Anime Blog Tracker

Aloners (혼자 사는 사람들, Hong Sung-eun, 2021)

A solitary call centre employee is forced into a reconsideration of her way of life when a neighbour dies a lonely death in Hong Sung-eun’s melancholy character study

Windows on Worlds

Nov 5, 2021 • Subscribe

The Girl on a Bulldozer 불도저에 탄 소녀 Director: Park Ri-woong (South Korea) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

The Girl on a Bulldozer is a strong drama with a mystery that needs to be cleared up by an unconventional female lead brought to brilliant life by Kim…

Genkinahito

Mar 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Boundary: Flaming Feminist Action 바운더리 Dir: Yun Ga-hyun (South Korea) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Boundary: Flaming Feminist Action is a timely reminder 바운더리 Dir: Yun Ga-hyun (South Korea) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Mar 20, 2022 • Subscribe

Out of TOKYO202x Director: Akinori Ikuse [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

A refreshing sci-fi short from Japan, Out of TOKYO202x takes the time-slip formula and uses it on the summer Olympics of 2021! Director: Akinori Ikuse [Osaka Asian Film Festival…

Genkinahito

Mar 12, 2022 • Subscribe

The Slug 태어나길 잘했어 (2020) Dir: Choi Jin-young (South Korea) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Hands down, one of the best films at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021, I cried multiple times during this heartfelt film about overcoming existential loneliness. The Slug…

Genkinahito

Mar 10, 2021 • Subscribe

Swallow Flying to the South 燕南飛 (2022) Director: Mochi Lin [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023]

Swallow Flying to the South 燕南飛, from director Mochi Lin, is an emotionally moving stop-motion animation about her mother’s experiences at a school during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Won…

Genkinahito

Mar 17, 2023 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023

 For the second year in a row, the Heroic Purgatory podcast is covering the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) which took place between March 10 and March 19.…

Heroic Purgatory

Mar 21, 2023 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023

 For the second year in a row, the Heroic Purgatory podcast is covering the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) which took place between March 10 and March 19.…

Heroic Purgatory

Mar 21, 2023 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023

 For the second year in a row, the Heroic Purgatory podcast is covering the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) which took place between March 10 and March 19.…

Heroic Purgatory

Mar 21, 2023 • Subscribe

New Religion ニューレリジョン (2022) Director: Keishi Kondo [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023]

New Religion ニューレリジョン is a highly-atmospheric horror film from Keishi Kondo who crafts an original story with distinct visuals. It’s one of the best J-horror films I have seen…

Genkinahito

Mar 16, 2023 • Subscribe

December 赦し (2022) Director: Anshul Chauhan [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023]

December 赦し is director Anshul Chauhan’s third feature film. An impressive courtroom drama, it takes us through a harrowing criminal trial that constantly keeps us empathising with and questi…

Genkinahito

Mar 12, 2023 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 Announces Complete Lineup

At venues across Osaka March 10 to 20 plus 10-film retrospective selection streaming worldwide March 3 to 21

Windows on Worlds

Feb 26, 2022 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022’s Japanese Films

Details on many of the Japanese films that will be screened at Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022

Genkinahito

Mar 7, 2022 • Subscribe

Snowdrop スノードロップ Director: Kota Yoshida [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Snowdrop スノードロップ, by director Kota Yoshida, is a socially conscious domestic drama/character study that looks at the welfare system via a woman chased by the trauma of abandonment…

Genkinahito

Mar 5, 2024 • Subscribe

POP! Director: Masashi Komura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

POP! provides a slightly surreal, slightly sweet existential crisis. POP! Director: Masashi Komura (2021) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Mar 24, 2021 • Subscribe

Strangers 人知れず Director: Sae Suzuki [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Strangers 人知れず Director: Sae Suzuki [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] is an effective look at how people can explore thorny issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination in…

Genkinahito

Nov 14, 2022 • Subscribe

Out of TOKYO202x Director: Akinori Ikuse [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] V-Cinema

A rewrite of my review of Out of TOKYO202x, a refreshing sci-fi short from Japan that takes the time-slip formula and uses it on the summer Olympics! Director: Akinori…

Genkinahito

May 18, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Sae Suzuki, Director of Strangers [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

