A highly relevant narrative that succeeds in underlining the importance of fighting against a-moral system of media manipulation.
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The Journalist (2022) [Drama Review]
The Journalist; or, Checks and Balances After seeing how Ms Matsuda strives to give a voice to the voiceless no matter how difficult it...
The Otaku Journalist is going on maternity leave
Just a heads up to say I am officially on maternity leave. That means I will be slow to respond to anything or anyone, here and in my…
Otaku Journalist is 10 years old!
Have you seen the new ad for anime on Disney Plus? “It’s not about being otaku, it’s about being… you.” Even now it is exhilarating to me to…
Otaku Journalist is 12 years old!
Twelve years ago today, I began posting on this blog. One of my professors at American University’s School of Communication encouraged us each to secure our name as…
Lessons Learned From Encounters With Clickbait Journalist.
In the yakuza world they say, “As soon as you get to the top, someone will try to kick you down.” The world of journalism is, sadly, surprisingly…
The 11 Rules Of Being A Good Journalist In Japan
Share your data. The internet is a vast and endless storage hub. If you’ve written something the world should know--put up supporting data and documents on the web,…
Review: The Oldtown Girls (2020)
The Oldtown Girls 兔子暴力 China, 2020, colour, 16:9, 105 mins. Director: Shen Yu 申瑜. Rating: 6/10. Affectingly played daughter-mother drama is weakened by its flashback structure and contrived…
Tokyo Court Upholds Ruling in Journalist Ito Shiori’s Rape Case
Ito Shiori, author of the startling memoir Black Box, has become Japan's #MeToo era icon. She now lays claim to another legal victory.
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We had the privilege of covering Anime Expo once again this year. T.R. Racki, who has graciously volunteered to cover Anime Expo for us on an annual basis,…
The Review Heap: 2020 Direction(s)
Okay, roughly 8 months into the blog now and as I mentioned in my ‘About’ section, the new year is time for me to assess and look ahead…
Review: Striding into the Wind (2020)
Striding into the Wind 野马分鬃 China, 2020, colour, 1.85:1, 128 mins. Director: Wei Shujun 魏书钧. Rating: 3/10. Pointless indie production that’s as aimless as its central character, a…
Review: Model (2020)
Model 我是监护人 China/US, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 105 mins. Director: Jing Ran 敬然. Rating: 5/10. Light drama about a Chinese student in New York who’s saddled with her baby…
December 2020 Review
Well, 2020 has been a wild year for all of us. Goodness gracious it will be one for the history books going forward I surmise. Anyway, as I…
Tapestry (2020) review
“Yes, Zeze delivers a rather straightforward romance narrative with Tapestry, but, in contrast to many other Japanese romance films, he succeeds to genuinely move the spectator.”
Review: Mammoth (2020)
Mammoth 会考试的猛犸象 China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 105 mins. Director: Wang Nianyi 王念一. Rating: 6/10. Drama centred on a high-school dreamer and the people in his orbit is strikingly…
Review: Leap (2020)
Leap 夺冠 Hong Kong/China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 134 mins. Director: Chen Kexin 陈可辛 [Peter Chan]. Rating: 8/10. Celebration of women’s volleyball in China’s modern development is shaded by…
2020 In Review
Boy, am I happy to see 2020 in the rear-view mirror. Pandemic, protests, political polarization... Millions dead world-wide... It can't end soon enough. Despite that, Orphan Fansubs had…
Nagasaki 1945 ~ The Angelus Bells, Senya Ichiya Monogatari, TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You, Amatsuki, Great Pretender
Nekopara (2020) Review
A question: I’m pretty sure it’s established somewhere in the VNs that they’re genetically engineered ‘cat girls’, so why call them ‘cats’? Are there actu…
Review: Leaping over the Dragon Gate (2020)
Leaping over the Dragon Gate 龙门相 China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 113 mins. Director: Xiao Yifan 肖一凡. Rating: 6/10. Blackly humorous crime story, set in snowy northeast China, is…
October 2020 Review (The Wings of Honneamise)
You know, it’s often surprising to see how artists/groups of artists start out. One can hardly see early Picasso before he went all cubist or how Webern went…
The Review Heap: 2020 Directions (Checking In)
I’d planned something to mark the 1st year of The Review Heap but June hasn’t felt like time for much in the way of a celebration, so I’ve…
2020 Year in Review
2020 is over and I can imagineI’m not the only one breathing a big sigh of relief. I’m sure just like many of you reading this, 2020 came…
2020 Anime Q3 Review
Previous: 2020 Anime Q1 Review Previous: 2020 Anime Q2 Review [ Standard disclaimer: Spoilers! Lots of spoilers! ] I watched zero full-length new Summer anime. Cool. I did…
November 2020 Review (Gunbuster)
Well, last month we touched upon the debut of Studio Gainax, with The Wings of Honneamise kicking off their first decade of excellent scifi anime, going forward to…
Review: Wu Hai (2020)
Wu Hai 乌海 China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 102 mins. Director: Zhou Ziyang 周子阳. Rating: 5/10. Drama of a crumbling marriage has two strong leads but is weakened by…
Stigmatized Properties (2020) review
“A horror without well-developed horror and a romance story without satisfying romantic moments.”
