A lawyer finds himself questioning his own identity while searching for that of a man who’d been living under an assumed name in Kei Ishikawa’s existential mystery.
Mar 15, 2023 • Subscribe
More like this
Arc (Arc アーク, Kei Ishikawa, 2021)
A young woman ponders the concept of immortality when presented with two opposing versions of its manifestation in Kei Ishikawa’s sci-fi drama
Ghost Man (幽霊男, Motoyoshi Oda, 1954)
Employees at a nude modelling agency find themselves in the firing line when a “bloodsucking painter” escapes from a psychiatric institution in Motoyoshi Oda’s B-movie thriller.
The Box Man (箱男, Gakuryu Ishii, 2024)
Those who obsess over the Box Man, become the Box Man, in Gakuryu Ishii’s adaptation of the Kobo Abe novel.
Company Retreat (ある職場, Atsushi Funahashi, 2020)
A workplace trip descends into mistrust and suspicion following an accusation of harassment in Funahashi’s contemplative drama
Great Absence (大いなる不在, Kei Chikaura, 2023)
A forced reconnection with his estranged father forces a young man to contemplate the great absences of life in Kei Chikaura’s poetic drama.
Basic Japanese Sentence Structure No.6 ある to be, to exist
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (砕け散るところを見せてあげる, SABU, 2020)
A young man’s attempt to protect a bullied schoolmate leads him into infinite darkness but eventually also to the light in SABU’s poetic teen drama
The Man Who Died Seven Times / 七回死んだ男
After Evelyn Hardcastle died seven and a half times, dying seven times just doesn’t seem that impressive… The protagonist of The Man Who Di...
銀魂 - 鍋は人生の縮図である (25)
GinTama - The hot-pot is a microcosm of life Episode 25
JIRO ISHIKAWA ON MY MIND
Over at the (relatively) recently-revamped The Comics Journal site, my buddy Michael DeForge is posting a series of rad " A Cartoonist's Di...
Review: Moon Man (2022)
Moon Man 独行月球 China, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 120 mins. Director: Zhang Chiyu 张吃鱼. Rating: 6/10. Beijing troupe Ma Hua FunAge goes full-on sci-fi with a man stranded on…
Tengoku Struggle Strayside Goemon Ishikawa Walkthrough
A walkthrough to complete Goemon Ishikawa's route in the fantasy otome game Tengoku Struggle Strayside on the Nintendo Switch.
Your Japanese is Good If You Get This No.3 てもらう・てくれる・てあげる
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2
Chapter 5 - A "Mushroom" Shaped Man (1/31/2022)
This week, the boys discuss a steamy soap opera, an unfortunately-shaped man, and the return of Ayakashi Triangle.This week's manga Show-and-Tell was 純愛契約〜月100万で飼われた妻〜 (Junai Keiyaku ~Tsuki hyaku man…
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.
YOTSUYA KAIDAN 四谷怪談 (1949) + NIJI OTOKO (THE RAINBOW MAN) 虹男 (1949)
YOTSUYA KAIDAN This is one of several film versions of Tsuruya Nanboku IV’s story, Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan. Nanboku wrote this tale...
男前！ビーズ俱楽部
Author & Artist: 最富キョウスケ (Kyousuke Motomi)Released January 2005 by Shogakukan’s Bestucomi Flower ComicsGenre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
A Boy and a Girl (少男少女, Hsu Li-Da, 2023)
A young man on the cusp of adolescence longs to escape his miserable circumstances but gradually finds himself succumbing to the corruption all around him in Hsu Li-Da’s…
Eat-Man: A Vague Man for a Vague World
Eat-man is another anime that is hard to write about. Not because there is a lot going on, but because there is a lot of incompleteness to it.…
Chapter 24 - Gedou-Man, not Ghetto Man (6/13/2022)
Let's get biographical.This week's show and tell is Soshite Boku wa Gedouman ni Naru by Hiramatsu Shinji.Text-only versions of the weekly manga show-and-tell can be found on Andrew's…
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…
Review: Man on the Edge (2022)
Man on the Edge 边缘行者 China/Hong Kong, 2022, colour, 2.35:1, 112 mins. Director: Huang Mingsheng 黄明升. Rating: 6/10. Above-average Hong Kong crime drama has a strong raft of…
Getter Robo Arc and the True Ishikawa Style?
When I was first really getting into anime, it seemed as if the classic 1970s giant robot franchise Getter Robo was in the middle of some sustained renaissance.…
Getter Robo: Armageddon, New Getter Robo, Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo, Armageddon, Getter Robo
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Producer Tatsuya Ishikawa
Kaguya-sama: Love is War recently concluded its excellent third season. We checked in with Aniplex producer Tatsuya Ishikawa to discuss the standout episode 5 and his feelings on…
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.
Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
Domains is a thoroughly absorbing drama thanks to excellent performances and its unique structure. Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
Kimi no tame ni Sekai ha Aru (きみのために世界はある)
As you may remember, I’m a huge fan of Usui Shio’s series Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts. So when a collection of Usui-sensei’s work came out from Ichijinsha, I…
Manga review, Halloween 2022 edition: Chainsaw Man
Winner of Shōgakukan and Harvey awards, highest-ranking manga in our 2020 and 2021 best-comics-of-the-year lists… But does it live up to the hype? Chainsaw Man (チェンソーマン Chensō man)…
Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 1 (気になってる人が男じゃなかった)
Aya is a high school student who loves music of the 90s-00s. She’s content to sit and listen to the Foo Fighters in her ear buds, but when…
Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 2 (気になってる人が男じゃなかった)
In Volume 1, we met Ohsawa Aya, a fashionable girl in most ways – except for her retro taste in music. When she walks into a shabby CD…
Visual Kei&Anime – Lastier
Welcome back to Visual Kei&Anime! This time we are talking about late 90’s, early 00’s band – Lastier!
Visual Kei&Anime – LM.C
Welcome back to your favorite monthly dose of good tunes and anime throwbacks with Visual Kei&Anime! This time we are talking about none other then the well known…
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan OVA, Red Garden, Reborn!, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan - Demon Capital
B Gata H Kei
Title: B Gata H KeiGenre: Comedy, Ecchi, RomanceRating: 4.5/10 Summary: Yamada is a high school student, and a virgin, who aspires to have 100 casual sex partners. Despite…
Visual Kei&Anime – Megamasso
Welcome back to Visual Kei&Anime! We’re back with a group I’m not familiar with, and unfortunately was only tapped for one anime tie in. This being none other…
Visual Kei&Anime – Merry
Welcome one, welcome all to your favorite monthly featurette – Visual Kei&Anime! Now we are approaching a group who I’ve never listened to, but have heard of extensively…
Visual Kei&Anime – Vistlip
Welcome back to Visual Kei&Anime! We’re taking a look at a group that’s been in the game since 2007, as well as being one I’ve yet to get…
Yu-Gi-Oh!, Samurai Jam-Bakumatsu Rock, Divine Gate, Duel Masters, Senjuushi: Kijuushi-tachi no Happy Birthday!
Visual Kei&Anime – Sadie
The series continues! This time, we’re going to be taking a look at a legacy band within a golden era of mid-2000’s Visual Kei, Sadie! A group that…
Visual Kei&Anime – Kiyoharu
I can’t believe that we’re into the fifth installment of Visual Kei&Anime! I’ve decided that after a band, it’s a good time to feature a soloist. A soloist…
Blade of the Immortal, Blade of the Immortal (ONA), The Wallflower
Visual Kei&Anime – heidi
Welcome back to your monthly dose of Visual Kei&Anime! This time I have a feature of a band that got their major debut doing not, one but two…
Visual Kei&Anime – Laputa
Hello, hello welcome back to your regular dose of Visual Kei&Anime! This time we’re covering a group with some major impact, being cited by various musicians as being…
Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo, Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (TV)
Visual Kei&Anime: ViViD
We’ve now hit the year mark of Visual Kei&Anime! Hitting a whole year of one particular themed blog series makes me really proud. This is by no means…
B Gata H Kei
Title: B Gata H KeiGenre: Comedy, Ecchi, RomanceRating: 4.5/10 Summary: Yamada is a high school student, and a virgin, who aspires to have 100 casual sex partners. Despite…
Visual Kei&Anime – SuG
Welcome back to the best anime and music feature around – Visual Kei&Anime! We’ve managed to hit 2022 hard with one of the best known VKei groups in…
Visual Kei&Anime – Penicillin
Welcome back to the second edition of Visual Kei&Anime! It’s only in retrospection that I realize perhaps the name of the band is in poor taste for current…
Visual Kei&Anime – PIERROT
The 6th edition is here! Wow. It feels like time has flown by and at the same time, we’re just getting started. I couldn’t help but pick this…
Visual Kei&Anime – YOSHIKI
Welcome back to Visual Kei and Anime! After last month’s feature of legendary band, X Japan, I figured I should follow up with the backbone of the band…
Attack on Titan, Attack on Titan Season 3, Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary, Sanctuary
Visual Kei&Anime – MUCC
Nice to see you again if you’re returning, but if you’re new here welcome! This is Visual Kei&Anime, hosted by none other than me, Rise! This month we’re…
Naruto: Shippuden, Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (TV), Senkou no Night Raid Picture Drama, Zombie-Loan Specials, Night Raid 1931
Visual Kei&Anime – Nightmare
Welcome back to Visual Kei&Anime! This time around I think more then a few people will actually know of the group I’m writing about – Nightmare! I unintentionally…
Neuro: Supernatural Detective, Mouryou no Hako, Claymore, Duel Masters, Maji
Visual Kei&Anime – SHAZNA
I’m back to an official capacity! So we’re diving back into the wonderful world of 90’s Visual Kei with none other then a trendsetter with a unique history…
Shin Chan, Crayon Shin-chan Movie 06: Dengeki! Buta no Hizume Daisakusen, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne