An earnest pilot’s mission to deliver the tetanus vaccine to a little boy is disrupted by a fugitive yakuza hitman in Ko Nakahira’s lighthearted thriller.
Mar 21, 2025 • Subscribe
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Murder in the Crimson Manor / 紅蓮館の殺人
Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit. Actually, I think it’s just okay, but “Murder in the Crimson Manor is lit” seemed like a snappier opening, and obliques…
Jungle Block (地図のない町, Ko Nakahira, 1960)
A jaded doctor finds himself fixating on vengeance when the slum he lives in is targeted for redevelopment in Ko Nakahira’s searing noir.
Temptation (誘惑, Ko Nakahira, 1957)
The cynical practicality of the post-war generation is contrasted with the wistful romanticism of their forebears in Nakahira’s charmingly witty comedy
Whirlpool of Flesh (おんなの渦と淵と流れ, Ko Nakahira, 1964)
A intellectual professor and his wounded wife find themselves trapped in a toxic marriage after returning from Manchuria in Ko Nakahira’s fatalistic drama
The Passionate Spinster (結婚相談, Ko Nakahira, 1965)
A woman still unmarried at the comparatively late age of 30 begins to go out of her mind while on a hellish descent into vice and crime in…
The Hunter’s Diary (猟人日記, Ko Nakahira, 1964)
A serial philanderer’s life is upended when his conquests start turning up dead in Ko Nakashira’s twisted noir.
Velvet Hustler (紅の流れ星, Toshio Masuda, 1967)
A gangster laying low realises there is no escape from his sense of ennui in Toshio Masuda’s post-modern re-imagining of his earlier Red Pier
Wolves of the Night (夜の狼, Yoichi Ushihara, 1958)
A heartless yakuza becomes conflicted on being confronted with the consequences of his actions in Yoichi Ushihara’s slice of Nikkatsu Noir.
The Naked Sun / 裸の太陽 / Hadaka no taiyo (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #254Shinjiro Ebara Kimura (Shinjiro Ebara) is a young stoker on the railway saving up to marry Yukiko (Satomi Oka), His best friend, Maeda (Tatsuya Nakadai), also works for…
Conflagration (1958) review
A narrative that serenely depicts the possible outcome of a subject’s failure to find, in a post-war landscape, someone to carry the Name-Of-The-Father.
The Hidden Fortress (隠し砦の三悪人, Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
A fugitive princess offers a new hope for a peaceful and prosperous socitey in Akira Kurosawa’s Sengoku-era epic.
The Invisible Wall / 眼の壁 / Me no kabe (‘Wall of Eyes’, 1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #137 Keiji Sada Masao Oda This Shochiku production stars Keiji Sada as Hagisaki, the deputy head of an accounts de...
Ragna Crimson
Long ago, there was a certain boy who hated giant beings known as Titans because they ate his mom. So angry, he wanted all of them dead. Well,…
Ragna Crimson
Ragna Crimson is currently streaming on HIDIVE....
Wings of Freedom
The SEED FREEDOM movie has hit Japanese theaters, which means it’s time for some updates. In the first major update for this section, there are now profiles covering most…
Giants and Toys (1958) review
A classic that, as a critique of capitalism and materialism, has not lost any of its relevance.
Little Red Sweet (紅豆, Vincent Chow, 2024)
A young woman finds herself fighting an uphill battle after giving up her dream job to save the family sweet soup shop in Vincent Chow’s touching drama.
The Precipice / 氷壁 / Hyoheki (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #119 Kenji Sugawara When salaryman Uoza (Kenji Sugawara) returns from a mountaineering trip and encounters his frien...
Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings
Hah! Didn’t think I would be so quick to find and watch another anime that my favourite Mamiko Noto had a role in! It is only because of…
The Ladder of Success / 夜の素顔 / Yoru no sagao (‘The True Face of the Night’, 1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #170 Machiko Kyo in the moonlight scene 1944. Akemi (Machiko Kyo) is a traditional dancer entertaining the troops at...
Pokemon: Twilight Wings Episode 4
When Nessa was first revealed in a trailer for Pokemon Sword and Shield she became an instant fan favorite. Many fans created beautiful fan art. This latest episode…
Birdy Wings #10 — Minigolf Physics
Even Battle Golf has more accurate physics than this. Impressions: Pretty much the same as last week as this dumb caddy chronicle continues. If two weeks ago,…
Pokemon: Twilight Wings Episode 6
In the sixth episode of Pokemon Twilight Wings, Tommy from the first episode tries to apologize to his friend John. With the help of Allistar he succeeds.
