Koichi Sato’s elegiac documentary mourns the loss of the traditional amidst the modern as a 135-year-old pickle store is forced to close by changing times and a global pandemic
Jan 24, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
Anata no Yoru ga Aketera (あなたの夜が明けたら)
Anata no Yoru ga Aketera (あなたの夜が明けたら), translated on the cover as After Sunrise, Haru Harukawa Collection is a collection of shorts by, obviously Harukawa Haru. Some of these…
Koichi Yamadera interviews, October 2021
The week prior to Yamato 2205 Chapter 1’s premiere was filled with cast and staff interviews. Since the film is as much about Dessler as the other main…
アイマス15周年記念 – 過去から未来へ、「アニマス」から受け継がられた思いと意志
15年の時を経て、『アイドルマスター』は様々な業界にその名を轟かせてきた。その記念として、2011年にアニメ化された『アニマス』が大ヒットになるまでの道のりだけではなく、それを可能にした情熱と、それがシリーズの未来とどう繋がるのかを振り返ってみたいと思います。…
Majuu Sensen, Sound of the Sky Specials, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Jinsei - Life Consulting, Gurren Lagann
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…
Hoyaman (さよなら ほやマン, Teruaki Shoji, 2023)
The tranquil island life of a pair of brothers is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious woman in Teruaki Shoji’s quirky comedy.
I Quit, Being “Friends” (友達やめた。, Ayako Imamura, 2020)
Director Ayako Imamura turns the camera on herself and her sometimes awkward relationship with a friend who struggles with communication
The End of the Pale Hour (明け方の若者たち, Hana Matsumoto, 2021)
Dejected youngsters flounder amid the ruins of the salaryman dream in Hana Matsumoto’s youthful drama.
Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 1 (欠けた月とドーナッツ)
Uuno Hinako always looks good. Her dress and makeup are always spot on, her hair is always done. She’s always got a smile on her face at work,…
Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 3 (欠けた月とドーナッツ)
What is love? How do we fall in love? What does that even mean? How do we make space in lives that are full already, for other people?…
Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 4 (欠けた月とドーナッツ)
Let’s start with the most important thing in Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 4 (欠けた月とドーナッツ) – this was the perfect, most exactly correct ending to this series that…
Just Remembering (ちょっと思い出しただけ, Daigo Matsui, 2021) [Fantasia 2022]
Former lovers are confronted by reminders of their failed romance amid the loneliness of the coronavirus pandemic in Daigo Matsui’s melancholy drama.
Between Us (藍に響け, Yasuo Okuaki, 2021)
A sullen young woman learns how to connect through the power of taiko in Yasuo Okuaki’s intense manga adaptation
Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 3 (定時にあがれたら)
Romance is hard, especially when you aren’t really sure if she feels as intensely about you as you do about her. Or so Kayoko believes. To make things…
Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 4 ( 定時にあがれたら)
As Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 4 ( 定時にあがれたら) opens, we find ourselves in a story that is so grounded in reality that it seems almost magical.^_^ Kaori and…
Catharsis After the End (#ピリオド打ったらカタルシス, Crazy Joe, 2022)
A pair of video streamers find themselves sinking to depths of depravity in a quest for online approval in Crazy Joe’s darkly humorous exploration of the ills of…
Skeleton Flowers (かそけきサンカヨウ, Rikiya Imaizumi, 2021)
A pair of preoccupied teens learn to work through their difficulties with maturity and empathy in Rikiya Imaizumi’s wholesome coming-of-age drama
Genjitsu Touhishitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi Manga (現実逃避してたらボロボロになった話)
Who could have imagined in 2016, when we all first discovered Nagata Kabi-sensei’s honest and touching diary of her struggles with mental health, that we’d be tuning back…
New Moomin 42/52 - Flap Your Wings! Pegasus (はばたけ! ペガサス) (1972) (English subtitles)
One late autumn day, the weather is unusually warm, and Mr. Hemulen puts up a portrait of two pegasuses who, according to an old story from his parents,…
New Moomin 40/52 - The Torn Picture Book (やぶれた絵本) (1972) (English subtitles)
As a gift to celebrate her recovery from illness, Moomin gives Nonnon a mysterious but beautiful picture book that Too-Ticky found on the beach. However, the last page…
Yuri Manga: Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 2 (定時にあがれたら)
In Volume 1, we met Yukawa, who became friendly, then friends, then lovers with her coworker, Mizuki. Now, in Volume 2 of Teiji ni Ageretara (定時にあがれたら), they are…
More on だけ
Quick follow-up on my newsletter from last month about the particle だけ (dake). I mostly discussed the non-“only” meaning of the word, which can be replaced with くらい…
The Filming Models of Koichi Ohata’s Genocyber
Unearthed via the DVD-ROM features of an ancient US Manga Corps digital video disc, we speculate on the provenance of the models used for filming on Genocyber.
The Filming Models of Koichi Ohata’s Genocyber
Unearthed via the DVD-ROM features of an ancient US Manga Corps digital video disc, we speculate on the provenance of the models used for filming on Genocyber.