STRANGERS tackles gender discrimination and sexual harassment in a heartfelt and interesting way. Director Sae Suzuki talks about how she made it in an interview done in Japanese…

Genkinahito

Nov 14, 2022 • Subscribe

Joint ジョイント Director: Oudai Kojima (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Joint ジョイント Director: Oudai Kojima (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021] is a refreshing take on the yakuza genre thanks to the depth of its world building and…

Genkinahito

Mar 7, 2021 • Subscribe

An Interview with Sheikh M Haris, Director of HOWLING [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Get the background to the Japanese neo-noir black comedy HOWLING in this Interview with Sheikh M Haris, the Director [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Apr 15, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Kahori Higashi, Director of Melting Sounds [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

An Interview with Kahori Higashi, Director of MOOSIC Lab affiliated film “Melting Sounds”. It is available in Japanese and English. [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Jul 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Marchen Awakens Romance

An Interview with Yusaku Matsumoto, Director of BAGMATI RIVER [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

An Interview with Yusaku Matsumoto, Director of BAGMATI RIVER [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Apr 11, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Azusa Hieda, Director of Summer Wedding [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

SUMMER WEDDING is a short by Azusa Hieda that sees a relationship undergo a massive change due to isolation forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. You can read some…

Genkinahito

Jun 29, 2022 • Subscribe

Summer Wedding 恋がする Director: Azusa Hieda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Summer Wedding is a unique and strong take on pandemic isolation. Summer Wedding 恋がする Director: Azusa Hieda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Mar 29, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Kasho Iizuka, Director of ANGRY SON [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

An interview with Kasho Iizuka about the making of his film ANGRY SON, shown as part of Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022.

Genkinahito

Jan 9, 2023 • Subscribe

An Interview with Yuko Watanabe, Director of BOY SPROUTED [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

An interview with Yuko Watanabe, director of the short film BOY SPROUTED. You can read it in Japanese and English! [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022].

Genkinahito

May 14, 2022 • Subscribe

Our House Party ボクらのホームパーティー (2022) Director: Shuichi Kawanobe [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

“Our House Party” is a well-acted slice of gay life from Tokyo that gives an honest view of some of what it means to be gay in Japan.…

Genkinahito

Jul 13, 2022 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022’s Opening and Closing Films

Details on Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022’s Opening and Closing Films – Yanagawa, Miss Osaka

Genkinahito

Feb 9, 2022 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 – In Cinemas, Online, and International

Details on Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 – It Plays In Cinemas and Online and the online part with be available to International Viewers!

Genkinahito

Jan 31, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Fumito Fujikawa, Director of The Light of Spring [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022/Five Flavours Film Festival 2022]

An Interview with Fumito Fujikawa, Director of The Light of Spring, a dramamentary that played at Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 and is currently screening online at Five…

Genkinahito

Nov 24, 2022 • Subscribe

Sekai 世界 (2023) Director: Marina Tsukada [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023]

Sekai 世界, directed by Marina Tsukada, is a rich portrait of two people living in Nagano prefecture. It gently guides us into their inner worlds and exploring them…

Genkinahito

Mar 11, 2023 • Subscribe

yes, yes, yes Director: Akihiko Yano (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

A powerful drama about reckoning with grief, “yes, yes, yes” is powered by raw performances from its brilliant cast. yes, yes, yes Director: Akihiko Yano (2020) [Osaka Asian…

Genkinahito

Mar 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Suton すとん Director: Rikako Watanabe [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Suton すとん, by director Rikako Watanabe. is a quietly affecting character study where a young woman’s life is marked by the poignancy of aging and separation and also…

Genkinahito

Mar 2, 2024 • Subscribe

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (2023) Director: Elene Naveriani [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (2023), by director Elene Naveriani, is a touching late coming-of-age film about a 48-year-old woman in a Georgian village growing into herself after a near-death…

Genkinahito

Mar 6, 2024 • Subscribe

Melting Sounds ほとぼりメルトサウンズ Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Melting Sounds is a wonderfully incisive yet offbeat MOOSIC LAB film concerned with mortality and human connections. Higashi’s light touch delivers a profound, cute, and deeply humanistic pae…

