Students on a dance summer camp pick up a few lessons in authenticity and self-confidence while staying in an out of the way hotel in Ishii, Miki, & Osumi’s goofy comedy
Jul 17, 2023 • Subscribe
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Funky Forest: The First Contact (ナイスの森 The First Contact, Katsuhito Ishii & Hajime Ishimine & Shunichiro Miki, 2005)
“Thinking is too scary, so I’ll forget about it” according to one young woman in this surreal series of sequitur skits
Katsuhito Ishii as Animator
By Tom Wilmot. For those clued up on modern Japanese cinema, the name Katsuhito Ishii is sure to ring a bell. Renowned for his surreal imagery and off-kilter…


Party 7 (Katsuhito Ishii, 2000)
A series of strange events bring a collection of lonely souls to Hotel New Mexico in Katsuhito Ishii’s zany crime comedy.


Katsuhito Ishii Collection (Limited Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing
After releasing Funky Forest and The Taste of Tea, Third Window Films have now released a new box set consisting of six more films from Katsuhito Ishii including…


The Warped Forest (あさっての森, Shunichiro Miki, 2011)
Three trios in search of happiness find themselves transported to other worlds in Shunichiro Miki’s surreal quasi-sequel to Funky Forest


Hello! Junichi (ハロー!純一, Katsuhito Ishii, Kanoko Kawaguchi, Atsushi Yoshioka, 2014)
A collection of confused nine-year-olds decides the best way to solve all their problems is to start a band in Ishii, Kawaguchi, and Yoshioka’s charming family film.


Eternally Younger Than Those Idiots (君は永遠にそいつらより若い, Ryuhei Yoshino, 2021)
An insecure young woman struggles to assume her place in the world while preparing to leave the aimless security of college life for an uncertain adulthood in Ryuhei…


An Outlaw (ならず者, Teruo Ishii, 1964)
Ken Takakura stars as a China-based hitman dragged into local intrigue when a job goes awry in an early crime thriller from Teruo Ishii.


Crazy Thunder Road (狂い咲きサンダーロード, Sogo Ishii, 1980)
A perpetual outsider seeks direction but discovers only nihilistic despair in Sogo Ishii’s apocalyptic biker movie


Punk Samurai (パンク侍、斬られて候, Gakuryu Ishii, 2018)
The arrival of a chaotic ronin spreading tales of a weird cult results in a battle between “monkeys and idiots” in Gakuryu Ishii’s irreverent jidaigeki comedy.


Can I Say いらない To Say "I Don't Want"? #learnjapanese
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2


The Nighthawk’s First Love (よだかの片想い, Yuka Yasukawa, 2021)
A young woman begins to regain a sense of self-confidence in the face of social prejudice when invited to consult on a film in Yuka Yasukawa’s adaptation of…


Unlock Your Heart (ひらいて, Rin Shuto, 2021)
A straight-A student enters a self-destructive tailspin on discovering her longterm crush has a secret girlfriend in Rin Shuto’s intense psycho-romance.


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


それ Sore vs その Sono #learnjapanese
Learn Japanese with Me - https://bit.ly/4drmyU2


Thorns Of Beauty (恋のいばら, Hideo Jojo, 2023)
A jilted ex and the current girlfriend team up against a no good guy with compromising photos of them both in Hideo Jojo’s playful drama.


Yellow Crow (黄色いからす, Heinosuke Gosho, 1957)
A small family struggles to repair itself after eight years of wartime separation in Heinosuke Gosho’s post-war melodrama.


Review: NOODLE FIGHTER MIKI
Food manga and comedy should be a fine combination in theory, but this manga manages to turn it into an incredibly off-putting combo. NOODLE...


それが
An interesting conjunction - How to Japanese - September 2023
![Featured image for Episode #96 (S12E06) – Nobody Knows [誰も知らない] (2004)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20250212/1739348157.98162.140832.jpg)
![Background image for Episode #96 (S12E06) – Nobody Knows [誰も知らない] (2004)](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20250212/1739348157.98162.140832.jpg)
Episode #96 (S12E06) – Nobody Knows [誰も知らない] (2004)
Japanese film scholar Lindsay Nelson is back on the show to discuss Hirokazu Kore-eda’s heartbreaking drama, Nobody Knows. Based on a true story about a family of children…


アニメ業界の今とそのこれから – NAFCA代表ロングインタビュー
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Ora, Ora Be Goin’ Alone (おらおらでひとりいぐも, Shuichi Okita, 2020)
An older woman living alone is plagued by three strange sprites forcing her to confront the reality of her life in Shuichi Okita’s surreal meditation on loneliness and…


