It was the day of the big university oral examination, and the unnamed student was understandably flustered when the phone rang. When she picked up, there was a deep, sonorous voice at the other end, a woman she had never met but who still somehow sounded familiar. She introduced herself as Amy Howard Wilson, the […]
Mar 14, 2021 • Subscribe
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Amy Howard Wilson
Japanese animation, anime, cartoons, manga, 1960-1990, Tezuka, Miyazaki, Ishinomori, Matsumoto, Yamato, Gatchaman, Star Blazers, Captain Harlock
Buichi Terasawa (1955-2023)
The manga artist Buichi Terasawa, who died on 8th September, enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the 1980s, becoming popular just as his particular brand of lurid,…
Akira Toriyama (1955-2024)
The manga creator Akira Toriyama, who died on 1st March, was cited by the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump as being the prime catalyst in driving the magazine…
Episode 25 - Dr. Amy Stanley (Northwestern)
In this episode, Dr. Amy Stanley (Northwestern University) outlines the impact of the Meiji Restoration on the practice of prostitution in Japan along with the social positions and…
31: Quinn Welsh-Wilson Goes Guesto Mode
The Sickos welcome podcast-doer and major Sicko Quinn Welsh-Wilson to the show for a scintillating guesto episode. Quinn is cursed enough to share heretofore unrequited obsessions with each…
Godzilla Raids Again (1955) review
Thsi sequal lacks the impact of Honda’s classic, but Oda’s narrative does deliver enough action and destruction to satisfy any Kaiju fan.
The Wolves (狼, Kaneto Shindo, 1955)
Post-war desperation drives a collection of otherwise honest men and women towards a criminal act that for all its politeness they are ill-equipped to live with in Kaneto’s…
Stranger in the Shogun’s City by Amy Stanley
History tends to represent the voices of men and those in power. Typically, governmental officials, who are most often men, know how to read and write. And those…
Spiraken Manga News- Akira Toriyama 1955-2024
Tragic news. It has been announced that on March 1st 2024, Akira Toriyama has died. The Famed creator of Dr. Slump, Sand Land, & Dragonball died of an…
Episode 99 - PREVIEW: On the Record with Dr. Noell Wilson
This episode previews a new podcast series, Japan on the Record, a shorter format current events-themed series. In episode 1, Dr. Noell Wilson (University of Mississippi) details the…
On My Mind – July 14 2022: And now a word from Amy
On the eve of Anime North (and the afterglow of PRIDE), one of the regulars has a very important message for the Roundtable listeners and hopefully Anime North…
Today on Yuri Studio – S04 E15 – Yuri Adjacent with Amy Martin and Luce
Join us at 12PM Eastern US time for the premiere of the next Yuricon 2023 video! Amy Martin is joined by guest Luce to discuss the value and…
Twilight Saloon (たそがれ酒場, Tomu Uchida, 1955)
A generational divide echoes around a beer hall filled with a defeated sense of bonhomie until finally finding a point of rest in Tomu Uchida’s elliptical single set…
The Green Music Box (緑はるかに, Umetsugu Inoue, 1955)
A lonely little girl finds herself dragged into conspiracy when her father is kidnapped by spies in Umetsugu Inoue’s bizarre musical adventure.
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.
I Live in Fear (生きものの記録, Akira Kurosawa, 1955)
An elderly man’s nuclear paranoia threatens to tear his family apart in Kurosawa’s post-war social drama.
The Swordsman and the Actress (大江戸千両囃子, Yasushi Sasaki, 1955)
Hibari Misora stars as an actress drawn into a complex battle for a precious fan in Yasushi Sasaki’s comic jidaigeki adventure
POP! (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Masashi Komura's surreal coming-of-age tale POP!
Ito (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Satoko Yokohama's comedy-drama Ito.
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…
Drifting (Hong Kong, 2021) [CVF 2021]
Wilson Kwong reviews Jun Li’s socially conscious drama Drifting.
Time (Hong Kong, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
Wilson Kwong reviews Ricky Ko's comedy-drama Time.
Ninja Girl (Japan, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
Rowena Santos Aquino reviews Yu Irie's subversive comedy Ninja Girl.
