A diffident young woman begins to step into herself while chasing love under the blossoming cherry trees of Tokyo in Shunji Iwai’s impossibly charming drama.
Dec 6, 2022 • Subscribe
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Interview: Shunji Iwai
By Andrew Osmond. The delightful comedy-drama The Case of Hana & Alice is a kind of anime, except that it was filmed first in live-action, then converted into…
夏物語
夏物語、 川上 未映子、文藝春秋、 2019 Summer Story, Mieko Kawakami, Bungeishunju, 2019 [Since I first read this book, an English translation has been published by Europa Press as Breasts and…
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April Story (1998) [Film Review]
April Story; or, My Dearest Senpai When I made it into university, Moriyama, my home-room teacher congratulated me, saying "It was a mi...
Love Letter (ラブレター, Shunji Iwai, 1995)
Two lost women are forced to deal with the recent and not so recent past through the serendipitous connection of a misdirected letter in Shunji Iwai’s tremendously moving…
An Osaka Story (大阪物語, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1957)
A man who tries to escape his poverty ends up imprisoning himself in Kozaburo Yoshimura’s tragicomedy
Kitanhana Monogatari (綺譚花物語)
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing a book on Yuri history in Taiwan by Baihe novelist 楊雙子 Yáng Shuāngzǐ. Today I am reviewing the…
Japan Society Presents Love Letters: Four Films by Shunji Iwai
At Japan Society New York Dec. 9 & 10. April Story streaming in the US Dec. 9 to 23
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The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (8日で死んだ怪獣の12日の物語, Shunji Iwai, 2020) [Fantasia 2021]
Takumi Saito plays a version of himself raising “capsule kaiju” as means of combatting Covid helplessness in Iwai’s whimsical pandemic drama
The Weald (杣人物語, Naomi Kawase, 1997)
Naomi Kawase takes to the mountains hearing the stories of the ageing villagers as they meditate on loss, loneliness, and regret.
Story of a Blind Woman /女めくら物語 / Onna mekura monogatari (1965)
Obscure Japanese Film #130 Ayako Wakao This Daiei production stars Ayako Wakao as Tsuruko, an orphan who loses her sight at the age of 16 ...
All About Lily Chou-Chou (リリイ・シュシュのすべて, Shunji Iwai, 2001)
Alienated turn of the century youth finds refuge in the music of an etherial pop star and online connection in Shunji Iwai’s elegiac youth drama.
Uraroji Romanya Monogatari (裏路地浪漫屋物語)
Uraroji Romanya Monogatari (裏路地浪漫屋物語) is a collection of Yuri stories by creator Kumosuzume. It’s a nice collection, with a variety of tones. The title story tells of a…
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (悲愁物語, Seijun Suzuki, 1977)
An aspiring golfer begins to lose her sense of identity after being picked up as a brand ambassador in Seijun Suzuki’s surreal consumerist satire.
Curse of the Blood (怪談残酷物語, Kazuo Hase, 1968)
Vengeful ghosts in Japanese cinema usually originate from some kind of injustice. Generally, they’ve met a bad end through no real fault of their own while the person…
Lovely Little Ai (愛ちゃん物語♡, Ohno Candice Mana, 2021)
A lonely young woman struggling to escape her father’s obsessive control after bonding with a maternal neighbour in Ohno Candice Mana’s whimsical drama
Tale of Japanese Burglars (にっぽん泥棒物語, Satsuo Yamamoto, 1965)
A former burglar finds himself conflicted on realising only he can prevent a miscarriage of justice in Satsuo Yamamoto’s ironic tale of post-war moral confusion
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Kizumonogatari -Koyomi Vamp- (傷物語 -こよみヴァンプ-, Tatsuya Oishi, 2023) [Fantasia 2024]
A young man walks into an empty subway station already ominously strewn with blood and finds there the corpse of a woman shorn of her limbs. The corpse…
Casting Blossoms to the Sky (この空の花 長岡花火物語, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2012)
An emotionally arrested journalist begins to reconnect with the past through wartime stories of Nagaoka in Obayashi’s compassionate plea for a kinder future
Kite (1998): Nah
Did you ever watch a series that made you open up the R-18 ranking on an anime listing website to show that you’ve watched it? Yeah, Kite made…
Over My Dead Body (死屍死時四十四, Ho Cheuk-Tin, 2023)
Residents of a swanky apartment block must band together to get rid of a random corpse and protect their property values in Ho Cheuk-Tin’s dark-hearted farce.
A (1998) [Documentary Review]
A; or, In Sonshi We Trust I want you to look at us closely. I want you to record us. We don't have a tradition of recording…
S2E6 - The Quiet Family (1998)
Hello everyone, In this episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason revisit South Korean director, Kim Jee-woon, this time discussing his 1998 feature film debut, The Quiet Family. They…
Ringu (リング, Hideo Nakata, 1998)
A reporter finds herself the victim of a dark and mysterious curse while investigating the strange death of her niece in Hideo Nakata’s landmark J-horror.
