A bruiser cop railing against the system is pulled towards the dark side in Takaharu Saeki’s icy noir.
Nov 7, 2023 • Subscribe
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The Desperate Sequelhook
The ending to an anime is paramount, yet so many series gamble away their one chance to leave a lasting impression on a futile sequelhook.
HINAMATSURI, No Game, No Life, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
いろいろ December 2023
I ran out of space over at the newsletter this month, so I thought I’d share the いろいろ section on the blog instead. Podcast link at the bottom!…
Revenge (1964) review
A classic – a jidai-geki that every cinephile should see.
てへぺろ [Tehepero](๑≧౪≦)てへぺろ
Hi everyone. Oh no, I have left my blog for too long. I even forgot to write in English! Does anyone help me with my terrible English? My…
Manga Pulse 433: Desperate Dictator
We’re here at Twin Peaks manga cafe. As always we bring you two, salty manga reviews. We might also coat it in ketchup with frowny face. Tim has Renjou…
Pale Flower (1964) review
“A ‘seductive’ nihilistic masterpiece that explores the unescapable subjective problems created by the rhythmic capitalistic machinery.”
Takahiro Kimura (1964-2023)
Takahiro Kimura, who died on 5th March, first got the idea that animation might be the career for him when he saw episodes of Armoured Trooper VOTOMS and…
Keiko Nobumoto (1964-2021)
The writer Keiko Nobumoto, who died on 1st December from oesophageal cancer, was one of the stand-out figures of the anime world, quite possibly because her path to…
Somali and The Forest Spirit Episode 5 – Desperate Times
I see what Somali and The Forest Spirit is trying to do with this arc. At least I think I see it. But in my opinion there’s a…
Inu-Oh (犬王, Masaaki Yuasa, 2021)
A blind Biwa player and a cursed young man exorcise the spirits of the Heike through musical expression in Masaaki Yuasa’s stunning prog rock anime
Ken (剣, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
A rigid young man dreaming of a “pure life” is forced to confront the contradictions of the modern society in Misumi’s melancholy masculinity drama
Brief Thoughts On: Ningyo (1964)
Osamu Tezuka's imaginative short film The post Brief Thoughts On: Ningyo (1964) appeared first on Reasons to Anime.
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Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) review [The Godzilla Project]
A splendid Godzilla narrative that does not only delivers Kaiju action in a satisfying and engaging way but also continues the questioning of the blossoming of the capitalistic…
Hachiko (忠犬八公, Xu Ang, 2023)
The heartrending tale of a faithful dog who continued to wait for his owner at a cable car station becomes a poignant symbol for a left behind China…
Stray Dog (野良犬, Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
A rookie policeman chases an echo of himself through the backstreets of post-war Japan while looking for his missing gun in Akira Kurosawa’s sweltering noir.
Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers! (腑抜けども、悲しみの愛を見せろ, Daihachi Yoshida, 2007)
The petty resentments of a dysfunctional family quickly escalate when a failed actress returns home in Daihachi Yoshida’s dark farce
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Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) review [The Godzilla Project]
A pleasant kaiju film that, nevertheless, constitutes a radical thematical break with the previous narratives.
Thicker Than Water 犬猿 Director: Keisuke Yoshida (2018)
Billed as a comedy, Thicker Than Water by director Keisuke Yoshida turns into a mirthless drama as he piles the misery on the characters. Thicker Than Water 犬猿…
The Young Boss (花笠若衆, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1958)
Hibari Misora stars as a pair of twins separated at birth in Kiyoshi Saeki’s musical jidaigeki adventure
The Hunter’s Diary (猟人日記, Ko Nakahira, 1964)
A serial philanderer’s life is upended when his conquests start turning up dead in Ko Nakashira’s twisted noir.
On the Road Forever (無宿者, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
Wandering sons on opposing sides find themselves united in their quest to avenge absent fathers in Kenji Misumi’s filiality drama
The Lower Depths (どん底, Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
In the absence of salvation a comforting falsehood is the only means of survival in Akira Kurosawa’s adaptation of the Gorky play.
