Kashipan, kashipan as far as the eye can see - How to Japanese - May 2022
May 31, 2022 • Subscribe
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How to 菓子パン
I just sent out the May newsletter. I wrote about my love of 菓子パン (kashipan). The croissant above I don’t think technically counts as 菓子パン? My theory is…
Sachiko (さち子) – Lamp
Appears on their album 「Yume」. Sachiko Lyrics by Sakakibara Kaori Composed by Someya Taiyo Performed by Lamp The horizon at the end of summer and the sweet salt wind My newly shorn hair brushes pas…
Ichiko (市子, Akihiro Toda, 2023)
When a young woman disappears, it transpires that she never existed in the first place in Akihiro Toda’s twisty psychological mystery.
“Ouji-sama Joshi” Yuri Anthology STAYGOLD (「王子様女子」百合アンソロジー STAYGOLD)
Who doesn’t love good “Girl Prince” story? Even when confined to school grounds, the archetype of the coolest girl gives everyone a chance to fall in love from…
Bread of Happiness (しあわせのパン, Yukiko Mishima, 2012)
A warmhearted couple offer gentle support to a series of lonely souls from their cosy Hokkaido cafe in Yukiko Mishima’s slice of comfort foodie cinema
Dancing Girl (踊子, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1957)
The arrival of a free-spirited younger sister creates chaos in the live of a chorus dancer and her violinist husband in Hiroshi Shimizu’s elegantly lensed melodrama.
Seiyuu Highlights: Wakato Matsumoto 松本 和香子
Otherwise known by her stage name as Kujira (くじら) She's a really well known voice actress who portrays many roles of middle aged women in anime. Support me through…
Girls’ School (女子學校, Mimi Lee, 1982)
The transgressively close friendship between two teenage girls comes under scrutiny when a rumour circulates they are more than friends in Mimi Lee’s sensitive drama
Under the Stars (星の子, Tatsushi Omori, 2020)
A young woman raised by devotees of a new religion comes to question her worldview when confronted with its otherness in Tatsushi Omori’s coming-of-age drama.
Yoko (658km、陽子の旅, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, 2023)
An isolated woman begins to rediscover herself while hitchhiking to her estranged father’s funeral in Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s quietly moving road movie.
Gift of Fire (太陽の子, Hiroshi Kurosaki, 2020)
A conflicted scientist struggles to reconcile himself to the implications of his work while researching an atomic bomb in Kurosaki’s contemplative wartime drama
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.
A Balance (由宇子の天秤, Yujiro Harumoto, 2020)
An idealistic documentarian’s journalistic ethics are strained when she uncovers scandal close to home in Yujiro Harumoto’s probing social drama
The Old Town Girls (兔子暴力, Shen Yu, 2020)
The left behind children of decaying industrial China find themselves at the mercy of a corrupted parental legacy in Shen Yu’s gritty neo-noir
A Son (二十歳の息子, Ryuichi Shimada, 2022)
Documentarian Ryuichi Shimada follows a social worker who decides to adopt a 20-year-old man recently released from juvenile detention.
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…
Any Crybabies Around? (泣く子はいねぇが, Takuma Sato, 2020)
An immature young man abandons his family after becoming disgrace but discovers on his return there may be some bonds you can’t repair in Takuma Sato’s paternity drama.
Coo-Coo 043 (一家子兒咕咕叫, Chan Ching-lin, 2022)
A pigeon racer ponders building a coop for birds he can no longer care for while his own home crumbles in Chan Ching-lin’s bleak rural drama.
Yuri Doujinshi: Yuricon Tabemono to Joshiben (ユリコン 食べ物と女子編)
What do you get when a bunch of the best adult-life Yuri artists get together and explore random themes, then collect them together into anthology doujinshi? You get…
Foolish Bride, Naive Bridegroom (三八新娘憨子婿, Hsin Chi, 1967)
A naive young couple’s desire to marry is frustrated by the revelation their parents were once lovers in Hsin’s delightful screwball rom-com
The Swordsman and the Actress (大江戸千両囃子, Yasushi Sasaki, 1955)
Hibari Misora stars as an actress drawn into a complex battle for a precious fan in Yasushi Sasaki’s comic jidaigeki adventure
Zero to Hero (媽媽的神奇小子 , Jimmy Wan Chi-Man, 2021)
Sandra Ng stars as a devoted mother determined to support her son’s sporting dreams in Wan’s inspirational biopic of Paralympian So Wa Wai
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (漁港の肉子ちゃん, Ayumu Watanabe, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A resentful teenage girl comes to realise that she really does love her larger than life mum after all in Ayumu Watanabe’s anime adaptation of the Kanako Nishi…
アニメの新しいゴールデンコンビ – 中村亮介x細居美恵子インタビュー
フランスのジャパン・トゥール・フェスティバルで、アニメ監督の中村亮介とキャラクターデザイナーの細居美恵子の才能ある二人組に出会った。この二人の素晴らしい二人組は、『ねらわれた学園』、『あいうら』、『灰と幻想のグリムガル』などの印象的な作品を生み出した。
Children of the Great Buddha (大仏さまと子供たち, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1952)
A collection of orphans attempt to support themselves as tour guides to the ancient capital of Nara in HIroshi Shimizu’s empathetic drama.
Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 1 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け 一)
Back a the beginning of the year, I reviewed the second volume of a sequel to this series, Oni to Yoake Yuzikiyo (鬼と夜明け 夕月夜). Given that I knew…
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (ラーマーヤナ ラーマ王子伝説, Ram Mohan, Yugo Sako, Koichi Sasaki, 1992)
An exiled prince finds himself fighting an epic battle against the darkness when his wife is kidnapped by a demon king in this beautifully produced adaptation of the…
Album review: 新世界の弟子たち (New World Disciples) by desert sand feels warm at night
More vaporwave! desert sand (never capitalized, so I don’t know what to do with it at the beginning of a sentence — whatever, I’m not following the rules…
To Be Killed by a High School Girl (女子高生に殺されたい, Hideo Jojo, 2022)
A high school teacher hides a dark secret behind his handsome facade in Hideo Jojo’s outlandish giallo-esque mystery thriller
Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next (その後の蜂の巣の子供たち, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1951)
In an interesting piece of meta docufiction, Hiroshi Shimizu revisits the Beehive a few years later to find out how the orphans live now.
2021年台湾紹介ビデオ04【西子湾】高苑科技大學應外系日文組
台湾南部の高雄にある高苑科技大學應用外語系日文組の学生が、日本語で台湾(主に南部)を紹介します。このビデオは、世界中の日本語学習者と日本語を通して異文化交流・理解することを目的として作られました。これは、2021年版です。予定していた日本への交換留学やインターンシップがコロナ禍で中止…。もう、卒業かあ。モチベーションが下がる一方の4年生。そんな中で、4年生の一部の授業枠を利用して、5年ぶりに台湾紹介ビデオを復活させました。
Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる), Volume 1
Ayaka-chan is fashionable and cute. As a result, she’s super popular with her male colleagues. Unfortunately for them, she isn’t interested. Ayaka only has eyes for her cool,…
Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru, Volume 3 (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる)
We left Ayaka in full “hitting on Hiroko-sempai” mode in Volume 2. In Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru, Volume 3 (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる), we finally get some backstory on why…
Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru Live-Action (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる)
Ayaka works in a fairly typical Japanese office where the star of the company is Hiroko, a very competent, caring career woman. After a gaffe early in her…
Koharu to Minato: Watashi No Partner Ha Onna No Ko, Volume 1 (小春と湊 わたしのパートナーは女の子)
Koharu to Minato: Watashi No Partner Ha Onna No Ko, Volume 1 (小春と湊 わたしのパートナーは女の子) is a fictionalized autobiographical comic essay on the real-lives of the creative team, Daruma…
Manga Kodomo Bunko (まんがこども文庫) November ED (11月の歌) - The Flowing Chair (ながれ椅子)
Sung by (歌): Mitsuko Horie (堀江美都子) Lyrics (作詞): Yaso Saijō (西條八十) Composition and Arrangement (作曲・編曲): Seiichirō Uno (宇野誠一郎) Very special thanks to PopKorn Kat for transferring and scanning this record!
Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koi Shiteru, Volume 2 (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる)
In Volume 1, we met the popular and charming work sempai, Hiroko, who is the object of Ayaka’s ardor. Ayaka tries very hard to gain Hiroko’s attention, but…
Manga Kodomo Bunko (まんがこども文庫) December ED (12月の歌) - The Candy Train (お菓子の汽車)
Sung by (歌): Kyōko Ishige (石毛恭子) Lyrics (作詞): Yaso Saijō (西條八十) Composition and Arrangement (作曲・編曲): Teruyuki Noda (野田暉行) Very special thanks to PopKorn Kat for transferring and scanning this record!
Aikata System ~ Gakuen ga Eranda Unmei no Onna no ko~, Volume 2 (相方システム~学園が選んだ運命の女の子~)
What if you entered a school that had a fabled old tradition and it sounded so beautiful and romantic that you couldn’t wait to be part of it…but…
Aikata System ~ Gakuen ga Eranda Unmei no Onna no ko~, Volume 1 (相方システム~学園が選んだ運命の女の子~)
Hakamada Mera is a name that is well-known around here on Okazu. From her early days with Saigo no Seifuku, originally published by Hobunsha (and eventually Seven Seas…
Manga Kodomo Bunko (まんがこども文庫) October ED (10月の歌) - The Scarecrow and the Sea (案山子と海)
Sung by (歌): Yoshiko Mari (真理ヨシコ) Lyrics (作詞): Yaso Saijō (西條八十) Composition (作曲): Minao Shibata (柴田南雄) Arrangement (編曲): Akihiro Komori (小森昭宏) Very special thanks to PopKorn Kat for transferring and scanning this…