Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai remains engaging despite being 66 years old. The story follows seven ronin, masterless samurai, as they defend a farming village from a band of starving bandits…
Jul 25, 2021 • Subscribe
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Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Desperate peasants recruit samurai protectors in Akira Kurosawa’s classic historical epic back in UK cinemas Oct. 29
Seven Samurai
This was the first episode of our Akira Kurosawa series with Chris (@antoniuspius) on it, so I...
Seven Samurai
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Seven Samurai and Hanebado
The Chicago Bears are the champions of the NFC North! It has been a long journey toward...
Seven Samurai and Hanebado
The Chicago Bears are the champions of the NFC North! It has been a long journey toward relevancy for the Bears, but we’re finally here again. It’s been…
Godzilla (1954) review
A timeless classic monster movie.
How the Film Influenced Anime: The Seven Samurai vs. Samurai 7
Seven Samurai is one of the most influential movies ever made, yet its anime adaptation continues to languish in relative obscurity. We take a look back at both…
Anime REvisited: Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls Season One Episode Seven!
Welcome back to yet another episode review from our Anime REvisited pick that we’re pretty sure you already know as Hyakka Ryoran: Samurai Girls! We are onto our…
An inn at Osaka (1954) review
“An important document that traces how the post-war capitalistic machine of modernity poisons subjectivity by ‘promoting’ a selfish monetary desire, slowly empties social relations, and cause…
Late Chrysanthemums (晩菊, Mikio Naruse, 1954)
Four former geishas struggle to find their place in a changing society in Miko Naruse’s melancholy melodrama.
Taiso Samurai – 03 [Dueling Samurai]
Here’s a more conventional sports anime episode for you. Leo still refuses to take off his ninja headgear and Big Bird is still squawking up a storm in…
Taiso Samurai – 04 [Samurai Daughter]
Is Leo the stealth main character of Taiso Samurai? This episode certainly pointed in that direction, taking a prime opportunity for father-daughter bonding and making it a ninja-daughter…
Taiso Samurai – 05 [Battling Samurai]
Here’s another Taiso Samurai outing where the script sidelines Jotaro, who seems to be the main character in name only. Last week it was all about Leo and…
Ghost Man (幽霊男, Motoyoshi Oda, 1954)
Employees at a nude modelling agency find themselves in the firing line when a “bloodsucking painter” escapes from a psychiatric institution in Motoyoshi Oda’s B-movie thriller.
Godzilla 1954 and Godzilla MINUS ONE Sneak Peek
We all know Godzilla. Toho's famous monster debuted in the black-and-white film Godzilla over half a century ago. The Japan Society in New York City held...
Taiso Samurai – 7-8 [Training Camp Samurai/Intensive Samurai Training]
This is the end of the road for my full Taiso Samurai writeups. Cobbling together this post was like trying to build a bird house with a hammer…
Taiso Samurai – 02 [Rock-Bottom Samurai]
I may have jumped the gun on this one, y’all. Taiso Samurai’s first episode was so strange that I couldn’t help but root for it, but the second…
RISE AGAINST THE SWORD (1966): When Toshiro Mifune No Longer Needed the Seven Samurai
On what would have been Toshiro Mifune’s 102nd birthday (I covered his centennial in three blog posts in 2020), I look at a lesser-known historical drama starring Mifune,…
Review: SEVEN OF SEVEN
There are certain people in Japanese media who are just as adept with anime as they are with manga. Today's review is not an example of that...
Review: SEVEN OF SEVEN
There are certain people in Japanese media who are just as adept with anime as they are with manga. Today's review is not an example of that...
Samurai Reincarnation
The late Kinji Fukasaku is most fondly remembered for his hold-no-bars yakuza flicks, characterised by their hard-as-nails anti-heroes and brutal action. However, in the late 1970s, the director…
Samurai Champloo
Marvyn and Anthony are back to squeeze a podcast into Brian’s lunch break as we look at episodes 7 to 12 of Samurai Champloo.
Samurai Ben
Food Wars 315.4 - 4:07Spy x Family 15.2 - 7:01EDENS ZERO 68 - 9:22Mission: Yozakura Family 11 - 25:32Samurai 8 25 - 31:14We Never Learn 134 - 39:50Dr.…
EDENS ZERO, One Piece, The Promised Neverland, The Seven Deadly Sins, Black Clover
Taiso Samurai
Taiso Samurai is a sports anime about a gymnast in the twilight of his career who rekindles his love for the sport.