Genkinahito

May 27, 2022 • Subscribe

Marchen Awakens Romance

SANKA: Nomads of the Mountains 山歌 Director: Ryohei Sasatani [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

SANKA: Nomads of the Mountains 山歌 Director: Ryohei Sasatani [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Apr 22, 2022 • Subscribe

My Sister 姊姊 Director: Pan Ke-yin (2021) Taiwan [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

My Sister 姊姊 is a wonderful Taiwanese short that delivers a shot of reassuring love through a bratty brother and family. Director: Pan Ke-yin (2021) Taiwan [Osaka Asian…

Genkinahito

Mar 11, 2022 • Subscribe

An Interview with Daisuke Miyazaki, Director of NORTH SHINJUKU 2055 [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Another great Interview with Daisuke Miyazaki, this time for his work on the sci-fi short NORTH SHINJUKU 2055. You can read it in Japanese and English! [Osaka Asian…

Genkinahito

Apr 28, 2022 • Subscribe

Bear Man 웅남이 (2023) Director: Park Sung-kwang [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]

Bear Man 웅남이 (2023), by director Park Sung-kwang, is a solid comedy/action/crime film about bears that turn into men. It makes good on its premise and offers an…

Genkinahito

Jul 17, 2023 • Subscribe

Ribbon 2021 Director: Non [New York Asian Film Festival 2022]

Ribbon is a Covid-19-themed film about the frustrations of life in isolation and creative blockages. Combining the two, we see a coming-of-age drama where the protagonist overcomes both through…

Genkinahito

Jul 20, 2022 • Subscribe

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023 Announces Complete Lineup

In Osaka 10th to 19th March.

Windows on Worlds

Mar 5, 2023 • Subscribe

An Interview with Akinori Ikuse, Director of Out of Tokyo 202x [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Another great Interview with Akinori Ikuse about his sci-fi short OUT OF TOKYO 202x, a story of time travel and the Tokyo Olympics. You can read it in…

Genkinahito

May 18, 2022 • Subscribe

The Residents 暮らしの残像 Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

The Residents, by director Kahori Higashi, is a snappy ensemble comedy that follows a traditional four-act structure of intro, development, twist, and conclusion. The Residents 暮らしの残像 Director: Kah…

Genkinahito

May 27, 2022 • Subscribe

Summer Wedding 恋がする Director: Azusa Hieda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] V-Cinema

Summer Wedding is a unique and strong take on pandemic isolation. Summer Wedding 恋がする Director: Azusa Hieda [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Jun 29, 2022 • Subscribe

The Narrow Road 窄路微塵 (2022) Director: LAM Sum [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023]

The Narrow Road 窄路微塵 is director LAM Sum’s moving ode to working-class life in Hong Kong during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Narrow Road 窄路微塵 (2022) Director: LAM Sum…

Genkinahito

Mar 14, 2023 • Subscribe

SANKA: Nomads of the Mountains 山歌 Director: Ryohei Sasatani [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] Rewrite

SANKA: Nomads of the Mountains 山歌 Director: Ryohei Sasatani [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022]

Genkinahito

Aug 4, 2022 • Subscribe

Rewrite

Melting Sounds ほとぼりメルトサウンズ Director: Kahori Higashi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022] Rewrite

Melting Sounds is a wonderfully incisive yet offbeat MOOSIC LAB film concerned with mortality and human connections. Higashi’s light touch delivers a profound, cute, and deeply humanistic pae…

Genkinahito

Jul 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Rewrite, Marchen Awakens Romance

Three Sisters 세자매 Director: Lee Seung-won (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Three Sisters 세자매 Director: Lee Seung-won (2020) [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]

Genkinahito

Mar 6, 2021 • Subscribe

City of Wind (2023) Director: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

City of Wind (2023), by director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, is a perfectly-crafted portrait of Mongolian youth that looks at the way modernity and tradition, social order and individuality affect…

Genkinahito

Mar 4, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko 22 スミコ22 (2024) Director: Sawako Fukuoka [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024]

Sumiko 22 スミコ22 (2024), sees editor/writer/director Sawako Fukuoka draw upon her own experiences to make a quirky comedy/drama about the everyday pressures and small-scale strangeness experienced b…

Genkinahito

Mar 18, 2024 • Subscribe

Sumiko