The background artist Nizo Yamamoto, who died on 19th August, spent his whole life working in the Japanese animation sector. Born in Nagasaki, he developed an interest in painting and architecture at school before studying at the Tokyo Designer Gakuin. He was not yet out of college when he found his first jobs in anime, […]
Aug 20, 2023 • Subscribe
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MASAYUKI YAMAMOTO ’88
MASAYUKI YAMAMOTO ’88RELEASE DATE: January 25, 1988 With this post, I’m breaking a tradition that goes back to my very second post… the “40-Year Rule.” Although I’m stretching…
Wife (妻, Mikio Naruse, 1953)
An unhappily married woman contemplates independence but struggles to see herself as anything other than a “wife” in Naruse’s bitter marital drama
Eiichi Yamamoto (1940-2021)
Eiichi Yamamoto, who died earlier this month, bore witness to crucial moments in anime history. As a young man, he was one of the talents behind the scenes…
VICE SQUAD (1953) – The Real “Dragnet”
VICE SQUAD (1953) is a sharply-directed, fast-paced black-and-white crime thriller that follows a full shift in a day’s work for a police captain in the Vice Squad…
A Musical Up-Roar 1953/54
The MGM cartoon division’s response to television was mostly derisive. Scott Bradley was now more willing to mine the classics - via the public domain.
Episode 100 - Dr. Takahiro Yamamoto (Heidelberg)
In this episode, Dr. Yamamoto reviews Japan's diplomatic interactions with Russia in the northern territories of the Kuril Islands and Karafuto in the years around the Meiji Restoration. …
Hiroshima (ひろしま, Hideo Sekigawa, 1953)
During the post-war occupation of Japan which lasted until 1952, the censorship regulations which replaced those of the militarist era perhaps ironically made it more or less impossible…
The Crab Cannery Ship / 蟹工船 / Kanikosen (1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #159 So Yamamura Based on the 1929 novel of the same name by communist writer Takiji Kobayashi (tortured to death by...
Wonderful Paradise (脳天パラダイス, Masashi Yamamoto, 2020)
An impromptu going away party descends into a psychedelic rave of death and rebirth in Yamamoto’s defiantly surreal nighttime odyssey
Robinson’s Garden (ロビンソンの庭, Masashi Yamamoto, 1987)
A young woman attempts to escape society by rewilding an industrial estate but discovers the land may not want her in Yamamoto’s ethereal drama
Mogura Yokocho / もぐら横丁 (‘Mole Alley’, 1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #244Shuji Sano This Shintoho production was based on episodes from a number of autobiographical novels by Kazuo Ozaki (1899-1983), one of which gives this film its title. Ozaki…
Yamamoto Sho's Essential Songs Before and After Fruits Zipper
Tracing the producer's body of work from Phenotas to Fruit Zipper's big hit
“Genshiken Nidaime” Ogiue Chika Voice, Yamamoto Nozomi, Gets Married
We don’t get much Genshiken news these days, but the Hashikko Ensemble official Twitter account recently tweeted about Yamamoto Nozomi, the voice actor for Ogiue Chika in Genshiken…
Weekly Round-Up, 2-8 August 2023: Shoujo on Manga Planet, Recovered 1953 Hiroshima Film, and Eizouken Author Discussing Disability
AniFem Round-Up You’re Already Doing Your Best: Healin’ Good Pretty Cure and chronic illness While Nodoka’s illness is magical, her story evokes the challenges of managing a chronic…
Creative Producer Goro Taniguchi, Director Junichi Yamamoto Talk Web3 Anime
The Code Geass creator discusses his new project with Web3 company Azuki, Enter the Garden, and his hope that this new path could help the medium evolve.
Miki Yamamoto, Creator of A Smart and Courageous Child Manga
Her single-volume book explores a couple's first pregnancy and their emotional trajectories as they go from thrilled to fearful, examining the role of news and how the written…
Judai no seiten / 十代の性典 (‘Teenage Sex Book’, 1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #114 Ayako Wakao When high school student Fusae (Yoko Minamida) is excused from PE one day due to having her perio...
My Wonderful Yellow Car (吹けよ春風, Senkichi Taniguchi, 1953)
A kind-hearted taxi driver becomes our guide to the post-war society in a cheerful omnibus movie co-scripted by Akira Kurosawa and directed by Senkichi Taniguchi
The Great White Tower (白い巨塔, Satsuo Yamamoto, 1966)
The medical system is just another corporate body filled with egotistical salarymen and dangerously narcissistic careerists in Satsuo Yamamoto’s tense political drama
Fate Grand Order Babylonia #11 And Ken Yamamoto: Ace Among Aces
It’s time to recap all the recent happenings in Fate Grand Order: Babylonia‘s exceptional production, some shortcomings of the show, but especially to admire the work of a…
Nosari: Impermanent Eternity (のさりの島, Tatsuya Yamamoto, 2020)
An ore ore scammer’s cynical worldview is challenged when he finds temporary harbour with an elderly woman in Yamamoto’s touching indie drama
Kashikokute Yuuki Aru Kodomo / A Smart and Courageous Child by Yamamoto Miki
Have I ever mentioned that, while I sometimes complain about it, I have a very manga-positive library system? Because I really do. I found this odd little duck…
A Dangerous Age / 続十代の性典 / Zoku judai no seiten (1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #118 Ayako Wakao The Japanese title of this film (which translates as ‘Teenage Sex Diary Sequel’) is somewhat misl...
