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Travels of Hibari and Chiemi: The Tumultuous Journey (1962) review
“This film remains, after all these years, a highly enjoyable narrative that succeeds to please the spectator with heart-warming light-heartedness, comical action, and beautiful musical momen…


Gonza the Spearman (1986) review
“A fabulous narrative that offers a satisfying exploration of the tragedy of phallic ambition and the destructive potential of desire.”


Journey To The Shore (2015) review
“An elegant and touching exploration of arrested mourning, unresolved subjective regrets, and the impact of unfinished business on the deceived or the living subject.”


Homunculus (2021) review
“A worthy attempt to offer something fresh to the horror-table, but Shimizu struggles to blend the many pleasing parts into a whole that truly engages and pleases the…


Pieta In The Toilet (2015) review
Matsunaga delivers a beautiful and highly emotional experience that will leave no one unaffected.


Punk Samurai Slash Down (2018) review
“Ishii’s narrative meanders a bit too much, but it luckily never outstays its welcome.”


A Liar And a Broken Girl (2010) review
“Seta’s first narrative hits some false notes, but these cannot derail Seta’s first-feature film nor radically complicate the spectator’s pleasure.”
![Featured image for The Wonder Of a Summer Day (2022) [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220423/1650680078.35047.63606.jpg)
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The Wonder Of a Summer Day (2022) [OAFF 2022]
“A visually pleasing narrative that underlines, in a charming and touching way, the importance for the subject to find the kind of signifiers that can unlock his/her deadlock.”
![Featured image for Random Call (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220420/1650435278.34892.63431.jpg)
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Random Call (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Ohkanda’s narrative proves that one does not need a big budget to deliver a narrative that touches the spectator.
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Outsourcing (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220417/1650154478.34711.63198.jpg)
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Short Movie Time: Outsourcing (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A very satisfying satirical short thta shows that, within the job-seeking process, only the image matters.”
![Featured image for Melting Sounds (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220414/1649898878.34540.62994.jpg)
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Melting Sounds (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“Kahori Higashi’s debut is impressive.”
![Featured image for Our House Party (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220411/1649666678.34398.62824.jpg)
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Our House Party (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Kawanobe delivers a very touching and emotional story about homosexuality in Japan.
![Featured image for Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220408/1649377663.34186.62572.jpg)
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Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A visually enticing narrative that elegantly explores the unresolvable tension between the societal Other and the subject.”
![Featured image for To Be Killed by a High School Girl (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220405/1649122664.34011.62351.jpg)
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To Be Killed by a High School Girl (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“The effective interaction between his fluid composition, the great narrative structure, and the thematical exploration of trauma and perverse fantasies ensures that the film hits all the rig…
![Featured image for Far Away, Further Away (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220402/1648870714.33838.62126.jpg)
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Far Away, Further Away (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful film that elegantly explores the role the imaginary plays in marital failure as well as in the beginning of a new romantic bond.”
![Featured image for Short movie time: North Shinjuku 2055 (2021) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220330/1648608514.33660.61893.jpg)
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Short movie time: North Shinjuku 2055 (2021) review [OAFF 2022]
“A pleasant experimental short.”
![Featured image for Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220327/1648345715.33499.61693.jpg)
![Background image for Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220327/1648345715.33499.61693.jpg)
Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]
“A splendid debut by Shuna Iijima.”
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Bagmati River (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220324/1648086514.33344.61503.jpg)
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Short Movie Time: Bagmati River (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful poetic short that elegantly plays with the contrast between life and death.”
![Featured image for The Light Of The Spring (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220320/1647819514.33198.61322.jpg)
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The Light Of The Spring (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An experimental ‘dramamentary’ that succeeds to charm and touch the spectator with its rich mundane and genuine interactions.”
![Featured image for Angry Son (2022) review [OAFF 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220318/1647566914.33043.61143.jpg)
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Angry Son (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An incredibly rich and deep narrative that not only delivers a satisfying coming-of-age story but also an elegantly delivered social commentary on some of the frictions marking Japanese…


Short Movie Time: The Fish With One Sleeve (2021) review
“Tokaibayashi Tsuyoshi delivers an important narrative that reveals how a societal system, which struggles with the newly-posed riddle of gender, problematizes the integration of the transgen…


Nanami: The Inferno of First Love (1968) review
“Hani’s narrative is not only be the best film of Susumu Hani, but also one of the best films of the sixties.”


Intimate Stranger (2022) review
“A splendid narrative that dares to explore how problematic mothers can be for their children.”


An inn at Osaka (1954) review
“An important document that traces how the post-war capitalistic machine of modernity poisons subjectivity by ‘promoting’ a selfish monetary desire, slowly empties social relations, and cause…


Short critiques: Homestay (2022) review
Seta’s narrative is, despite its flaws, a pleasant narrative that offers an important message.


