When a young woman disappears, it transpires that she never existed in the first place in Akihiro Toda’s twisty psychological mystery.
Jun 1, 2024 • Subscribe
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Yoko (658km、陽子の旅, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, 2023)
An isolated woman begins to rediscover herself while hitchhiking to her estranged father’s funeral in Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s quietly moving road movie.
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Sachiko (さち子） – Lamp
Appears on their album 「Yume」. Sachiko Lyrics by Sakakibara Kaori Composed by Someya Taiyo Performed by Lamp The horizon at the end of summer and the sweet salt wind My newly shorn hair brushes pas…
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I just sent out the May newsletter. I wrote about my love of 菓子パン (kashipan). The croissant above I don’t think technically counts as 菓子パン? My theory is…
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Who doesn’t love good “Girl Prince” story? Even when confined to school grounds, the archetype of the coolest girl gives everyone a chance to fall in love from…
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So, goddamn Wano, huh? It turns out I caught up on One Piece at an exceptionally good time. Over the past several years, the team at Toei have…
Dancing Girl (踊子, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1957)
The arrival of a free-spirited younger sister creates chaos in the live of a chorus dancer and her violinist husband in Hiroshi Shimizu’s elegantly lensed melodrama.
Interview: Author Akihiro Nishino on Bottle George, His New Stop-Motion Animated Film
Following Poupelle of Chimney Town, Nishino tackles addiction in his new stop-motion anime short film.
Seiyuu Highlights: Wakato Matsumoto 松本 和香子
Otherwise known by her stage name as Kujira (くじら) She's a really well known voice actress who portrays many roles of middle aged women in anime. Support me through…
Girls’ School (女子學校, Mimi Lee, 1982)
The transgressively close friendship between two teenage girls comes under scrutiny when a rumour circulates they are more than friends in Mimi Lee’s sensitive drama
Under the Stars (星の子, Tatsushi Omori, 2020)
A young woman raised by devotees of a new religion comes to question her worldview when confronted with its otherness in Tatsushi Omori’s coming-of-age drama.
Gift of Fire (太陽の子, Hiroshi Kurosaki, 2020)
A conflicted scientist struggles to reconcile himself to the implications of his work while researching an atomic bomb in Kurosaki’s contemplative wartime drama
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.
A Balance (由宇子の天秤, Yujiro Harumoto, 2020)
An idealistic documentarian’s journalistic ethics are strained when she uncovers scandal close to home in Yujiro Harumoto’s probing social drama
The Old Town Girls (兔子暴力, Shen Yu, 2020)
The left behind children of decaying industrial China find themselves at the mercy of a corrupted parental legacy in Shen Yu’s gritty neo-noir
A Son (二十歳の息子, Ryuichi Shimada, 2022)
Documentarian Ryuichi Shimada follows a social worker who decides to adopt a 20-year-old man recently released from juvenile detention.
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…
Weekly Round-Up, 24-30 August 2022: Princess Tutu Anniversary, Sailor Moon Exhibit, and Queer Icon Miwa Akihiro
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Weekly Round-Up, 24-30 August 2022: Princess Tutu Anniversary, Sailor Moon Exhibit, and Queer Icon Miwa Akihiro
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Any Crybabies Around? (泣く子はいねぇが, Takuma Sato, 2020)
An immature young man abandons his family after becoming disgrace but discovers on his return there may be some bonds you can’t repair in Takuma Sato’s paternity drama.
Coo-Coo 043 (一家子兒咕咕叫, Chan Ching-lin, 2022)
A pigeon racer ponders building a coop for birds he can no longer care for while his own home crumbles in Chan Ching-lin’s bleak rural drama.
Yuri Doujinshi: Yuricon Tabemono to Joshiben (ユリコン 食べ物と女子編)
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Foolish Bride, Naive Bridegroom (三八新娘憨子婿, Hsin Chi, 1967)
A naive young couple’s desire to marry is frustrated by the revelation their parents were once lovers in Hsin’s delightful screwball rom-com
The Swordsman and the Actress (大江戸千両囃子, Yasushi Sasaki, 1955)
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Zero to Hero (媽媽的神奇小子 , Jimmy Wan Chi-Man, 2021)
Sandra Ng stars as a devoted mother determined to support her son’s sporting dreams in Wan’s inspirational biopic of Paralympian So Wa Wai
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Cafune (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A very strong debut by Haruki Kinemura.
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Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん, Ayumu Watanabe, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A resentful teenage girl comes to realise that she really does love her larger than life mum after all in Ayumu Watanabe’s anime adaptation of the Kanako Nishi…
アニメの新しいゴールデンコンビ – 中村亮介x細居美恵子インタビュー
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Children of the Great Buddha (大仏さまと子供たち, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1952)
A collection of orphans attempt to support themselves as tour guides to the ancient capital of Nara in HIroshi Shimizu’s empathetic drama.
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Plastic (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Miyazaki creates a moody narrative that highlights the equivocal functionality of music for the subject as well as the destructive impact of not being able to create an…
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Winny (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Matsumoto offers a serene insight in how the Other of the law curtails a subject and, indirectly, sabotages the prospects of a new industry.
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Single8 (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Konaka offers the spectator a heartwarming invitation to re-find, within oneself, one’s (nearly extinguished) passion for creation.
Fanime 2023
This Fanime season was a bit special for me. I got the opportunity to have my own panel and also present alongside the Nakama Podcast too.
2023~ update
Still alive! :) A new thing I added a Trending ‘block’ to the top of the ABT homepage. It’s a really simple formula at the moment – I’m…
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Farewell, 2023…
This post is brought you by Sasaki and Peeps (or Sasaki to Pii-chan) as I’ll be picking this new anime adaptation in Winter 2023, which will begin in…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-11-18)
7. (Completed) Organize my iTunes Library (Completed) [SUBGOAL] Analyze five songs a day (Completed) [SUBGOAL] Remove some works. songs from iTunes Library Finally. My iTunes Library is fully…
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Side by Side (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A peaceful dream-like visual experience that celebrates both the impact subjects have on each other as well as the manner in which the subject remains opaque to himself…
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-05-29)
[ABANDONED] I will go to the Vue.js guide and work on small projects every day. At this point, I feel complacent about my programming skill levels. With me…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-01-24)
I feel like it’s time to give a status update on my goals. Sometimes I need to check on those goals to make sure I stay on track.
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-06-08)
I will learn Google Cloud Computing skills every day. I still am behind on this goal, and I need to get this completed by the end of the…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-12-01)
As the holiday season has arrived, I need to re-evaluate my goals and find out what I should really prioritize. These last two weeks were not good from…
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-05-02)
[SUSPENDED] I will learn Google Cloud Computing skills every day. As it turns out, I need to risk spending money to make progress on this goal, and I…
2023 Goals Status Update (1-13-2023)
1. [IRREPLACEABLE] Learn new coding skills I learned how to read and modify XML files using JavaScript, so that counts as learning new coding skills. I have made…
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-04-23)
[COMPLETED] I will learn to code by going to Skillshare and watching at least one video every day. I now have an intermediate understanding of Vue.JS 3 in…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-10-24)
I was reading through my old blog posts about my goals and routines throughout the year, and I realized that I need to step things up. At this…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-03-17)
I feel like it’s time for me to review my goals since I felt like a plastic bag drifting through the wind and wanting to ground myself back…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-12-13)
I had a very productive evening tonight, and I thought I’d share an update on my goals.