A gentle samurai who just wants to grow flowers finds himself consumed by courtly intrigue and a cruel destiny in a visual tour de force from Kenji Misumi
Jul 23, 2021 • Subscribe
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Ken (剣, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
A rigid young man dreaming of a “pure life” is forced to confront the contradictions of the modern society in Misumi’s melancholy masculinity drama
Destiny’s Son (斬る, Kenji Misumi, 1962)
A wandering son finds himself in the middle of intrigue on learning the sad secrets of his birth in Kenji Misumi’s elliptical, elegiac tale of death and the…
Freelance Samurai (桃太郎侍, Kenji Misumi, 1957)
An abandoned son resolves to wander Japan killing the “demons” of Edo-era society in Kenji Misumi’s adaptation of the popular novel by Kiichiro Yamate.
On the Road Forever (無宿者, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
Wandering sons on opposing sides find themselves united in their quest to avenge absent fathers in Kenji Misumi’s filiality drama
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Tokyo Olympiad (1965) [Documentary Review]
Tokyo Olympiad or, Faster, Higher, Stronger The Olympics are a symbol of human aspiration When it comes to sports-oriented movies, ther...
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Episode 30: Kenji Miyazawa
Check out Episode 30 of the Read Literature podcast. Transcript available. There is no one quite like Kenji Miyazawa. Born into wealth, he longed to be “a real…
The Demon (鬼畜, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1978)
When his mistress abandons their three children on his doorstep, a resentful father and his enraged wife take drastic action to be free of them in Yoshitaro Nomura’s…
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Episode #79 (S10E8) – Kwaidan [怪談] (1965)
Podcaster Mike Lund visits the show to discuss Kwaidan, an adaptation of four of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese ghost stories. We discuss our favorite stories from this anthology, some…
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An exquisitely layered psychological drama that unveils how a subject’s fixation on a phantasmatic image disrupts his ability to commit himself romantically to the female other
Demon Slayer 鬼滅の刃 Kimetsu no Yaiba
Tanjiro, son of a humble woodcutter, returns from town to find his family slaughtered mercilessly. The work of demons, this also turns his sister into a demon. He…
Transcript of Episode 30: Kenji Miyazawa
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Daughter-in-Law (민며느리, Choi Eun-hee, 1965)
A sense of female solidarity eventually develops between a dutiful young woman and her tyrannical mother-in-law in Choi Eun-hee’s lighthearted directorial debut
Obake no Q-Taro (1965) – Episodes 01A & 12B
Based on the gag manga by the duo known as Fujiko Fujio, here’s the very first segment of the original black and white anime. The first series featured…
Let It Ghost (猛鬼3寶, Wong Hoi, 2022)
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Murderer vs. Maniac / 殺人犯 対 殺人鬼
While some books take a while to get into the action, Murderer vs. Maniac wastes no time. The opening scene is all about the protagonist ...
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Andy takes on all ten master rules at once, Denji gets foiled by a net, and Two on Ice provides an absolutely exquisite over-the-top antagonist! 4:52 - My Hero…
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Momotaro’s Devil General
By Jonathan Clements. He shrugs and stammers, he mumbles and prevaricates. He can’t surrender because he is not in command of all the troops, you see. The first…
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In this episode, Ian Buckley joins the show to discuss Red Beard, one of Kurosawa’s most renowned films. With a lot of similar themes to Kurosawa’s earlier film,…
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The “Devil” You Say
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A woman still unmarried at the comparatively late age of 30 begins to go out of her mind while on a hellish descent into vice and crime in…
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While I’m hesitant to speak of “golden ages”, if Mushi Production had one, it was certainly the years 1965-1966. Still riding on Tetsuwan Atom’s prodigious popularity, the studio…
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While shopping in random bookstores in Japan at the end of last year I kept seeing book,s with girls in school uniforms wielding swords. I did that thing…
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In a German Expressionist world of dark ivy, sinister alleys and creepy children books, Inspector Lunge is a somewhat vampire-resembling, workaholic police detective. He has a very good…