With an all star cast and five top directors, Ode to the Spring celebrates the efforts of frontline workers in Wuhan during the pandemic.
Jul 5, 2022 • Subscribe
More like this
Before Next Spring (如果有一天我将会离开你, Li Gen, 2021)
A Chinese restaurant becomes a kind of home for a disparate collection of travellers and unanchored locals in Li Gen’s poignant drama.
One Summer (一个夏天, Yang Yishu, 2015)
A wife is sent on a kafkaesque quest when her husband is taken away by a knock in the night in Yang Yishu’s social drama.
Johnny Keep Walking! (年会不能停！, Dong Runnian, 2024)
An earnest factory experiences a rude awakening when he’s accidentally promoted to head office in Dong Runnian’s hilarious satirical comedy.
Review: Ode to the Spring (2022)
Ode to the Spring 你是我的春天 China, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 121 mins. Directors: Zhou Nan 周楠 (I), Zhang Chi 张弛 (II), Tian Yusheng 田羽生 (III), Dong Yue 董越 (IV),…
One and Four (一个和四个, Jigme Trinley, 2021)
A lovelorn forest ranger has an incredibly bad day in Jigme Trinley’s tense psychological drama.
When the Dawn Comes (黎明到來的那一天, Zhang Hong-Jie, 2021)
Zhang’s documentary follows LGBTQ+ activist Chi Chia-Wei in the run up to the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Too Cool to Kill (这个杀手不太冷静, Xing Wenxiong, 2022)
Fantasy and reality begin to blur for a jobbing actor suddenly offered the lead in an experimental hitman movie in Xing Wenxiong’s take on Koki Mitani’s The Magic…
The Road (大路朝天, Zhang Zanbo, 2015)
The building of a highway in provincial Hunan exposes the corruptions and hypocrisies at the heart of the modern society in Zhang’s unflinching documentary
Ode to the Nobodies
Today, we take an Ode to the Nobodies. The ones we never see, but who we'll always need. Great stories are built on deep characters, but those characters must…
Black Lagoon, Cowboy Bebop, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Ergo Proxy, From the New World
行方不明の池田大作創価学会会長を探せ！
日本で最も有力な政治関係のパイプ役であり、宗教指導者でもある池田氏は2010年以来、公共の場で姿を見せていない。彼いったいどこにいるの？
River of Salvation (一江春水, Gao Qisheng, 2020)
The seemingly boring life of a dejected young woman is disrupted by a series of revelations and reversals in Gao Qisheng’s indie drama
The Best Secret Agent (天字第一號, Chang Ying, 1964)
A female super spy is forced to sacrifice romantic fulfilment in the pursuit of her duty but with it gains true freedom and independence in Chang Ying’s hugely…
Who’ll Stop the Rain (青春並不溫柔, Su I-Hsuan, 2023)
Two young women meet and fall in love amid the student protests of ’90s Taiwan but find their connection frustrated by ongoing lack of “freedom” in the new…
Dangerous Youth (危險的青春, Hsin Chi, 1969)
A young couple struggle to adapt themselves to a changing society in Hsin Chi’s youth morality drama
Leave Me Alone (不想一個人, Fan Yang-chung, 2021)
A lovelorn gallery owner and ambitious pimp embark on a steamy affair but find themselves bound by their shared yet opposing desires in Fan Yang-chung’s steamy urban drama
Early Spring (早春, Yasujiro Ozu, 1956)
A dejected office worker and his disappointed wife battle the emptiness of the “salaryman dream” in Ozu’s embittered marital drama
Youth (Spring) (青春, Wang Bing, 2023)
Wang Bing turns his camera on the mostly young workers in the textile factories of Zhili.
The Emperor’s Sword (乱世之定秦剑, Chen Hao-nan & Zhang Ying-li, 2020)
Retired heroes must rise again when an ambitious courtier attempts to usurp the kingdom through obtaining twin swords in Chen & Zhang’s
An ode to caramelldansen
Old MemoRies Before the days of apartment raves, hearing the muffled nightcore-inspired mix through your walls, or even the Doomer remixes, the internet was a different place. Some…
An Ode to ‘X’
What started in in May of 1992, has born a legacy now 30 years strong, A story that weaves together three friends, that is sure to lead to…
An Ode to Haikyuu
When this post makes an appearance, it will appear slightly less than two weeks after the manga form of Haikyuu came to an end. While I am not…
An ode to the otaku room
The otaku room is a nothing more than a microcosm of the otaku identity. A private stand-alone simulation created solely to nurture one’s indulgent hobbies. This is an…
The Best is Yet to Come (不止不休, Wang Jing, 2020)
A man denied a fair chance because of his impoverished background comes to identify with the plight of those carrying the hepatitis B virus in Wang Jing’s true…
Ode to Anime Studios – Lidenfilms
Another day, another anime studio based in Suginami…
Ode to Anime Studios – NAZ
To be honest, I kept putting this studio off for this post series because I don’t have much information to go off…
Ode to Anime Studios – Trigger
This is the 2nd studio from the order that was decided by the readers.
