Obscure Japanese Film #113 Kyoko Kagawa Fumiko (Kyoko Kagawa) is a teacher at an elementary school in Saga Prefecture in the south of Japa...
May 14, 2024 • Subscribe
More like this
Break Down That Wall / その壁を砕け / Sono kabe o kudake (1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #108 Izumi Ashikawa and Yuji Odaka in foreground Saburo (Yuji Odaka) is a young Tokyo garage mechanic who has been w...
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.
Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
After a prolonged trip across the ocean, a long-awaited doujinshi has finally arrived at my home. And, like clockwork, the Melonbooks website is down for maintenance, so I…
Watashi wa Kabe ni Naritai / I Want to Be the Wall by Shirono Honami
When I was looking for art for My Brain is Different: Stories of ADHD and Other Developmental Disorders, this lovely slice-of-life manga, Watashi wa Kabe ni Naritai. I…
Ajin: Demi-Human (亜人, Katsuyuki Motohiro, 2017)
After discovering he is immortal and suffering brutal torture, a young man is freed by a crazed revolutionary in Katsuyuki Motohiro’s adaptation of the manga by Gamon Sakurai
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…
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 Big Boss (暗黒街の顔役, Kihachi Okamoto, 1959)
A veteran yakuza falls foul of changing times trying to save his teen idol younger brother from the underworld in an early crime drama from Kihachi Okamoto
The Precipice / 氷壁 / Hyoheki (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #119 Kenji Sugawara When salaryman Uoza (Kenji Sugawara) returns from a mountaineering trip and encounters his frien...
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 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...
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...
Born to be Human (生而為人, Lily Ni, 2021)
A teenager’s life is upended when they discover they are intersex but have almost no rights over their bodily autonomy in Lily Ni’s elegantly designed social drama
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
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) Upon re-watching Sleeping Beauty recently I was fascinated to realise that the three fairies are pretty much the main characters :) Obviously they’re not the…
Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Desperate peasants recruit samurai protectors in Akira Kurosawa’s classic historical epic back in UK cinemas Oct. 29
Junji Ito’s No Longer Human
Of all the famous works of literature to get the Classics Illustrated treatment, Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human is an odd choice. Its protagonist is Oba Yozo, a…
The Three Sisters of Tenmasou Inn (天間荘の三姉妹, Ryuhei Kitamura, 2022)
A young woman faces an existential dilemma while trapped between life and death in Ryuhei Kitamura’s touching drama.
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.
Image of a Mother (母のおもかげ, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1959)
A little boy’s difficulties in accepting his new stepmother express an anxiety about the changing nature of the family in Hiroshi Shimizu’s familial melodrama.
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.
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.
Lu Over The Wall
Lu Over The Wall is a 2017 Fantasy Adventure anime film by Japanese animation studio Science SARU. Though the studio has created interesting series like Netflix’s Develman: Crybaby and Japan Sinks…
Akemi Tanaka 1959 - 2021
In sad news this week we learned of the passing of Akemi Tanaka. She died of cancer on Monday 7th June 2021. Many anime fans will remember A...
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.
The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人, Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
A fugitive princess offers a new hope for a peaceful and prosperous socitey in Akira Kurosawa’s Sengoku-era epic.
Seven Days War (ぼくらの七日間戦争, Hiroshi Sugawara, 1988)
Oppressed teens rebel against the constraints of the Bubble-era society in Hiroshi Sugawara’s anarchic Kadokawa teen movie.
289 – No Longer Human part 1
On this episode dakazu talks about Nagata Kabi’s new series Meisou Senshi! Then we examine the first half of Junji Ito’s manga adaptation on Osamu Dazai’s classic novel,…
290 – No Longer Human part 2
This week dakazu tries to understand the end of Blue Flag and cries ! Then Seamus has some choice words for Junji Ito’s adaptation of No Longer Humanas…
Street of Love and Hope (愛と希望の街, Nagisa Oshima, 1959)
A young man’s pigeon selling scam eventually ruins his cross-class friendship with a wealthy young woman in Oshima’s biting sociopolitical drama
Between the White Key and the Black Key (白鍵と黒鍵の間に, Masanori Tominaga, 2023)
A jaded bar musician is confronted by his younger, more idealistic self in 1980s Ginza in Masanori Tominaga’s surrealistic adaptation of the memoirs of jazz musician Hiroshi Minami.
『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.
Nisioisin – Zerozaki Hitoshiki no Ningen Kankei: Niounomiya Izumu to no Kankei
The events take place before Zaregoto, but after “Zerozaki Kishishiki no Ningen Knock”: Our protagonist Zerozaki Hitoshiki, homicidal maniac and middle schooler in disguise, and for som…
Episode 124, "The Fourth Wall"
The end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. We begin the podcast with exclusive announcements concerning our “Month of Awesome” which begins this weekend.…
Episode 124, "The Fourth Wall"
The end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. We begin the podcast with exclusive announcements concerning our “Month of Awesome” which begins this weekend.…
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Review: The Fourth Wall (2019)
The Fourth Wall 第四面墙 China, 2019, colour, 16:9/2.35:1, 95 mins. Directors: Zhang Chong 张翀, Zhang Bo 张波. Rating: 5/10. Paranormal psychodrama is a two-hander with good performances but…
Jigokukata Ningen Doubutsuen / Various
Jigokukata Ningen Doubutsuen / Various Vocalo-Ps Okay, long overdue. This album was released sometime last year, based off Reruriri’s 「Noushou Sakuretsu Girl」. The song was addictive, reall…
Murder in the Hall of the Eye: The Book / 眼球堂の殺人 ~The Book~
Eye see you, heheheh… The best way I can describe Murder in the Hall of the Eye is “discount Hiroshi Mori .” Which on one hand…
Six Singing Women (唄う六人の女, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, 2023)
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
Human Lost
By Jonathan Clements. Tokyo, 2036. A revolution in medical treatments has conquered death. Thanks to the SHELL system, which controls a benign plague of nanomachines, human beings no…
Bonus Episode: Over the Garden Wall
Hello, friends! While we’re on our two-month break, we decided to share a couple bonus episodes from our Patreon account. Our twitter followers picked this one!
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.
銀魂 - 鍋は人生の縮図である (25)
GinTama - The hot-pot is a microcosm of life Episode 25
Episode 20: The Human Sherylpede
In this episode of Boku No Stop! we discuss episodes 13-16 of Space Runaway Ideon: "Shoot the Alien", "Doku's Attack Strategy", "Recapture the Ideon", and "Damido's Lethal Strategy". Actual…
No Longer Hyped – A Review of Human Lost
The 1948 novel Ningen Shikkaku, known in the west as No Longer Human, is considered a masterpiece of literature in Japan. It is considered autobiographical, as the torment…
No Longer Human: Usamaru Furuya and Junji Ito
The Busan Lotte Giants are 5-0 baby!! Top of the KBO, the hometown team finally comes through. Can’t wait to be disappointed at some point this season. This…
No Longer Human: Usamaru Furuya and Junji Ito
The Busan Lotte Giants are 5-0 baby!! Top of the KBO, the hometown team finally comes through....
Halloween Special Review: The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) review
Nakagawa succeeds in delivering an unforgettable finale that, due to its hallucinatory feel, mesmerises the spectator with its haunting imagery.