Author: Jonathan Clements

May 21, 2017 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. When we think of anime, we tend to think of long stories: sprawling TV series running for tens or hundreds of hours, or feature films longer than Hollywood animations – just compare the run times of Ghibli and Pixar films. Short stories are harder to market in commercial anime, though they keep […]

May 18, 2017 · 0 comments

By Jonathan Clements. Partway through the Glasgow screening of A Silent Voice, its director Naoko Yamada has sunk low in the chair next to me, hugging her bulky coat to her like a blanket. Watching a Japanese film with its director is not necessarily a common experience. Some have wanted to sit in with the […]

May 15, 2017 · 0 comments

By Jonathan Clements. Kaori Chiba’s recently published Japanese-language book The Day Heidi was Born is a long-overdue account of one of Japanese animation’s landmark works. Made in 1974 in an attempt to cash in on the children’s literature niche suggested by the Japanese success of The Moomins, Heidi: Girl of the Alps brought together a […]

May 12, 2017 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. Before Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry opens in Britain on 17th May, your humble correspondent decided to check it out in Tokyo. Yes, the film is so brand spanking new that it’s playing in London and Tokyo cinemas at the same time. I saw it at the Toho cinema in Kabukicho, part of […]

May 9, 2017 · 0 comments

By Jeremy Clarke. This so-called ‘Noodle Western’ always sounded somewhat off-the-wall. It impressed when it first appeared in 1985 and viewing it again on Criterion’s new Blu-ray, Tampopo has stood the test of time well. “This’ll be famous in the history of cinema” says cast member Fukumi Kuroda in director Juzo Itami’s 90-minute edited diary […]