Retro Anime Reviews: Spriggan (1998)
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Comic Yuri Hime, April 2023 (コミック百合姫2023年4月号)
I know I’m running way behind on Comic Yuri Hime magazine. I have been unable to go to the Japanese bookstore since March, and reading Japanese was too…
Comic Yuri Hime April 2021 ( コミック百合姫2021年4月号)
Comic Yuri Hime April 2021 ( コミック百合姫2021年4月号) has some wonderful things in it. But first, we’ll be saying goodbye to “Hayama-sensei to Ternao-sensei ha Tsukiatteriru.” Having gott…
Comic Yuri Hime, April 2022 (コミック百合姫2022年4月号)
Comic Yuri Hime, April 2022 (コミック百合姫2022年4月号) starts off with an evocative cover image. I very much continue to enjoy this year’s cover design, with it’s patchwork of color…
Comic Yuri Hime, April 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年4月号)
Comic Yuri Hime, April 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年4月号) is an incredibly strong issue of what is turning out to be a very good Yuri manga year. There are a nice…
Comic Yuri Hime April 2025 (コミック百合姫2025年4月号)
As both a commentary on Hechima’s cover art for Comic Yuri Hime April 2025 (コミック百合姫2025年4月号) and a life reminder, neither brooding, nor stalking are positive life skills. We…
Monster (怪物, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2023)
Gossip and petty prejudice give rise to a series of “misunderstandings” in Koreeda’s probing drama.
Comic Yuri Hime Magazine, April 2020 (コミック百合姫2020年4月号)
Here we are at the April 2020 issue of Comic Yuri Hime magazine(コミック百合姫2020年4月号). This year the cover theme is women in ill-fitting clothing having what always looks like…
The Longest Summer (1998) [Film Review]
The Longest Summer; or, Lost in a Big City I'm disappointed in you! Want me to join the mob? Want me to rob a bank? You…
1998: The Birth of the Cool
Evan Minto, also known as Vampt Vo, went from wide-eyed newbie anime fan to hardened cynic in just over ten years in the game. Nowadays he...
Revolutionary Girl Utena, Trigun, Hellsing, Armitage III, Cardcaptor Sakura
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The Quiet Family (1998) [Film Review]
The Quiet Family; or, Lonely Lodge Did I tell you about Chul-ki? He was so good at digging that if you gave him a…
Cardcaptor Sakura. Aged Anime 1998 - 2000.
Cardcaptor Sakura was a very cute and ingenious anime based off of the Clamp manga series. The manga was very well received in Japan and is...
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Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the survival idol manga series IDOL x IDOL STORY! by Shotaro Tokuno, coming April 2025.
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Episode #98 (S12E08) – Monster [怪物] (2023)
It’s another film by Hirokazu Kore-eda! This time, Perry is joined by podcaster Sam Stokes to discuss the director’s latest film, Monster. With different perspectives, it’s an enl…
July Rhapsody (男人四十, Ann Hui, 2002)
A middle-aged school teacher finds himself tempted by a free-spirited student in Ann Hui’s melancholy marital drama.
#248 – Horimiya: Tomatsu Haruka x Uchiyama Koki x Iwai Yuki
Roundtable discussion between two of my favourite voices Tomatsu Haruka and Uchiyama Kōki, as well as comedian Iwai Yūki, about the ‘Horimiya’ anime. Super popular youth-oriented manga ‘Horimiya’,…
Lupin III: Tokyo Crisis (1998) – Claustrophobic Crimes
I don’t have a lot of interesting meta bits to discuss when it comes to this special when it appeared on TMS’ YouTube channel. Just some interesting things…
Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998) – Episodes 09-12
Softsubbed Torrent | Hardsubbed Torrent Softsubbed DDL | Hardsubbed DDL CW: Suicide imagery in episode 12. This is like… one of three times we’ve seen an Inoue series…
Ranking EVERYTHING of The Powerpuff Girls (1998)
Guess whose back with another Ranking filled with Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice and just a liiiittle bit of Whoopass- I mean Chemical X? This gal! And in conjunction with…
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Episode #66 (S9E4) – After Life [ワンダフルライフ] (1998)
In the latest episode, Perry is joined by story coach Erin Rodgers to discuss Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 1998 film, After Life. They share their memories of discovering this film…
Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998) – Episodes 05-08
Softsubbed Torrent | Hardsubbed Torrent Softsubbed DDL | Hardsubbed DDL CW: Fatphobia in episode 7. This series goes so many Inoue-as-hell places in episodes 7 and 8. Inoue’s…
Kaette Kita Doraemon (Come Home Doraemon) (1998)
I'm gonna be honest, I don't even know what Doraemon is about. Isn't the blue thing supposed to be a cat or something? Email | Discord Down...
夜神月 (Yagami Light)
Who is Yagami Light? Yagami Light is a highly intelligent and ambitious high school student who discovers the Death Note, a supernatural notebook that allows its user to…
Gundam A Project Planning Document (09/28/1998)
Gundam A Project was an early codename for Turn A Gundam used during planning and pre-production (the pipeline was Ring of Gundam -> Gundam A Project -> Turn…
Newtype Magazine (10/1998) – Interview with Akira Yasuda
The following is a translation from the October 1998 issue of Newtype Magazine. It has been slightly edited for clarity and readability. Akira Yasuda. Born on July 21,…