A visit to her grandparents’ home forces a young woman to reckon with with the price of “happiness” in Yuta Shimotsu’s eerie indie horror.
Jul 25, 2023 • Subscribe
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Best Wishes To All (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
A surprisingly satisfying horror-narrative
Dear Etranger / 幼な子われらに生まれ
It’s no secret that divorce is messy and complicated, particularly when children are involved. From the child’s perspective, it may be the moment that you realize your parents…
We Couldn’t Become Adults ボクたちはみんな大人になれなかった (2021) Director: Yoshihiro Mori
We Couldn’t Become Adults ボクたちはみんな大人になれなかった (2021), by director Yoshihiro Mori, is a well-acted and well-shot drama about a 40-something man in contemporary Japan looking back at his life (v…
Hana ni Arashi 11 (はなにあらし)
High school is a weird time. So much is going on in your body, in your head, in your heart. It’s the last time to have fun as…
Hana ni Arashi 10 (はなにあらし)
High school is a weird time. So much is going on in your body, in your head, in your heart. It’s the last time to have fun as…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8, (はなにあらし)
In Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8 (はなにあらし), Nanoha is starting to feel the weight of the real world and isn’t sure that she and Chidori inhabit the same…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 9 (はなにあらし)
We have watched Nanoha and Chidori since they began dating. For a very long time, it was under the radar, but as they look towards a wider future…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 11 (はなにあらし)
Nanoha and Chidori are two young woman in love. They know that when they graduate thing will change and their lives will grow more compliacated, but for this…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 6 (はなにあらし)
Nanoha and Chidori have shared their first kisses and, frankly, they are pretty sure that they no one has noticed, even though it got a little weird between…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 5 (はなにあらし)
While we’re able to enjoy Makoto Hagino’s slow-burn high school Yuri romance, A Tropical Fish Years for Snow in English, there is another Shogagakukan title with a similar…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 7 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 7 of Hana ni Arashi, (はなにあらし) something finally happens. Well…two things. Remembering that, in this series “happen” is very broadly applied word. ^_^ The first thing…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 4 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 1 we met Nanoha and Chidori, two girls who have a secret – they are lovers. They aren’t lovers, but they are in love and they…
Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 3 (定時にあがれたら)
Romance is hard, especially when you aren’t really sure if she feels as intensely about you as you do about her. Or so Kayoko believes. To make things…
Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 4 ( 定時にあがれたら)
As Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 4 ( 定時にあがれたら) opens, we find ourselves in a story that is so grounded in reality that it seems almost magical.^_^ Kaori and…
Your Lovely Smile (あなたの微笑み, Lim Kah-Wai, 2022)
Hirobumi Watanabe stars as a version of himself but this time for Lim Kah-Wai as the pair come together in shared sensibly and frustration with the indie way…
Yuri Manga: Hana ni Arashi, Volume 3 (はなにあらし)
Chidori and Nanoha have a secret, we are told in Volume 1 and Volume 2. They are lovers, we are told. And we will have to believe what…
Yuri Manga: Hana ni Arashi, Volume 2 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 1, we met Nanoha and Chidori, two high school students who are keeping a secret from their friends – they are going out with each other.…
Yuri Manga: Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 2 (定時にあがれたら)
In Volume 1, we met Yukawa, who became friendly, then friends, then lovers with her coworker, Mizuki. Now, in Volume 2 of Teiji ni Ageretara (定時にあがれたら), they are…
River (リバー、流れないでよ, Junta Yamaguchi, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
The staff of a hotel along with its guests find themselves trapped in an infinite two minute loop in Junta Yamaguchi’s strangely poignant farce.
Why You Can’t Be Prime Minister (なぜ君は総理大臣になれないのか, Arata Oshima, 2020)
Arata Oshima follows idealistic politician Junya Ogawa over 17 years in order to explore why his goal of becoming prime minister remains forever elusive
最終考察 うみねこのなく頃に Answer to the Golden Witch – Special Discussion
This is an excerpt from a publication on the famous Mystery Visual Novel Umineko no naku koro ni. As it left many questions open, there is probably a…
Untamed (あらくれ, Mikio Naruse, 1957)
A rebellious woman strives for independence in a patriarchal society but nevertheless finds herself hamstrung by feckless men in Naruse’s Taisho-era drama
Kimi no tame ni Sekai ha Aru (きみのために世界はある)
As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of Usui Shio’s series Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts. So when a collection of Usui-sensei’s work came out from Ichijinsha, I…
Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた)
Suzuki Yufuko’s Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた) was not at all what I expected it to be. No, scratch that. It was exactly everything I expected it…
Kiniro Mosaic: Best Wishes Review
Best Wishes has a mix of both high school escapades or showing the cast's college years. That is the biggest weakness of this bonus volume.
