Anime Blog Tracker

The Monk and The Samurai (2022) [Short Film Review]

The Monk and The Samurai      The lives of two men, a monk and a samurai suffer unbearable loss. Heroic to the end their tales intertwine as...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Nov 26, 2022 • Subscribe

The Samurai

Zokki (2021) [Film Review]

Zokki; or, Too Many Secrets      Lately, I've been thinking. If a living creature loses what it keeps secret, maybe it can't go on living. O...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Apr 23, 2022 • Subscribe

Cube (2021) [Film Review]

Cube (2021); or, Running Scared      I see a sin in your eyes. My first encounter with the Cube franchise was not a positive one. Back in…

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Mar 11, 2022 • Subscribe

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl – Film Review

A spin-off of The Tatami Galaxy, this film builds on the style of the acclaimed series with a youthful, feel-good story bursting with fun and creativity!

The Culture Cove

Feb 9, 2020 • Subscribe

The Tatami Galaxy

Under The Open Sky (2021) [Film Review]

Under The Open Sky; or, Homecoming      We'll face our fate. But you still have this chance. You have to be patient out here. Patient with f...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Nov 13, 2021 • Subscribe

Asakusa Kid (2021) [Film Review]

Asakusa Kid; or, Make’em Laugh      Listen, Take. Don’t suck up to your audience. You tell them what’s funny. I have been waiting patiently ...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Dec 17, 2021 • Subscribe

Bubble

Short Movie Time: Honeymoon (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“A pleasing narrative about the arbitrariness of language and culture.”

psycho-cinematography

Nov 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Kick Heart (2013) Short Film

As promised, I’m going to review a newer anime today rather than sticking to the decade of my birth like my last few entries. This short film is…

Classic Anime Blog

Nov 30, 2013 • Subscribe

HOME! (2021) (Animenotane short)

  Here's something a little uncharacteristically contemporary for us, this is a short made this year for Animenotane, an ongoing project tha...

Inka-Subs

Jul 18, 2021 • Subscribe

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2021) [Film Review]

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes; or, Time Is But a Window      That's exactly what happened! I became me and me. There was me and then me fu...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Nov 5, 2021 • Subscribe

Baan Muay Thai (2021) [Film Review]

Baan Muay Thai; or, The Measure of a Man      When I was 19, I could do anything. Hurt but no real problem. One or two days and…

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Jan 29, 2022 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: The Fish With One Sleeve (2021) review

“Tokaibayashi Tsuyoshi delivers an important narrative that reveals how a societal system, which struggles with the newly-posed riddle of gender, problematizes the integration of the transgen…

psycho-cinematography

Mar 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Lackadaisy is a Fantastic Short Film!

Prohibition hasn’t been easy on the Lackadaisy speakeasy. Is it worth Rocky, Freckle, and Ivy risking their lives to bring back lackluster hootch to survive?

In Asian Spaces

Apr 28, 2023 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Go Seppukku Yourselves (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“An enthralling audiovisual experience and a powerful critique of the Japanese political system.”

psycho-cinematography

Oct 9, 2021 • Subscribe

Joint (2021) review [The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme]

Oudai Kojima proves, once again, that the yakuza genre is not dead and that, given the current societal constellation and the various currents within, engaging crime narratives can…

psycho-cinematography

Feb 2, 2023 • Subscribe

The Mole Song: Final (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]

Miike’s narrative delivers everything a fan of the previous narratives desires and even succeeds in inviting newcomers to delve into Reiji’s past exploits.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 24, 2022 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Tokyo Revengers (2021) Review [Fantasia Film Festival]

“An exciting blend of satisfying violence, tensive moments, surges of pleasing lightheartedness, and touching emotional moments.”

psycho-cinematography

Aug 16, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia, Tokyo Revengers

A Man Called Otto — Short Report (Film)

Every Saturday at 1:00 PM, Otto and Sonya visited a little café in town and ate eclairs, which were messy but very tasty. At 2 o’clock, they left.…

Shoujo Thoughts: ☆ ～('▽^人) Otaku Ramblings

Jul 7, 2023 • Subscribe

250th Review: Hell’s Garden: Office Royale (2021) [Film Review]

Hell’s Garden: Office Royale; or, The Art of Delinquent War      Your problem is you don't know what you are missing. Dignity. Your fighting...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

Jan 22, 2022 • Subscribe

Shigeru, Tekken: The Motion Picture

Short Movie time: Psychology counsellor (2021)

“A thrilling masterpiece.”

psycho-cinematography

Feb 28, 2022 • Subscribe

Dreams of Fire (2021) review [Fantasia Film festival]

“McKie’s film is not only the best dance-film of recent years but might very well be one of the best Japanese films to be released this year.”

psycho-cinematography

Aug 25, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Review: SHORT SUNZEN

The Tokyopop library is riddled with manga like this - no-name titles with a few interesting ideas that were unceremoniously dropped because...

