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
Feb 2, 2022 • Subscribe
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Wind, Woman and Road (風と女と旅鴉, Tai Kato, 1958)
A wanderer returns home and finds himself torn between a desire for acceptance and revenge in an early Tai Kato jidaigeki.
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.
Katsuhito Ishii as Animator
By Tom Wilmot. For those clued up on modern Japanese cinema, the name Katsuhito Ishii is sure to ring a bell. Renowned for his surreal imagery and off-kilter…
Giants and Toys (1958) review
A classic that, as a critique of capitalism and materialism, has not lost any of its relevance.
Malevolent Spirits #20 — Flesh Wounds
Sure, I guess losing a chunk of your abdomen doesn't count for much. Impressions: This episode is pretty similar to the other 'big' action one this season…
Party 7 (Katsuhito Ishii, 2000)
A series of strange events bring a collection of lonely souls to Hotel New Mexico in Katsuhito Ishii’s zany crime comedy.
肉体派ガチ!/ Nikutaiha Gachi! (volume 1)
I will be at in-person convention (Minicon) this weekend. On Sunday, I’ll be on a panel about anime and manga. Since I will be suggesting that people check…
The Black Umbrella Mystery / 体育館の殺人
The Black Umbrella Mystery is a story with the soul of Ellery Queen and the body of an anime protagonist. There are a few Japanese…
Holiday Review #12: TO STRIP THE FLESH
Yet again, if you want trans (particularly transmasc) representation in comics, manga remains the best place to find it and this year brough...
Idaten Deities #01 — Just a Flesh Wound
Whatever the dude who did the OP is smoking, the show needs way more of that. Impressions: It's really hard to state how weird the OP sequence is.…
Holiday Review #12: TO STRIP THE FLESH
Yet again, if you want trans (particularly transmasc) representation in comics, manga remains the best place to find it and this year brough...
Magical Revolution #09 — Just a Flesh Wound
At least they animated this episode. Impressions: Well, at least unlike Iceblade, this actually shovels some money into its big arc-ending fight scenes. I do appreciate that,…
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…
Pick of the Week: Let’s Eat Mermaid Flesh!
MICHELLE: Most of the stuff that interests me this week is a reminder of how far behind I’ve fallen in various series. There’s one, though, that I waited…
Katsuhito Ishii Collection (Limited Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing
After releasing Funky Forest and The Taste of Tea, Third Window Films have now released a new box set consisting of six more films from Katsuhito Ishii including…
The Creators of FGO Babylonia #04: Toshimasa Ishii
As explained in an earlier post, it’s not that uncommon to find production-related people climbing to a higher position such as episode director or even series director. Even…
The Young Boss (花笠若衆, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1958)
Hibari Misora stars as a pair of twins separated at birth in Kiyoshi Saeki’s musical jidaigeki adventure
Japanese Animation, 1937-1958: or, more notes on Akira Daikuhara
The origin and core of this piece is my personal interest in Daikuhara, but it will not be another biographical piece like my previous one. I will rather…
To Strip the Flesh - A Powerful Story About Identity
"I don't want to die having given up. I don't want to drown in a puddle. I don't want to die looking like this. I want to die…
An Outlaw (ならず者, Teruo Ishii, 1964)
Ken Takakura stars as a China-based hitman dragged into local intrigue when a job goes awry in an early crime thriller from Teruo Ishii.
Labyrinth of Dreams (ユメノ銀河, Sogo Ishii, 1997)
“If both held their courses they would collide in nine seconds, and catastrophe would be inevitable” according to the voiceover which opens Sogo Ishii’s ethereal psychodrama Labyrinth of…
Electric Dragon 80000v (エレクトリック·ドラゴン 80000V, Sogo Ishii, 2001)
A supercharged free spirit clashes with an electric Buddha man at war with himself in Sogo Ishii’s cyberpunk fever dream.
Endless Desire (果しなき欲望, Shohei Imamura, 1958)
A gang returning to dig up the stolen morphine they buried at the end of the war is slowly torn apart by their greed in Shomei Imamura’s darkly…
THE BLOB (1958): Criterion Blu-ray of a Sci-Fi Classic
When I was five, I remember standing outside my local movie theater, the Crotona, and seeing a poster for the movie, THE BLOB (1958), with this massive jello-like…
The Asian Angel (アジアの天使, Yuya Ishii, 2021)
The lonely souls of Japan and Korea are brought together by angelic intervention in Yuya Ishii’s wistful drama
Mountain Woman (山女, Takeshi Fukunaga, 2022)
A young woman walks into the mountains to die but unexpectedly discovers what it is to feel truly human in Takeshi Fukunaga’s bleak folk tale.
