A classic tale of intrigue and revenge leads to revolution against the feudal order in Tetsuya Yamanouchi’s tokusatsu ninja movie.
Feb 24, 2024 • Subscribe
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Episode #63(S9E1) – The Great Yokai War [妖怪大戦争] (2005)
In the first episode of season 9, Perry is joined by Lyndsey Little, writer and artist of the OniGirl comic. And in keeping with that theme of Japanese…
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An anxious little boy discovers his inner hero and saves the world through kindness in Takashi Miike’s warmhearted return to the world of folklore
OtakuGeneration (Show #439) Panda and the Magic Serpent
Shownotes :: (show 439) :: (website) :: (podcast feed) :: (direct download) :: (direct iTunes link) With Panda and the Magic Serpent, recorded live November 6th, 2013. This week…
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A naive woman asked to stand for political office in her father’s place finds herself conflicted by the depth of corruption she discovers in Yuichiro Sakashita’s political satire.
Father of the Kamikaze (ゝ決戦航空隊, Kosaku Yamashita, 1974)
Koji Tsuruta stars in an uncomfortably nationalistic biopic of Admiral Onishi
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Genocide (昆虫大戦争, Kazui Nihonmatsu, 1968)
The insects have had enough in Kazui Nihonmatsu’s wasp-themed disaster film.
The Kamikaze Guy (カミカゼ野郎 真昼の決斗, Kinji Fukasaku, 1966)
A bumbling pilot becomes embroiled in a conspiracy after an encounter on a ski slope in a goodnatured action comedy starring a young Sonny Chiba.
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Episode #82 (S11E2) – Dogora [宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ] (1964)
Podcaster and screenwriter Nick Chandler joins Perry to discuss Dogora, an interesting kaiju film also directed by the great Ishiro Honda. One part monster film, one part heist…
Daimajin (1966) review
“A wonderful and refreshing blend between the jidai-geki/chanbara and the kaiju genre.”
Irezumi (1966) review
“Masamura delivers a phenomenal narrative, a true post-war classic.”
Kyokou Suiri – 02 [Guardian’s Serpent Heard]
Hope springs eternal, and Amun is here with another show that he’s incredibly hyped about (and a little wary of). It’s my turn this week, so how does…
Operation Plazma in Osaka (実録外伝 大阪電撃作戦, Sadao Nakajima, 1976)
An attempt at a hostile takeover from corporatised Kobe gangsters destabilises the precarious balance of post-war Osaka in Sadao Nakajima’s anarchic jitsuroku eiga.
The Wild Goose / 雁 / Gan (1966)
Obscure Japanese Film #158 Ayako Wakao Tokyo, 1880. Otama (Ayako Wakao) is a young woman back living with her widowed father (Tomosaburo...
In/Spectre (Episode 2) – What the Guardian Serpent Heard
Kotoko has a request from the Yokai. A giant guardian serpent is troubled and cannot sleep, so she must venture into the mountains to visit it and put…
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What to Do With the Dead Kaiju? (大怪獣のあとしまつ, Satoshi Miki, 2022) [Fantasia 2022]
A fallen kaiju presents a new problem for the governing authorities in Satoshi Miki’s satirical comedy.
The Threat (脅迫, Kinji Fukasaku, 1966)
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Ice Cream Fever (アイスクリームフィーバー, Tetsuya Chihara, 2023)
A series of lost young women find refuge at the ice cream parlour in Tetsuya Chihara’s adpatation of the Mieko Kawakami.
It Comes (来る, Tetsuya Nakashima, 2018)
The “perfect” life of a superficial salaryman is disrupted by vengeful spirits in Tetsuya Nasahima’s anarchic horror movie.
The Kii River / 紀ノ川 / Kinokawa (1966)
Obscure Japanese Film #152 Yoko Tsukasa Wakayama, 1899. Hana (Yoko Tsukasa) is a young woman from a highly-respected family who marries ...