Pokemon: Twilight Wings Episode 4
When Nessa was first revealed in a trailer for Pokemon Sword and Shield she became an instant fan favorite. Many fans created beautiful fan art. This latest episode…
Anime Like Ragna Crimson
Regardless, both series follow dragon hunters doing their job. Drifting Dragons isn't so much of a fast-paced action anime like Ragna Crimson. Instead, it
Attack on Titan, Claymore, Hells, Ragna Crimson, The Kingdoms of Ruin
The Crimson Love Letter
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,
Ragna Crimson GN 7
This is one of the hardest volume reviews I have had to write in my time with Ragna Crimson. It's not that the chapters themselves are challenging to…
Ragna Crimson GN 6
If the pacing of the last volume felt slower than you would have liked, then boy are you in or a ride.
Ragna Crimson GN 8
Ragna Crimson has been a manga defined by over-the-top battles between super-powered beings, and this fight is one of the best in the run.
Ragna Crimson Volume 2
One of the things that really excited me about Ragna Crimson thus far was the high fantasy versus gritty cruelty element, with supercharged swordmasters dueling raid-boss dragons.
First Impression: Ragna Crimson
Destiny can be ironic. Or so feels Ragna, the all-powerful dragonslayer, as he turns reptiles into liquid silver on a land covered in ice. The lethal techniques he…
Slayers: Delusion in Crimson
By Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Elizabeth Ellis. It can be somewhat…
Ragna Crimson Volume 3
The high fantasy action between super-powered demigods is exceptionally thrilling, as Daiki Kobayashi delivers remarkably well-realized pages that incorporate detail, artistic flair, and bone-crushing impact.
Ragna Crimson GN 4
With an anime adaptation in the works, Grant explains why Ragna Crimson gets better with each volume.
Ragna Crimson – Episode 1
A perfectly solid shounen fantasy anime that's also basically a Fate/Unlimited Blade Works AU.
Crimson Wolf | KYOTO VIDEO
From the mind that gave us Riki-Oh comes something that just might be even crazier. Just not in the way you expect. Subscribe to KaiserBeamz for the latest…
Oyafuko dori / 親不孝通り (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #168 Hiroshi Kawaguchi and Yoko Katsuragi Katsuya ( Hiroshi Kawaguchi) is a cynical student who studies as little ...
Equinox Flower (彼岸花, Yasujiro Ozu, 1958)
An ageing patriarch struggles to accept his declining authority in Ozu’s first colour film
THE LOYAL 47 RONIN (1958) – A Samurai Masterpiece
I’ve seen five Japanese films about the story of the 47 Ronin, made from 1941 to 1994. There were dozens more films about this famous incident from the…
OtakuGeneration (Show #459) Wings of Honneamise
Shownotes :: (show 459) :: () :: () :: () :: () With Wings of Honneamise, recorded live March 23rd, 2014. This week we talked about , opened…
Mardock Scramble: The Third Exhaust, Robotics;Notes, Dragon Half, Fairy Tail, Fist of the North Star
Great Pretender – 06 – Earning His Wings
After an enticing stinger in which a terrified Makoto is along for the ride in a plane piloted by a crazed-looking Abby—which then blows up—we rewind a bit…
Shin no Nakama – 07 – Wasted Wings
They say bad news comes in threes: First a bloodied Al is brought to Red and Rit’s; fortunately, he’s fine. Then he says his parents were attacked by…
Because More Wings: RG Wing Gundam
Bandai Spirits once gave a tease of all the Gundams from Endless Waltz eventually getting Real Grade kits. But with releases of the Master Grades with additional weapon…
Wild Wings: Hashikko Ensemble, Chapter 40
It’s time for the Chorus Appreciation Society to sing in their last song of the School Culture Festival, and Jin is nervous about being onstage in front of…
Top 5 Anime Characters With Wings
This week we are counting down the top 5 anime characters who have wings. Be sure to come along and share your favourites.
Cardcaptor Sakura, Death Note, Kamisama Kiss, No Game, No Life, The Rising of the Shield Hero
Ragna Crimson (Episode 3) – Agitation
Ragna and Crimson save a group of Dragon Slayers who need them to help defeat a superior dragon that hides in a tornado. Crimson refuses but sees a…
Ragna Crimson #01 — Dr. Fauxtopus
So… he just stands there, but has tentacles? And is a dragon? This was a double length episode, which is counted as a single episode, and I'm…
KonoSuba – The Legend of Crimson
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure Movie: 1 hour, 35 mins Studio: J.C. Staff The Crimson Demons are a proud and mysterious people. Ancient and powerful wielders of mystic forces beyond…
Flesh Pier (女体桟橋, Teruo Ishii, 1958)
An undercover cop’s mission to crack a trafficking is disrupted when he runs into an an old flame in Teruo Ishii’s early B-movie noir
Wings in the Dark: Mercator Ayu - The Last Incident / 翼ある闇 メルカトル鮎最後の事件
Wings in the Dark is phenomenal. But before I gush about it, I must proceed with the airing of grievances. Why does it have to have “Mercat...