September 3, 2021 · 0 comments

By Tom Wilmot. Despite a studio system in decline, monster movies continued to roar on into the Japanese film industry of the 1960s. While icons like Godzilla, Mothra, and many other gargantuan creatures dominated screens through studio Toho, rival studio Daiei threw their hat in the ring with the enduring Gamera series. However, while Daiei’s […]

August 31, 2021 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. The Ghibliotheque podcast started in 2018, and soon became an institution. It offered a journey through the films of Studio Ghibli, presented by Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham. Leader was a paid-up Ghibli fan already – you can see his video overview of the studio here, made for the BBC’s “Inside Stories” […]

August 30, 2021 · 1 comment

So here we are in September… Wait, it’s not September yet, what are we doing here? Well, our coming slate of forthcoming products is so exciting, we found ourselves raring to go on a Bank Holiday Monday, and couldn’t resist writing this blog post to fill you in on what’s coming soon! We hope you’ll […]

August 25, 2021 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. Springing onto the web this summer, the Azuki digital manga service offers readers a huge number of titles, delivered straight to their e-reader. It’s not only the ideal place to catch up on established titles like A Silent Voice and Ajin: Demi-Human, but also to snag “simulpub” releases coming out in English […]

August 22, 2021 · 0 comments

By Tom Wilmot. An erotic and sexually charged story of introspection and insanity is unlikely to be the first thing one would associate with the “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka. However, that’s precisely what you got with his 1973-74 manga series Barbara. The story is a dark and meditative journey into sexuality, perversion, and art, […]

August 20, 2021 · 0 comments

Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba, who died yesterday from COVID-derived pneumonia, was one of Japan’s foremost action stars, with an influence extending way beyond his native country. Aug 20, 2021Jonathan Clements