A perpetual outsider seeks direction but discovers only nihilistic despair in Sogo Ishii’s apocalyptic biker movie
Feb 18, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
Crazy Thunder Road (1980) review
“A nihilistic and wild exploration of the self-destructive nature of a relentless search for a dose of pleasure.”
Crazy Thunder Road (Japan, 1980)
Colleen Wanglund reviews Sogo Ishii's cult favorite Crazy Thunder Road.
Crazy Thunder Road (1980) [Film Review]
Crazy Thunder Road; or, Falling Down I founded the Maboroshi group eight years ago. Now I'm one of its seniors. You should know I'm on ...
Crazy Thunder Road
by Jeremy Clarke. Following on from Arrow’s superb BD of Sogo Ishii’s Burst City (1982) comes Third Window’s equally impressive BD release of its predecessor in the Ishii…
Hanasaku Iroha 花咲くいろは
Ohana, a Tokyo high school girl, who had been living alone with her single mom has no choice but to relocate to her grandmother’s inn when her mom…
Itsuki Tsuchigami【土上いつき】Sakuga MAD
Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwrI-DkXiWQ Itsuki Tsuchigami (alternatively miso) is a favorite animator of mine, and I've planned to make a MAD with his work for a long time. Now that FGO…
Sorasoi (そらそい, Katsuhito Ishii, Shunichiro Miki, Yuka Osumi, 2008)
Students on a dance summer camp pick up a few lessons in authenticity and self-confidence while staying in an out of the way hotel in Ishii, Miki, &…
The 11 Cats (11ぴきのねこ) and Other Tales (1976, 1980)
At long last, a certain dream of mine for almost four years now has come true—namely, for Group TAC’s long-forgotten classic film The 11 Cats, which was originally…
Immersion (忌怪島／きかいじま, Takashi Shimizu, 2023)
An attempt to recreate the “real” in the “virtual” causes a rupture between this world and another in Takashi Shimizu’s high tech horror.
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 6 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
You know how you feel after you’ve had a fever, when the fever breaks and you’re soaked in sweat? You don’t feel “good,” per se, but you feel…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 4 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
In Tamifull’s Yuri drama Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 4 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな), we are confronted with something we don’t see very often at all in Yuri…two people who may just…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 8 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
“The characters and the art have grown, Tamifull’s narrative skills are excellent here. We’ve been with them through a lot…and we’re still here as they enter the next…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 9 ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
When we first met Miwa, she was unsure of herself. And when we met Saeko she seemed very confident. As we’ve got to know them, we’ve come to…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 5 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
As a reviewer, I understand that spoilers are sometimes unavoidable in order to make a review make sense. As a reader, I don’t particularly mind spoilers…until I do.…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 7 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
When I reviewed Volume 6 I said of that volume that it was like a fever finally breaking. “You don’t feel “good,” per se, but you feel better,…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 10 ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
Life is complex – humans are complex systems and relationships are complex systems made up of other complex systems interacting. Things are always complicated in Tamifull’s Tsukiatte Ag…
Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 11 ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
In my review of Volume 10, I said, “I’m ready for something to lighten up.” Welp, Volume 11 of Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな) by Tamifull is not…
Katsuhito Ishii as Animator
By Tom Wilmot. For those clued up on modern Japanese cinema, the name Katsuhito Ishii is sure to ring a bell. Renowned for his surreal imagery and off-kilter…
1980 Lookback, mecha designs
From the Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine, Vol. 15 (October 2022): mecha designers Arashi Ishizau and Mika Akitaka look back at the progressive year 1980 and share…
Toward the Terra (1980)
Toward the Terra (1980) I tend to really enjoy stories that feature big concepts – especially imaginings of the future, and Toward the Terra features both of those…
Yuri Manga: Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 3 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)
2020 marks an interesting new phase for me in regards to Yuri manga. Because there are so many more comics about adult women, written for adults, my specific…
いい歳
How to Know You're in the Good Old Days - How to Japanese - May 2021
Okiku and the World (せかいのおきく, Junji Sakamoto, 2023)
A samurai’s daughter falls for a lowly manure man in a city on the brink of change in Junji Sakamoto’s touching dramedy.
Party 7 (Katsuhito Ishii, 2000)
A series of strange events bring a collection of lonely souls to Hotel New Mexico in Katsuhito Ishii’s zany crime comedy.
