The Black Umbrella Mystery is a story with the soul of Ellery Queen and the body of an anime protagonist. There are a few Japanese writer...
Jun 15, 2023 • Subscribe
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The Mannequin House Murders / 人形館の殺人
I didn’t like this book at all. I don’t have much more to say about it.


The Labyrinth House Murders / 迷路館の殺人
The shin-honkaku movement has always been a bit meta. It’s right there in the name: it means “new orthodox,” as it’s a revival of the origi...


Death Within the Evil Eye / 魔眼の匣の殺人
It’s difficult to succeed genius. Chrono Cross isn’t as good as Chrono Trigger , Bioshock 2 isn’t as good as Bioshock , and National Treas...


Murderer vs. Maniac / 殺人犯 対 殺人鬼
While some books take a while to get into the action, Murderer vs. Maniac wastes no time. The opening scene is all about the protagonist ...


Murder in the Hall of the Eye: The Book / 眼球堂の殺人 ~The Book~
Eye see you, heheheh… The best way I can describe Murder in the Hall of the Eye is “discount Hiroshi Mori .” Which on one hand…


The Butterfly Murder Case / 蝶々殺人事件
While Kousuke Kindaichi is by far Seishi Yokomizo ’s most famous fictional detective, he is not the only one. Yokomizo also wrote many book...


The Age of Assassins (殺人狂時代, Kihachi Okamoto, 1967)
A mild-mannered professor is dragged into an international conspiracy in Kihachi Okamoto’s absurdist adventure.


A Bloodthirsty Killer (殺人魔 / 살인마, Lee Yong-min, 1965)
A hapless middle-aged man finds himself haunted by the spectre of wronged femininity in Lee Yong-min’s eerie gothic chiller.


Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf 羊とオオカミの恋と殺人 (2020) Director: Kayoko Asakura
Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf has a great concept about dating a hitwoman but a dull final result in its execution. Love and Murder of Sheep…


The Thing 遊星からの物体X (1982) Dir: John Carpenter
The Thing 遊星からの物体X (1982) Dir: John Carpenter


美術館
A very short message this month about museums - How to Japanese - February 2023


図書館
A trip to the new Haruki Murakami Library - How to Japanese - March 2022


The Seven Great Detectives / 7人の名探偵
Yukito Ayatsuji ’s The Decagon House Murders was published in 1987, and is credited with kick-starting the shin-honkaku (new orthodox) mov...


The Twilight Years (恍惚の人, Shiro Toyoda, 1973)
A middle-aged woman struggles to care for her father-in-law as his dementia intensifies in Shiro Toyoda’s empathetic drama.


The Town of Headcounts (人数の町, Shinji Araki, 2020)
A disaffected young man gets a fresh start in a utopian community but quickly becomes disillusioned in Shinji Araki’s slick dystopian thriller
The Human Wall / 人間の壁/ Ningen no kabe (1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #113 Kyoko Kagawa Fumiko (Kyoko Kagawa) is a teacher at an elementary school in Saga Prefecture in the south of Japa...


Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
After a prolonged trip across the ocean, a long-awaited doujinshi has finally arrived at my home. And, like clockwork, the Melonbooks website is down for maintenance, so I…


Seven Samurai (七人の侍, Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Desperate peasants recruit samurai protectors in Akira Kurosawa’s classic historical epic back in UK cinemas Oct. 29


Three Women of the North (北の三人, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1945)
Three female radio operators become the backbone of a moribund war effort in the last propaganda film produced before the war’s end.
I love Umbrella Academy
With the news about its second season, I found the time to watch Umbrella Academy…and I REALLY LOVE IT. I had always wanted to watch this series ever…


Tokyo Sweetheart (東京の恋人, Yasuki Chiba, 1952)
A fake ring causes untold chaos in a small corner of Ginza in Yasuki Chiba’s charming ensemble rom-com.


Eleven Samurai (十一人の侍, Eiichi Kudo, 1967)
Faced with dissolution, a wronged clan plots revenge against a selfish and entitled young lord in Eiichi Kudo’s nihilistic jidaigeki.
Hametsu no Koibito, Volume 1 (破滅の恋人)
We recently had the pleasure of three guest reviews for Plongée dans la nuit, the French edition of Yoru to Umi, by Goumoto. I had read the first…


House on Fire (火宅の人, Kinji Fukasaku, 1986)
An anxious writer fears collapse under the weight of fatherhood in Kinji Fuksaku’s adaptation of the autobiographical novel of Kazuo Dan.


