A rebellious woman strives for independence in a patriarchal society but nevertheless finds herself hamstrung by feckless men in Naruse’s Taisho-era drama
Feb 16, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
Mother (おかあさん, Mikio Naruse, 1952)
A teenage girl struggles to understand her self-sacrificing mother in Mikio Naruse’s subversive take on the hahamono
Wife (妻, Mikio Naruse, 1953)
An unhappily married woman contemplates independence but struggles to see herself as anything other than a “wife” in Naruse’s bitter marital drama
Repast (めし, Mikio Naruse, 1951)
An unhappily married woman fed up with the drudgery of her existence considers other options but finally concludes there are none in Naruse’s bleak melodrama
Mikio Naruse: Adventures on Harumi Island
I got a pleasant surprise recently when I watched Mikio Naruse’s AUTUMN HAS ALREADY STARTED (1960). At a key point in the narrative, the two child protagonists living…
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.
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…
A Wanderer’s Notebook (放浪記, Mikio Naruse, 1962)
A determined young woman seeks a way out of poverty in Mikio Naruse’s biopic of author Fumiko Hayashi.
A Wife’s Heart (妻の心, Mikio Naruse, 1956)
When plans to start a new business go awry, a dejected wife finds herself at a crossroads in Mikio Naruse’s martial drama.
A Woman’s Place (女の座, Mikio Naruse, 1962)
The young women of post-war Japan struggle to define themselves in a changing society in Mikio Naruse’s uncharacteristically hopeful family drama
Your Japanese is Good if You Understand This No.4 なら たら と ば んだったら であれば であるなら
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
The Hot Little Girl (しびれくらげ, Yasuzo Masumura, 1970)
A young woman uses the tools used against her to fight back against the exploitations of a patriarchal society in Yasuzo Masumura’s provocative drama.
Your Japanese is Good If You Get This No.3 てもらう・てくれる・てあげる
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
The Angry Street (怒りの街, Mikio Naruse, 1950)
A sociopathic student takes revenge on a changing society by seducing wealthy women in Mikio Naruse’s brooding noir.
Hit and Run (ひき逃げ, Mikio Naruse, 1966)
A grief-stricken mother hatches a desperate plan of revenge against the woman who killed her son in Mikio Naruse’s dark psychological drama.
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
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…
The Approach of Autumn (秋立ちぬ, Mikio Naruse, 1960)
A small boy finds himself trapped between the new society and the old in Mikio Naruse’s often deceptively cheerful childhood drama.
Five Men in a Circus (サーカス五人組, Mikio Naruse, 1935)
A 5-piece jinta brass band ends up performing as ringers at strike-stricken circus in Naruse’s melancholy anti-authoritarian comedy
Dear Etranger / 幼な子われらに生まれ
It’s no secret that divorce is messy and complicated, particularly when children are involved. From the child’s perspective, it may be the moment that you realize your parents…
Amalock (あまろっく, Kazuhiro Nakamura, 2024)
A resentful middle-aged woman’s perspective begins to change when her father suddenly marries a much younger woman in Kazuhiro Nakamura’s lighthearted dramedy.
Yellow Crow (黄色いからす, Heinosuke Gosho, 1957)
A small family struggles to repair itself after eight years of wartime separation in Heinosuke Gosho’s post-war melodrama.
The Horse Boy / 暴れん坊街道 / Abarendo kaido (1957)
Obscure Japanese Film #122 Shuji Sano Isuzu Yamada Yosaku (Shuji Sano) is a low-ranking samurai employed at Yurugi Castle in Tanba Provi...
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.
Hana ni Arashi 10 (はなにあらし)
High school is a weird time. So much is going on in your body, in your head, in your heart. It’s the last time to have fun as…
Hana ni Arashi 11 (はなにあらし)
High school is a weird time. So much is going on in your body, in your head, in your heart. It’s the last time to have fun as…
Oshi ga Budokan Itterkuretara Shinu, Volume 8 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
Yippee! A whole volume of this manga in which I never once wanted to shake the daylights out of the creator! Ahem. But seriously, Oshi ga Budokan Itterkuretara…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu Live-Action (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
For various reasons I have spent the last few weeks playing catch-up with everything I have meant to watch and read and listen to but never got around…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 6 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )
In Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 6 ( 推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ ), we meet another local idol group, the Starlights, when the two groups end up in a double…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 9 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ)
When we left this series in Volume 8, there were rainbows and doves flying because an entire volume had passed without making me feel unpleasant thoughts in the…
Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, Volume 7 (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ )
Until late last night, this review was going to be completely different. I had a whole review planned out and was all ready to joke about Path #5…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 5 (はなにあらし)
While we’re able to enjoy Makoto Hagino’s slow-burn high school Yuri romance, A Tropical Fish Years for Snow in English, there is another Shogagakukan title with a similar…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 6 (はなにあらし)
Nanoha and Chidori have shared their first kisses and, frankly, they are pretty sure that they no one has noticed, even though it got a little weird between…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8, (はなにあらし)
In Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8 (はなにあらし), Nanoha is starting to feel the weight of the real world and isn’t sure that she and Chidori inhabit the same…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 4 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 1 we met Nanoha and Chidori, two girls who have a secret – they are lovers. They aren’t lovers, but they are in love and they…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 9 (はなにあらし)
We have watched Nanoha and Chidori since they began dating. For a very long time, it was under the radar, but as they look towards a wider future…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 11 (はなにあらし)
Nanoha and Chidori are two young woman in love. They know that when they graduate thing will change and their lives will grow more compliacated, but for this…
Hana ni Arashi, Volume 7 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 7 of Hana ni Arashi, (はなにあらし) something finally happens. Well…two things. Remembering that, in this series “happen” is very broadly applied word. ^_^ The first thing…
THE GOAT RETURNS | Eve - "Bokurano" ぼくらの MV | REACTION
Eve putting up Wilt numbers on these MVs right now 😤 Reaction to Bokurano 「ぼくらの」 by Eve, which is also the My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Season 6 Opening…
Punk Samurai (パンク侍、斬られて候, Gakuryu Ishii, 2018)
The arrival of a chaotic ronin spreading tales of a weird cult results in a battle between “monkeys and idiots” in Gakuryu Ishii’s irreverent jidaigeki comedy.
Best Wishes to All (みなに幸あれ, Yuta Shimotsu, 2023)
A visit to her grandparents’ home forces a young woman to reckon with with the price of “happiness” in Yuta Shimotsu’s eerie indie horror.
![Featured image for Remain In Twilight (くれなずめ, Daigo Matsui, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210819/1629331394.19675.45404.jpg)
Remain In Twilight (くれなずめ, Daigo Matsui, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A group of high school friends is forced to confront unresolved grief while rehearing for a wedding in Daigo Matsui’s moving metaphysical drama
Yuri Manga: Hana ni Arashi, Volume 2 (はなにあらし)
In Volume 1, we met Nanoha and Chidori, two high school students who are keeping a secret from their friends – they are going out with each other.…
Yuri Manga: Hana ni Arashi, Volume 3 (はなにあらし)
Chidori and Nanoha have a secret, we are told in Volume 1 and Volume 2. They are lovers, we are told. And we will have to believe what…
My Sorry Life (愛のくだらない, Kozue Nomoto, 2020)
A self-absorbed TV producer gets a wake up call when her boyfriend announces he’s pregnant in Kozue Nomoto’s ironic dramedy
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…
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
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
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…