Anime Blog Tracker

Desert of Namibia (2024) review [Japannual 2024]

Yoko Yamanaka delivers a cinematic masterpiece of subjectivity.

psycho-cinematography

7 days ago • Subscribe

Roleless (2022) review [Japannual 2023]

Masahiko Sato, Yutarō Seki and Kentarō Hirase offer the spectator a revealing glance at the dynamic that underpins the dissociative fugue.

psycho-cinematography

Nov 8, 2023 • Subscribe

Hijacked Youth – Dare To Stop Us 2 (2024) [Japannual 2024]

Inoue delivers a heartfelt ode to the mini-cinema and subjective failure.   

psycho-cinematography

Oct 18, 2024 • Subscribe

Belonging (とりつくしま, Kahori Higashi, 2024)

The recently deceased watch over their loved ones from the vantage point of a familiar object in Kahori Higashi’s wistful drama.

Windows on Worlds

Jun 1, 2024 • Subscribe

Goodbye Cruel World (2022) review [Japannual 2022]

“A stylish exploration of the cruel call for destruction that structures the perverse criminal field.”

psycho-cinematography

Dec 7, 2022 • Subscribe

Ice Cream Fever (2023) review [Japannual 2023]

A gorgeous stylish exploration of the subjective struggles and the solutions subjects invent within the field of love and desire.

psycho-cinematography

Oct 19, 2023 • Subscribe

In The Distance (2022) review [Japannual 2022]

“A very pleasant slice-of-life narrative that elegantly shows that bonds between subjects are that much more genuine if they are grounded in the acceptance of the other’s radical…

psycho-cinematography

Dec 4, 2022 • Subscribe

Two On The Edge (2022) review [Japannual 2022]

“A touching experience that highlights that the desire to be loved, for better or worse, is the ulitmate guide the neurotic subject within the societal field.”

psycho-cinematography

Nov 22, 2022 • Subscribe

Okiku and the World (2023) review [Japannual 2023]

Introduction Junji Sakamoto (Another World (2019), I Never Shot Anyone (2020), My Brother, The Android and Me (2022)) might not be as well-known by international audiences as other…

psycho-cinematography

Oct 24, 2023 • Subscribe

Protected: [REVIEW] Immigrant Japan: Mobility and Belonging in an Ethno-Nationalist Society

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

New Voices in Japanese Studies

Aug 28, 2021 • Subscribe

Peach Boy Riverside (Episode 7) – Species and Belonging

Having witnessed the destruction of the entire city, Sally and Frau soon find themselves face to face with the ogre responsible. He’s about to attack, but then a…

The Otaku Author

May 24, 2022 • Subscribe

Peach Boy Riverside

Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 2, 2024 • Subscribe

Snowdrop (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A complex character portrait that touchingly illustrates how easy it is to misrecognize the logic of the subject-supposed-to-be-in-need.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 29, 2024 • Subscribe

Blue Imagine (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A powerful reminder of the sexual transgressions that structurally plague the Japanese film industry

psycho-cinematography

Apr 1, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko 22 (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A subtle but playful narrative about a subject who slowly tries to crawl out the hole of emptiness and diminished self-worth.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko

Wash Away (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

A pleasant narrative that offers a fresh but familiar exploration of the subject’s fundamental desire for recognition/love and the problematic yet medicative function of consumption.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 23, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Decoded (2024)

Decoded 解密 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 155 mins. Director: Chen Sicheng 陈思诚. Rating: 8/10. Belated return to form by film-maker Chen Sicheng is a strongly written, subtly played…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Oct 13, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: YOLO (2024)

YOLO 热辣滚烫 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 128 mins. Director: Jia Ling 贾玲. Rating: 7/10. Mainland comedienne Jia Ling’s second feature as writer-director-star hits the bell again, if not…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

May 27, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Upstream (2024)

Upstream 逆行人生 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Xu Zheng 徐峥. Rating: 6/10. A black but ultimately warm comedy, set among Shanghai’s community of food deliverers, shows…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

21 days ago • Subscribe

Jinsei - Life Consulting

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

psycho-cinematography

Jun 17, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Black Dog (2024)

Black Dog 狗阵 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Guan Hu 管虎. Rating: 8/10. Elemental story of re-birth and renewal in a run-down town in northwest China…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 31, 2024 • Subscribe

City Hunter (2024) review

A fun but very forgettable experience.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 30, 2024 • Subscribe

City Hunter

Review: The Victims (2024)

The Victims 黄雀在后！ China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 98 mins. Directors: Xu Wei 徐伟, He Wenchao 何文超. Rating: 7/10. Richly cast, this well-mounted whodunit is 100% plot and procedure…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 3, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Pegasus 2 (2024)

Pegasus 2 飞驰人生2 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Han Han 韩寒. Rating: 6/10. More of the same and with knobs on, plus another effortless lead by…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

May 20, 2024 • Subscribe

Jinsei - Life Consulting

Review: Super Villain (2024)

Super Villain 大“反”派 China, 2024, colour, 2.35/1.85/1.33:1, 97 mins. Director: Bao Bei’er 包贝尔. Associate director: Zhang Zuofeng 张作峰. Rating: 4/10. Painfully unfunny comedy about an ambitious actor who…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 14, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Life Hotel (2024)