The Thing 遊星からの物体X (1982) Dir: John Carpenter
The Thing 遊星からの物体X (1982) Dir: John Carpenter
Black Cat Mansion (亡霊怪猫屋敷, Nobuo Nakagawa, 1958)
A rationally minded doctor and his sickly wife find themselves trapped in the haunted house of post-war Japan in Nobuo Nakagawa’s eerie gothic horror
Ghost in the Regiment (憲兵と幽霊, Nobuo Nakagawa, 1958)
A treacherous military police officer comes to embody the evils of war in Nobuo Nakagawa’s eerie psychological horror.
PODCAST - Ep. 66: Cross Game vol. 1 & To Strip the Flesh
This week, the crew reads Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi, a truly memorable and masterfully-told story about baseball, friendship, family and much more
Fan Service For Females: 15 Anime Series Featuring Glistening Man-Flesh
Alright, male anime characters. It’s time to get objectified. Like real objectified. Prepare to burn literally every shirt you own and wear your tightest of whities because it…
Golden Kamuy, The Wallflower, Fairy Tail, Free! – Iwatobi Swim Club, Karneval
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 4 (作りたい女と食べたい女)
There are so many reasons that Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 4 (作りたい女と食べたい女) is an amazing volume of manga, that I’m hard pressed to pick one thing.…
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 3 (作りたい女と食べたい女)
In Volume 1, we met Nomoto Yuki, a contractor in an office. She finds society’s expectations for women confining and stress-cooks to relax. We then met Kasuga-san, her…
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 2 (作りたい女と食べたい女)
Because I loved Volume 1 so very much, I ran out immediately after reviewing it, and bought Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 2 (作りたい女と食べたい女) as a digital…
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 5 (作りたい女と食べたい女)
With more than two decades of reading, I am still absolutely amazed at the high quality of Yuri manga we have gotten in the last few years –…
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 1 (作りたい女と食べたい女)
I am so excited to be able to review this particular book as my first review of 2022! Since I first read this on Comic Walker, I’ve been…
Crazy Thunder Road (狂い咲きサンダーロード, Sogo Ishii, 1980)
A perpetual outsider seeks direction but discovers only nihilistic despair in Sogo Ishii’s apocalyptic biker movie
Luminous Woman (光る女, Shinji Somai, 1987)
A pure-hearted mountain man descends into the hell of the model capital in search of lost love in Shinji Somai’s surrealist fable.
Supermarket Woman (スーパーの女, Juzo Itami, 1996)
A veteran housewife uses her long experience to save a failing supermarket while standing up for wholesome small-town values in Itami’s post-Bubble farce
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You are what you eat in “Swallow 喰之女”, the latest short from horror auteur Mai Nakanishi. This Taiwan-set story shows how coveting beauty and youth can warp alter…
Kohaku no Kijo (琥珀の貴女)
Today, I am conflicted. ^_^ Kohaku no Kijo (琥珀の貴女) is a short story collection by Higashikawa Mizo and, like most short story collections, it has some tropes of…
Tsukurita Onna to Tabetai Onna Live-Action Drama (作りたい女と食べたい女)
Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna (作りたい女と食べたい女), the NHK live-action drama, may well be the very best adaptation from a manga I have ever seen in any media. Nomoto…
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.
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Hits Japan – But Officials Tell Travelers Not to Worry
Should you worry that streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) will throw a wrench into your Japan travel plans? Here's the latest.
Hello! Junichi (ハロー!純一, Katsuhito Ishii, Kanoko Kawaguchi, Atsushi Yoshioka, 2014)
A collection of confused nine-year-olds decides the best way to solve all their problems is to start a band in Ishii, Kawaguchi, and Yoshioka’s charming family film.
Punk Samurai (パンク侍、斬られて候, Gakuryu Ishii, 2018)
The arrival of a chaotic ronin spreading tales of a weird cult results in a battle between “monkeys and idiots” in Gakuryu Ishii’s irreverent jidaigeki comedy.
Sorasoi (そらそい, Katsuhito Ishii, Shunichiro Miki, Yuka Osumi, 2008)
Students on a dance summer camp pick up a few lessons in authenticity and self-confidence while staying in an out of the way hotel in Ishii, Miki, &…
Doujinjo Yuri Anthology ( 同人女百合アンソロジー)
Ichinjinsha’s Doujinjo Yuri Anthology focusing on women create doujinshi, was both fun and a little headache-inducing, much like a full day at a comic market. ^_^ The drama…