Anime Blog Tracker

Feb 25, 2025 • Subscribe

Terror in the Streets (悪魔が呼んでいる, Michio Yamamoto, 1970)

A young woman finds herself in the crosshairs of mysterious forces in Michio Yamamoto’s folk horror paranoia thriller.

Nov 1, 2023 • Subscribe

甘えたい

A bit late, but 新年おめでとうございます！ The newsletter went out a couple weeks back, and I wrote a little about 甘える (amaeru), a word that is extremely difficult to…

How to Japanese

Jan 30, 2023 • Subscribe

Extraneous Matter – Complete Edition (異物-完全版-, Kenichi Ugana, 2021)

The sudden appearance of mysterious creatures provokes a series of responses in an increasingly disconnected society in Ugana’s elegantly composed sci-fi drama

Jun 16, 2021 • Subscribe

Megumi

The Gesuidouz (ザ・ゲスイドウズ, Kenichi Ugana, 2024)

An unsuccessful punk band discover new horizons after moving to the country in Kenichi Ugana’s charming dramady.

Nov 27, 2024 • Subscribe

Extraneous Matter – Complete edition (2020) review [Nippon Connection 2021]

“A great erotic sci-fi narrative that explores, in an engaging way, the need for a certain amount of sexual desire to make the dynamic of a romantic relation…

Jul 11, 2021 • Subscribe

Anata no Yoru ga Aketera (あなたの夜が明けたら)

Anata no Yoru ga Aketera (あなたの夜が明けたら), translated on the cover as After Sunrise, Haru Harukawa Collection is a collection of shorts by, obviously Harukawa Haru. Some of these…

Oct 15, 2021 • Subscribe

Memories of His Scent においが眠るまで Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Memories of His Scent においが眠るまで, by director Kahori Higashi, is a gentle and melancholy tale of a teenage girl searching for her late father through smell and visiting…

Mar 3, 2024 • Subscribe

Memories of His Scent (においが眠るまで, Kahori Higashi, 2024)

A young woman travels Japan looking for the scent of her later father in Kahori Higashi’s gentle summer move.

May 9, 2024 • Subscribe

『どれが恋かがわからない』奥たまむし先生インタビュー（第二回）

THE YURI TIMESでは、漫画『どれが恋かがわからない』（KADOKAWA）の著者、奥たまむし先生にインタビューさせていただきました。

THE YURI TIMES

Dec 10, 2023 • Subscribe

『どれが恋かがわからない』奥たまむし先生インタビュー（第一回）

THE YURI TIMESでは、漫画『どれが恋かがわからない』（KADOKAWA）の著者、奥たまむし先生にインタビューさせていただきました。

THE YURI TIMES

Dec 2, 2023 • Subscribe

Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 2 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)

The best romantic comedies, in my opinion, are ones that stop trying to be a comedy. In Volume 1, this series was definitely a comedy. Lonely Girl ni…

Feb 11, 2021 • Subscribe

Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 1 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)

Sakuraii is a model student but has a fatal flaw – she absolutely sucks at tests. If it weren’t for tests, she’d have no trouble at all getting…

Dec 2, 2020 • Subscribe

Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て Director: Keitaro Sakon

Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て, directed by Keitaro Sakon, plays as part of the Japan Film Festival + 2023 season.

Sep 6, 2023 • Subscribe

Ripples 波紋 (2023) Director: Naoko Ogigami [Nippon Connection 2024]

Ripples 波紋 (2023), written and directed by Naoko Ogigami, [Nippon Connection 2024] [Nippon Connection 2024]

Jul 1, 2024 • Subscribe

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…

Jun 10, 2020 • Subscribe

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…

Feb 10, 2021 • Subscribe

Watashi ha Ongaku de Naguritai: Band Yuri Novel (わたしは音楽で殴りたい: バンド百合小説)

Watashi ha Ongaku de Naguritai: Band Yuri Novel (わたしは音楽で殴りたい: バンド百合小説) by Yuruico Vraisravana is the very last item I picked up in February 2019 when I was in…

May 30, 2021 • Subscribe

All the Long Nights 夜明けのすべて (2024) Director: Sho Miyake [Nippon Connection 2024 / Japan Cuts 2024]

Beautifully depicted, workmates suffering in silence with mental and physical conditions feel the warmth of human connection in director Sho Miyake’s All the Long Nights 夜明けのすべて (2024)…

Jul 8, 2024 • Subscribe

LONESOME VACATION ロンサム　バケーション (2023) Director: Atsuro Shimoyashiro [Nippon Connection 2024]

LONESOME VACATION ロンサム　バケーション (2023), by director Atsuro Shimoyashiro, gains strength by playing against noir genre expectations and presents a heart-warming tale of people finding connection in ea…

May 30, 2024 • Subscribe

Penalty Loop (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]

The way Araki resolves the narrative’s thematical questions concerning vengeance and the working-through of trauma will divide spectators

Jun 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Here Because of You (君たちがいて僕がいた, Ryuichi Takamori, 1964)

Post-war teens take on injustice in the form of a problematic parent at their school in Ryuichi Takamori’s cheerful youth movie.

Majuu Sensen, Sound of the Sky Specials, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Jinsei - Life Consulting, Gurren Lagann

Sep 9, 2023 • Subscribe

アイマス15周年記念 – 過去から未来へ、「アニマス」から受け継がられた思いと意志

15年の時を経て、『アイドルマスター』は様々な業界にその名を轟かせてきた。その記念として、2011年にアニメ化された『アニマス』が大ヒットになるまでの道のりだけではなく、それを可能にした情熱と、それがシリーズの未来とどう繋がるのかを振り返ってみたいと思います。…

Sakuga Blog

Jul 26, 2020 • Subscribe

Struggling Man (私はいったい、何と闘っているのか, Toshio Lee, 2021)

A dejected middle-aged man experiences a crisis of masculinity when his home and work lives come under threat in Toshio Lee’s warmhearted comedy.

