Shin Adachi utilizes the dynamic of the encounter to examine the problem of desiring within the societal field and the way desire give rise to misunderstanding between subjects.
Apr 2, 2025 • Subscribe
More like this
Good Luck Girl! — Anime Review
Were I to do scores, then Good Luck Girl would be your typical 6/10 anime. An entertaining series, marred by notable stumbles.
V. Maria (2025) review [OAFF 2025]
The neatly interwoven narrative fabric, which evokes the dimension of loss in various forms, beautifully sketches out the importance for the subject to construct a narrative to support…
Yoyogi Johnny (2025) review [OAFF 2025]
Kimura’s choice to give the tragical dimension of love a deadpan comical twist pays off, creating a unique narrative that will resonate with youth and those who have…
Arisa Good Luck
Here's a true bluebird: the 1999 one-shot OVA Arisa Good Luck . Last month, Tennouji, translator and proprietor of SakuraCircle, contacted m...
Nagasarete Airantou, Natsume's Book of Friends, Wedding Peach, Inukami!, Minion
Arisa Good Luck
HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR 2023 everybody! Thank goodness last year is over, eh? Yeah, there were lots of weird things happening that were non-Corona virus related! Just like…
Chua Tek Ming~*Anime Power*~ !LiVe FoR AnImE, aNiMe FoR LiFe!
I Am Kirishima (2025) review [OAFF 2025]
A timely narrative that highlights the inert quality of a societal field structured by capitalism and right-wing nationalism.
Arisa Good Luck v2
Now, this is embarrassing. Almost as soon as I released Arisa Good Luck , a viewer posted a comment pointing out that the video was, to put...
Good Luck Baby! Kickstarter
Noodletub Games , creators of LOVE BAKUDAN (Review HERE), return with a Kickstarter for another interesting looking Kinetic Novel about two young ladies brought together by a baby…
Good Luck グッドラック Director: Shin Adachi [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2025]
Good Luck グッドラック is a wonderful low-key comedy from Shin Adachi that is part travelogue, part-Before Sunrise walk-and-talk, all cool-couple chemistry (HANA AMANO IS A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) [Osaka Asian Film…
'Luck, Luck, Luck, Luck, Luck'
Chatting with illustrator R. O. Blechman about his animation career.
Good Luck Trying to Watch This
Thought to be lost, I cover an anime nobody's seen clips of, or even screenshots of in 30 years. Kenny lauderdale takes a look at a sukeban anime…
Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun (Good Luck! Ninomiya-kun)
This is an anime from 2007. That probably isn’t that old for some people, but is about the time I got into anime so I’m somewhat nostalgic for…
Food Luck (2021) review
“An unbalanced one that cannot truly touch or engage the spectator.”
Omedetou Grads- Good luck on those school entrance exams!
It’s spring and you know what that means… It’s time to find out what college you got into! Or high school! Or any school! The best part of…
Anime Reference in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)
Anime reference spotted in Gore Verbinski's latest film "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die"
Amalock (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A narrative that fluidly combines comedy and tragedy to deliver an experience of smiles and tears.
Snowdrop (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A complex character portrait that touchingly illustrates how easy it is to misrecognize the logic of the subject-supposed-to-be-in-need.
Cafune (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
A very strong debut by Haruki Kinemura.
Suton (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
Rikako Watanabe’s narrative succeeds to echo the unvocalized ‘pandemic’ truth of many.
Day 6 of Hotsui Matsuri: Japanese Karma- Good Luck/Bad Fortune
Hey all, welcome back to Hotsui Matsuri, it’s our last and final day so we figured we talk a little bit about the funny and ironic use of…
Lame & Lazy – Luck & Logic Spoiler Review
Here I go watching another card game anime. To be fair, the last one I went through, Selector, gave me both a good time and a good card…
Blue Imagine (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A powerful reminder of the sexual transgressions that structurally plague the Japanese film industry
Faraway Family (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
A very touching narrative that explores the frail position of the father and how his structural failure can cause subjective struggles and inhibitions.
