A man finds himself trapped in a strange place after travelling to the mountains in the wake of his estranged father’s death in Yoshimasa Ishibashi’s surreal dra
Jul 10, 2024 • Subscribe
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Six Singing Women (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2024]
A great narrative, yet one that stumbles over its own thematical fixation
Gekiga- Utau Rokunin no Onna (Six Singing Women)
A weary protagonist looking to put his past behind him is captured and confronted by some enchantingly beautiful women in tonight’s shown and tell, a media tie-in to…
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Feeling hungry? Six Pork Cutlets is a baka-mys short story collection that won the third Mephisto prize , so as you could probably expect ...
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He Xiaopei contemplates the lives of three generations of teenage women while attempting to reconcile with her distance mother in a very personal documentary.
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.
Like a Savage (野蛮人のように, Toru Kawashima, 1985)
A blocked writer is dragged into intrigue while searching for “adventure in the night” in Toru Kawashima zeitgeisty drama.
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We join our resident adorable high school love story as Himari and Yori-sempai share their first real kiss. This leads to them spending the night together after a…
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It’s not like Takeshima Eku’s high school love story is groundbreaking. It’s not that it’s game-changing. It’s just that this story is so pleasant and full of such…
Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 2 (ささやくように恋を唄う)
In Volume 1, Himari saw Yori up on the stage playing with a band and was blown away by her. When she told Yori-sempai, Yori replied that she’d…
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It’s summer! It’s time for one last gasp of wholesome fun, hanging with your friends, eating ice cream, going on dates. Both Yori and Himari are very interested…
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The battle of the bands is coming! Now that Yori-sempai has officially joined the SS Girls, they are raring to go. Only, they seem to have developed a…
The Mannequin House Murders / 人形館の殺人
I didn’t like this book at all. I don’t have much more to say about it.
Doujinjo Yuri Anthology ( 同人女百合アンソロジー)
Ichinjinsha’s Doujinjo Yuri Anthology focusing on women create doujinshi, was both fun and a little headache-inducing, much like a full day at a comic market. ^_^ The drama…
Single Woman (单身女人, Lin Xin, 2018)
Documentarian Lin Xin interviews a series of single middle-aged women to hear their views on love, life, and romance in a fiercely patriarchal society
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Onna x Onna Umakuikanai Renai Essay parlor, Volume 1 (女×女のうまくいかない恋愛エッセイ parlor) by Fujio, has had a long journey from there to here. This manga began more than a…
Kohaku no Kijo (琥珀の貴女)
Today, I am conflicted. ^_^ Kohaku no Kijo (琥珀の貴女) is a short story collection by Higashikawa Mizo and, like most short story collections, it has some tropes of…
Supermarket Woman (スーパーの女, Juzo Itami, 1996)
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Undercover cop Reiji finds himself increasingly conflicted in his mission to take down Todoroki in the final instalment of the comedic trilogy.
Death Within the Evil Eye / 魔眼の匣の殺人
It’s difficult to succeed genius. Chrono Cross isn’t as good as Chrono Trigger , Bioshock 2 isn’t as good as Bioshock , and National Treas...
The Floating Castle (のぼうの城, Isshin Inudo & Shinji Higuchi, 2012)
A provincial castle’s division to stand up to an invading army sends shock waves through the feudal order in Isshin Inudo & Shinji Higuchi’s lighthearted historical drama
A Woman’s Place (女の座, Mikio Naruse, 1962)
The young women of post-war Japan struggle to define themselves in a changing society in Mikio Naruse’s uncharacteristically hopeful family drama
Radio Queen (ラヂオの女王, Shigeo Yagura, 1935)
The conflict between warring neighbours of differing dispositions deepens when their children want to get married in Shigeo Yagura’s modernising comedy.
Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
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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.
Woman of Tokyo (東京の女, Yasujiro Ozu, 1933)
A loyal sister finds her tremendous sacrifice rejected by an unforgiving and conservative society in Yasujiro Ozu’s silent melodrama
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.
The Black Umbrella Mystery / 体育館の殺人
The Black Umbrella Mystery is a story with the soul of Ellery Queen and the body of an anime protagonist. There are a few Japanese…
The Seven Great Detectives / 7人の名探偵
Yukito Ayatsuji ’s The Decagon House Murders was published in 1987, and is credited with kick-starting the shin-honkaku (new orthodox) mov...
The Labyrinth House Murders / 迷路館の殺人
The shin-honkaku movement has always been a bit meta. It’s right there in the name: it means “new orthodox,” as it’s a revival of the origi...
Hametsu no Koibito, Volume 1 (破滅の恋人)
We recently had the pleasure of three guest reviews for Plongée dans la nuit, the French edition of Yoru to Umi, by Goumoto. I had read the first…
Tokyo Sweetheart (東京の恋人, Yasuki Chiba, 1952)
A fake ring causes untold chaos in a small corner of Ginza in Yasuki Chiba’s charming ensemble rom-com.
House on Fire (火宅の人, Kinji Fukasaku, 1986)
An anxious writer fears collapse under the weight of fatherhood in Kinji Fuksaku’s adaptation of the autobiographical novel of Kazuo Dan.
Women and Miso Soup / 女と味噌汁 / Onna to misoshiru (1968)
Obscure Japanese Film #139 Junko Ikeuchi Chikako (Junko Ikeuchi) is a geisha who works under the name of Temari. Such an occupation gives ...
My Atomic Aunt (波の向こう, Kyoko Miyake, 2013)
Documentarian Kyoko Miyake explores the plight of those left in limbo after the Fukushima nuclear disaster through the story of her pioneering aunt Kuniko
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人（エトランゼ）』のあとがき
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人（エトランゼ）』のあとがき
Samurai Kids (水の旅人－侍KIDS－, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1993)
A small boy grows closer to the natural world while guiding a tiny samurai on his journey to the sea in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s charming family adventure.
The Town of Headcounts (人数の町, Shinji Araki, 2020)
A disaffected young man gets a fresh start in a utopian community but quickly becomes disillusioned in Shinji Araki’s slick dystopian thriller
The Human Wall / 人間の壁/ Ningen no kabe (1959)
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“While the Women are Sleeping” had the potential to be a good psycho-drama. It looks good, the actors are good, but its story fitfully moves from one idea…
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Godspeed (人生路不熟, Yi Xiaoxing, 2023)
An earnest young man does everything he can to try and impress his traditionalist father-in-law-to-be but just can’t seem to catch break in Yi Xiaoxing’s charming road trip…
Record of a Woman Doctor (女医の記録, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1941)
A doctor gains a new perspective on life after being sent to a remote rural village in Hiroshi Shimizu’s gentle social drama.
Gundam Aerial Rebuild: Anime and Gunpla Full Reveal! #水星の魔女
The following may contain spoilers for episode 12 of Gundam the Witch from Mercury. I just got off watching the first part finale for Gundam the Witch from…
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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
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The newsletter and podcast are online: This month, the core topic I looked at was how easy and broadly useful is 伺う (ukagau) is, especially for folks struggling…
Rainbow Over the Pacific (夜明けの二人, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1968)
An unserious man begins to grow up while chasing love in Hawaii in a cheerful if ultimately downbeat musical celebration of the centenary of Japanese migration to Hawaii.
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GinTama - The hot-pot is a microcosm of life Episode 25