A teenage boy struggling with grief and loneliness gains a new perspective after bonding with another lonely young man in Taro Kawasaki & Eisuke Sakauchi’s indie drama.
Apr 8, 2024 • Subscribe
More like this
星屑家族
Hoshikuzu Kazoku is a two-volume graphic novel set in an alternate universe where parents are required to obtain a license to raise children. To qualify for a license,…
A Family (ヤクザと家族 The Family, Michihito Fujii, 2020)
“No one can survive as a yakuza in this world” according to another orphaned son playing the long game of a crime adjacent existence in Michihito Fujii’s melancholy…
The Stormy Family (台風家族, Masahide Ichii, 2019)
Siblings fail to find a sense of solidarity reuniting 10 years after their parents robbed a bank and disappeared in Masahide Ichii’s darkly comic drama
Shoplifters / 万引き家族
Hirokazu Koreeda’s Shoplifters is a revelation, the culmination of years of study on a particular theme, a movie that brings together all of the director’s strengths and, for…
![Featured image for Kanata no Senko 彼方の閃光 (2023) Director: Yoshihiro Hanno [Japan Film Festival LA]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240913/1726255795.90076.130791.jpg)
Kanata no Senko 彼方の閃光 (2023) Director: Yoshihiro Hanno [Japan Film Festival LA]
Playing as part of Japan Film Festival LA, LIGHTNING OVER THE WATER, is Yoshihiro Hanno’s earnestly-told anti-war pic buoyed up by crisp B&W visuals and brave performances from…
![Featured image for Lightning Over the Beyond 彼方の閃光 (2023) Director: Yoshihiro Hanno [Japan Film Festival LA]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240913/1726256993.90077.130793.jpg)
Lightning Over the Beyond 彼方の閃光 (2023) Director: Yoshihiro Hanno [Japan Film Festival LA]
Playing as part of Japan Film Festival LA, LIGHTNING OVER THE WATER, is Yoshihiro Hanno’s earnestly-told anti-war pic buoyed up by crisp B&W visuals and brave performances from…
![Featured image for Faraway Family (2023) review [OAFF 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240404/1712238370.82075.120881.jpg)
Faraway Family (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
A very touching narrative that explores the frail position of the father and how his structural failure can cause subjective struggles and inhibitions.
Band Four (4拍4家族, Mo Lai Yan Chi, 2023)
A disparate family is brought back together by a shared love of music even as everything else around them crumbles in Mo Lai Yan Chi’s poignant drama.
The Third Will / 女系家族 / Nyokei kazoku (1963)
Obscure Japanese Film #117 Ayako Wakao This Daiei production was an attempt to repeat the success of the company’s 1961 film, A Woman’s ...
One Second Ahead, One Second Behind (1秒先の彼, Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2023)
Misaligned romantics eventually rediscover a long forgotten connection in Yamashita Nobuhiro’s take on Taiwanese rom-com My Missing Valentine.
Aristocrats (あのこは貴族, Yukiko Sode, 2021)
Two women involved with the same man eventually find interclass solidarity in Sode’s empathetic critique of a highly stratified and fiercely patriarchal society
Lying to Mom / 鈴木家の嘘
(Warning: not exactly spoilers, but this review does include some detailed info about the latter half of the film.) Japanese cinema of the last 20 years (and much…
Inch Forward (走れない人の走り方, Su Yu-Chun, 2023)
An indie filmmaker experiences various setbacks while trying to complete her latest film in Su Yu-Chun’s cheerful dramedy.
She is me, I am her (ワタシの中の彼女, Mayu Nakamura, 2022)
A gentle sense of haunting echoes through four tales of pandemic-era Tokyo in Mayu Nakamura’s ethereal anthology.
On the Edge of Their Seats (アルプススタンドのはしの方, Hideo Jojo, 2020)
It’s only natural to be a little anxious in the last year of high school but a collection of his school students are in danger of giving up…
A Holy Family (神人之家, Elvis Lu, 2022)
Documentarian Elvis Lu (The Shepherds) turns the camera on his own devoutly religious Taoist family on returning home after many years away.
The House of Hanging (病院坂の首縊りの家, Kon Ichikawa, 1979)
A legacy of familial trauma engulfs a once noble house in Kindaichi’s final and most complicated case
Firing The Lighter Gun (ピストルライター の撃ち方, Kohei Sanada, 2022)
Residents of a moribund town on the edge of a nuclear exclusion zone find themselves trapped in existential purgatory in Kohei Sanada’s bleak indie drama.
Along the Sea (海辺の彼女たち, Akio Fujimoto, 2020)
A migrant worker from Vietnam is faced with her lack of possibility after discovering she is pregnant while living undocumented in Fujimoto’s unflinching social drama
Kawasaki Halloween 2013-Photos and Observations
Kawasaki Halloween 2013 pictures.
Review: Wonder Family (2023)
Wonder Family 超能一家人 China, 2023, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Song Yang 宋阳. Rating: 5/10. Ma Hua FunAge comedy about a crazy family with super powers has a…
Brief History of a Family (家庭简史, Lin Jianjie, 2024)
Disappointed parents of the One Child Policy turn their attentions to a surrogate son in Lin Jianjie’s intense social drama.
Our House わたしたちの家 (2018) Dir: Yui Kiyohara
Our House わたしたちの家 (2018), by director Yui Kiyohara, is a good mood piece about a house that connects two sets of female characters together even though they never really meet.
