An apathetic student is torn between nihilistic destruction and the desire for life in Ken Ninomiya’s futuristic drama.
Oct 1, 2022 • Subscribe
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The Midnight Maiden War (2022) review
“A visually exciting experience that shows that the only revolutionary thing that can give life its worth is desire that remains desire.”
![Featured image for Episode #63(S9E1) – The Great Yokai War [妖怪大戦争] (2005)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230512/1683929922.60837.94922.jpg)
Episode #63(S9E1) – The Great Yokai War [妖怪大戦争] (2005)
In the first episode of season 9, Perry is joined by Lyndsey Little, writer and artist of the OniGirl comic. And in keeping with that theme of Japanese…
The Great Yokai War: Guardians (妖怪大戦争 ガーディアンズ, Takashi Miike, 2021)
An anxious little boy discovers his inner hero and saves the world through kindness in Takashi Miike’s warmhearted return to the world of folklore
Seven Days War (ぼくらの七日間戦争, Hiroshi Sugawara, 1988)
Oppressed teens rebel against the constraints of the Bubble-era society in Hiroshi Sugawara’s anarchic Kadokawa teen movie.
The Midnight Maiden War – Come for the plot, stay for the characters (movie review)
I feel like going into this film without some sort of context wasn’t the best idea. If I hadn’t seen this film on a day where there were…
Terror of Yakuza (沖縄やくざ戦争, AKA Okinawa Yakuza War, Sadao Nakajima, 1976)
A recently released foot soldier is caught between his psychotic boss, an amoral underling, and the encroaching mainland yakuza in Nakajima’s jitsuroku gangster picture
東京战争戦後秘話’ OST - Toru Takemitsu
The Man Who Left His Will on Film [Tokyo Senso Sengo Hiwa] Directed by: Nagisa Oshima 1970 Download
She is me, I am her (ワタシの中の彼女, Mayu Nakamura, 2022)
A gentle sense of haunting echoes through four tales of pandemic-era Tokyo in Mayu Nakamura’s ethereal anthology.
Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun (Good Luck! Ninomiya-kun)
This is an anime from 2007. That probably isn’t that old for some people, but is about the time I got into anime so I’m somewhat nostalgic for…
Thousand and One Nights (千夜、一夜, Nao Kubota, 2022)
Two women are united by the search for answers in the disappearances of their husbands but take very different paths in Nao Kubota’s melancholy tale of unanswerable longing.
Bad Women of China (中华坏女人, He Xiaopei, 2021)
He Xiaopei contemplates the lives of three generations of teenage women while attempting to reconcile with her distance mother in a very personal documentary.
#LookAtMe (Ken Kwek, 2022)
Young man is swept into a kafkaesque quest for justice when he’s arrested after posting a satirical video about a homophobic preacher in Ken Kwek’s surreal drama.
The Blue Danube (きまじめ楽隊のぼんやり戦争, Akira Ikeda, 2021)
An earnest soldier begins to question everything he’s been told thanks to musical intervention and a curious young man in Akira Ikeda’s absurdist anti-war drama
Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro (とんかつDJアゲ太郎, Ken Ninomiya, 2020)
The nerdy heir to a tonkatsu restaurant finds his heaven on the dance floor in a surprisingly wholesome turn from Ken Ninomiya
Mountain Woman (山女, Takeshi Fukunaga, 2022)
A young woman walks into the mountains to die but unexpectedly discovers what it is to feel truly human in Takeshi Fukunaga’s bleak folk tale.
Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective
I originally reviewed this anime when I was barely out of high school. That was 10 years ago now. I think my writing has improved somewhat since then.…
Lost in Forest (山中森林, Johnny Chiang, 2022)
A former gangster finds himself displaced within the modern society after release from prison in Johnny Chiang’s melancholy neo-noir.
Drive Into Night (夜を走る, Dai Sako, 2022)
Small-town futility leads to tragedy when two frustrated scrapyard workers attempt to cover up a crime in Dai Sako’s dark psychological drama.