Sep 16, 2022 • Subscribe

A Preview of Nippon Connection 2024

Nippon Connection takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to June 2, and there are expected to be around 100 shorts and features programmed. Here…

May 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Early Announcements for Nippon Connection 2024

Nippon Connection takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to June 2, and there are expected to be around 100 shorts and features programmed. Here…

Apr 10, 2024 • Subscribe

Blue Giant, Phoenix, The Concierge

A Look at Nippon Connection 2024 with Florian Höhr, the Festival’s Programmer [Nippon Connection 2024]

A Look at Nippon Connection 2024 with Florian Höhr, the Festival’s Programmer [Nippon Connection 2024] The festival takes place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from May 28 to…

May 27, 2024 • Subscribe

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…

Jan 24, 2020 • Subscribe

Alien’s Daydream 地球星人（エイリアン）は空想する (2023) Director: Yoshiki Matsumoto [Nippon Connection 2024]

Yoshiki Matsumoto’s Alien’s Daydream 地球星人（エイリアン）は空想する (2023) is a low-budget movie but goes from a mockumentary and multimedia flood aesthetic to utterly beautiful imagery that hints at…

Jul 2, 2024 • Subscribe

Yuri Manga: Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara (今日、小柴葵に会えたら)

Never let it be said that I am immune to cheap marketing ploys. Well…I am *mostly* immune to them, having worked in advertising and possessing a health dose…

Jan 23, 2020 • Subscribe

Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら)

In Volume 1, we met Sahoko, who had some kind of feelings about her classmate Aoi. In Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら) the story gets…

Oct 29, 2020 • Subscribe

Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら)

In Volume 1, we met Sahoko, who had some kind of feelings about her classmate Aoi. In Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら) the story gets…

ChronOtomo | Otomo Katsuhiro Chronology

Oct 29, 2020 • Subscribe

●BOOK● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 4: SAYONARA NIPPON (さよならにっぽん)

Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira, Bibliography, Otomo, Animation, Manga, Steamboy, Japanimation,

May 18, 2022 • Subscribe

Nippon Connection Confirms Full Lineup for 2024

In Frankfurt 28th May 2nd June

May 15, 2024 • Subscribe

LONESOME VACATION ロンサム　バケーション (2023) Director: Atsuro Shimoyashiro [Nippon Connection 2024] Second Draft

LONESOME VACATION ロンサム　バケーション (2023), by director Atsuro Shimoyashiro, gains strength by playing against noir genre expectations and presents a heart-warming tale of people finding connection in ea…

May 30, 2024 • Subscribe

Yin Yang Master Zero (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]

A fantastical visual experience like no other.

Jun 8, 2024 • Subscribe

Secret: A Hidden Score (2024) review [Nippon connection 2024]

Spectators who like piano and pianists might find something to enjoy in this emotionally impotent narrative.

Jun 19, 2024 • Subscribe

Angry Son (世界は僕らに気づかない, Kasho Iizuka, 2022)

A resentful young man comes to a better understanding of his place in the world while searching for his estranged father in Kasho Iizuka’s sensitive coming-of-age drama

Mar 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Juliet, Suzuka

Angry Son 世界は僕らに気づかない Dir: Kasho Iizuka

A rewrite of my review for the very worthwhile topical film Angry Son, a meaty drama about the mixed-race experience (Filipino-Japanese) in Japan! 世界は僕らに気づかない Dir: Kasho Iizuka [Osaka…

Jan 9, 2023 • Subscribe

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…

Aug 14, 2020 • Subscribe

Aira

Your Japanese is Good if You Understand This No.4 なら　たら　と　ば　んだったら　であれば　であるなら

Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2

That Japanese Man Yuta

Oct 3, 2024 • Subscribe

Lonely Glory (わたしの見ている世界が全て, Keitaro Sakon, 2023)

A thoroughly unpleasant young woman gradually begins to realise that other people have feelings too and she has no idea what she’s doing with her life in Keitaro…

Dec 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Is it Wrong to Say いえ Instead of いいえ? #learnjapanese

Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2

That Japanese Man Yuta

Feb 1, 2025 • Subscribe

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…

Sep 22, 2022 • Subscribe

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…

Sep 22, 2022 • Subscribe

Hana ni Arashi 13 (はなにあらし)

In their time, Nanoha and Chidori have spent 3 years together. In real time it has been a very slow, very gentle, even tentative 5 years. Hana ni…

a month ago • Subscribe

22nd Nippon Connection: Recommendations

This list does not only reveal the variety of unique perspectives that mark Japanese Cinema, but also echoes that what directors, from a cinematic perspective, put into question…

May 22, 2022 • Subscribe

Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me? (先生、私の隣に座っていただけませんか？, Takahiro Horie, 2021)

A mangaka and her cheating husband become locked in a cat and mouse game of ambiguous revenge in Takahiro Horie’s deliciously cynical anti-rom-com

Dec 21, 2021 • Subscribe

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…

eiga files

May 17, 2020 • Subscribe

18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (2024) review [Nippon Connection 2024]

Fujii proves that the tropes of the romance genre can still be exploited in a refreshing and emotionally satisfying manner.