Random Call (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Ohkanda’s narrative proves that one does not need a big budget to deliver a narrative that touches the spectator.
Goto-san (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“Gokan expertly reveals the position of the freeter as an attempt to escape the capitalistic machinery but also as a position that most easily falls prey to the…
Wash Away (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A pleasant narrative that offers a fresh but familiar exploration of the subject’s fundamental desire for recognition/love and the problematic yet medicative function of consumption.
Melting Sounds (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“Kahori Higashi’s debut is impressive.”
Angry Son (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An incredibly rich and deep narrative that not only delivers a satisfying coming-of-age story but also an elegantly delivered social commentary on some of the frictions marking Japanese…
Sumiko 22 (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
A subtle but playful narrative about a subject who slowly tries to crawl out the hole of emptiness and diminished self-worth.
Sweet Bitter Candy (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
“An amazing exploration of the clash between a sweet youthful romantic desire and the bitter urge of a wounded subject to defend his subjective wounds.”
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…
Our House Party (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
Kawanobe delivers a very touching and emotional story about homosexuality in Japan.
Short Movie Review: Natsuko (2020) [OAFF 2022]
“A splendid debut by Shuna Iijima.”
Performing Kaoru’s Funeral (2023) review [OAFF 2024]
Yuasa’s narrative shows that the unavoidable presence of death during a funeral can allow a subject to re-route his own trajectory.
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
OAFF 2022 Special
Hello everyone, In this special episode of Heroic Purgatory, John and Jason discuss their favorite movies from the wonderful 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Timestamps:2:53 - Media Consumption19:12 - News23:42…
Ask For The Moon (2022) review [OAFF 2024]
A satisfying narrative that illustrates how the subject’s ego is but a response to his complexes and struggles.
A New Wind Blows (2021) review [OAFF 2021]
A great film that shows that the madness of the male subject is often function of a woman, of a woman that unknowingly puts the by a man…
Far Away, Further Away (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful film that elegantly explores the role the imaginary plays in marital failure as well as in the beginning of a new romantic bond.”
Memories of this Scent (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
An endearing and fragrance rich tale of subjective change.
Short Movie Time: Outsourcing (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A very satisfying satirical short thta shows that, within the job-seeking process, only the image matters.”
Spiraken Manga Review Ep 48: The Wallflower (or Four Bishōnens Try To Turn Agorophobic Horrorphile Into A Lady..Good Luck)
In This Spiraken Manga Review episode, Xan reviews a shojo manga that stars an agoraphobic horrophile that is hot in some scenes but is chibi in the majority…
The Light Of The Spring (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“An experimental ‘dramamentary’ that succeeds to charm and touch the spectator with its rich mundane and genuine interactions.”
Short Movie Time: Perfect・Nervous (2024) review [OAFF 2024]
An exquisitely crafted narrative that touchingly shows that a simple encounter, a simple exchange of signifiers, can turn a wish to die into a desire to life.
Sanka: Nomads of the Mountains (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A visually enticing narrative that elegantly explores the unresolvable tension between the societal Other and the subject.”
Short Movie Time: Bagmati River (2022) review [OAFF 2022]
“A beautiful poetic short that elegantly plays with the contrast between life and death.”
The Burden Of The Past (2023) review [OAFF 2023]
With his latest drama film, Funahashi’s delivers a contender for this year’s best Japanese film.
2025 in Review
2025 turned out to be even more calamitous than I had feared. I couldn't bear to watch the news, as one horror followed another.Orphan FansubsDespite the adverse conditions…
KOWLOON GENERIC ROMANCE, The Apothecary Diaries, Princess Knight, Zetsuai 1989, Apocalypse Hotel
2025 in review
It’s been a rough year. I hope you were able to find some solace and escape in fiction. I’d like to talk about the media that left an…