An ore ore scammer’s cynical worldview is challenged when he finds temporary harbour with an elderly woman in Yamamoto’s touching indie drama
Jun 9, 2021 • Subscribe
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となりのメタラーさん
Author & Artist: マミタ (Mamita)Released April 2020 by Tokuma Shoten Publishing’s Chara ComicsGenre: Romance, Drama
Nagi’s Island (凪の島, Masahiko Nagasawa, 2022)
A young girl begins to put the past behind her while comforted by an idyllic island community in Masahiko Nagasawa’s gentle human drama.
Robinson’s Garden (ロビンソンの庭, Masashi Yamamoto, 1987)
A young woman attempts to escape society by rewilding an industrial estate but discovers the land may not want her in Yamamoto’s ethereal drama
傘の下、ふたり
Author & Artist: ぢゅん子 (Junko)Released March 2012 by Kaiohsha’s Gush ComicsGenre: Drama, Romance
Wonderful Paradise (脳天パラダイス, Masashi Yamamoto, 2020)
An impromptu going away party descends into a psychedelic rave of death and rebirth in Yamamoto’s defiantly surreal nighttime odyssey
Red Post on Escher Street (エッシャー通りの赤いポスト, Sion Sono, 2020)
The extras reclaim the frame in Sion Sono’s anarchic advocation for the jishu life.
Get ’em All (「みな殺しの歌」より 拳銃よさらば, Eizo Sugawa, 1960)
A recently released young man is forced onto a nihilistic path of meaningless violence when his bank robber brother is killed in a hit and run in Eizo…
My Name is Yours (君が世界のはじまり, Momoko Fukuda, 2020)
A collection of Osaka teens begin to find a sense of solidarity in the wake of a violent crime in Momoko Fukuda’s nostalgic teen drama
The Angry Street (怒りの街, Mikio Naruse, 1950)
A sociopathic student takes revenge on a changing society by seducing wealthy women in Mikio Naruse’s brooding noir.
川のほとりに立つ者は
A young woman named Kiyose was recently promoted to the position of manager at an independent café. She devotes her love and attention to the business, but all…
How to Japanese Podcast – S02E08 – Roomshare.jp and のり弁
Living with Japanese roommates in Tokyo was the highlight of my time in Japan. I found those roommates on the website Roomshare.jp, a great site that I introduce…
Goto-san (ゴトーさん, Hiroshi Gokan, 2020)
A young man’s peaceful dropout existence is disrupted by potential romance, a deadly virus, and economic instability in Gokan’s deceptively quirky drama
Nizo Yamamoto (1953-2023)
The background artist Nizo Yamamoto, who died on 19th August, spent his whole life working in the Japanese animation sector. Born in Nagasaki, he developed an interest in…
Eiichi Yamamoto (1940-2021)
Eiichi Yamamoto, who died earlier this month, bore witness to crucial moments in anime history. As a young man, he was one of the talents behind the scenes…
A2 (Tatsuya Mori, 2001)
Tatsuya Mori returns to the subject of Aum following A to examine the ongoing effects of the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
My Elder Brother (私の兄さん, Yasujiro Shimazu, 1934)
The wastrel brother of earnest man running a taxi firm gets a wakeup call after picking up a runaway woman from an upperclass family in Shimazu’s genial comedy.
The House of Hanging (病院坂の首縊りの家, Kon Ichikawa, 1979)
A legacy of familial trauma engulfs a once noble house in Kindaichi’s final and most complicated case
Tsugaru Lacquer Girl (バカ塗りの娘, Keiko Tsuruoka, 2023)
A young woman finds herself frustrated by outdated gender norms in her desire to take over the family lacquerware business in Keiko Tsuruoka’s gentle rural drama
Hana Monogatari, Volume 3 (はなものがたり)
In Volume 1 we met Hanayo, an older woman, newly widowed and Yoshiko, a woman of similar age who opens Hanayo’s eyes to many things, including the pleasure…
My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ, Hayao Miyazaki, 1988)
A pair of sisters rejoice in the wonder of the natural world while befriending a fluffy forest creature in the charming Studio Ghibli family animation.
Hana Monogatari, Volume 2 (はなものがたり)
In Volume 1, we met Hanayo, a woman whose husband has passed away, leaving her both free to do whatever she wants and confused as to what that…
Hana Monogatari, Volume 1 (はなものがたり)
Hana Monogatari, Volume 1 (はなものがたり) by shwinn, is one of my new favorite series ever. Hanayo’s husband has been dead for 49 days, so her mourning period is…
Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
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The Warped Forest (あさっての森, Shunichiro Miki, 2011)
Three trios in search of happiness find themselves transported to other worlds in Shunichiro Miki’s surreal quasi-sequel to Funky Forest
さ Particle
The various uses of the さ particle in Japanese, with examples.