Exhibition Review: ‘Sakubei Yamamoto and the Rich Seams of Japan’s Coal Mining History’
4th Oct – 15th November 2019 at the Japanese Embassy in London It was Monday 30th July 1973 when, just before 620 am, Colin Burton (a maternal uncle),…
Manga One Scandal: The coverup of the crimes of Shoichi Yamamoto (Ichiro Hajime)
Shogakukan has released a statement that Joujin Kamen written by Shouchi Yamamoto (using the pen name "Ichiro Hajime"), real name Kazuaki Kurita (but we will refer to him…
Tale of Japanese Burglars (にっぽん泥棒物語, Satsuo Yamamoto, 1965)
A former burglar finds himself conflicted on realising only he can prevent a miscarriage of justice in Satsuo Yamamoto’s ironic tale of post-war moral confusion
Terror in the Streets (悪魔が呼んでいる, Michio Yamamoto, 1970)
A young woman finds herself in the crosshairs of mysterious forces in Michio Yamamoto’s folk horror paranoia thriller.
Girls in the Orchard / 花の中の娘たち / Hana no naka no musumetachi (1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #109 Mariko Okada Toho’s first feature film in full colour concerns the Ishii family, who live in the rural area of ...
Perilous Wagers: Gambling, Dignity, and Day Laborers in 21st-Century Tokyo (Klaus K.Y. Yamamoto) | Japan Station 142
On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about life in Sanya--Tokyo's infamous day laborer district--with Klaus K.Y. Hammering. 👉Topics Discussed What it is like being…
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Cafune (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A very strong debut by Haruki Kinemura.
Yuusuke Yamamoto & Naoya Takahashi – Interview on Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru (My Dress-Up Darling) Season 2
Original interview from Monthly Newtype (September 2025), original interviewer: Hisashi Maeda; genga from studio ClowerWorks’s official Twitter account. Episode 14: Storyboards and Direction that bring the drawings to life —…
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Matsumoto offers a serene insight in how the Other of the law curtails a subject and, indirectly, sabotages the prospects of a new industry.
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Single8 (2023) review [Japan Cuts 2023]
Konaka offers the spectator a heartwarming invitation to re-find, within oneself, one’s (nearly extinguished) passion for creation.
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Miyazaki creates a moody narrative that highlights the equivocal functionality of music for the subject as well as the destructive impact of not being able to create an…
Yamabuki, Hyakusho no Hyaku no Koe, Yokosuka 1953, Tamaneko Tamabito, Kengo Yagawa Showcase: DIGGER, Nou Tenki, Quiet and Evil Japanese Film Trailers
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Farewell 2023
Another year has passed which means its time to reflect. This has become a yearly tradition where on New Years Eve I reflect on my life and the…
2023~ update
Still alive! :) A new thing I added a Trending ‘block’ to the top of the ABT homepage. It’s a really simple formula at the moment – I’m…
Fanime 2023
This Fanime season was a bit special for me. I got the opportunity to have my own panel and also present alongside the Nakama Podcast too.
Farewell, 2023…
This post is brought you by Sasaki and Peeps (or Sasaki to Pii-chan) as I’ll be picking this new anime adaptation in Winter 2023, which will begin in…
Update (2023)
It’s a bit sad to have to say this, especially since I was so excited to come back to blogging (ok, I completely failed on that part LOL),…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-02-26)
I feel like it’s about time to do a status update on all my goals.
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-12-28)
The year is almost over, and I need to get ready for 2024. What I’ve learned is that in 2023, I tried focusing on too many things at…
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-05-29)
[ABANDONED] I will go to the Vue.js guide and work on small projects every day. At this point, I feel complacent about my programming skill levels. With me…
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Mad Cats (Reiki Tsuno, 2023) [Fantasia 2023]
The captive felines of Japan are mad as hell and they aren’t going to take it anymore in Reiki Tsuno’s absurd action comedy.
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-03-25)
1. [IRREPLACEABLE] Learn new coding skills (Completed) [SUBGOAL] Learn how to use the Notion API I now know how to import data to Notion using the Notion API,…
2023 Routines Status Update (2023-05-02)
[SUSPENDED] I will learn Google Cloud Computing skills every day. As it turns out, I need to risk spending money to make progress on this goal, and I…
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Side by Side (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A peaceful dream-like visual experience that celebrates both the impact subjects have on each other as well as the manner in which the subject remains opaque to himself…
2023 Goals Status Update (1-13-2023)
1. [IRREPLACEABLE] Learn new coding skills I learned how to read and modify XML files using JavaScript, so that counts as learning new coding skills. I have made…
2023 Goals Status Update (2023-02-15)
1. [IRREPLACEABLE] Learn new coding skills [SUBGOAL] Make and host Vue.js projects by learning through the Vue.js guide [SUBGOAL] Take Chris Dixon’s Skillshare Course on Vue.js 3 &…