Anime Blog Tracker

Sep 14, 2021 • Subscribe

Town Without Sea (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“A visually engaging narrative about the nature of happiness and the importance of desire that is highly relevant for Japanese youth.”

Sep 15, 2021 • Subscribe

Sasaki in My Mind (佐々木、イン、マイマイン, Takuya Uchiyama, 2020)

A struggling actor finds himself thinking back on memories of a larger than life high school friend in Uchiyama’s melancholy youth drama

Jun 18, 2021 • Subscribe

Amiko (こちらあみ子, Yusuke Morii, 2022)

An unusual little girl retreats into a fantasy world in an attempt to deal with her grief and loneliness in Yusuke Morii’s quirky dramedy.

Jun 7, 2023 • Subscribe

In the Wake (護られなかった者たちへ, Takahisa Zeze, 2021)

A policeman investigating a series of murders comes to a new accommodation with the post-earthquake society in Takahisa Zeze’s gritty crime drama.

Feb 12, 2025 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Born Pisces (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Yamanaka does not only reaffirm that she has talent but also that she improved her compositional style and her storytelling.”

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Jan 14, 2022 • Subscribe

Mari and Mari 彼女来来 (2021) Director: Tatsuya Yamanishi [Japan Cuts 2021]

Sep 8, 2021 • Subscribe

Robinson’s Garden (1988) [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Yamamoto is not able to create a composition that engages the spectator with its highly relevant message.”

Feb 10, 2024 • Subscribe

Mari and Mari (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“A beautiful narrative that seems to bear no relation to our romantic life at first, but ultimately hits close to home.”

Sep 12, 2021 • Subscribe

Spaghetti Code Love (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Maruyama’s narrative speaks powerfully to the spectator’s subjectivity – his fears and hopes – and enables his evocation of a glimmer of hope that remains present in this…

Oct 16, 2021 • Subscribe

Kubi 首 (2023) Director: Takeshi Kitano [Japan Cuts 2024]

Kubi 首 (2023), directed by Takeshi Kitano, is a historical epic that amps up the violence and sex for satire’s sake as Kitano takes aim at the absurd samurai social…

Jul 17, 2024 • Subscribe

An Interview with Mayu Nakamura, Director of Among Four of Us [OAFF 2021/JAPAN CUTS 2021]

Sep 23, 2021 • Subscribe

Kiba: Fangs of Fiction (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Daihachi Yoshida succeeds in turning Shiota’s interesting story and fascinating world of publishing and bookstores into an engaging and pleasant filmic narrative.”

Aug 31, 2021 • Subscribe

Kiba

Short Movie Time: Honeymoon (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“A pleasing narrative about the arbitrariness of language and culture.”

Nov 9, 2021 • Subscribe

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…

Sep 14, 2022 • Subscribe

A Girl Missing (よこがお)

Early on in Koji Fukada’s A Girl Missing (Yokogao), protagonist Ichiko (Mariko Tsutsui) is spying on people from an apartment window. We hear the faint sound of a…

eiga files

Jul 31, 2019 • Subscribe

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…

Jan 27, 2023 • Subscribe

Suizou Ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita. (膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。)

In her last book about her physical health, My Alcoholic Escape From Reality, Nagata Kabi-sensei explained the circumstances that landed her in the hospital with alcoholic pancreatitis. We…

Okazu

Jun 4, 2023 • Subscribe

Japan Cuts Announces Lineup for 2021 Hybrid Edition

In-person & online Aug. 20 – Sept. 2

Aug 17, 2021 • Subscribe

Talking The Pictures (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Mayayuki’s celebration of cinematic history deeply satisfies the spectator’s desire to see cinema as an experience that can touch our being and the art of the benshi triumph.&#82…

Sep 6, 2021 • Subscribe

Hiroku The Goblin (1991) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

‘A classic that offers an unforgettable experience that is as touchingly lighthearted as is it disturbingly horrifying.’

Sep 3, 2021 • Subscribe

The Great Yokai War – Guardians (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“A pleasant and truly satisfying ride for the whole family.”

Aug 28, 2021 • Subscribe

Kubi 首 (2023) Director: Takeshi Kitano, Shuta Takahata [Japan Cuts 2024]

Kubi 首 (2023), directed by Takeshi Kitano, is a historical epic that amps up the violence and sex for satire’s sake as Kitano takes aim at the absurd samurai social…

Jul 17, 2024 • Subscribe

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.

Suzuka, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

Jul 11, 2023 • Subscribe

Eternally Younger Than Those Idiots (君は永遠にそいつらより若い, Ryuhei Yoshino, 2021)

An insecure young woman struggles to assume her place in the world while preparing to leave the aimless security of college life for an uncertain adulthood in Ryuhei…

Dec 28, 2022 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Go Seppukku Yourselves (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“An enthralling audiovisual experience and a powerful critique of the Japanese political system.”