Act-Age by Matsuki Tatsuya
Not knowing any of the controversy around the mangaka, I picked up the first two volumes of Act-Age. I only read the first volume before deciding it was…
During the Rains (つゆのあとさき, Shinpei Yamazaki, 2024)
A collection of women discover that the real pandemic is misogyny in Shinpei Yamazaki’s covid-era indie drama.
The Fish Tale (さかなのこ, Shuichi Okita, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
The infinite enthusiasm of a fish obsessive gradually brightens the world around them in Shuichi Okita’s charming portrait of an eccentric.
All Around Us ぐるりのこと。(2008) Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
All Around Us ぐるりのこと。by Ryosuke Hashiguchi is a wonderful example of a mature drama that is told with subtlety and intelligence and it deserves to be much better…
Episode 100 - Dr. Takahiro Yamamoto (Heidelberg)
In this episode, Dr. Yamamoto reviews Japan's diplomatic interactions with Russia in the northern territories of the Kuril Islands and Karafuto in the years around the Meiji Restoration. …
Kizumonogatari Staff Interview: Director Tatsuya Oishi
The final translation to celebrate Kizumonogatari’s 5th anniversary is with none other than director Tatsuya Oishi: his feelings after wrapping up such a monumental production, the reasoning …
Kita no Onna ni Tamesaretai (北の女に試されたい)
Hokuryuu Aya, who is a tall, cool woman, meets Kuromizu Suzuka who is also a tall, cool woman and both are surprised that the other is as tall…
sa さ-form
The sa-form of adjectives in Japanese.
Break Out (行き止まりの挽歌 ブレイクアウト, Toru Murakawa, 1988)
A maverick cop realises he can only enforce the law by breaking it in Toru Murakawa’s hardboiled ’80s noir.
The Light of Spring (ひかりのどけき, Fumito Fujikawa, 2022)
Pushed to breaking point by the pressures of the contemporary society amid the coronavirus pandemic, an ordinary family undergoes a trial separation in Fumito Fumikawa’s neorealist drama
Kaijuu-iro no Shima, Volume 1 (かいじゅう色の島), Guest Review by Mariko S.
It is Wednesday and you know what that means! It is indeed a Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu. Today we welcome back Mariko S. (whose compelling review…
The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes (夏へのトンネル、さよならの出口, Tomohisa Taguchi, 2022)
A pair of teenagers search for a way out of their mutual anxieties while exploring a mysterious tunnel in Tomohisa Taguchi’s animated sci-fi romance.
Takashi Kojima【小島崇史】Sakuga MAD
Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onhBN0qkUcE Takashi Kojima is an animator of enormous talent and skill, with the ability to draw any character design perfectly while still maintaining his own unique style. I've…
Inch Forward (走れない人の走り方, Su Yu-Chun, 2023)
An indie filmmaker experiences various setbacks while trying to complete her latest film in Su Yu-Chun’s cheerful dramedy.
Woman of Design (その場所に女ありて, Hideo Suzuki, 1962)
Post-war women find themselves constrained by a relentlessly patriarchal society in Hideo Suzuki’s workplace melodrama
To Your Eternity Drags on for Eternity
To Your Eternity was one of the biggest releases this spring, and by far the most positively received. In a single episode it was an undeniable phenomenon, plucking…
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A young woman raised by devotees of a new religion comes to question her worldview when confronted with its otherness in Tatsushi Omori’s coming-of-age drama.
Goukaku Tame no! Yasashi Sankaku Kakei Nyuumon ( 合格のための! やさしい三角関係入門)
Mayuki is determined to get into the school of her choice to be close to the girl she likes, her old sempai on the basketball team, Akira. But…
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A Little Girl’s Dream 夢は牛のお医者さん, by director Yoshiaki Tokita, is a simple yet profoundly moving documentary about how a girl’s life lived with animals inspired her to take on…
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In the newsletter this month I wrote about 角ハイ (kakuhai). This is a combination of 角瓶 (kakubin), Suntory’s flagship whiskey, and ハイボール (highball), a mixed drink made from…
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Armitage the Third by Konaka Chiaki / Ikegami Tatsuya
Continuing down the cyberpunk back alley, as it were, I tried (but failed to finish) Armitage The Third. SPOILERS . . . . This manga, like its titular…