Life Hotel 来福大酒店 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 118 mins. Director: Liu Bowen 刘博文. Rating: 7/10. A strong, characterful cast, led by Huang Xuan and Liu Yan, make this…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Sep 20, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Remember Me (2024)

Remember Me 灿烂的她 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Xu Wei 徐伟. Rating: 5/10. Light drama between a selfless fisherwoman and her grand-daughter who went missing has…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 6, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Article 20 (2024)

Article 20 第二十条 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 139 mins. Director: Zhang Yimou 张艺谋. Rating: 6/10. Comedy-drama, set among a city’s public prosecutors, is entertaining enough due to its…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

May 12, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Enjoy Yourself (2024)

Enjoy Yourself 祝你幸福 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 111 mins. Director: Kang Bo 康博. Rating: 6/10. Relationship-cum-legal drama sports some good performances but is hampered by a messily constructed…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

5 days ago • Subscribe

Review: Reversed Destiny (2024)

Reversed Destiny 沙漏 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 109 mins. Director: Wen Jing 温婧. Rating: 7/10. Good-looking, well-played story of two high-school BFFs would have been even better with…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 15, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Crisis Negotiators (2024)

Crisis Negotiators 谈判专家 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Qiu Litao 邱礼涛 [Herman Yau]. Rating: 8/10. A cracking, Hong Kong-set re-make of US drama-thriller The Negotiator  that’s…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 4, 2024 • Subscribe

Movie Review: Abigail (2024)

While browsing Peacock’s catalog for something to watch, Abigail (2024) caught my eye. I wasn’t searching for anything specific, but the film’s horror and comedy labels and the…

Dragonas Talk

Jul 26, 2024 • Subscribe

Memories of this Scent (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

An endearing and fragrance rich tale of subjective change.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 8, 2024 • Subscribe

All The Long Nights (2024) review [Japan Cuts 2024]

A splendid drama that shows how symptoms can disturb a subject’s life and how the social field attains its cruel complexity due to the riddle of desire.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 20, 2024 • Subscribe

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

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.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 19, 2024 • Subscribe

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

A fantastical visual experience like no other.

psycho-cinematography

Jun 8, 2024 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Perfect・Nervous (2024) review [OAFF 2024]

An exquisitely crafted narrative that touchingly shows that a simple encounter, a simple exchange of signifiers, can turn a wish to die into a desire to life.

psycho-cinematography

Mar 26, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Three Old Boys (2024)

Three Old Boys 三叉戟 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 109 mins. Director: Gao Qunshu 高群书. Rating: 7/10. Gruff, northern-style buddy-cop movie has no shortage of colourful characters but too…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jun 25, 2024 • Subscribe

Spring 2024 Mid-Season Review

This season has provided us with so many good anime that I feel compelled to drop one. If you guessed Yataragarasu, you would be incorrect. The Misfit of…

Medieval Otaku

May 30, 2024 • Subscribe

A Seasonal Review — Spring 2024

Didn’t Watch: See Seasonal Impressions 29. The Irregular at Magical High School S3 — F- Took all the worst parts of the previous seasons and repeated them. I…

Draggle's Anime Blog

Jul 7, 2024 • Subscribe

A Condition Called Love

Review: Walk the Line (2024)

Walk the Line 扫黑   决不放弃 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 114 mins. Director: Wubai 五百 [Guo Shubo 郭书博]. Rating: 7/10. A seemingly conventional drama of high-up corruption is given…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Jul 15, 2024 • Subscribe

A Seasonal Review — Winter 2024

Didn’t Watch: See Seasonal Impressions 23. Meiji Gekken 1874 — D- What a disappointment. Why did I try to watch this… 22. Metallic Rouge — D What the…

Draggle's Anime Blog

Apr 21, 2024 • Subscribe

Metallic Rouge, The Fire Hunter, The Witch and the Beast

Review: Moments We Shared (2024)

Moments We Shared 云边有个小卖部 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 130 mins. Director: Zhang Jiajia 张嘉佳. Rating: 8/10. Return-to-roots light comedy is an impressive second outing as a director by…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Aug 23, 2024 • Subscribe

Spring 2024 Anime In Review

Some Generalizing This season was pretty great. I’m just going to state that outright because I am ranking them. In a lesser season, the shows I put in…

Mechanical Anime Reviews

Jul 6, 2024 • Subscribe

Summer 2024 Anime In Review

Some Opening Thoughts In general, this was a good season. I do not think it was as explosive as last season. Nor do I think it will be…

Mechanical Anime Reviews

Oct 5, 2024 • Subscribe

Review: Go for Broke (2024)

Go for Broke 重生 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Ma Yuke 马浴柯. Rating: 7/10. Another tough, twisty crime drama by Mainland actor-turned-director Ma Yuke, with…

Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》

Oct 19, 2024 • Subscribe

GTO Revival (2024) [Special Review]

GTO Revival; or, A New Lesson      Even if you don’t have these, you are you. You’re the cutest. I have to start this review with a big…

Watching Asia Film Reviews

May 25, 2024 • Subscribe

Judge, Phoenix, GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

City Hunter (2024) [Film Review]

City Hunter; or, Mr Private Eye      I’ll take you on your case. Let’s go avenge your brother. I’m back with new, belated update. This time,...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Jun 26, 2024 • Subscribe

City Hunter