Living a life without regrets is easier said than done. The protagonists of Michihito Fujii’s The Parades (パレード, Parade) each have unfinished business that prevents them moving on from this w…
Jan 9, 2025 • Subscribe
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The Village (ヴィレッジ, Michihito Fujii, 2023)
The toxicity of life in small-town Japan is manifested in a giant recycling plant in Michihito Fujii’s poetic drama
A Family (ヤクザと家族 The Family, Michihito Fujii, 2020)
“No one can survive as a yakuza in this world” according to another orphaned son playing the long game of a crime adjacent existence in Michihito Fujii’s melancholy…
18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (青春18×2 君へと続く道, Michihito Fujii, 2024)
Screenshot Apparently inspired by a real life viral blog, the latest from the prolific Michihito Fujii, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days (青春18×2 君へと続く道, Seishun 18×2 Kimi e to Tsudzuku…
Fujii Kaze is Workin’ Hard to get his groove on.
Fujii Kaze is a master of chilled out j-pop that has a tinge of soulful hip hop flavah. His beats are always so darn catchy that they earworm…
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…
Summer 2024: The Preview
Image courtesy via Pixiv This post is brought you by the titular character of Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan (or My Deer Friend Nokotan), a normal slice-of-life comedy anime that’s…
The Anime Of 2024
Another year has come to end so let‘s look at the anime of 2024 together!
The Grimm Variations, Gushing Over Magical Girls, The Witch and the Beast, Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Review: The Wig (2024)
The Wig 戴假发的人 China/Hong Kong, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 119 mins. Director: Dong Yue 董越. Rating: 6/10. Huang Xiaoming gives a strong, atypical performance as a lawyer-with-a-secret, but his…
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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.
2024… The beginning of the Season!
This post is brought you by Spice and Wolf where Holo and Kraft Lawrence returns for a whole-new anime adaptation by Passione in Spring 2024. It’s nice that…
The Fall 2024 Manga Guide
The latest manga guide season is underway! Find your next favorite manga, whether it'salien mushrooms, a wheelchair user smashing his way to survival, or sexy monster ladies.
Mecha Madness 2024: The Journey
Since this is the last Mecha Madness ever, unless I decide to revive it at some point in the future, I want to catalogue the entire journey because…
Review: The Untold Story (2024)
The Untold Story 那个不为人知的故事 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 101mins. Director: Zhang Yan 张岩. Rating: 7/10. A terrific performance by actress Lang Yueting is the glue that holds this…
The artist_unknown OPfest: Spring 2024
Spring has passed, but sakuga remains. Let's talk about the animation in the anime OPs and EDs of spring 2024.
The Best Anime of 2024
Find out the top 10 anime of the year, the characters that inspired us, the moments that we couldn't stop talking about, the songs that are still on…
Review: The Hutong Cowboy (2024)
The Hutong Cowboy 爆款好人 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 112 mins. Directors: Ning Hao 宁浩, Xu Lei 徐磊. Rating: 8/10. A well-structured screenplay and top cast led by veteran…
The Fall 2024 Manga Guide
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Review: The Last Frenzy (2024)
The Last Frenzy 末路狂花钱 China, 2024, colour, 2.35:1, 105 mins. Director: Wu Rina 乌日娜. Rating: 5/10. Black comedy about a penny-pincher who goes on a spending spree before…
The Speakeasy #164: Otakon 2024
This month we celebrate Otakon’s 30th year! The Type-Moon (Moment) Minute FGO 9th Anniversary FGO Summer 2024 Event Join us on Discord!
Review: The Unseen Sister (2024)
The Unseen Sister 乔妍的心事 China, 2024, colour, 2:1, 111 mins. Director: Zhao Deyin 赵德胤 [Midi Z]. Rating: 4/10. Uninvolving, pointless drama of a film star whose life starts…
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…
The Spring 2024 Manga Guide
The Manga Guide returns bigger than ever! Check back every day for reviews of manga and manhwa released from March to May!
The artist_unknown OPfest: Winter 2024
Welcome to a new column on this blog where we take advantage of the piecewise format to finally produce blogging that embodies the true spirit of the unknown…
One Piece, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Brave Bang Bravern!, Bucchigiri, Idea
The 2024 CJFC is Here!
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The WORST Anime of 2024
We’ve celebrated the Best anime of the year. Now it’s time for… the other stuff. There’s never been a better time to try out GIRLS’ FRONTLINE 2: EXILIUM https://sunborn.onelink.me/fxKG/MothersBasement And…
Review: The Killing Performance (2024)
The Killing Performance 戏杀 China, 2024, colour/b&w, 2.35:1, 129 mins. Director: Niu Zhaoyang 牛朝阳. Rating: 6/10. Traditional period whodunit, with suspects seated round a table, looks good but…
State of the Blog 2024
I’m happy to anounce I have found an editor for the blog: Rickie Paszek.
Best of the Best – 2024
2024 wasn't a great year in anime, but it did make some history.
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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…
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Short Movie Time: Ririka of the Star (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that does not merely emphasize the beauty of moving female body, but reveals that such beauty can change subjects.
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Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
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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.
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Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.
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Belonging (2024) review [Japannual 2024]
Higashi delivers a touching exploration of love after death.
The Worst Anime of Spring 2024
You've already seen the editorial team's picks for the best of the season, so now it's time for the opposite. From the painful to watch to the largely…
Letter from the Editor: 2024 Planning
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The Worst Anime of Fall 2024
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The Fall 2024 K-Comics Guide
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The Best Anime of Fall 2024
It was another packed season of anime, but nothing could stop Science SARU's DAN DA DAN from rocketing to the top of critics and fans' lists.
Game of the Month: January 2024
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Game of the Month: September 2024
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~SPOILER FREE~ SUMMARIZING THE YEAR! 2024
Well… the best year of anime is officially over. I feel I don’t have enough time to even bid it farewell, because 2025 is coming out of the…
The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses, Drifting Home, The Dangers in My Heart, Days with My Stepsister, Quality Assurance in Another World
The 2024 Game Awards Was Awesome
Okay that was the most fun Game Awards ever.
Letter from the Editor: 2024 Planning
Hello, Everyone! It is a little early for this, but here are some of our plans going into 2024: EDITING OVERHAUL Remember back in July when I told…
The Summer 2024 AniTAY Sequel Guide
Got an anime backlog to fill? Check out our hot summer sequel guide for some suggestions to keep you inside in the cool!
The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide
Welcome to the newest mega-season of anime! We're launching with six shows out the gate: Uzumaki, Loner Life in Another World, Demon Lord Retry! R, Reincarnated Aristocrat, Most…
Game of the Month: July 2024
For July, I have both old and (sort of) new games to talk about. One will get the honourable mention, and the other will be the main feature.