Review: A Leg (2020)
A Leg 腿 Taiwan, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 115 mins. Director: Zhang Yaosheng 张耀升. Rating: 6/10. Delicious black comedy is weakened by too many flashbacks that lack the main…
Review: Hot Soup (2020)
Hot Soup 热汤 China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 99 mins. Director: Zhang Ming 章明. Rating: 4/10. Arty interweaving of four stories ends up looking precious and rather silly, and…
Year In Review: 2020
With 2020 finally in the rear-view mirror, let’s take a look at some of the highlights in the world of anime, manga and video games. I really slacked…
2020 Anime Q1 Review
Previous: 2019 Anime Year in Review [ Standard disclaimer: Spoilers! Lots of spoilers! ] While I had fun with these shows, Winter was still a season that lacked…
2020 Anime Q2 Review
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Review: Being Mortal (2020)
Being Mortal 来处是归途 China, 2020, colour, 1.85:1, 96 mins. Director: Liu Ze 刘泽. Rating: 5/10. Everyday light drama centred on a daughter and her Alzheimer’s-riddled father is well-played…
Review: Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020)
Septet: The Story of Hong Kong 七人乐队 Hong Hong/China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 105 mins. Directors: Hong Jinbao 洪金宝 [Sammo Hung] (I), Xu Anhua 许鞍华 [Ann Hui] (II), Tan…
Spiraken Mini Movie Review: Sonic The Hedgehog (2020)
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Review: The Best Is Yet to Come (2020)
The Best Is Yet to Come 不止不休 China, 2020, colour, 16:9, 115 mins. Director: Wang Jing 王晶. Rating: 6/10. Interesting drama about a young provincial trying to be…
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The Confidence Man JP: Princess (2020) [Film Review]
The Confidence Man JP: Princess; or, Anything Goes in Malaysia What you see isn’t always real. What’s real? What’s fake? Was Princess ...
2020 the Anime: Japan Sinks-2020
Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet! Hanime on Anime here, and some part of me wants to remember 2020 before moving on with the new year. And what…
Okay! Madam (2020) [Film Review]
Okay! Madam; or, National Lampoon’s Airborne Vacation We have to go on this trip! It has been a while, but I am getting back into Korea...
Tokyo Love Story 2020 Review
Tokyo Love Story 2020 might be the best romance Japanese drama of the last 10 years. With great character and captivating storyline this drama is a must watch.
Winter 2020 Anime In Review
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Tezuka's Barbara (2020) [Film Review]
Tezuka’s Barbara; or, Deadly Temptation A woman like the city's excrement from the millions of people that it consumed and digested. Th...
2020 Manga Q3 in Review
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Review: River of Salvation (2020)
River of Salvation 一江春水 China, 2020, colour, 1.33:1, 108 mins. Director: Gao Qisheng 高启盛. Rating: 5/10. Well-played study of a 30-something woman in workaday central China doesn’t really…
Review: Love after Love (2020)
Love after Love 第一炉香 China, 2020, colour/b&w, 1.85:1, 142 mins. Director: Xu Anhua 许鞍华 [Ann Hui]. Rating: 5/10. Story of a Shanghai teenager in Hong Kong’s pre-WW2 socialite…
A Girl Missing (2020) Review
Introduction Around three years after delivering his award-winning Harmonium (2016), Koji Fukada is finally back with a new filmic product: A Girl Missing (2020). Can Fukada deliver a…
Fall 2020 Anime in Review
This season is going to be hard to rank things, but it was a very good season to me. Especially regarding a lot of its unique content. Not…
Spring 2020 Review: Great Pretender.
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Citizen Kitano (2020) [Documentary Review]
Citizen Kitano; or, A Tribute to the Auteur! I intentionally shoot action to make the audience feel real pain. I have never and I will ...
Review: Farewell My Lad (2020)
Farewell My Lad 再见，少年 China, 2020, colour, 2.35:1, 109 mins. Director: Yin Ruoxin 殷若昕. Rating: 5/10. Fairly conventional story of a high-school girl drawn to a bad-boy classmate…
Spring 2020 Anime In Review
I can’t help but admit this season felt the emptiest in a lot of ways. Not just because of the lack of content provided to us by COVID-19…