2022 Fall/Winter Book Haul | maids, mythology, & midnight musings
NEW BOOKS! Hey guys, here’s all the non-graphic novel books I accumulated over the last few months of 2022! Let me know if you’ve read any of these…
2022 Fall/Winter Book Haul | maids, mythology, & midnight musings
NEW BOOKS! Hey guys, here’s all the non-graphic novel books I accumulated over the last few months of 2022! Let me know if you’ve read any of these…
Shiver 戦慄せしめよ (2022) Director: Toshiaki Toyoda
Shiver 戦慄せしめよ, by director Toshiaki Toyoda, is a music film that presents performances by Koshiro Hino and the taiko drumming group KODO in a visually dazzling way. Shiver 戦慄せしめよ (2022)…
The Corpse Danced at Midnight
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Meikyuu Black Company – 05 – The Rise of General Ninomiya
After a very nervy and fun fakeout in which Ninomiya dreams he’s back on Earth but Rimu followed him and is wreaking havoc on the city, he wakes…
Josei ga Otoko Kimono o Kiru Shashin-shuu (女性が男着物を着る写真集)
This world is a fascinating and wonderful place. A few months ago, a Japanese crowdfund project wandered over my feed and I immediately backed it. Kimono artist Remake-ya…
Recommendation – Midnight Diner
Today, I want to recommend the show Midnight Diner to you. The show is a little older and got some attention when it was released, but I still…
Goku Midnight Eye
As I’ve mentioned here ad nauseam by now, science-fiction, futuristic, cyberpunk stories tend to be among my favs and so I expected to enjoy Goku Midnight Eye. In…
Drive into Night 夜を走る (2022) Director: Dai Sako
Drive into Night 夜を走る, from director Dai Sako, is a solid crime film that offers some social realism and solid characterisation for most of its runtime. When it adds…
Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman (目中无人, Yang Bingjia, 2022)
A blind swordsman takes revenge against the evils of feudal society in Yang Bingjia’s impressively helmed action drama,
The Fisherman and the Moon Maiden
Pearly and lustrous white, like a cloud in the far-off blue sky, seemed the floating figure of the moon maiden, as she flew to earth. She was one…
Jessica Bannister and the Midnight Seance
Jessica Bannister is a young woman who wants to be a journalist. We meet her as she’s heading into the London City Observer for a job interview. She…
Oni to Yoake Yuzikiyo (鬼と夜明け 夕月夜)
While shopping in random bookstores in Japan at the end of last year I kept seeing book,s with girls in school uniforms wielding swords. I did that thing…
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…
Maiden Railways Review
Title: Maiden Railways (Tetsudo Shojo Manga)Genre: Romance, Slice of LifePublisher: Hakusensha (JP), Denpa (US)Creator: Asumiko NakamuraSerialized in: Melody (2008-2009), Rakuen (2009-2010)Localization Staff: Jocelyne Allen (Translator), Nicole Dochych (Production)Release…
Manga: Maiden Railways
By Shelley Pallis. So many things came to mind when I saw the title of Asumiko Nakamura’s Maiden Railways manga for the first time. And I thought, well,…
![Featured image for Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro とんかつDJアゲ太郎 (2020) Director: Ken Ninomiya [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210810/1628576594.19074.44692.jpg)
Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro とんかつDJアゲ太郎 (2020) Director: Ken Ninomiya [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]
Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro is a fun family-friendly film combining tonkatsu and DJing! Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro とんかつDJアゲ太郎 (2020) Director: Ken Ninomiya [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]
INTERVIEW: Masaaki Ninomiya, creator of horror manga Gannibal
The creator of a gripping, gory tale set in a secretive rural community in Japan talks about getting published in English for the first time.
Maiden of the Needle, Vol. 2
By Zeroki and Miho Takeoka. Released in Japan as “Hariko no Otome” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kiki Piatkowska. I’m still…
Maiden of the Needle, Vol. 1
By Zeroki and Miho Takeoka. Released in Japan as “Hariko no Otome” by Kadokawa Shoten. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kiki Piatkowska. This book’s…
Midnight Runners Movie Review
Let's take a break from reviewing animes, and let me share to you guys my thoughts about a movie I recently watched, Midnight Runner.
Midnight Runners Movie Review
Let's take a break from reviewing animes, and let me share to you guys my thoughts about a movie I recently watched, Midnight Runner.
Oumagadoki Zoo (Ft. Midnight)
In this episode, we, and our guest Midnight from MidnightxCross discuss the manga Oumagadoki Zoo. The first Shonen Jump work from My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi. Tune…
Midnight Runners Movie Review
Let’s take a break from reviewing animes, and let me share to you guys my thoughts about a movie I recently watched, Midnight Runner. Around the […]
Oumagadoki Zoo (Ft. Midnight)
In this episode, we, and our guest Midnight from MidnightxCross discuss the manga Oumagadoki Zoo. The first Shonen Jump work from My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi. Tune…
The Story of Two Swans – Midnight Swan
As precursor note this blog post of mine is not only a review of the film, the first part of this blog, but a discussion of the more…
![Featured image for The Girl From the Other Side (とつくにの少女, Yutaro Kubo & Satomi Maiya, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20220801/1659316740.41022.70889.jpg)
The Girl From the Other Side (とつくにの少女, Yutaro Kubo & Satomi Maiya, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
A kindly exile and lonely little girl find mutual salvation in Yutaro Kubo & Satomi Maiya’s beautifully animated fairytale.
Girl from Phantasia, The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 4
By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko.…
![Featured image for Destiny of the shrine maiden [Animé review]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20210410/1618067635.9321.33414.png)
Destiny of the shrine maiden [Animé review]
Kannazuki no miko Seasons: 1 Episodes: 12 Runtime: 23 min/Eps Genres: Shoujo-ai, Yuri, Romance, Slice of life Destiny of the shrine maiden is a Yuri animé following Himemiya…
Holiday Review #14: MAIDEN OF THE NEEDLE
There's all sort of female-led fantasy stories to choose from these days, isekai or otherwise. Sadly they can't all be good, though. MAIDE...
Zombieland Saga: Revenge – 07 – The Celestial Maiden
This is it, the much-anticipated backstory episode(s) for the oldest (by more than a century), wisest, and most elegant and domestically capable members of Franchouchou. One and a…
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 3
By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko.…