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…
The Shape of Night (1964) review
This filmic narrative needs to be counted among the classics of Japanese cinema
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…
Pale Flower (1964) review
“A ‘seductive’ nihilistic masterpiece that explores the unescapable subjective problems created by the rhythmic capitalistic machinery.”
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
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…
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Takaharu Ozaki – Interview on Your Forma [Part 1]
Original interview from the official Your Forma website; genga from the official Studio Geno Twitter account. All the images used in this post are directly sourced from the…
Yuuji Yanase and Takaharu Ozaki at Otakon 2023
Otakon 2023 was host to many guests, and I did my best to cover all the anime production related ones. Here's all the stuff I heard and saw…
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Takaharu Ozaki – Interview on Your Forma [Part 1]
Original interview from the official Your Forma website; settei from the official Your Forma Twitter account. All the images used in this post are directly sourced from the…
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)
Serving as one of Osamu Tezuka's very first films, Ningyo is an interesting part of anime history to look back on.
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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…
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.
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…
Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers- (Episode 10) – Desperate Situation
Adlet confesses his feelings for Fremy in the hopes that it will be enough to convince her that he is not the fake Brave. Meanwhile, Mora has decided…
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…
Shirobamba / しろばんば (1962)
Obscure Japanese Film #248Toru Shimamura This Nikkatsu production was based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by one of Japan’s major writers, Yasushi Inoue (1907-91). The book was translated into…
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 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.
けど vs から #learnjapanese
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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
Curse of the Dog God (犬神の悪霊, Shunya Ito, 1977)
An emissary of modernity finds himself plagued by an ancient curse after upsetting the Dog God in Shunya Ito’s eerie folk horror.
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, 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. 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, 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.…
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…
The Anime Dispatch: Fans, Creators and Industry Heavyweights are Desperate for Validation
Fandoms love mainstream validation, but it comes at a huge cost and a big risk of enshittification.
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,…
Hiroshima (ひろしま, Hideo Sekigawa, 1953)
During the post-war occupation of Japan which lasted until 1952, the censorship regulations which replaced those of the militarist era perhaps ironically made it more or less impossible…
Sincerity (まごころ, Mikio Naruse, 1939)
When the daughter of a poor family leapfrogs that of a rich one to be named top of the class, it exposes a series of hypocrisies and contradictions…
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…
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…
The Naked Executive / 裸の重役 / Hadaka no juyaku (1964)
Obscure Japanese Film #151 Hisaya Morishige Hidaka (Hisaya Morishige) is a widowed office manager with a grown-up daughter, Keiko (Yuriko ...
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.
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 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
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
Wicked Priest (極悪坊主, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1968)
A bunch of corrupt monks get a lesson in business ethics from one of their own in Kiyoshi Saeki’s aptly titled Taisho-era romp.
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.