Anime Blog Tracker

Hold Me Back (私をくいとめて, Akiko Ohku, 2020)

A solitary young woman begins to reassess her life choices after developing a non-relationship with a perfectly pleasant colleague in Ohku’s quirky rom-com

Windows on Worlds

Nov 12, 2021 • Subscribe

Ribbon 2021 Director: Non [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Ribbon is a Covid-19-themed film about the frustrations of life in isolation and creative blockages. Combining the two, we see a coming-of-age drama where the protagonist overcomes both through…

Genkinahito

Jul 20, 2022 • Subscribe

Hold Me Back (2020) review [Fantasia Film Festival]

“Ohku delivers, once again, a refreshing and highly touching romance-comedy.”

psycho-cinematography

Aug 13, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Ito いとみち Director: Satoko Yokohama (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

“Ito” is a heart-warming comedy drama rich in Aomori’s culture where a girl learning to express herself through time spent at a maid cafe and her shamisen skills.…

Genkinahito

Mar 17, 2021 • Subscribe

New York Asian Film Festival 2023

Table of Contents For the third year in a row, the Heroic Purgatory podcast is covering the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF)…

Heroic Purgatory

Jul 19, 2023 • Subscribe

exception

Junk Head ジャンク ヘッド Director: Takahide Hori (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Junk Head ジャンク ヘッド Director: Takahide Hori (2021) is a dark dystopian body-horror

Genkinahito

Aug 2, 2021 • Subscribe

Escape from Mogadishu 모가디슈 (2021) Director: Ryoo Seung-wan [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Escape from Mogadishu – 모가디슈 (2021) Director: Ryoo Seung-wan – provides pulse-racing action by retelling a dramatic moment in history. It opens the New York Asian Film Festival…

Genkinahito

Aug 5, 2021 • Subscribe

Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro とんかつDJアゲ太郎 (2020) Director: Ken Ninomiya [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro is a fun family-friendly film combining tonkatsu and DJing! Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro とんかつDJアゲ太郎 (2020) Director: Ken Ninomiya [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Aug 10, 2021 • Subscribe

Okiku and the World せかいのおきく (2023) Director: Junji Sakamoto [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Okiku and the World せかいのおきく (2023), directed by Junji Sakamoto, is an absolutely heart-warming and moving story of love set during the end of the samurai period. Its beautiful…

Genkinahito

Jul 16, 2023 • Subscribe

Ninja Girl シュシュシュの娘（こ）Director: Yu Irie (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Ninja Girl シュシュシュの娘（こ）Director: Yu Irie (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021] is a quirky contemporary ninja action comedy/political satire. It plays on Sunday, August 15th at 5:30pm at…

Genkinahito

Aug 4, 2021 • Subscribe

New York Asian Film Festival Confirms 2023 Lineup

Runs July 14 to 30.

Windows on Worlds

Jul 13, 2023 • Subscribe

New York Asian Film Festival Confirms 2022 Lineup

At Lincoln Center & Asia Society 15th – 31st July

Windows on Worlds

Jul 13, 2022 • Subscribe

New York Asian Film Festival Confirms Lineup For 2021 Hybrid Edition

In-person at Lincoln Center & SVA Theatre and online across the US Aug. 6 – 22

Windows on Worlds

Jul 20, 2021 • Subscribe

Mayhem Girls メイヘムガールズ (2022) Director: Shinichi Fujita [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Mayhem Girls メイヘムガールズ (2022), by director Shinichi Fujita, is a fun youth story of girls finding self-confidence and a place in a world where everyday pressures and Covid-19 affect…

Genkinahito

Jul 26, 2023 • Subscribe

Broken Commandment 破戒 Director: Kazuo Maeda [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Broken Commandment is a fine-looking well-acted historical drama that has an earnest plea for people to treat others with respect and fairness. Broken Commandment 破戒 Director: Kazuo Maeda [New York…

Genkinahito

Jul 27, 2022 • Subscribe

Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 3 ( 私の拳をうけとめて)

In Volume1 and Volume 2, we met Soramori and Takebe, former rivals in high school gangs who have met once again as adults. Soramori confesses to Takebe that…

Okazu

Mar 22, 2020 • Subscribe

Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 4 (私の拳をうけとめて！)

Watashi no Kobushi wo Uketomete, Volume 4 does something wonderful. But first…. Soramori and Takebe are taking a trip. To an onsen. Overnight. Yeah, and don’t think they…

Okazu

Apr 13, 2021 • Subscribe

Joint ジョイント Director: Oudai Kojima (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Joint ジョイント Director: Oudai Kojima (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021] is a refreshing take on the yakuza genre thanks to the depth of its world building and…