The Manga Test Drive

May 15, 2022 • Subscribe

Short Movie Time: Born Pisces (2020) review [Japan Cuts 2021]

“Yamanaka does not only reaffirm that she has talent but also that she improved her compositional style and her storytelling.”

psycho-cinematography

Jan 14, 2022 • Subscribe

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Short movie time: North Shinjuku 2055 (2021) review [OAFF 2022]

“A pleasant experimental short.”

psycho-cinematography

Mar 30, 2022 • Subscribe

Short movie time: Reason To Oblivion (2021) review [JFFH 2022]

A pleasant horror short-narrative that showcases Miyahara’s talent.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 4, 2022 • Subscribe

AND THEN: A Girl-Meets-Girl Short Film

In the middle of spring 2020, Jenn Ravenna Tran launched a Kickstarter for a short film And Then, which she described as “A Girl-Meets-Girl Short Film Set in…

Okazu

Mar 21, 2021 • Subscribe

Film Review: The Concierge

There is a certain department store with a very peculiar clientele. It’s not just that it caters to the rich and famous, though many a celebrity, business mogul,…

Beneath the Tangles

Oct 19, 2023 • Subscribe

The Concierge

The Imaginary Film Review

My review of The Imaginary is now up over on Anime News Network. Check it out!

Biggest In Japan

Dec 26, 2023 • Subscribe

Love, Live, and Goldfish (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]

“While Makabe’s narrative does not offer anything truly new or groundbreaking, what it does brings to the table is served with excellence.”

psycho-cinematography

Aug 6, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

June 2021 Review No.1 (Sound Eupho Sequel Film)

Now, while I have been following the Sound Euphonium series for some time, it took a bit longer to see the other entries. Granted, I tend to skip…

EclecticDude's Anime Reviews 2.0

Jun 5, 2021 • Subscribe

Liz and the Blue Bird

It’s a summer film (2021) review [Camera Japan Festival]

“A highly entertaining film that offers a nostalgic and touching dive into youthful passion and romantic feelings and lighthearted celebration of indie-filmmaking and often-forgotten beauty o…

psycho-cinematography

Sep 21, 2021 • Subscribe

Kirara

In Praise of 2021’s Short Anime

Happy New Year, everyone! As was the case in 2019 and 2020, our first post of the new year is a rundown of Wooper’s favorite short anime from…

Star Crossed Anime

Jan 3, 2022 • Subscribe

Live-action film retrospective (2021)

Before I continue with the anime and games, as well as the usual end-of-month post, I have one more piece of old business from last year to complete:…

Everything is bad for you

Jan 2, 2022 • Subscribe

Japan Foundation Film Tour 2021

By Jasper Sharp. The ongoing Coronavirus crisis may have disrupted many aspects of the cultural calendar, but it is heartening to report that one the Japan Foundation UK…

All the Anime

Jan 24, 2021 • Subscribe

Detective Pikachu & The Mystery Of The Missing Flan Short Review – The Cutest Mystery Short

The cutest mystery short I’ve seen so far!

Arum Journal

Oct 27, 2023 • Subscribe

Pokémon

Building a Film: Night is Short, Walk on Girl

Night is Short, Walk on Girl is one of those movies I keep coming back to over and over when I’m not feeling too great and have no…

Confessions of an Overage otaku

Jun 8, 2020 • Subscribe

Anime short review: Pupa

Today it’s the final anime short review for the month. But I wanted to do something different this time: instead of finding a series I thought I might…

Everything is bad for you

Aug 26, 2022 • Subscribe

Pupa

Japanese Films at the Cannes Film Festival 2021

A preview of the Japanese and Japanese co-production films at the Cannes Film Festival 2021

Genkinahito

Jun 16, 2021 • Subscribe

Ichi The Witch Chapter 4 SHORT REVIEW

Learned my lesson from the last review; these early chapters don’t have a lot of “content” content like we’re used to. So I’m not gonna force myself to stretch…

World King Nero

Sep 30, 2024 • Subscribe

The Killer (1989) [Film Review]

The Killer; or, Tomorrow Never Came      In this world, not everybody is untrustworthy. Just how awesome is John Woo? The director is obvio...

Watching Asia Film Reviews

May 23, 2021 • Subscribe

Needless

The Imaginary Anime Film Review

Between reality, storybook worlds, and children's minds, this is a film overflowing with imagination—and it has the animation to match.

Anime News Network - Views

Dec 19, 2023 • Subscribe

The Imaginary

Film Review: The Colors Within

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…” From the very first moments of Naoko Yamada’s latest film, it is clear that Kimi no…

Beneath the Tangles

Mar 6, 2025 • Subscribe

A Silent Voice, The Colors Within, The Heike Story

The Concierge Anime Film Review

The Concierge is a light-hearted look at working in the service industry. It shows some of the best and worst of customers and clerks and ties it together…

Anime News Network - Views

Nov 4, 2023 • Subscribe

The Concierge

Jigoku-no-hanazono ～Office Royale～ (2021) review [Fantasia Film Festival]

“An absurd and crazy cocktail full of violence and funny twists and unexpected turns.”

psycho-cinematography

Aug 19, 2021 • Subscribe

Girl from Phantasia

Short Movie Time: Sad Girl (2021) [JFFH 2023]

A pleasant comical romance narrative.

psycho-cinematography

Jul 10, 2023 • Subscribe

The Fish with One Sleeve: A Short Film on a Japanese Trans Experience

The Fish With One Sleeve, by director Tsuyoshi Shoji, is a film about a Japanese trans woman returning to her hometown to see old friends.

Unseen Japan

Feb 25, 2022 • Subscribe