Japan 492
One Cut of the Dead
By Jasper Sharp. One Cut of the Dead, the ultra-savvy horror comedy that has been the talking point Japanese film of 2018, is getting a UK release in January to a handful of indie cinemas across the country courtesy of Third Window Films, which is also making it available on home video and VOD from […]
Books: Miyazakiworld
By Andrew Osmond. In the recent book Interpreting Anime, Christopher Bolton quoted a barbed comment by director Isao Takahata about his Ghibli colleague. “With Miyazaki, you have to totally believe in the world of the film,” Takahata said. “He is demanding that the audience enter the world he has created completely. The audience is being […]
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
By Andrew Osmond. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was first broadcast as a 12-part serial in Japan last year, on Fuji TV’s prestigious “Noitamina” slot. It was subsequently shunted into a specially edited two-part cinema edition, with new scenes at the beginning and end – and because the original series only ran for 12 parts, […]
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
By Paul Browne. It’s a tough life when all you want to do is pootle away on your anime blog – but then real life comes knocking on your door. Welcome to the world of Junichiro Kagami, a gifted genius who once had papers published in academic journals aged just 17, but has since become […]
Rampo Kitan
By Shelley Pallis. Thirteen-year-old Yoshio Kobayashi has an odd reaction when he is accused of murdering his creepy teacher. Instead of whining that it wasn’t him (it wasn’t), he throws himself with gusto into solving the case, realising in the protest that crime investigation is about to become his lifelong vocation. He is so enthusiastic […]