Genkinahito

Mar 7, 2021 • Subscribe

An Interview with Junji Sakamoto, Director of Okiku and the World せかいのおきく  [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Okiku and the World せかいのおきく (2023), directed by Junji Sakamoto, is an absolutely heart-warming and moving story of love set during the end of the samurai period. Its beautiful…

Genkinahito

Jul 31, 2023 • Subscribe

Bear Man 웅남이 (2023) Director: Park Sung-kwang [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Bear Man 웅남이 (2023), by director Park Sung-kwang, is a solid comedy/action/crime film about bears that turn into men. It makes good on its premise and offers an…

Genkinahito

Jul 17, 2023 • Subscribe

Home Sweet Home スイート・マイホーム Director: Takumi Saitoh [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Home Sweet Home スイート・マイホーム, by director Takumi Saitoh, is a great thriller full of shocks and revelations, and threats that will draw viewers in and leave them on…

Genkinahito

Jul 27, 2023 • Subscribe

Shin Ultraman シン・ウルトラマン (2022) Director: Shinji Higuchi [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Shin Ultraman is a fun special effects feature that reboots the classic tokusatsu/kaiju series in a Shin Gojira style. Shin Ultraman シン・ウルトラマン (2022) Director: Shinji Higuchi [New York Asian…

Genkinahito

Aug 2, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Kazuya Shiraishi, Director of “Last of the Wolves” [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

An Interview done with Kazuya Shiraishi, Director of “Last of the Wolves,” as part of the New York Asian Film Festival 2021!

Genkinahito

Sep 20, 2021 • Subscribe

Lesson in Murder 死刑にいたる病 Director: Kazuya Shiraishi [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Lesson in Murder is a fine Kazuya Shiraishi production that adapts a novel for the big screen. Although slow, the performances will enrapture viewers. Lesson in Murder 死刑にいたる病 Director: Kazuya Shir…

Genkinahito

Jul 26, 2022 • Subscribe

In Her Room ひとりぼっちじゃない (2022) Director: Chihiro Ito [New York Asian Film Festival 2023] 2

In Her Room ひとりぼっちじゃない (2022), by director Chihiro Ito, is an offbeat and erotic tale of jealousy that is told in a visually dazzling way with a slow pace…

Genkinahito

Jul 25, 2023 • Subscribe

POP! Director: Masashi Komura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

POP! provides a slightly surreal, slightly sweet existential crisis. POP! Director: Masashi Komura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Mar 24, 2021 • Subscribe

yes, yes, yes Director: Akihiko Yano (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

A powerful drama about reckoning with grief, “yes, yes, yes” is powered by raw performances from its brilliant cast. yes, yes, yes Director: Akihiko Yano (2020) [Osaka Asian…

Genkinahito

Mar 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Last of the Wolves 孤狼の血 LEVEL2 Director: Kazuya Shiraishi (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Last of the Wolves 孤狼の血 LEVEL2 Director: Kazuya Shiraishi (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Aug 15, 2021 • Subscribe

I Don’t Fire Myself  나는 나를 해고하지 않는다 Director: Lee Tae-Gyeom (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

“I Don’t Fire Myself” is a compelling look at workplace exploitation and one woman taking a stand to overcome it. I Don’t Fire Myself 나는 나를 해고하지 않는다 Director:…

Genkinahito

Aug 19, 2021 • Subscribe

Grown-ups わたし達はおとな (2022) Director: Takuya Kato [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Grown-ups わたし達はおとな (2022) Director: Takuya Kato [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Aug 1, 2022 • Subscribe

Hail to Hell 지옥만세 (2023) Director: Lim Oh-jeong [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Hail to Hell 지옥만세 (2023), by director Lim Oh-jeong, is a glimpse into the harsh and dark aspects of Korean society and the people who prey on the…

Genkinahito

Jul 28, 2023 • Subscribe

Mountain Woman 山女 (2023) Director: Takeshi Fukunaga [New York Asian Film Festival 2023] 2

Mountain Woman 山女 (2023), by director Takeshi Fukunaga (Ainu Mosir), is an atmospheric drama about outcasts struggling in a small famine-hit village in Tohoku, circa the late 18th Century.…

Genkinahito

Jul 24, 2023 • Subscribe

Mirai

An Interview with Takeshi Fukunaga, Director of Mountain Woman [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Takeshi Fukunaga talks about the making of his latest film, “Mountain Woman” in an Interview [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Genkinahito

