The medical system is just another corporate body filled with egotistical salarymen and dangerously narcissistic careerists in Satsuo Yamamoto’s tense political drama
Apr 25, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 1
Content warning: The plot here is 100% manipulation, violence and sexual violence. Shirakawa Junko is beloved in her office. The younger employees look up to her with deep…
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 3
In Volume 1 we met Shirakawa, top of her department in her office and Kuroda, a promising up-and-comer who threatens to take everything Shirakawa has built. They briefly…
白と黒~Black & White~, Volume 2
In Volume 1, we met Shirakawa Junko and Kuroda Kayo two high-spec, elites in an international sales department, who are natural enemies. They don’t just fight…in fact, they…
The Shadowless Tower (白塔之光, Zhang Lu, 2023)
A rootless middle-aged man meditates on visions of corrupted paternity and lonely exile in Zhang Lu’s intensely affecting drama.
The Bride with White Hair (白髮魔女傳, Ronny Yu, 1993)
The world proves too corrupt for star-crossed lovers from rival clans in Ronny Yu’s gothic wuxia fable.
告白
Confessions and Rejections - How to Japanese - September 2022
Tower of God – It’s a Great Idea to Walk Away from the Tower
Given the brutality of the tests and the mortality rate, walking away is a great idea.
Terror in the Streets (悪魔が呼んでいる, Michio Yamamoto, 1970)
A young woman finds herself in the crosshairs of mysterious forces in Michio Yamamoto’s folk horror paranoia thriller.
Daimajin (1966) review
“A wonderful and refreshing blend between the jidai-geki/chanbara and the kaiju genre.”
Irezumi (1966) review
“Masamura delivers a phenomenal narrative, a true post-war classic.”
Nizo Yamamoto (1953-2023)
The background artist Nizo Yamamoto, who died on 19th August, spent his whole life working in the Japanese animation sector. Born in Nagasaki, he developed an interest in…
Eiichi Yamamoto (1940-2021)
Eiichi Yamamoto, who died earlier this month, bore witness to crucial moments in anime history. As a young man, he was one of the talents behind the scenes…
Black Tight Killers (1966)
A stylish and visually dazzling romp with lots of action and sensuality
Kentaro Miura (1966-2021)
“When you’re a cartoonist and working at home you sit at your desk pretty much all day,” Kentaro Miura once said in an interview. “You get most of…
The Idiot (白痴, Akira Kurosawa, 1951)
A pure soul is destroyed by the selfishness and duplicity of the post-war society in Kurosawa’s snowbound adaptation of the Dostoyevsky novel.
Nausicaa in White – Kaina of the Great Snow Sea Spoiler Review
It should come as no surprise, given I’ve put down my thoughts on selected Ghibli films that I’m something of a fan of Nausicaa of the Valley of…
いい歳
How to Know You're in the Good Old Days - How to Japanese - May 2021
The Threat (脅迫, Kinji Fukasaku, 1966)
An ambitious executive is confronted with the emasculating nature of the salaryman dream when escaped convicts invade his home in an early thriller from Kinji Fukasaku.
Book: Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White (Dear America)
This Dear America book was the first one I had read, completely enamoured with it when I was young due to my interest in history. I w...
Diorama: The tower
This is a diorama project for Girls’ last tour. This diorama is a bit unique for me because, for the first time, I won’t be using any of…
Episode 100 - Dr. Takahiro Yamamoto (Heidelberg)
In this episode, Dr. Yamamoto reviews Japan's diplomatic interactions with Russia in the northern territories of the Kuril Islands and Karafuto in the years around the Meiji Restoration. …
Currently watching (The Aquatope on White Sand / The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!)
Last post, I went over a few of the very long, involved games I’m currently playing. But when I’m way too tired to play a game (because I…
The aquatope on white sand, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!
Intolerance (空白, Keisuke Yoshida, 2021)
A angry old man struggling to accept his daughter’s death is forced to reassess his relationships in Keisuke Yoshida’s intense social drama.
Kentaro Miura (1966-2021): A Tribute
In which I talk about the recent passing of a manga legend.
Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep (1966) review [The Godzilla Project]
A pleasant Kaiju film that continues to emphasize the imaginary dynamic of us (i.e. societal harmony) against them (i.e. the Otherness that threatens it)
The Golden Bat (黄金バット, Hajime Sato, 1966)
Skeletal superhero Golden Bat is woken from his 10,000 year slumber to fight for justice when the Earth is threatened with destruction in Hajime Sato’s delightfully silly tokusatsu…
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!…
Tower of God – 02 – The Irregular at God Tower High
The battle royale continues until there are only 200 fighters remaining. At that point all fighting stops, and Bam and Aguero don’t have to fight the big Croc-man…
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.
Wonderful Paradise (脳天パラダイス, Masashi Yamamoto, 2020)
An impromptu going away party descends into a psychedelic rave of death and rebirth in Yamamoto’s defiantly surreal nighttime odyssey
Robinson’s Garden (ロビンソンの庭, Masashi Yamamoto, 1987)
A young woman attempts to escape society by rewilding an industrial estate but discovers the land may not want her in Yamamoto’s ethereal drama
The History of Mushi Pro – 02 – Anime business (1965-1966)
While I’m hesitant to speak of “golden ages”, if Mushi Production had one, it was certainly the years 1965-1966. Still riding on Tetsuwan Atom’s prodigious popularity, the studio…
Tower Mommy
Fend adds a wrinkle to the fight against Language, Two on Ice ends with more Christian imagery, and Bond is a perfect dog that must be protected always! 4:08…
The Winter Tower | Game Review
A fairy tale romance… in reverse. This love story takes place in an isolated, magical tower like many a tale before it, but something’s a little different this…
THE GREAT SASURAIGER REWATCH 42 – The Great Touchdown
GALACTIC WHIRLWIND SASURAIGEREPISODE 42: The Great Touchdown WRITTEN BY: Yuu Yamamoto BROADCAST DATE: January 24, 1984 And, as always, this episode aired exactly forty years ago today! Okay,…
Tower of God – 13 [Tower of God]
Welcome all to the finale of Tower of God! I would say a lot happened this week, but lets be real, very little actually happened. What do I…
The White Saviors (and White Poodles) of Japan’s Far Right
Guest authors Robert Whiting and Jake Adelstein call out the white savior complexes of Japan's far-right foreign mouthpieces.
The aquatope on white sand – 19 – The white dolphin and the red pumps
Fuuka’s not-to-distant past life catches up to her, as a film crew from Yona Productions intends to film a tv show at Tingarla…with Fuuka’s idol kohai Shiori Ruka as…
The Great Darkroom
大暗室 (Daianshitsu, The Great Darkroom , 1938) is a thriller by EDOGAWA Rampo (江戸川乱歩). I've not read any of his novels except for a couple of ...
“Genshiken Nidaime” Ogiue Chika Voice, Yamamoto Nozomi, Gets Married
We don’t get much Genshiken news these days, but the Hashikko Ensemble official Twitter account recently tweeted about Yamamoto Nozomi, the voice actor for Ogiue Chika in Genshiken…
Yamamoto Sho's Essential Songs Before and After Fruits Zipper
Tracing the producer's body of work from Phenotas to Fruit Zipper's big hit
The Magic Serpent (怪竜大決戦, Tetsuya Yamanouchi, 1966)
A classic tale of intrigue and revenge leads to revolution against the feudal order in Tetsuya Yamanouchi’s tokusatsu ninja movie.
Son of the White Mare
by Jeremy Clarke. Three impatient brothers demand their inheritance from their father the king, who gives it to them on condition that they must not open the locked…
The aquatope on white sand
The aquatope on white sand is currently streaming on Crunchyroll....
Books: The White Cat’s Revenge
By Jeannette Ng. The ever-lengthening ever more direct yet elaborate light novel title is a commonly observed phenomenon and The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon…
The Aquatope on White Sand
Hey, all water lovers and sea creatures one too!! Check out this new anime!!!
The Aquatope on White Sand
The Aquatope on White Sand is an original anime series by P.A. Works about the magical powers of friendship and aquariums.
The White Fear of Mediocrity
For the past couple of years, I’ve been listening over and over to the song “Deacon Blues” by Steely Dan. Despite being from the 70s, it was only…
THE GREAT SASURAIGER REWATCH 5 – The Great Rainbow Escape
GALACTIC WHIRLWIND SASURAIGEREPISODE 5: The Great Rainbow Escape WRITTEN BY: Yuu Yamamoto BROADCAST DATE: May 3, 1983 And, as always, this episode aired exactly forty years ago today!…