Features 591
Jo Shishido (1933-2020)
Jo Shishido, who died yesterday in Tokyo, will be remembered as the charismatic moon-faced star of many a Nikkatsu Action film from the 1960s. He is best-known in the West for his iconic turn as the cold-hearted contract killer of Seijun Suzuki’s cult classic Branded to Kill (1967).
Charlotte Part Two
By Andrew Osmond. As we explained in our write-up of Charlotte’s first volume, the series tells the story of teenage boy Yuu, saddled with superpowers and forced into secret battles fought over people like him. The early episodes set us up for what seemed a lightweight series; highlights included Yusa, a singing idol with a […]
Shinkai on Stage
By Andrew Osmond. As Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You comes to cinemas, Andrew Osmond talks to director Alexandra Rutter about adapting Shinkai’s film The Garden of Words in a new stage play by the British company Whole Hog Theatre, which will come to London this summer.
Interview: The Inland Sea
By Jasper Sharp. Almost fifty years ago, Donald Richie, the author and cultural critic who introduced Japanese cinema to the West, embarked on an epic odyssey of self-discovery amongst the island communities between Shikoku, Honshu and Kyushu, resulting in one of his most personal and highly-regarded books, The Inland Sea (1971). Two decades later, filmmaker […]
Books: Japanese Influence on Kids’ TV
By Jonathan Clements. “What was Saturday morning?” Dr Gina O’Melia asks innocently, upending a whole can of worms for young, millennial scholars who cannot see the resonance of those words. These days, with streaming, narrowcasting and pocket screens, every single waking moment can be “Saturday morning” if you want it to be. The idea of […]