Aug 1, 2023 • Subscribe

Nomad 烈火青春 (1982) Director: Patrick Tam [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Nomad 烈火青春 (1982), by director Patrick Tam, is a sensuous story of youth looking for themselves through love and culture. [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Genkinahito

Aug 3, 2023 • Subscribe

Killing Romance 킬링 로맨스 (2023) Director: Lee Won-Suk [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Killing Romance 킬링 로맨스 (2023) Director: Lee Won-Suk [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Genkinahito

Jul 14, 2023 • Subscribe

Gon

Jigoku no Hanazono: Office Royale 地獄の花園 Director: Kazuaki Seki (2021) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]

Jigoku no Hanazono: Office Royale is a funny battle comedy that satirises office culture and delinquent manga/films! Jigoku no Hanazono: Office Royale 地獄の花園 Director: Kazuaki Seki (2021) [New York …

Genkinahito

Aug 14, 2021 • Subscribe

Three Sisters 세자매 Director: Lee Seung-won (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Three Sisters 세자매 Director: Lee Seung-won (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Mar 6, 2021 • Subscribe

Far Away, Further Away 遠くへ,もっと遠くへ Director: Shinji Imaoka [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Far Away, Further Away is a road movie with a quirky and loving and independent lead character taking us from Tokyo to Sapporo as she aids a man…

Genkinahito

Mar 26, 2022 • Subscribe

Suton すとん Director: Rikako Watanabe [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Suton すとん, by director Rikako Watanabe. is a quietly affecting character study where a young woman’s life is marked by the poignancy of aging and separation and also…

Genkinahito

Mar 2, 2024 • Subscribe

Heroic Purgatory Podcast Covers the New York Asian Film Festival 2021 (August 06th – 22nd)

A Preview of the Japanese Titles (and some from other countries) at the New York Asian Film Festival 2021 (August 06th – 22nd) – here are the films…

Genkinahito

Aug 6, 2021 • Subscribe

Blue, Painful, Fragile (青くて痛くて脆い, Shunsuke Kariyama, 2020)

An unreliable narrator only belatedly comes to a realisation of the costs of his immature insecurity in Kariyama’s prickly romantic drama

Windows on Worlds

May 19, 2021 • Subscribe

Ox-Head Village 牛首村 (2022) Director: Takashi Shimizu [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

“Ox-Head Village” is the third film in Takashi Shimizu’s “Village Horror Triptych” that mixes together folk-horror, social media, urban legends and a touristic time. S…

Genkinahito

Jul 18, 2022 • Subscribe

Bury Me Deep / わたしを深く埋めて / Watashi o fukaku umete (1963)

Obscure Japanese Film #133 Jiro Tamiya   Nakabe (Jiro Tamiya) is a lawyer returning to Tokyo after a long holiday in Kyushu. In his absenc...

Martin Dowsing

Sep 22, 2024 • Subscribe

Colorful

An Interview with Chihiro Ito, Director of In Her Room ひとりぼっちじゃない (2022) [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

In Her Room ひとりぼっちじゃない (2022) Director: Chihiro Ito [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Genkinahito

Aug 23, 2023 • Subscribe

Egoist  エゴイスト (2022) Dir: Daishi Matsunaga [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Egoist  エゴイスト (2022) Dir: Daishi Matsunaga [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Genkinahito

Jul 15, 2023 • Subscribe

Struggling Man (私はいったい、何と闘っているのか, Toshio Lee, 2021)

A dejected middle-aged man experiences a crisis of masculinity when his home and work lives come under threat in Toshio Lee’s warmhearted comedy.

Windows on Worlds

Sep 16, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Anshul Chauhan, Director of December 赦し (2022) [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

An interview with director Anshul Chauhan on his third feature film December 赦し. He goes in depth behind the scenes on an impressive courtroom drama, from research to casting…

Genkinahito

Aug 7, 2023 • Subscribe

The Abandoned 查無此心 Director: Tseng Ying-ting (2023) [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

The Abandoned 查無此心, by director: Tseng Ying-ting (2023), is a solid serial killer film that finds originality in its milieu of illegal immigrants and in the theme of…

Genkinahito

Aug 2, 2023 • Subscribe

A New Wind Blows 新しい風 Dir: Yutaro Nakamura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Fantasy and reality collide in the youth movie A New Wind Blows 新しい風 Dir: Yutaro Nakamura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

May 6, 2021 • Subscribe

A Tour Guide 믿을 수 있는 사람 (2023) Director: Kwak Eun-mi [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

A Tour Guide 믿을 수 있는 사람 (2023), by director Kwak Eun-mi, offers a compelling character study of a North Korean defector slowly becoming alienated from those around…

Genkinahito

Jul 19, 2023 • Subscribe