Hanasaku Iroha 花咲くいろは
Ohana, a Tokyo high school girl, who had been living alone with her single mom has no choice but to relocate to her grandmother’s inn when her mom…
Shironeko Project: ZERO CHRONICLE – 01 (First Impressions) – The Desperate Pursuit of Balance
In the Kingdom of Darkness, an unnamed young lad (Kaji Yuki) flees from his village with younger children when monsters attack. Neither the villagers nor the children survive,…
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 1
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 3
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…
Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3
Capping this weird, and horrible and amazing year off is the volume that I have been waiting for since April, when I raved about the Japanese edition. At…
Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2
Saeki Sayaka would probably not, if you asked, consider herself nostalgic. Nor would she likely think of herself as capricious, I don’t think she’d go far as to…
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite (やがて君になる佐伯沙弥香について, Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka) Author: Iruma Hitoma, based on original manga by Nakatani Nio First Published: 2018…
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 2
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…
The Thief in Black (黒の盗賊, Umetsugu Inoue, 1964)
Twins separated at birth kick back against the samurai corruption and growing Tokugawa authoritarianism i Umetsugu Inoue’s politically charged jidaigeki.
Red Handkerchief (赤いハンカチ, Toshio Masuda, 1964)
A pure-hearted former policeman embarks on a noirish journey of retribution after discovering his partner may have betrayed him in Masuda’s stylish crime drama
The Phantom Goblin (まぼろし天狗, Nobuo Nakagawa, 1962)
Hashizo Okawa takes on dual roles as earnest brothers separated at birth determined to “clean out evil in Edo” in Nobuo Nakagawa’s jidaigeki drama
The Eleventh Hour (どたんば, Tomu Uchida, 1957)
The problematic working practices of a post-war coal mine are thrown into stark relief when five men are trapped underground during a collapse in Tomu Uchida’s tense rescue…
Amalock (あまろっく, Kazuhiro Nakamura, 2024)
A resentful middle-aged woman’s perspective begins to change when her father suddenly marries a much younger woman in Kazuhiro Nakamura’s lighthearted dramedy.
Three Women of the North (北の三人, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1945)
Three female radio operators become the backbone of a moribund war effort in the last propaganda film produced before the war’s end.
The Best Secret Agent (天字第一號, Chang Ying, 1964)
A female super spy is forced to sacrifice romantic fulfilment in the pursuit of her duty but with it gains true freedom and independence in Chang Ying’s hugely…
An Outlaw (ならず者, Teruo Ishii, 1964)
Ken Takakura stars as a China-based hitman dragged into local intrigue when a job goes awry in an early crime thriller from Teruo Ishii.
Re:CREATORS Episode 19: A Desperate Charge and a Blaze of Glory
Re:CREATORS Episode 19: Charon's arrival severely tests Selesia Upitiria's loyalties. Alicetelia refused to back down.
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka Vol. 1 LN Review
How many LNs must I have read before I have to stop claiming I don’t read them? Asking for… an associate… If you’ve been reading my recent LN…
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite Vol.2
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite 2 (やがて君になる佐伯沙弥香について (2), Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka 2) Author: Iruma Hitoma, based on original manga by Nakatani Nio…
Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2 Digital Release
Seven Seas has released Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2 on Kindle this week! Follow young lesbian Saeki Sayaka as she navigates love and jealousy in…
Thoughts on Bloom into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka Volume 3
The third volume of Hitoma Iruma’s Bloom into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka light novel series is also the final one, set after the events of Nakatani Nio’s Bloom…
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Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite 3 (やがて君になる佐伯沙弥香について (3), Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka 3) Author: Iruma Hitoma, based on original manga by Nakatani Nio…
A Far Shore (遠いところ, Masaaki Kudo, 2022)
A teenage mother struggles to make a life for herself in contemporary Okinawa in Masaaki Kudo’s bleak social drama.
Town Without Sea (夏、至るころ, Elaiza Ikeda, 2020)
Filled with adolescent anxiety, a lost young man begins to discover the confidence to fly far from home in Elaiza Ikeda’s beautifully drawn Kyushu coming-of-age tale
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite Vol 2 translation
Just in case anyone’s somehow missed it, I’ve finished translating the entirety of Vol 2 of the Sayaka novel (accessible here). I’d originally planned to go back and…
Cantankerous Edo (大江戸喧嘩纏, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1957)
A noble-hearted samurai on the run falls for a fireman’s sister in Kiyoshi Saeki’s hugely enjoyable jidaigeki musical adventure.
Out of Touch Old Man Tweets Anime Video in Desperate Cry for Attention
In perhaps further proof that we are living in the worst timeline, Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona tweeted yesterday a video consisting of altered clips from the series…