Taiso Samurai – 06 [Samurai Father and Daughter]
I’ve been opening these posts with some variation of, “I can’t believe Jotaro wasn’t the focus of this episode!” for three weeks now, so it’s about time I…
Sound of the Mountain (山の音, Mikio Naruse, 1954)
A failed patriarch resolves to set his unhappily married daughter-in-free in Mikio Naruse’s post-war marital drama
Bright: Samurai Soul
Bright: Samurai Soul (2021) Woodblock prints and math rock! Here’s another anime where I have no knowledge of the source material, allowing me to head in to the…
Kyushu’s Samurai Vaccinators
Faced with an epidemic, a forward-thinking group of doctors and samurai leaders launched a successful vaccination campaign in late Edo Japan.
Samurai Deeper Kyo
I know this is long overdue and to say this at this point in time makes it all even weirder. You see, during the height of the pandemic…
Bright: Samurai Soul
To call Bright: Samurai Soul 'better than the original Bright' would be the most backhanded of compliments to pay any movie, but that is honestly the most apt…
Taiso Samurai – 07
「合宿ザムライ」 (Gasshuku Zamurai) "Training Camp Samurai" Who could have guessed that Leo wasn't actually a ninja this whole time?
Taiso Samurai – 04
「ザムライ娘。」 (Zamurai Musume.) "Samurai Daughter." Being the daughter of someone in the public limelight doesn't seem easy. Especially when said person has been the focus of negative press.
Samurai Warriors 5
The most creatively bankrupt aspect of Samurai Warriors 5 is by and large its combat.
Samurai Gay Story
I wrote about Ohoku and Shogun yesterday. Incidentally there are famous gay stories among Samurai. 'Gay' was called 'Shudou' in Japan long t...
Taiso Samurai – 03
「決闘ザムライ」 (Kettou Zamurai) "Dueling Samurai" I could talk about how gorgeous the CGI gymnastics were. But I've always preferred to write up case studies into characterisation. So here goes.
Taiso Samurai – 08
「特訓ザムライ」 (Tokkun Zamurai) "Intensive Training Samurai" An exploration of personal crossroads, as characters ponder on choices regarding their respective futures.
Taiso Samurai – 09
「ニンジャ＆ザムライ」 (Ninja & Zamurai) "Ninja & Samurai" There are two kinds of injuries that affect an athlete's performance. The perceivable physical injuries. And invisible emotional strains that can be equally…
Taiso Samurai – 10
「決戦ザムライ」 (Kessen Zamurai) "Samurai's Decisive Battle" Now I'm really starting to worry about Leo.
Cat Samurai Rules
EDENS ZERO 51 - 4:35Beast Children 6 - 15:47Samurai 8 8 - 18:02The Last Saiyuki 17 - 33:30We Never Learn 117 - 42:12Dr. Stone 111 - 56:39The Seven…
The Seven Deadly Sins, World Trigger, Black Clover, EDENS ZERO, One Piece
Taiso Samurai – 02
「どん底ザムライ」 (Donzoko Zamurai) "Rock-Bottom Samurai" In MAPPA we trust.
Taiso Samurai – 01
「引退ザムライ」 (Intai Zamurai) "Retiring Samurai" I'm not a fan of samurais. Fortunately, despite the name, no actual samurais feature in the production of this series.
Seven Shakespeares
A fictional story about the origins of William Shakespeare. Continue reading →
Taiso Samurai – Episode 7
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Afro Samurai GN 1
Striking art can't make up for a barebones story with little narrative or characterization to chew on.
Samurai Champloo Part 4
Anthony Askew & Marvyn Lafayette are back to wrap up our romp through Shinichiro Watanabe's hip hop ahistorical anime Samurai Champloo.
Taiso Samurai – Episode 4
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First Look: Taiso Samurai
Jotaro Aragaki is a 29-year-old widower and father who has devoted his life to gymnastics but is now staring down the barrel of retirement, having performed poorly over…
Taiso Samurai – Episode 8
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Taiso Samurai – Episode 2
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Taiso Samurai – 05, 06
「親子ザムライ / 合戦ザムライ」 (Oyako Zamurai / Gassen Zamurai) "Samurai Father and Daughter / Battling Samurai"