When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace, Kiznaiver, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life, Ninja Slayer from Animation
Ode to Anime Studios – Gainax
Thanks to everyone who voted in that poll I ran. I’m not sure if you noticed the poll on the previous Ode post took precedence, but Gainax had…
Alienoid (외계+인 1부, Choi Dong-hoon, 2022)
Alien cyborgs and feudal magicians battle cosmic disorder in the opening instalment of Choi Dong-hoon’s epic science fiction fantasy.
Mari and Mari (彼女来来, Tatsuya Yamanishi, 2021)
A self-involved casting director experiences romantic and existential crisis when his girlfriend is replaced by another woman in Yamanishi’s eerie indie drama
Ode to Anime Studios – PA Works
Appare-Ranman knocked my socks off and this studio is busy with Kamisama ni Natta Hi this season anyway, so it’s a good time for a look-see…
Ode to Anime Directors – Shinji Takamatsu
I feel like doing the same thing over and over again for months on end is boring, so why not change things up in April, the month of…
Ode to Anime Studios – White Fox
Visit the post for more.
Ode to Anime Studios: Studio Colorido
This studio’s a fairly young one, but it’s been making some waves lately.
Ode to Anime Studios – 8-bit
Stars Align’s put my eye towards these guys. If I wanted to catch the seasonal train on Stars Align, I’m a bit late, but…welp, the post in this…
An Ode to My Hilarious Hater
Today I want to share with you guys my surprisingly positive experience with hate comments.
Ode to Anime Studios – Brain’s Base
I’ve been worried about this one – I don’t really know their output too well and their overall “footprint” on their works is kind of vague…
Ode to Anime Studios – Kinema Citrus
Another day, another anime studio based in Suginami…
Ode to Anime Studios – Doga Kobo
Welp, we’re getting to the more questionable and obscure studios at this point… …I think most of the studios after this one are really controversial studios (Gonzo, A-1),…
Ode to Anime Studios – Science Saru
Eizouken is making waves this season, so it’s time to set our sights on this small studio backed by a big name. Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! gives…
Ode to Anime Studios – David Production
Well, I’ve seen a few things from this studio…but I don’t actually know much about them, aside from their reputation with the Jojo series.
Cells at Work!, Fire Force, Ensemble Stars!, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Give Me Five (哥，你好, Zhang Luan, 2022)
After disrupting his parents’ meet cute, a young man must travel to the past ensure his own birth in Zhang Luan’s sci-fi-inflected dramedy.
Moon Man (独行月球, Zhang Chiyu, 2022)
A lovelorn maintenance man finds himself alone on the moon after his team evacuate without him in Zhang Chiyu’s sci-fi comedy.
Reclaim (一家之主, CJ Wang, 2022)
A disillusioned middle-aged woman begins to reclaim her sense of self while trying to repair her fracturing family in CJ Wang’s touching family drama.
The BEST Anime of Spring 2022 - Ones To Watch
Spring Sprung on us like a bear trap in 2022, with FORTY FIVE new Anime and sequels hitting. Lucky for you, I've already sifted through them all to…
An Ode to the Old Man Who Loved Anime
There's no such thing as growing too old to enjoy something.
In Our Prime (이상한 나라의 수학자, Park Dong-hun, 2022)
A student outcast bonds with an equally excluded genius from North Korea Park Dong-hun’s educational drama.
Final Spring 2022 Anime To Cover Poll
Right now my Spring 2022 coverage lineup consist of the following: Wednesday: Birdie Wing and RPG Real Estate Thursday: Shamiko S2 Friday: CUE! and Executioner’s Way of Life…
Er Dong (China, 2008)
Karen Ma reviews Yang Jin's independent feature Er Dong.