Pokémon: Best Wishes! Episode 7
I finally got around to watching the last episode of Best Wishes last night and the title of the episode pretty much gave it away. This episode begins…
Amiko (こちらあみ子, Yusuke Morii, 2022)
An unusual little girl retreats into a fantasy world in an attempt to deal with her grief and loneliness in Yusuke Morii’s quirky dramedy.
Éclair orange – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア orange あなたに響く百合アンソロジー)
Last month, we took a look at the Yen Press translation of the second Éclair Yuri anthology in English Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in…
Thoughts on Kiniro Mosaic: Best Wishes
Alice, Shino and their jolly companions return for one last hurrah, as Yui Hara’s Kiniro Mosaic: Best Wishes manga shows what life is like for them post-graduation. There’s some…
Lecca wishes us all a Wonderful Life
Looking for a feel good track for the wonderful weekend you’re having? Well, lecca’s new track 素晴らしい人生/Subarashii Jinsei (Wonderful Life) should fit the bill. It’s just the right…
As Long As We Both Shall Live (わたしの幸せな結婚, Ayuko Tsukahara, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A young woman with chronically low self-esteem learns to love herself after bonding with a taciturn nobleman in Ayuko Tsukahara’s adaptation of the light novel series.
Natchan’s Little Secret (ひみつのなっちゃん。, Yasujiro Tanaka, 2023)
A trio of drag queens take off on a journey of self discovery while saying goodbye to their late friend and mentor in Yasujiro Tanaka’s road trip comedy.
~ni naru ~になる - Meaning in Japanese
The meaning in Japanese of ni naru になる. Grammar and examples.
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 1 (おとなになっても)
Shimura Takako’s work with gender and sexual minorities has been very influential and popular among western manga readers, and series like Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son end…
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 4 (おとなになっても)
In previous volumes of Otona ni Nattemo, we met Akari and Ayano, who met in a bar and spent the night together, Ayano’s husband Wataru, who has wondered…
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 5 (おとなになっても)
Previous volumes of Shimura Takako’s adult life drama have centered on three adults whose life has been thrown into turmoil by unexpected emotions. Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 5…
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 3 (おとなになっても)
Akari is ready to move on. She’s ready to reclaim her old career in the salon and stop running away from her life. She’s putting Ayano and her…
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 8 (おとなになっても)
Akari and Ayano have moved in together. This fact fills this book with all sorts of tensions, both positive and negative. Sure, they have been through ” a…
Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 7 (おとなになっても)
In Shimura Takako’s Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 7 (おとなになっても) a lot happens. We left Akari and Ayano having been carefully not seeing one another for some time, as…
Otona ni Nattemo, (おとなになっても) Volume 6
In Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 6, Shimura Takako has done something I’ve not seen before in a manga and I think I like it. ^_^ The main plot…
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる)
Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 1 (君としらない夏になる), subtitled in English “Throw away the suit together,” is one of my favorite reads currently in Comic Yuri Hime…
Anata to Watashi no Shuuhassuu (あなたと私の周波数)
Readers of Comic Yuri Hime monthly, might remember most of the stories in this volume, Anata to Watashi no Shuuhassuu (あなたと私の周波数) by Kuwabara Tamostsu. Each short takes a…
Love Nonetheless (愛なのに, Hideo Jojo, 2022)
A lovelorn bookseller is drawn into a world of romantic confusion by a high school girl with a hopeless crush and and his own requited love in Jojo’s…
Touching the Skin of Eeriness 不気味なものの肌に触れる (2014) Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
“Touching the Skin of Eeriness” turns from coming-of-age drama to supernatural mystery and is packed full of absorbing physical performances. 不気味なものの肌に触れる (2014) Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi…
Touching the Skin of Eeriness 不気味なものの肌に触れる (2014) Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
“Touching the Skin of Eeriness” turns from coming-of-age drama to supernatural mystery and is packed full of absorbing physical performances. 不気味なものの肌に触れる (2014) Dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi…
Upcoming Manga Releases & Licensing Wishes For 2023
2023 is a stacked year for shoujo and josei manga! There's so many series I'm looking forward to reading but here's just a few. PLUS we're talking about…
Yuusha ni Naritai Shoujo To, Yuusha Narubeki Kanojo (勇者になりたい少女と、勇者になるべき彼女)
It seems very appropriate to start our happy New Year with some happy new Yuri, so today we’re going to take a look at Yuusha ni Naritai Shoujo…
How to Japanese Podcast – S02E12 – かもしれない and 食中毒
かもしれない (kamoshirenai, may/might) has subtle nuances, and it can be easy to overuse. I talk about a time when I did, and how many years later that mistake…
To Sleep So as to Dream (夢みるように眠りたい, Kaizo Hayashi, 1986)
A detective becomes lost in the labyrinths of cinema while chasing a ghost of the silver screen in Kaizo Hayashi’s ethereal ode to the silent movie