Short Movie time: Psychology counsellor (2021)
“A thrilling masterpiece.”


Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts (1969) review
“A very enjoyable fantastical horror period-drama that excels in creating an unsettling spooky atmosphere.”
![Featured image for Make The Devil Laugh (2021) review [Skip City International D-Festival 2021] (27:00)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220222/1645493314.31718.59625.jpg)
![Background image for Make The Devil Laugh (2021) review [Skip City International D-Festival 2021] (27:00)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220222/1645493314.31718.59625.jpg)
Make The Devil Laugh (2021) review [Skip City International D-Festival 2021] (27:00)
An amazing socially-engaged piece of cinema that beautifully sketches out how problematic the enjoyment of the societal Other can be.


No Call No Life (2021) review
”While not perfect by any means, Igashi still delivers an enjoyable romance narrative.”


Ring Wandering (2022) review
With his narrative, Kaneko gracefully invites the spectator to question whether he has not forgotten the subjective importance of forging inter-subjective bonds.
![Featured image for Battlecry (2021) review [IFFR 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220213/1644718114.31147.58950.jpg)
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Battlecry (2021) review [IFFR 2022]
Yanakaya succeeds in visually engaging the spectator and deliver a narrative that will leave audiences satisfied.


Tapestry (2020) review
“Yes, Zeze delivers a rather straightforward romance narrative with Tapestry, but, in contrast to many other Japanese romance films, he succeeds to genuinely move the spectator.”
![Featured image for Let Me Hear It Barefoot (2021) review [IFFR 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220206/1644188914.30571.58314.jpg)
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Let Me Hear It Barefoot (2021) review [IFFR 2022]
“A great narrative that elegantly and gently exploits non-verbal communication to deliver a touching tale of subjective struggle.”
![Featured image for Yamabuki (2022) review [IFFR 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220204/1643935114.30396.58118.jpg)
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Yamabuki (2022) review [IFFR 2022]
“A beautiful socially-engaged narrative that explores the very fact that, by being grasped within the societal network of relations, one cannot but influence the other and become influenced…
![Featured image for Short movie Time: Nowhere To Go But Everywhere (2022) [IFFR 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220201/1643677714.30240.57942.jpg)
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Short movie Time: Nowhere To Go But Everywhere (2022) [IFFR 2022]
“An incredible short that explores the subjective impact of the lack of materiality (i.e. bones) on the process of mourning in a very intimate way.”


Somebody’s Flowers (2021) review
“A beautiful narrative that explores the mental and societal obstacles that litter the path of those subjects who suddenly need to grieve the loss of loved ones with…


Ayako Tachibana Wants To Go Viral (2020) review
“Amane does not only blend horror and eroticism fluidly together, but does so to deliver a satisfying critique of how social media eventually becomes a tool for male…


Terrifying Girls’ Highschool: Lynch Law Classroom (1973) review
“Suzuki’s narrative offers an excellent critique of the exploitative dimensions of the phallic patriarchal society.”


Crazy Thunder Road (1980) review
“A nihilistic and wild exploration of the self-destructive nature of a relentless search for a dose of pleasure.”


A Man In God’s Country (2020) review
“A visually pleasing narrative that explores, with a refined irony, the very problematic dimensions of nationalism.”
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: Born Pisces (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220114/1642157314.29195.56710.png)
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Short Movie Time: Born Pisces (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“Yamanaka does not only reaffirm that she has talent but also that she improved her compositional style and her storytelling.”


Colorless (2019) review
“An extraordinary film that offers a painful investigation of the ungraspable female element that forms a riddle for both man and woman alike.”


Resident of Alice (2021) review
“Sawa pleases the spectator with his elegant and, at times, poetic compositions, but also delivers a narrative with a satisfying psychological depth and a rich emotional texture.”


Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) review
“GMK’s main success lies in its ability to truly speak to the imagination of the spectator – something the recent Hollywood efforts have struggled to accomplish.”


Drive My Car (2021) review
“A meditative and intimate masterpiece with a rich but challenging intertextuality.”


Talks with writers: Norman England (Behind the Kaiju Curtain, 2021)
“A enlightening chat with Norman England, the author of “Behind The Kaiju Curtain” (2021)”


Top 12 Japanese films of 2021
Which films impressed us? Which films should you put on your to-watch-list? Find out in our list of best Japanese films of this year.


Blue (2021) review
“A very emotional journey about the difficulties of dealing with loss and lack.”


Suicide Forest Village (2021) review
“A mystery-horror experience that is, in all aspects, better than ‘Howling Village’.”


Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021) review
“Ohtome succeeds in giving Himura’s bloody and tragic coming-into-being its rich and engaging emotional texture.”