip me off that…
Library Loot: Claudine
In purusing the shelves of various bookstores, I come across series that slipped past my radar over the years. In particular, this being the rather slim volume of…
Did they learn finally learn how to adapt Ito Junji? Uzumaki (2024)
After having posted about this series over a year ago in “Animation studios have learned nothing – regarding Ito Junji adaptations”. I can’t NOT follow up on Uzumaki…
OVA October – Twilight Q
Many moons ago, I mentioned in passing that my favorite American TV program was The Twilight Zone. It was part of a post where I was recommending things…
SHY the Second Season – Anime Review
Once again, it appears that Shy now having finished it’s second season has slipped past many folks’ radar for new anime to watch. To be honest while I…
Look Back – Anime Movie Review
If I hadn’t gotten so many targeted ads for this film via social media and my online friend circle I don’t think I would have gone to it.…
OVA October – Kimera
Welcome one and all, back to a little feature I call OVA October. It’s pretty straightfoward but I feel like doing my tiny introduction spiel. OVA stands for…
September 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome one, and welcome all to the best blog feature of them all – my monthly favorites. It’s a jam packed entry this time around. So I’m not…
There’s a Time for Everything – Time of EVE Movie (Review)
This is another anime film that has been on my plan to watch list for nearly a decade. A really good friend recommended it to me, and thanks…
The End of Summer Film – It’s a Summer Film!
I’m only a touch late regarding talking about JFF Theater films. They’ve only been up for over a month, with two of them leaving streaming by the end…
Library Loot: Jellyfish Eyes
SURPRISE! You thought that Library Loot was only going to be anime and manga didn’t you? Being 100% real, I thought so too. I had some serious disconnect…
The Half-Way Mark with Bakuage Sentai Boomboonger
To open this, I’d like to make it clear that this is my first time ever watching a Super Sentai series. I’ve been interested in the franchise for…
A Fresh Take on Coming of Age – Confetti (movie review)
Every once in awhile, I unintentionally put myself in a position where I need to drag other people into my hobbies. It sounds convoluted because it is. I…
I Know You Rider – Kamen Rider Gavv First Impressions
Before even getting into Kamen Rider Gavv (Gavv), I do want to add a bit of context to my commentary. I’m 100% new to the world of Kamen…
August 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back to your favorite monthly featurette – my Monthly Favorites of course! I have a lot to get into so let’s dive into it.
Animated Movie August: Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
Welcome to the third, and for this year, final installation of Animated Movie August. This particular film is… technically not a film. Whoops. Like the Clouds, Like the…
Library Loot – Rapid Reviews Vol. 4
Welcome back to another edition of Library Loot! Glad to have you back to peruse what I’ve been reading these past few months. With limited barriers, and no…
Animated Movie August: Sword of the Stranger
Welcome back to the second installation of Animated Movie August, 2024 edition. It’s pretty self explanatory, so I’ll keep it moving. This particular film came onto my radar…
Library Loot – Rapid Reviews Vol.3 – Anime Movies Edition
It’s the first edition of a Rapid Reviews talking about anime! As you can tell, this was brought to you via my library system. I managed to borrow…
A film that really made me think a lot post-watch – Radiance (2017)
When and where I can, I make the point to attend as many free screenings of films as I can. The cost is usually my commute ticket and…
Animated Movie August: Promare
Welcome back to AMA or Animated Movie August. I enjoyed this feature that I tried out back in 2022, so I figured I’d bring it back. It’s rather…
The Super Sentai Deconstruction? Sentai Daishikkaku (anime review)
I am not afraid of bandwagoning a series, if the premise is interesting enough. I had heard some whisperings of Sentai Daishikkaku, or in English Go! Go! Loser…
July 2024 Monthly Favorites
Hello bloggers, it is the feature that never fails – my Monthly Favorites! This month has been a lot of big surprises. I had a record number of…
Aomori Represent~! Grandpa and Grandma are Young Again (anime review)
This is now my second serious attempt to review this anime. For me when a series is near and dear to my heart, it’s harder to write down…
Library Loot: The Taniguchi Jiro Special (Rapid Reviews Vol. 2)
Welcome back to another edition of rapid reviews! Brought to you by my utterly fabulous library service. It’s a short collection highlighting some manga I’ve read that I…
Library Loot: Kamen Rider
Welcome back to Library Loot! It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve written one of these up. I promise my manga reading hasn’t slowed down in the…
Library Loot (mostly): Ghost in the Shell: Arise
Back in 2013, I was busy at the weird cross roads of ending high school and heading into my college years. That meant that I was keeping loose…
Koisuru Keigo 24ji – Oh what I do for Iwamoto Hikaru
This is one of those titles that I followed on a weekly basis greedily, and then towards the end I fell off of following it. The subber hasn’t…
Fishbowl Wives – The Glitz-iest Netflix JDrama
Back in 2022, when this series was first announced I was so sure that I was going to watch it right away. I mean Iwata Takanori, like always,…
The Sultry Summer Night Movie – Jungle Emperor Leo
I really need to get better at reading the fine print of things. The Japanese Film Festival Online hosted this film from June 5th 2024 to June 19th…
June 2024 Monthly Favorites
Welcome back to the the Monthly Favorites! Due to extenuating circumstances, this month’s feature is incredibly thin on my end. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t good stuff…
Single8 – My Summer Film for 2024
I really need to get better at reading the fine print of things. The Japanese Film Festival Online hosted this film from June 5th 2024 to June 19th…
Now we’ll finally connect with IS:SUE
After a not so long hiatus from talking about jpop, and jpop adjacent groups I am back with ME:I’s only slightly younger sister group IS:SUE. Built with four…
Here to Inform you about “Informa” (Jdrama review)
Last year, this drama was so high on my priority list. It was a huge deal that Sano Reo was finally getting a main role after a long…
Once Upon a Crime – Glitz, Glamour and … Murder?
I do my best to support things in official capacities as much as I can afford. Once Upon a Crime being one such project I got to when…
The frustrations of collecting Tezuka manga in English
Foreword: This is purely an opinion piece, from a fan of Tezuka and consumer of English-language manga releases. I do not hold any malicious intentions towards any parties…