A young man walks into an empty subway station already ominously strewn with blood and finds there the corpse of a woman shorn of her limbs. The corpse rises and begs him to have her life by sacrif…
Aug 13, 2024 • Subscribe
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Kizumonogatari – Koyomi Vamp – (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival 2024]
An evocative experience that succeeds in giving the vampire and the well-explored themes a fresh coat of drama and sexiness.
Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp Film Review
My review of Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp is now up over on Anime News Network. Check it out!
Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp Anime Film Review
Despite the low-quality reputation that compilation films tend to have, I'd go so far as to say it's the best single compilation film I've ever seen.
KIZUMONOGATARI -Koyomi Vamp- A Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy
KIZUMONOGATARI -Koyomi Vamp- is a thrilling and thought-provoking compilation of the Kizumonogatari trilogy that questions humanity.
NEWS: Crunchyroll Brings KIZUMONOGATARI -KOYOMI VAMP To Theaters August 28
Catch the exclusive one-day screening of KIZUMONOGATARI -Koyomi Vamp- in theaters across the US and Canada on August 28.
夏物語
夏物語、 川上 未映子、文藝春秋、 2019 Summer Story, Mieko Kawakami, Bungeishunju, 2019 [Since I first read this book, an English translation has been published by Europa Press as Breasts and…
Kizumonogatari Staff Interview: Director Tatsuya Oishi
The final translation to celebrate Kizumonogatari’s 5th anniversary is with none other than director Tatsuya Oishi: his feelings after wrapping up such a monumental production, the reasoning …
Kitanhana Monogatari (綺譚花物語)
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing a book on Yuri history in Taiwan by Baihe novelist 楊雙子 Yáng Shuāngzǐ. Today I am reviewing the…
The Weald (杣人物語, Naomi Kawase, 1997)
Naomi Kawase takes to the mountains hearing the stories of the ageing villagers as they meditate on loss, loneliness, and regret.
April Story (四月物語, Shunji Iwai, 1998)
A diffident young woman begins to step into herself while chasing love under the blossoming cherry trees of Tokyo in Shunji Iwai’s impossibly charming drama.
A Girl Missing (よこがお)
Early on in Koji Fukada’s A Girl Missing (Yokogao), protagonist Ichiko (Mariko Tsutsui) is spying on people from an apartment window. We hear the faint sound of a…
River (リバー、流れないでよ, Junta Yamaguchi, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
The staff of a hotel along with its guests find themselves trapped in an infinite two minute loop in Junta Yamaguchi’s strangely poignant farce.
Casting Blossoms to the Sky (この空の花 長岡花火物語, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2012)
An emotionally arrested journalist begins to reconnect with the past through wartime stories of Nagaoka in Obayashi’s compassionate plea for a kinder future
An Osaka Story (大阪物語, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1957)
A man who tries to escape his poverty ends up imprisoning himself in Kozaburo Yoshimura’s tragicomedy
Uraroji Romanya Monogatari (裏路地浪漫屋物語)
Uraroji Romanya Monogatari (裏路地浪漫屋物語) is a collection of Yuri stories by creator Kumosuzume. It’s a nice collection, with a variety of tones. The title story tells of a…
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 Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (悲愁物語, Seijun Suzuki, 1977)
An aspiring golfer begins to lose her sense of identity after being picked up as a brand ambassador in Seijun Suzuki’s surreal consumerist satire.
Monster (怪物, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2023)
Gossip and petty prejudice give rise to a series of “misunderstandings” in Koreeda’s probing drama.
Our recommendations: Fantasia 2023
Any cinephile should watch these 5 Japanese movies at the Fantasia Film Festival.
Brave Citizen (용감한 시민, Park Jin-pyo, 2023) [Fantasia 2024]
A former boxer turned schoolteacher rediscovers the strength to fight back when faced with unchallenged bullies in Park Jin-pyo’s cathartic dramedy.
Lovely Little Ai (愛ちゃん物語♡, Ohno Candice Mana, 2021)
A lonely young woman struggling to escape her father’s obsessive control after bonding with a maternal neighbour in Ohno Candice Mana’s whimsical drama
Tale of Japanese Burglars (にっぽん泥棒物語, Satsuo Yamamoto, 1965)
A former burglar finds himself conflicted on realising only he can prevent a miscarriage of justice in Satsuo Yamamoto’s ironic tale of post-war moral confusion
Story of a Blind Woman /女めくら物語 / Onna mekura monogatari (1965)
Obscure Japanese Film #130 Ayako Wakao This Daiei production stars Ayako Wakao as Tsuruko, an orphan who loses her sight at the age of 16 ...
Is This Heaven? (天国か、ここ?, Shinji Imaoka, 2023)
A middle-aged couple ponder loss and regret on a surreal odyssey into the afterlife , or something like it at least, in Shinji Imaoka’s cheerfully absurdist dramedy
Mash Ville (매쉬빌, Hwang Wook, 2024) [Fantasia 2024]
Life in a small rural backwater is forever changed when strange cultists suddenly arrive in Hwang Wook’s quirky drama.
River (2023) review [Fantasia Film Fest 2023]
If you like low-key humour and some time-twisting fun, you should not miss Yamaguchi’s latest.
Mad Cats (Reiki Tsuno, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
The captive felines of Japan are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore in Reiki Tsuno’s absurd action comedy.
Get ’em All (「みな殺しの歌」より 拳銃よさらば, Eizo Sugawa, 1960)
A recently released young man is forced onto a nihilistic path of meaningless violence when his bank robber brother is killed in a hit and run in Eizo…
Welcome to the NHK! NHKにようこそ!NHK ni Youkoso!
Tatsuhiro Satou is a hikkikomori, one who secluses himself at home and finds it difficult to have a job or go out of the house. He meets a…
FAQ (막걸리가 알려줄거야, Kim Da-min 2024) [Fantasia 2024]
The sad thing is that Dong-chun, the heroine of Kim Da-min’s charming if also searingly bleak exploration of a Korean education FAQ (막걸리가 알려줄거야), is full of questions…
House of Sayuri (サユリ, Koji Shiraishi, 2024) [Fantasia 2024]
An excited family discover the perils of buying a “used” home in Koji Shiraishi anarchic haunted house horror House of Sayuri
Shin Kamer Rider (2023) review [Fantasia Fest 2023]
Anno delivers an action-hero experience that is both incredibly fun and emotionally touching.
Devils (악마들, Kim Jae-hoon, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A detective consumed by thoughts of vengeance suddenly wakes up in the body of the serial killer he’s hunting in Kim Jae-hoon’s twisty thriller.
Manga Kodomo Bunko (まんがこども文庫) April ED (4月の歌) - Chick (ひよこ)
Sung by (歌): Yoshiko Mari (真理ヨシコ) and the Suginami Junior Chorus (杉並児童合唱団) Lyrics (作詞): Akahiko Shimaki (島木赤彦) Composition and Arrangement (作曲・編曲): Akihiro Komori (小森昭宏) Very special thanks to PopKorn Kat for…
The Fish Tale (さかなのこ, Shuichi Okita, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
The infinite enthusiasm of a fish obsessive gradually brightens the world around them in Shuichi Okita’s charming portrait of an eccentric.
September 1923 (福田村事件, Tatsuya Mori, 2023)
Hysteria leads to tragic consequences in Tatsuya Mori’s narrative debut
Deep Sea (深海, Tian Xiaopeng, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A young girl finds herself in a whimsical fantasy world of colour and light in TIan Xiaopeng’s stupendous animation.
Insomniacs After School (2023) review [Fantasia Film Fest 2023]
Ikeda’s narrative contains all the right ingredients, but the final mixture is not able to give the narrative the emotional impact it looks for.
The Childe (귀공자, Park Hoon-jung, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
A boxer finds himself in a precarious position after travelling to Korea in search of the father who abandoned him in Park Hoon-jung’s bloody thriller.
A2 (Tatsuya Mori, 2001)
Tatsuya Mori returns to the subject of Aum following A to examine the ongoing effects of the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (8日で死んだ怪獣の12日の物語, Shunji Iwai, 2020) [Fantasia 2021]
Takumi Saito plays a version of himself raising “capsule kaiju” as means of combatting Covid helplessness in Iwai’s whimsical pandemic drama
よ Particle
The yo よ particle in Japanese: grammar and examples.
A Samurai in Time (侍タイムスリッパー, Junichi Yasuda, 2024) [Fantasia 2024]
A lone samurai struggles to adjust after being unceremoniously transported to our times in Junichi Yasuda’s time slip dramedy.
The Umbrella Fairy (伞少女, Shen Jie, 2024) [Fantasia 2024]
Should you be bound by the past or try to forge your own destiny? It might be an odd question seeing as the central thesis of Shen Jie’s…
Monster 怪物 (2023) Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda [Chicago International Film Festival 2023]
Monster 怪物 (2023), by director Hirokazu Kore-eda, is a Rashomon-like story about how misapprehension can cause problems and hide people’s suffering. [Chicago International Film Festival 2023]…
House of Sayuri (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
The thoughtful manipulation of this atmospheric field is integral to create an effective and engaging genre-blend.
Fantasia International Film Festival Confirms Complete 2024 Programme
In Montreal July 18 to Aug, 4.