Shudder of the Mailer Daemon / メーラーデーモンの戦慄
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Monster (怪物, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2023)
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Mononoke / モノノ怪 by Ninagawa Yaeko
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It Comes 来る (2018) Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
It Comes 来る Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Execution in Autumn (秋決, Li Hsing, 1972)
A condemned man undergoes a spiritual awakening but only to understand that he must die in Li Hsing’s melancholy existential drama
Kakihara Tetsuya a Versatile and Dynamic Voice Actor
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Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep (1966) review [The Godzilla Project]
A pleasant Kaiju film that continues to emphasize the imaginary dynamic of us (i.e. societal harmony) against them (i.e. the Otherness that threatens it)
Lust of the White Serpent (蛇精の淫, Morihei Magatani, 1960)
A village boy falls for the headman’s daughter but unwittingly embarks on an affair with a snake spirit in Morihei Magatani’s Shintoho horror
Kentaro Miura (1966-2021): A Tribute
In which I talk about the recent passing of a manga legend.
The Golden Bat (黄金バット, Hajime Sato, 1966)
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The Storm (大雨, Yang Zhigang, 2024)
A cosmic storm is likened to the chaos of life in Busifan’s beautifully drawn but narratively obscure family animation.
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A professor and his nephew battle ancient evil deep underground in Shinya Tsukamoto’s anarchic genre romp adapted from the manga by Daijiro Morohoshi
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Episode #79 (S10E8) – Kwaidan [怪談] (1965)
Podcaster Mike Lund visits the show to discuss Kwaidan, an adaptation of four of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese ghost stories. We discuss our favorite stories from this anthology, some…
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Episode #98 (S12E08) – Monster [怪物] (2023)
It’s another film by Hirokazu Kore-eda! This time, Perry is joined by podcaster Sam Stokes to discuss the director’s latest film, Monster. With different perspectives, it’s an enl…
The Last Gunfight (暗黒街の対決, Kihachi Okamoto, 1960)
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The Silent Duel (静かなる決闘, Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
A doctor who contracted syphilis from a patient wrestles with desire and responsibility in Kurosawa’s post-war drama.
Duel to the Death (生死決, Tony Ching Siu-Tung, 1983)
Expert swordsmen find themselves pawns in a wider conflict in Tony Ching Siu-Tung’s nihilistic martial arts drama.
The History of Mushi Pro – 02 – Anime business (1965-1966)
While I’m hesitant to speak of “golden ages”, if Mushi Production had one, it was certainly the years 1965-1966. Still riding on Tetsuwan Atom’s prodigious popularity, the studio…
The Magic of Magikarp
By: Peggy Sue Wood | @psweditingHello, Everyone!SO… I created a panel on Magikarp! It’s probably the least professional and least academic panel I’ve ever made, but it’s definitely…
The Magic of Magikarp
By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting Hello, Everyone! SO… I created a panel on Magikarp! It’s probably the least professional and least academic panel I’ve ever made, but…
Zero (零戦燃ゆ, Toshio Masuda, 1984)
The Zero Fighter has taken on a kind of mythic existence in a romanticised vision of warfare, yet as Toshio Masuda’s Zero (零戦燃ゆ零戦燃ゆ, Zerosen moyu) implies its time…
Genesis—Kono Hikari ga Ochinai Yo Ni: Kohama Tetsuya (ed.)
I’m going to level with you, friends—Tokyo is hot. Real hot. Hotter than I remember. Hotter than my J-friends remember. Hotter than the host of my favourite radio…
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
The Beauty and the Dragon (美女と怪龍, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1955)
A clever princess takes advantage of a courtly crisis to save the kingdom and arrange her own marriage in Kozaburo Yoshimura’s adaptation of the well-known kabuki play Narukami.
A Water Mill (물레방아, Lee Man-hee, 1966)
A wandering soul stumbles on a death rite that may in some senses be his own in Lee Man-hee’s haunting feudal drama.
The Road (大路朝天, Zhang Zanbo, 2015)
The building of a highway in provincial Hunan exposes the corruptions and hypocrisies at the heart of the modern society in Zhang’s unflinching documentary
The Great Villains / 大悪党 / Dai akuto (1968)
Obscure Japanese Film #111 Mako Midori and Kei Sato Yoshiko (Mako Midori) is a naïve country girl now living in Tokyo as a student. As she...