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…
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…
Godzilla (1954) review
A timeless classic monster movie.
Seven Samurai (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD) Unboxing
The classic film by Akira Kurosawa recently received a 4K Ultra HD release by BFI in the UK. The limited edition sold out but I managed to secure…
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…
A Musical Up-Roar 1954-57
Fred Quimby departed from the reins, and Hanna and Barbera were forced to take over production on much tighter budgets.
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 – 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…
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 – 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 – 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…
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...
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,…
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...
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
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 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…
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…
Golden Demon / 金色夜叉 / Konjiki yasha (1954)
Obscure Japanese Film #175 Jun Negami and Fujiko Yamamoto 1890. Miya (Fujiko Yamamoto) is a young woman in love with her adopted broth...
Samurai Warriors 5
The most creatively bankrupt aspect of Samurai Warriors 5 is by and large its combat.
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 – 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.
Taiso Samurai – 10
「決戦ザムライ」 (Kessen Zamurai) "Samurai's Decisive Battle" Now I'm really starting to worry about Leo.
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.
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 – 02
「どん底ザムライ」 (Donzoko Zamurai) "Rock-Bottom Samurai" In MAPPA we trust.
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…
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
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…
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.
The Elusive Samurai
The Elusive Samurai is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
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...
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.
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
An Anime About The Bikini Atoll Bomb Crisis of 1954
Tobiuo no boy wa byouki desu Little Flying Fish Who Gets Sick. It’s always fun covering old anime about anthropomorphic animals. Today we have an film that takes places…
Seven Shakespeares
A fictional story about the origins of William Shakespeare. Continue reading →
Seven Changer
Robot mode Griffon mode Jaguar mode Jet mode Submarine mode Tank mode Truck mode Robot mode Griffon mode Jaguar mode Jet mode Submarine mode Tank mode Truck mode…
The Woman in the Rumour (噂の女, Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954)
A mother and daughter find themselves deceived by the same man, each hemmed in by realities which cannot be altered in Kenji Mizoguchi’s touching melodrama.
Asakusa no yoru / 浅草の夜 (‘Asakusa at Night’, 1954)
Obscure Japanese Film #156 Ayako Wakao and Machiko Kyo Setsuko (Machiko Kyo) is a dancer at a theatre in Asakusa, where she’s been havin...
Samurai Champloo – Cosmic Collisions
Horror Samurai Champloo (2004)Cosmic Collisions (Episode 22)Director: Sayo Yamamoto Writer: Dai Satō Even more so than the baseball episode, Cosmic Collisions is quite the trip. For one, it’s…
Samurai Champloo – Cosmic Collisions
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