Rainbow Over the Pacific (夜明けの二人, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1968)
An unserious man begins to grow up while chasing love in Hawaii in a cheerful if ultimately downbeat musical celebration of the centenary of Japanese migration to Hawaii.


The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人, Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
A fugitive princess offers a new hope for a peaceful and prosperous socitey in Akira Kurosawa’s Sengoku-era epic.
The Twilight Years / 恍惚の人 / Kokotsu no hito (‘Senile Person’, 1973)
Obscure Japanese Film #153 Hideko Takamine and Takahiro Tamura Akiko (Hideko Takamine) is a middle-aged woman with an office job who lives...
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人(エトランゼ)』のあとがき
『戦国魔神ゴーショーグン 時の異邦人(エトランゼ)』のあとがき


Samurai Kids (水の旅人-侍KIDS-, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1993)
A small boy grows closer to the natural world while guiding a tiny samurai on his journey to the sea in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s charming family adventure.
It’s a Mystery! The Mystery Blogger Award!
My thanks to Moyatori over at The Moyatorium for nominating me for this award. They run a really interesting blog so make sure to check them out! First…
The Sea Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,


Six Singing Women (唄う六人の女, Yoshimasa Ishibashi, 2023)
A man finds himself trapped in a strange place after travelling to the mountains in the wake of his estranged father’s death in Yoshimasa Ishibashi’s surreal dra


The Thief in Black (黒の盗賊, Umetsugu Inoue, 1964)
Twins separated at birth kick back against the samurai corruption and growing Tokugawa authoritarianism i Umetsugu Inoue’s politically charged jidaigeki.


Ranma 1/2 – 04 – Thor’s Umbrella
From the moment he tames a giant charging boar one-handed, we knew Hibiki Ryouga was strong. We also soon learned he has abysmal sense of direction, since he…


肉体派ガチ!/ Nikutaiha Gachi! (volume 1)
I will be at in-person convention (Minicon) this weekend. On Sunday, I’ll be on a panel about anime and manga. Since I will be suggesting that people check…


Like a Savage (野蛮人のように, Toru Kawashima, 1985)
A blocked writer is dragged into intrigue while searching for “adventure in the night” in Toru Kawashima zeitgeisty drama.


銀魂 - 鍋は人生の縮図である (25)
GinTama - The hot-pot is a microcosm of life Episode 25
The Moonstone Castle Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,


The Greek Symbol Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Mystery on the Menu
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,


The Cinderella Ballet Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games,
Hyouka, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life


The Greatest Anime Mystery
The Apothecary Diaries is an anime I won't soon forget. But what is the secret sauce that makes it work? #apothecarydiaries #apothecary #anime #ontherise Merch Link!:…
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, The Apothecary Diaries
The Vanishing Victim Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,


スタジオダブの裏話: サンライズの名作アニメを作った人々 – 西村誠芳ロングインタビュー
The post スタジオダブの裏話: サンライズの名作アニメを作った人々 – 西村誠芳ロングインタビュー appeared first on fullfrontal.moe.


Flesh Pier (女体桟橋, Teruo Ishii, 1958)
An undercover cop’s mission to crack a trafficking is disrupted when he runs into an an old flame in Teruo Ishii’s early B-movie noir


Willful Murder (日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件, Kei Kumai, 1981)
A dogged reporter comes to the conclusion an industrialist was murdered but cannot say by whom in Kei Kumai’s searing exploration of the occupation and the economic miracle.


The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Mystery of the Glowing Eye
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Graveyard Kitaro, Spooky Kitaro, Spooky Kitaro, Gegege no Kitarou (1985), Doraemon


The True Mystery of Hyouka
I finally managed to watch Hyouka and now I know what everyone was on about. But there are still some mysteries to solve.


The mystery of Tamaki Suoh
Hey, guys. You’re probably wondering what in the world happened to me! No, I didn’t stop blogging for a while because I was peeved off with the whole…