Author: Jonathan Clements

February 15, 2017 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. Vacationing in Washington DC, college grad Saki meets an extraordinary youth with no memories, killer rivals and a “magic” phone that can provide anything. Adopting the name Akira Takizawa, our unexpected hero slowly learns he’s in the middle of an incredible game. Its goal: to transform Japan forever… Like much Japanese animation, Eden […]

February 12, 2017 · 0 comments

By Jasper Sharp. It was only last year that the Japan Foundation UK began including documentaries in its annual touring film season, with Aya Hanabusa’s intimate depiction of a family of butchers descended from the stigmatised buraku class, Tale of a Butcher Shop (2013), the first to be included in the line-up. This year, we […]

February 9, 2017 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. Pieta in the Toilet is the oddest-titled film in the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme, now running in selected cinemas through February and March. No, it’s not a gross-out comedy; instead, it’s a very human drama about an extremely sombre topic, but shot through with humour and low-key spirituality. While Pieta’s not […]

February 6, 2017 · 0 comments

By Roxy Simons. Nobuhiro Doi’s new film argues that no student is a lost cause and that no child should be left behind. Adapted from the best-selling book —and true story— How a Teen Girl Went from Academic Absurdity to an Elite University in One Amazing Year, the film focuses on Sayaka Kudou, a girl […]

February 3, 2017 · 0 comments

Jasper Sharp crunches the numbers. On 25th January, the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, or Eiren, released the Japanese box office figures for 2016, affording us our regular annual opportunity to cast our eyes back with an anime-centric overview of the trends and developments over the past twelve months and predict what they might […]