Love, Life and Goldfish (すくってごらん, Yukinori Makabe, 2021)
An elitist banker learns to embrace his sensitive side when demoted to a country backwater obsessed with goldfish in Yukinori Makabe’s charmingly quirky musical
Follow the Light (光を追いかけて, Yoichi Narita, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
An alienated young man resentful of his forced relocation to the countryside bonds with an intense classmate in Yoichi Narita’s gentle coming of age drama
Straying (猫は逃げた, Rikiya Imaizumi, 2021)
An adulterous couple on the brink of divorce are brought closer together while looking for their runaway cat in Rikiya Imaizumi’s contemporary romantic drama.
Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた)
Suzuki Yufuko’s Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた) was not at all what I expected it to be. No, scratch that. It was exactly everything I expected it…
ユダヤ人から見た小林賢太郎氏のホロコーストコント(JPN Editon)
皆さんは情報を発信する時、誰の目に留まるのか意識しているでしょうか?日本人と繋がりの深いユダヤ人から見た小林賢太郎のホロコーストコントに関する本音をお伝えします。(JPN edition of original English post.)
Unlock Your Heart (ひらいて, Rin Shuto, 2021)
A straight-A student enters a self-destructive tailspin on discovering her longterm crush has a secret girlfriend in Rin Shuto’s intense psycho-romance.
New Moomin 11/52 - Moominvalley Is Full of Holes (ムーミン谷は穴だらけ) (1972) (English subtitles)
After an argument with the Muskrat, My digs a massive hole in Moominvalley in an attempt to figure out how holes are useful. All of a sudden, a…
Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me? (先生、私の隣に座っていただけませんか?, Takahiro Horie, 2021)
A mangaka and her cheating husband become locked in a cat and mouse game of ambiguous revenge in Takahiro Horie’s deliciously cynical anti-rom-com
Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら)
In Volume 1, we met Sahoko, who had some kind of feelings about her classmate Aoi. In Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara, Volume 2 (今日、小柴葵に会えたら) the story gets…
Yuri Manga: Kyou, Koshiba Aoi ni Aetara (今日、小柴葵に会えたら)
Never let it be said that I am immune to cheap marketing ploys. Well…I am *mostly* immune to them, having worked in advertising and possessing a health dose…
Evangelion Episodes 4 and 5: The Junichi Sato Chronicles
A short reading of two Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes from the point of view of someone familiar with the storyboarding techniques and styles of Junichi Sato, and a…
Hachiko (忠犬八公, Xu Ang, 2023)
The heartrending tale of a faithful dog who continued to wait for his owner at a cable car station becomes a poignant symbol for a left behind China…
「商業vs同人」から「開かれた公的表現vs閉ざされた私的表現」へ
以前、同人誌とはなんだろうかという問いを2013年に発表した。2013年――同人誌の再定義あれから10年が経った。 これまで商業誌と同人誌という区分けで日本のマンガ・アニメ・ゲームの世界を考えることが可能だったが、ネットとコロナ禍のためにこれが大きく変わったと兼光は考えてる。 最大の変化はプラットフォームとコミュニティが紐づけされなくなったのだ。以前は雑誌ごとに読者コミュニティがあり、よりデ…
Girls Love of the Dead, Kioku no Kakera, Volume 2 (ガールズラブ・オブ・ザ・デッド〈記憶のかけら〉)
In Girls Love of the Dead, Shi ga Futari wo Waka..tanai? we met Mitsuki, a young woman mourning the death of the girl she loves. In her attempt…
Spring 2021 First Impressions – Pretty Boy Detective Club
Streaming: Funimation Episodes: TBA Source: Light Novel Story Summary: It’s all fun and games until you enter your second year of middle school, or so goes the deal…
Tiong Bahru Social Club (Singapore, 2020) [NYAFF 2021]
Rowena Santos Aquino reviews Tan Bee Thiam's satirical comedy Tiong Bahru Social Club.
Jojune: Diamond is Unbreakable: Episodes 6 & 7–Koichi Hirose (Echoes) and Toshikazu Hazamada (Surface)
These are two episodes that I normally wouldn’t put together in one review. But both episodes highlight Diamond is Unbreakabke’s biggest problem, so I’m reviewing them together. These…
Intertextuality and I: Seeing the Future with Mr. Dai Sato
Bateszi and Celeste recently posted an ingenious 2-part feature talking about an interview with Dai Sato, creator of Ergo Proxy and Samurai Champloo, as well as having been…
The Straight Story and Salaryman’s Club
As I’m writing this, the White Sox just stopped an eight game slide (their first since 2018)...
The Straight Story and Salaryman’s Club
As I’m writing this, the White Sox just stopped an eight game slide (their first since 2018)...
Noise, melancholy and escapism: わたしのココ
For some reason I tend not to like Vocaloid music or producers, but so far there’s a single artist, that I found many years ago by pure accident…
Goukaku Tame no! Yasashi Sankaku Kakei Nyuumon ( 合格のための! やさしい三角関係入門)
Mayuki is determined to get into the school of her choice to be close to the girl she likes, her old sempai on the basketball team, Akira. But…
Yamabuki (やまぶき, Juichiro Yamasaki, 2022)
The lives of a series of dejected souls in a moribund quarry town intersect in unexpected ways in a poetical drama from Juichiro Yamasaki
甘えたい
A bit late, but 新年おめでとうございます! The newsletter went out a couple weeks back, and I wrote a little about 甘える (amaeru), a word that is extremely difficult to…
Review—On Haiku, by Hiroaki Sato
Hiroaki Sato reveals how the radical brevity of the haiku genre contains worlds within worlds. This is a book to cherish, and which nurtures in return.