Barbarian Invasion [NYAFF 2021] (Malaysia, 2021)
Epoy Deyto reviews Tan Chui Mui's meta-film Barbarian Invasion.
Junk Head (Japan, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
John Atom reviews Takahide Hori's stop motion animation Junk Head.
Winter 2021
Hello! How many of us are looking forward to the new year?? I know I am! Winter 2021 feels like a brand new start, granted all our problems…
Summer 2021
Another 3 months gone and I don’t even know where it’s gone TBH. I had a Moot Court this past Monday and it left me emotionally drained and…
The Dungeon of Black Company, Battle Game in 5 Seconds, Scarlet Nexus, Sonny Boy, The aquatope on white sand
January 2021
With returning to blogging on January 10, this month has been one where I’ve been trying to find a balance between my real world commitments and my firm…
2021 Retrospective
Here's to another good one, friends. 3:02 - 2021 Recommendations 3:13 - Golden Kamuy 4:15 - Hina Change 5:21 - Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 6:57 - Curtains Up, I'm Off 8:01 - The Bones…
Farewell, 2021…
Just a quick post about my next plans as 2021 is gonna end soon. Yes, we’re still under the mercy of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I’m hoping that…
Fall 2021.
Sweater season is upon us! Not really because it’s Spring in Melbourne but somehow still feels like it’s the middle of Winter. I’ve had hail in my area…
The Vampire Dies in No Time, Musashi, Platinum End, VISUAL PRISON, Blue Period
Spring 2021.
Wanna hear something embarrassing? This post has been sitting, complete and ready to post, in my drafts for over a month now. I just lacked the energy to…
Spring 2021!
It’s been about a year now since we’ve all been experiencing (in one way or another) the effects of the global pandemic. I hope that you and yours…
Summer 2021!
Summer 2021 is officially here! So, y’all know the drill.
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.”
yes, yes, yes (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2021]
yes, yes, yes (Japan, 2021) [OAFF 2021]
Drive All Night (USA, 2021) [CAAMFest 2021]
John Berra reviews Peter Hsieh's neo-noir Drive All Night.
Junho (South Korea/USA, 2021) [CAAMFest 2021]
John Atom reviews David Boo's topical drama Junho.
The Asian Angel (Japan, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
Rowena Santos Aquino review Yuya Ishii's road movie The Asian Angel.
Mari and Mari (Japan, 2021) [JAPAN CUTS 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Tatsuya Yamanishi's romantic mystery Mari and Mari.
Midnight (미드나이트, Kwon Oh-seung, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A deaf woman and her mother become unwitting targets for a sadistic serial killer in Kwon’s extraordinarily tense chase through the darkened streets of Soeul
Follow The Light (2021) review [Fantasia Festival 2021]
The narrative might not offer anything new at a thematical level, but stands out due to his refusal to spell things out and, instead, imply certain subjective truths…
Escape from Mogadishu (South Korea, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
South Korean cinema is no longer the producer of small and idiosyncratic films that have to seep through the cracks of international cinema. It hasn’t been for years.…
Raging Fire (China/Hong Kong, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
John Berra reviews Benny Chan's action movie Raging Fire.
Spaghetti Code Love (2021) review [Japan Cuts 2021]
“Maruyama’s narrative speaks powerfully to the spectator’s subjectivity – his fears and hopes – and enables his evocation of a glimmer of hope that remains present in this…
Last of the Wolves (Japan, 2021) [NYAFF 2021]
Jason Maher reviews Kazuya Shiraishi's sequel Last of the Wolves.
Winter 2021 to Fall 2021 Anime Power Rankings
It's been 2 years since the last one, let's get right into it. Winter 2021 1) Wonder Egg Priority Worth watching for the animation alone. However the ending is chotto... 2) Re:Zero…
Attack on Titan, Lycoris Recoil, ZOMBIE LAND SAGA, Super Cub, Encouragement of Climb
Seobok (서복, Lee Yong-ju, 2021) [Fantasia 2021]
A terminally ill former government agent reckons with mortality while bonding with a clone birthed to cure humanity’s ills in Lee Yong-ju’s high concept thriller