今期で注目しているアニメ その他諸々
シングルの発売以来、リリリリさんのMaihimeをヘビロテしているけど、未だに「代替できない仲間」を「大体できない仲間」と聞き間違えてしまう。のは、ここだけの秘密です。どうもこんにちは、麦です。 さて、早くも4月がやってまいりました。ということは、もうすぐ新作アニメが雪崩を打って到来します。かれこれ20年程、アニメの海に溺れている者としては、その荒波に揉まれるのもやぶさかではないといいますか…
墓碑銘の楽しき混乱 A Fun Derangement of Epitaphs
KONOSUBA -An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, Stella of the Theater: World Dai Star, Yuri Is My Job!, Attraction, Maihime


My Sorry Life (愛のくだらない, Kozue Nomoto, 2020)
A self-absorbed TV producer gets a wake up call when her boyfriend announces he’s pregnant in Kozue Nomoto’s ironic dramedy


Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 2 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)
The best romantic comedies, in my opinion, are ones that stop trying to be a comedy. In Volume 1, this series was definitely a comedy. Lonely Girl ni…
Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 1 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)
Sakuraii is a model student but has a fatal flaw – she absolutely sucks at tests. If it weren’t for tests, she’d have no trouble at all getting…


いい歳
How to Know You're in the Good Old Days - How to Japanese - May 2021
Dekisokonai Hime-tachi, Volume 4 (できそこないの姫君たち)
Fujishiro Nanaki, having been ostracized by her group of fashionable and popular girls, has found acceptance with the “nerd” group, Kurokawa’s friends Izumi and Iroha. Together th…
OSMcast: Speed Racer (2008 Movie) 5-16-2008
Tonight on the OSMcast_!_ we go go go after the latest movie adaptation by The Wachowski Brothers, the Tatsunoko Production’s classic anime hit Speed Racer. OSMnotes Also in case you…
アイマス15周年記念 – 過去から未来へ、「アニマス」から受け継がられた思いと意志
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Majuu Sensen, Sound of the Sky Specials, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Jinsei - Life Consulting, Gurren Lagann
#102 - Kaiba (2008)
Wow guys, this one took a while to come out! We recorded this way back in the far off time of June 2020 and had to delay it…
S3E7 - Departures (2008)
Hello everyone, In this episode of Heroic Purgatory: An Asian Cinema Podcast, John and Jason discuss the 2008 Oscar winning film, Departures. They talk about the film's obvious popular…
S3E7 - Departures (2008)
Hello everyone, In this episode of Heroic Purgatory: An Asian Cinema Podcast, John and Jason discuss the 2008 Oscar winning film, Departures. They talk about the film's obvious popular…
S3E7 - Departures (2008)
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Octave (2008 – 2011)
Written and Drawn by Akiyama Haru Link This is actually one of my favorite manga’s. The story revolves around a former idol of a not-so-popular group when she…
S4E3 - Chocolate (2008)
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Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 3 (できそこないの姫君たち)
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The Moon (月, Yuya Ishii, 2023)
A writer overwhelmed with grief takes a job at a care home, but it is shocked by what she finds in Yuya Ishii’s hard-hitting drama.
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Zoku Owarimonogatari: Interview with Eri Kitamura and Yuka Iguchi
The Fire Sisters reflect on nine years of the Monogatari anime, from toothbrushes to mirrors and more!


Zoku Owarimonogatari: Interview with Eri Kitamura and Yuka Iguchi
The Fire Sisters reflect on nine years of the Monogatari anime, from toothbrushes to mirrors and more!
Yuri Manga: Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 2 (できそこないの姫君たち)
Last spring I took a look at a pleasant “opposites attract” school life Yuri romance by Ajiichi. In Volume 1, we met otaku Kurokawa Kaede and fashionable Fujishiro…


Angry Son (世界は僕らに気づかない, Kasho Iizuka, 2022)
A resentful young man comes to a better understanding of his place in the world while searching for his estranged father in Kasho Iizuka’s sensitive coming-of-age drama


Drifting Flowers, Flowing Days (この日々が凪いだら, Yutaka Tsunemachi, 2023)
Two young people experience a crisis of youth after discovering their apartment block is to be torn down in Yutaka Tsunemachi’s indie drama.
Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた)
Suzuki Yufuko’s Ai ni Airashi Itoshi Anata (愛に愛らし愛しいあなた) was not at all what I expected it to be. No, scratch that. It was exactly everything I expected it…


Angry Son 世界は僕らに気づかない Dir: Kasho Iizuka
A rewrite of my review for the very worthwhile topical film Angry Son, a meaty drama about the mixed-race experience (Filipino-Japanese) in Japan! 世界は僕らに気づかない Dir: Kasho Iizuka [Osaka…
いろいろ December 2023
I ran out of space over at the newsletter this month, so I thought I’d share the いろいろ section on the blog instead. Podcast link at the bottom!…


Adrift in Tokyo (転々, Satoshi Miki, 2007)
An aimless student finds himself wandering around Tokyo with a melancholy loanshark in Satoshi Miki’s bittersweet comedy.