Anime Blog Tracker

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.  

psycho-cinematography

Jul 29, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp Film Review

My review of Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp is now up over on Anime News Network. Check it out!

Biggest In Japan

Feb 21, 2024 • Subscribe

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.

Anime News Network - Views

Jan 18, 2024 • Subscribe

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.

The Wonder Of Anime

Aug 28, 2024 • Subscribe

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.

The Wonder Of Anime

Aug 15, 2024 • Subscribe

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…

Tsundoku Reader

May 5, 2020 • Subscribe

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 …

Sakuga Blog

Mar 31, 2021 • Subscribe

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…

Okazu

May 16, 2024 • Subscribe

Hanamonogatari

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.

Windows on Worlds

Jan 18, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Dec 6, 2022 • Subscribe

Lumberjack the Monster (怪物の木こり, Takashi Miike, 2023)

Could being a psychopath actually be better? It might be an attractive thought for some, the absolute freedom of living without emotional or moral constraint. Emotion is after…

Windows on Worlds

16 days ago • Subscribe

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…

eiga files

Jul 31, 2019 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 12, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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

Windows on Worlds

Jul 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Sumiko

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

Windows on Worlds

Jan 11, 2024 • Subscribe

Naruto

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…

Okazu

Dec 7, 2021 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Jun 7, 2023 • Subscribe

Curse of the Blood (怪談残酷物語, Kazuo Hase, 1968)

Vengeful ghosts in Japanese cinema usually originate from some kind of injustice. Generally, they’ve met a bad end through no real fault of their own while the person…

Windows on Worlds

Dec 24, 2024 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Feb 9, 2023 • Subscribe

Monster (怪物, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2023)

Gossip and petty prejudice give rise to a series of “misunderstandings” in Koreeda’s probing drama.

Windows on Worlds

Mar 13, 2024 • Subscribe

Our recommendations: Fantasia 2023

Any cinephile should watch these 5 Japanese movies at the Fantasia Film Festival.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 12, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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

Windows on Worlds

Jan 14, 2022 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 16, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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 ...

Martin Dowsing

Sep 10, 2024 • Subscribe

Colorful

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

Windows on Worlds

Jul 12, 2021 • Subscribe

類語

Thesauri in Japanese - How to Japanese - May 2023

How to Japanese

May 14, 2023 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 5, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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.    

psycho-cinematography

Aug 1, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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

Windows on Worlds

Mar 23, 2023 • Subscribe

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…

Windows on Worlds

Jan 27, 2023 • Subscribe

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 29, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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…

Yuu's Sanctuary

Dec 20, 2019 • Subscribe

Welcome to the N.H.K.

Shin Kamer Rider (2023) review [Fantasia Fest 2023]

Anno delivers an action-hero experience that is both incredibly fun and emotionally touching.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 26, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia, Mirai

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.

Windows on Worlds

Jul 31, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

コロケーション (連語)

Collocation - How to Japanese - November 2023

How to Japanese

Nov 27, 2023 • Subscribe

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

Windows on Worlds

Aug 7, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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…

Windows on Worlds

Aug 6, 2024 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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.

Windows on Worlds

Jul 17, 2022 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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

Windows on Worlds

Aug 13, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 9, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 19, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

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.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 29, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

ことのこと

A Quora Deep Dive - How to Japanese - February 2021

How to Japanese

Feb 20, 2021 • Subscribe

September 1923 (福田村事件, Tatsuya Mori, 2023)

Hysteria leads to tragic consequences in Tatsuya Mori’s narrative debut

Windows on Worlds

Jun 7, 2024 • Subscribe

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]…

Genkinahito

Dec 25, 2023 • Subscribe

よ Particle

The yo よ particle in Japanese: grammar and examples.

Japanese with Anime

Jun 30, 2022 • Subscribe

HINAMATSURI

Killing Romance (킬링 로맨스, Lee Won-suk, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]

A once famous actress sets out to reclaim her autonomy from an abusive, controlling, billionaire husband in Lee Won-suk’s hilariously off the wall comedy.

Windows on Worlds

Aug 7, 2023 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia, Gon

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

Windows on Worlds

Jan 20, 2022 • Subscribe