Cat is Neko and Dog is Inu: Japanese Movies with cats and dogs + History and Trivia [Part 1/3]
Cats appear – more often in Japanese movies – as constant, loveable companions or a symbol of luck and good harmony or both. While dogs [we’ll talk about them in read more
The Year in Review – 2016: Who Made the Biggest Headlines Among Leading Japanese Actors?
A precursor to our upcoming Top 30 Hottest Japanese actors list, the 2016 newsmakers reflect the current state of ‘acting’ in Japan and the names of those who are given opportunities read more
The Year in Review – 2016: Who Made the Biggest Headlines Among Young Japanese Actresses?
While the likes of Sayuri Yoshinaga, Kirin Kiki, and Rie Miyazawa vie for more acting awards and Takako Matsu, Sakura Ando, Hikari Mitsushima, Chizuru Ikewaki, Mao Inoue, and Yu Aoi read more
The Year in Review: Breakout Actors of 2016
Breakout, as differentiated from a breakthrough, sounds more appropriate to describe talents on the verge: suddenly and extremely popular or successful; an instance of surpassing any previous achievement Last year, we feature a lot of ‘new’ faces read more
The Year in Review: 10 Best Japanese Movies of 2016
Loneliness and human connection – two ‘slice of life’ features that Japanese movies are known for – make up most of our ten favorite Japanese productions for the year. Just read more
“Destruction Babies” (2016)
Destruction Babies is an intense tale of two brothers, Taira Ashihara (Yuya Yagira) and Shota (Nijiro Murakami) who live by themselves in a small port town. Both young men are prone read more
The Year in Review – 2016: Kimi No Na Wa’s message of loneliness and connection still resonates! Is there a ‘golden age’ in anime?
Forty-six million dollars (more or less) separate Miyazaki’s ‘Spirited Away’ from Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Your Name’ in terms of box office receipts, and it’s just a matter of time the position read more
2017 Most Anticipated Japanese Movies – Will Sakoku continues? Can we expect anything different from Japan aside from Live-action adaptations?
Genki Kawamura, the producer of such acclaimed movies as Villain (Akunin), Confessions, and Detroit Metal City, said years ago that the Japanese film industry is in a state of “sakoku” (the read more