Oct 9, 2021 • Subscribe

The Goldfish Dreaming Of The Sea (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Ogawa’s thoughtful lyricism that gives the emotionality of the performances their power to touch the spectator and enables her exploration of the difficulty to separate from one’s mother…

Sep 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Whale Bones 鯨の骨 (2023) Director: Takamasa Oe [Japan Cuts 2024]

Takamasa Oe’s social media mystery turns into a satire of living life online as a hapless website worker tries to find a missing AR girl in his beautifully…

Jul 13, 2024 • Subscribe

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.…

Mar 17, 2021 • Subscribe

Welcome to the NHK! NHKにようこそ！NHK ni Youkoso!

Tatsuhiro Satou is a hikkikomori, one who secluses himself at home and finds it difficult to have a job or go out of the house. He meets a…

Yuu's Sanctuary

Dec 20, 2019 • Subscribe

Welcome to the N.H.K.

JAPAN CUTS Announces 2024 Lineup

At Japan Society New York from July 10 to 21

Jul 3, 2024 • Subscribe

JAPAN CUTS Announces 2023 Lineup

At Japan Society New York July 26 to Aug. 6

Jun 22, 2023 • Subscribe

Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone (おらおらでひとりいぐも, Shuichi Okita, 2020)

An older woman living alone is plagued by three strange sprites forcing her to confront the reality of her life in Shuichi Okita’s surreal meditation on loneliness and…

Dec 4, 2021 • Subscribe

Blind Bombing, Filmed by a Bat (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2020]

Introduction Kota Takeuchi is man of many creative talents, but whatever he does – be it painting, filming, or sculpting – it is related to historical or contemporary…

Jul 20, 2021 • Subscribe

Tora-san, Wish you were here (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2020]

“Yamada’s latest offers not only a powerful homage to the late great Kiyoshi Atsumi but also a moving nostalgic ride along many of the iconic scenes of the…

May 27, 2021 • Subscribe

Best Wishes To All (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]

A surprisingly satisfying horror-narrative

Dec 3, 2023 • Subscribe

Transform! へんしんっ！ Director: Tomoya Ishida [Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021]

Oct 13, 2021 • Subscribe

Fallen Blossoms (花ちりぬ, Tamizo Ishida, 1938)

Troubled geisha find themselves engulfed by oncoming revolution in Tamizo Ishida incendiary drama.

Oct 19, 2022 • 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…

Aug 4, 2021 • Subscribe

Blue Imagine ブルーイマジン Director: Urara Matsubayashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024 / Japan Cuts 2024]

Director Urara Matsubayashi makes a definitive #MeToo film for the Japanese film industry with her sincere and complex drama Blue Imagine ブルーイマジン [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024 / Japan…

Jul 18, 2024 • Subscribe

Spiraken Mini Movie Review: Tom & Jerry 2021

In this mini movie review, Xan gives his initial impression on the latest addition to the Tom & Jerry franchise. Is it worth watching or was it dud?…

Spiraken Review Podcast

Feb 27, 2021 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Bath House of Whales (2019) review [Japan Cuts 2020]

Introduction Mizuki Kiyama’s graduation short film Bath House of Whales is a creative reworking of her memories of accompanying her mother, a person of Korean descent living in…

Oct 19, 2021 • Subscribe

Japan Weighing Major Changes to Border, Quarantine Policy in March

Japanese government sources give those stuck outside Japan or planning re-entry reason for cautious optimism.

Unseen Japan

Feb 16, 2022 • Subscribe

Sayonara Rose Garden, Volume 3 (さよならローズガーデン)

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Volume 1 by Dr. Pepperco is is out now in English from Seven Seas and in honor of this series coming out in English,…

Okazu

May 13, 2020 • Subscribe

Long Goodbye (さようなら, Yuuji Nomura, 2022)

A collection of dejected factory workers plot escape from small-town ennui by robbing their tax evading boss in Yuuji Nomura’s adaptation of his stage play.

Mar 5, 2023 • Subscribe

Winny (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]

Matsumoto offers a serene insight in how the Other of the law curtails a subject and, indirectly, sabotages the prospects of a new industry.

Aug 5, 2023 • Subscribe

Special - Japan Cuts Film Festival 2024

Table of Contents Hello everyone, Once again this year, the Heroic Purgatory podcast is covering the Japan Cuts 2024 film…

Heroic Purgatory

Jul 21, 2024 • Subscribe

Plastic (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]

Miyazaki creates a moody narrative that highlights the equivocal functionality of music for the subject as well as the destructive impact of not being able to create an…

Aug 19, 2023 • Subscribe

Hand (2022) review [Japan Cuts 2023]

Matsui avoids delivering an exploitative erotic piece merely to be enjoyed by male audiences.

Aug 22, 2023 • Subscribe

Amiko (2022) review [Japan Cuts 2023]

A fabulous narrative that explores the destructive effects caused by the radical misunderstanding that marks the field of speech and the refusal to speak to one’s child as…