Kaiju Transmissions podcast: Virus (1980)
While there hasn’t been a new Maser Patrol episode in a hot minute, Kevin (along with author John LeMay) had a chance to drop by the Kaiju Transmissions…
Astro Boy (1980) 40th Anniversary
It’s the 40th Anniversary of Astro’s colour version this year! A fact which makes me realise that this particular show and I are getting on a bit (I’m…
The Child of the Thunder
In among the hills of Echizen, within sight of the snowy mountain called Hakuzan, lived a farmer named Bimbo. He was very poor, but frugal and industrious. He…
![Featured image for Episode #64 (S9E2) – Battles Without Honor and Humanity [仁義なき戦い] (1973)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230519/1684487322.61321.95479.jpg)
Episode #64 (S9E2) – Battles Without Honor and Humanity [仁義なき戦い] (1973)
This week, Perry is joined by Jordan Forbes, co-host of the Shonen Flop Podcast. We discuss Kinji Fukasaku’s 1973 yakuza film, Battles Without Honor and Humanity (仁義なき戦い). It’s…
Crazy Astro Font
I found this image of a really strange Astro Boy themed premium typeface a few weeks ago. It came from some kind of marketing exhibition in...
Dekisokonai Hime-tachi, Volume 4 (できそこないの姫君たち)
Fujishiro Nanaki, having been ostracized by her group of fashionable and popular girls, has found acceptance with the “nerd” group, Kurokawa’s friends Izumi and Iroha. Together th…
The Crazy (?) Political Aspirations of Japan’s Super Crazy-kun
A former biker gang member and musician is angling to be Miyazaki Prefecture's next governor. Does he stand a chance in hell?
Yuri Manga: Mejirobana Saku (メジロバナの咲く)
This year we are starting off 101 CYE and I wanted to pick something really special to begin with. It was a difficult decision, let me tell you!…
Mejirobana Saku, Volume 2 (メジロバナの咲く)
Back in 2020 when I reviewed the first volume of Nakamura Asumiko’s first manga that was specifically meant to be seen as Yuri, I kept my expectations relatively…
1980 Lookback with Writer Hideki Oka
From the Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine, Vol. 15 (October 2022): 2202 and 2205 scriptwriter Hideki Oka looks back at the progressive year 1980 and recounts his…
Synduality Noir #06 — Use Thunder Shock
Exactly how many not-Vegases are there in this world? Impressions: Essentially a re-run of episode 2 and 3, combined, bringing back all the characters and setting from…
Jyushin Thunder Liger: The Impossible Gimmick
January 6, 2020 marked the end of an era as beloved Japanese wrestler Jyushin Thunder Liger retired. His achievements are many, from innovating the Shooting Star Press (now…
Cardcaptor Sakura – 08 – Love and Thunder
Sakura has a strange dream of Tokyo Tower that’s identical to one she had in the first episode, except that the person in it isn’t her, but some boy…
いろいろ December 2023
I ran out of space over at the newsletter this month, so I thought I’d share the いろいろ section on the blog instead. Podcast link at the bottom!…
Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 3 (できそこないの姫君たち)
In Volume 1, otaku and class loner Kurokawa Kaede is thrown together with school princess, Fujishiro Nanaki. In time-honored fashion, Fujishiro gives a radical makeover to the girl…
Love yourself ～君が嫌いな君が好き～ - KAT-TUN (2010) Themesong to Yamato...
Love yourself ～君が嫌いな君が好き～ - KAT-TUN (2010) Themesong to Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (2010), which I bought Linda for Mother’s Day earlier this month. (She’s a “horror onna” kind of…
書き言葉
Tone in Written Japanese - How to Japanese - December 2022
い Particle
The i い particle in Japanese, found in phrases like nandai なんだい, sou kai そうかい, ganbaru zoi がんばるぞい, and akireta wai 呆れたわい.
Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Bleach is going CRAZY
Bleach is going CRAZY Become a member! - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xIqX93EXRtB4z58AbCarg/join Discord - https://discord.gg/enRG5QR Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/thekingofrecons Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/OuterHeavenRecon/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/YoshidaShoyou Click here to Subscribe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xIqX93EXRtB4z58AbCarg Bleach Reactions/Discussions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIaf_k8QQweTjS5K5FoYLvr_foem6Unjh
Gleipnir #12 — Crazy Hair
Who asked for this episode? Impressions: Great. A whole episode flashback, one episode from the end. Worse, all it does is reveal the backstory for the rando…
Kannagi (Crazy Shrine Maidens)
Kannagi is a manga that begins by a boy named Jin carving a figure out of the wood from a fallen sacred tree, and a girl named Nagi…
Kagemusha (影武者, Akira Kurosawa, 1980)
A thief reborn as a lord finds himself caught between the contradictions of the feudal order and the borders of identity in Akira Kurosawa’s Sengoku-era tragedy.
Firechick's Anime Reviews: Astro Boy (1980 Remake)
Rating : 70/100 On April 3rd, 1952, Osamu Tezuka started up a new manga that would later become not only one of his most iconic works, but become…
Kirin, Inheritor of Thunder | Monster Hunter Ecology
Want to see ALL videos early? Support me on patreon for exclusive access! https://www.patreon.com/oceaniz TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Intro 01:24 - Overview 08:15 - Kirin 21:20 - Outro SOURCES: Hunter's Encyclopedia G, pg. 110 Monster Hunter World Complete Works pgs.…