The End of Summer (小早川家の秋, Yasujiro Ozu, 1961)
A small family become increasingly exasperated with the happy-go-lucky patriarch’s inconsiderate and irresponsible behaviour in Yasujiro Ozu’s penultimate film.
Ju-On: Origins 呪怨: 呪いの家 Director: Sho Miyake (2020)
Ju-On: Origins 呪怨: 呪いの家 Director: Sho Miyake (2020) is a largely forgettable entry in the horror franchise.
What She Likes (彼女が好きなものは, Shogo Kusano, 2021)
A young guy struggling with his sexuality bonds with a young woman embarrassed beyond belief by her love for BL in Shogo Kusano’s high school drama
伊藤詩織の裏切り：正義の味方は誰でしょうか
ホテル側に直接取材した。結論は映画公開に何の異議も唱えていない。それなのに誰がこの映像の使用に怒っているのか？
The Faraway Paladin
The Faraway Paladin is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
My First Experience with Sumo Stew: Chanko Kawasaki
I’m always interested in trying new foods. That’s why, on my trip to Japan last year, I had a particular restaurant in mind as I landed: Chanko Kawasaki. …
The End of the Pale Hour (明け方の若者たち, Hana Matsumoto, 2021)
Dejected youngsters flounder amid the ruins of the salaryman dream in Hana Matsumoto’s youthful drama.
Douseiseikatsu 3 Watashi ha Anata dake no mono (同棲生活3 わたしは貴方だけのもの)
Douseiseikatsu 3 Watashi ha Anata dake no mono (同棲生活3 わたしは貴方だけのもの) is the third volume of Miyuki and Yuuko doing absolutely nothing and I’m pleased as punch about it.…
Douseiseikatsu 3 Watashi ha Anata dake no mono (同棲生活3 わたしは貴方だけのもの)
Douseiseikatsu 3 Watashi ha Anata dake no mono (同棲生活3 わたしは貴方だけのもの) is the third volume of Miyuki and Yuuko doing absolutely nothing and I’m pleased as punch about it.…
![Featured image for Along the Sea 海辺の彼女たち Dir: Akio Fujimoto (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210430/1619781841.11353.35798.jpg)
Along the Sea 海辺の彼女たち Dir: Akio Fujimoto (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]
A riveting look at the migrant experience through the travails of three Vietnamese women in Japan who travel along the sea to where they hope will be a…
The Craze Behind Osaka’s Creepy Clown: Kuidaore Taro
Dōtonbori (道頓堀), Osaka (大阪) is home to some of the region’s most famous symbols and landmarks. Most of these landmarks are associated with restaurants, such as Kani Dōraku’s…
Obake no Q-Taro (1965) – Episodes 01A & 12B
Based on the gag manga by the duo known as Fujiko Fujio, here’s the very first segment of the original black and white anime. The first series featured…
100 - Death Note Pilot ⁓ The Taro Kagami Story
Today’s episode has Will, James and Steven talk about the pilot chapter to Death Note, this would have been the first one shot published, and although it may…
行方不明の池田大作創価学会会長を探せ！
日本で最も有力な政治関係のパイプ役であり、宗教指導者でもある池田氏は2010年以来、公共の場で姿を見せていない。彼いったいどこにいるの？
Whale Bones (鯨の骨, Takamasa Oe, 2023)
A brokenhearted office works finds himself chasing a digital ghost in Takamasa Oe’s eerie drama.
Equinox Flower (彼岸花, Yasujiro Ozu, 1958)
An ageing patriarch struggles to accept his declining authority in Ozu’s first colour film
Kanojo no Kuchizuke Kansensuru Libido Short Movie (彼女のくちづけ感染するリビドー ショートムービー)
In the wake of Yorita Miyuki’s successful kickstarter for Volume 2 of her series Her Kiss, My Libido Twinkles, she floated the idea of a new live-action adaptation…
Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
Domains is a thoroughly absorbing drama thanks to excellent performances and its unique structure. Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
The Ark (方舟, Wei Dan, 2020)
An elderly woman suffering with a non-Covid medical condition is cared for by her children and grandchildren in Wei Dan’s documentary.
![Featured image for Short Movie Time: After Winter, the Tamaki Family… (2023) [OAFF 2023]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230330/1680172810.56386.89322.jpg)
Short Movie Time: After Winter, the Tamaki Family… (2023) [OAFF 2023]
A genuine and heartfelt tribute the grandmother of the Tamaki family
First Impression: The Faraway Paladin
Greetings, friends! It is I, NegativePrimes, your resident isekai aficionado! Always on the lookout for an X-in-another-world story that stands head and shoulders above the pack. And in…
The Faraway Paladin ep 6
NOTE: Apologies for this being late! I’ve had it done since Sunday, but just realized that I failed to post it. :-( Rating: 4 (of 5) With this…
The Faraway Paladin Episode 5
Rating: 4.5 (of 5) All things must come to an end, and in many senses that’s what episode 5 is all about. It marks the end of the…
The Faraway Paladin Review — C
A boy becomes a paladin and goes on an adventure.
The Faraway Paladin episode 9
Ethelbald Rating: 3.5 (of 5) Apparently, I have been doing it wrong all these years in fantasy RPGs. The correct way to bring down a wyvern is not…
The Faraway Paladin Season Wrap
After only a few episodes into The Faraway Paladin, I was already convinced it would be one of the best anime of the season, if not the year…
The Faraway Paladin ep 4
Rating: 4.5 In most class-based RPGs (whether tabletop or VG), the process of choosing a class is not organic. In the early days, which stats one got the…