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…
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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
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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…
Review: The Hutong Cowboy (2024)
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Review: The Unseen Sister (2024)
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The 2024 CJFC is Here!
We’re excited to kick off this year’s Chicago Japan Film Collective, themed around “Co-existence.” Starting today, you can stream nine unique films from all across the U.S. on…
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…
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2024 wasn't a great year in anime, but it did make some history.
The artist_unknown OPfest: Spring 2024
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Review: The Midsummer’s Voice (2024)
The Midsummer’s Voice 倒仓 China, 2024, colour, 1.85:1, 100 mins. Director: Zhang Yudi 张裕笛. Rating: 6/10. A coming-of-age-one-summer movie, set among teenagers in a provincial opera school, is…
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 Underrated Anime From 2024
They had their chance. And now they’ll only be remembered by a thousand people.
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…
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…
The Best Anime of 2024
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The Glassworker (Sheesha Gar) 2024
If you’ve been craving another feature film that feels like Studio Ghibli (especially something that mixes Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises) then The Glassworker has just…
The Fall 2024 Manga Guide
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The artist_unknown OPfest: Winter 2024
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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…
State of the Blog 2024
I’m happy to anounce I have found an editor for the blog: Rickie Paszek.
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!
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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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A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
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Higashi delivers a touching exploration of love after death.
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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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Letter from the Editor: 2024 Planning
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Game of the Month: April 2024
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As we reach the end of the Spring 2024 anime season, now's the perfect time for our editorial staff to come together and highlight the best the season…