History 5
Period Pieces: Mai Mai Miracle
By Andrew Osmond. The story of Mai Mai Miracle takes place in a very specific time, 1955, with some excursions back a millennium into the past. The film’s setting is Hofu, a coastal city in Yamaguchi prefecture at the bottom of Japan’s main island, Honshu. As the script mentions, in previous centuries the area used […]
Peacemaker Kurogane
By Roxy Simons. The Shinsengumi are one of those groups in history that lend themselves to multiple depictions, especially in anime. With their bloody five-year history, indisputable sword skills, and fierce loyalty to their rulers, it’s no wonder that people want to revisit their story. A group of militia who fought and died protecting the […]
Books: Christ’s Samurai
Andrew Osmond on the true story of the Shimabara Rebellion. Christ’s Samurai by Jonathan Clements tells two stories, one enfolded within the other. The broader story is that of Christianity in Japan, beginning with the first missionaries to the country in the sixteenth century, their early success in winning converts (especially on the southern Japanese […]
Anime: A Critical Introduction
By Jonathan Clements. Rayna Denison chooses her title with robust caution: her new book, Anime: A Critical Introduction, is an introduction for and occasionally about critics, examining the arguments and materials with which readers can approach Japanese animation. Her new book is part of Bloomsbury’s “Film Genres” series, although she swiftly establishes cast-iron criteria for […]
Chinese Animation: Book Review
By Jonathan Clements. In the 13 years since I curated a season of Chinese animation at the Udine Film Festival (the programme is reprinted in Schoolgirl Milky Crisis), I still occasionally get asked about it. Producers, who fret that the Japanese mother lode has been mined out, want to know if I am sitting on […]