Happiness of the Katakuris (aka: Katakuri-ke no Kofuku) — dvd movie review — early!

Only by concealing a series of deaths and by burying the corpses of their guests, facing a brush with death themselves, oh, and an erupting volcano, will they eventually learn to repair their drift.

Shogun Assassin 5-Film Collector’s Set — dvd box set review — early!

Shogun Assassin 5-Film Collector’s Set. By far, the easiest review I’ve ever done. Chris has done all the dirty work already with his awesome reviews of the rogue ronin Ogami Itto and his impossibly adorable son Daigoro, so all that’s left for me to do is reveal the special features.
You’ll find program notes [...]

Beef and Tomato Glamourpuss Fashion — Ad Alarm Video

Japanese McDonald’s Advertisements
Like Eiji Wentz gone Kool-Aid in his Gegege no Kitaro garb; above the obvious, I find it slightly off that he pulls it out of his rump.
This one’s for the Ladies:

Seemingly heavy Adam & Eve theme pictured at the end… TAKE the tomato.
This one’s for the Men:

BoA to hit the US with English Language album

Just got a press release from Universal Music that BoA is releasing an English language album in the United States. First Puffy, then Love Psychedelico (who I was lucky enough to meet!), and now BoA? Maybe this will set a precedent of further exposure for other cool J-Pop/Rock stars (Hint hint, Universal: In addition to [...]

Revenge of a Kabuki Actor — dvd movie review

Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Kazuo Hasegawa, Fujiko Yamamoto
Genre: Drama, Comedy
I’ve seen a number of stylish and outlandish revenge films in the past few years, but none quite like Kon Ichikawa’s Revenge of a Kabuki Actor. For with Revenge, Kon Ichikawa has created a surprisingly lighthearted tale of vengeance, a picture where style, fun, and wit [...]

Claymore Vol. 1 — anime dvd review

Episodes: 1-5
Genre: Anime, Action

Throughout my years of anime fandom, I’ve tended to favor shows and films with visual flair and kinetic action over those with dramatic plots or mundane romances. I’ll go to books and films for intellectual and emotional stimulation, but when it comes to anime, I want to see animated feats that [...]

Shikabane Hime — Free Streaming Episodes tomorrow!

I just received a press release regarding Funimation’s recent acquisition of Shikabane Hime (aka: Corpse Princess). Now, I don’t know much about Shikabane Hime, but it’s undead-sukeban style heroine and premise of zombie action has me intrigued. Apparently Funimation acquired the rights to Shikabane Hime just weeks after its initial Japanese Television debut — I’m [...]

Welcome to the Quiet Room — he said, she said — movie review — early!

Suffice it to say our main character goes away with far more than a flippant non-sequitur regarding their time with the kooky girls of Ward C.

Death Note: The Last Name (aka: Desu Noto 2) — movie review — early!

Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda
Genre: Manga

I’ve officially had to watch this film twice past my patience limit just because I couldn’t get on the review quick enough before I forgot it all. So here it is, just in time for Halloween cosplay ideas, and so I won’t have to watch [...]

Sukeban Boy (aka: Oira Sukeban) — dvd movie review — early!

Director: Noboru Iguchi
Starring: Asami, Kaori, Demo Tanaka, Kentaro Kishi, Risa Mizuki
Genre: Sukeban
Directed by Noboru Iguchi, the wild mind behind this year’s standout, Machine Girl, Sukeban Boy (aka: Oira Sukeban) sees the first screen adaptation of Go Nagai’s lesser known hero/ine. Essentially a repackaging of Panty Mask and Kekko Kamen, Sukeban Boy sees another heroine in [...]

Devil May Cry: The Animation vol. 3 — Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage vol. 1 — Glass Fleet vol. 6 — Shuffle! vol 5 — anime — dvd reviews

And, we’re back. I’ve finally had time to sit down and watch a few of the anime titles sent us, and you know what? There were actually some great shows this time around. Some shows I’ve reviewed previously only continued to derail, but the vast majority of the others surprised me with their quality. Since [...]

The Wolves (aka: Shussho Iwai) — dvd movie review

Director: Hideo Gosha
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Noboru Ando, Tetsuro Tamba, Kyoko Enami
Genre: Yakuza
To be completely honest, I’ve about worn myself out on Yakuza films. In fact, I really had to push myself to finally sit down and watch The Wolves (aka: Shussho Iwai). Sure, I knew it was a Hideo Gosha picture, and starred [...]

Freesia — Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea — movie reviews

So, I figured some of you guys might be wondering what’s going on with our coverage of Japanese films. Well, I’ve got you covered. Read on for brief reviews of Freesia and Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea.
Freesia: Icy Tears (aka: Freesia: Bullets over Tears) . It’s the old samurai-western feedback-loop, [...]

Shuffle! vol. 4 — School Rumble - Extra Class — Batman: Gotham Knight — One Piece Season 1 — anime — dvd reviews

I’ve been meaning to get these out of the way for quite a while now, but just haven’t had the chance (see upcoming Summer update article). Since the capsule format was so popular last time, and since my review stack has grown so large, here are brief reviews of Shuffle vol. 4, School Rumble - [...]

Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell (aka Kozure Okami: Jigoku e Ikuzo! Daigoro) — dvd movie review

Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Renji Ishibashi, Koichi Sato
Genre: Japan, Samurai, Action
So, after our reviews of the previous four Shogun Assassin DVDs, I’m pretty sure you know what to expect with Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell: loads of awesome swordfights, tricked out machine gunning baby-carriage antics, and more arterial [...]

Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro — dvd movie review — early!

Director: Katsuhide Motoki
Starring: Eiji Wentz, Mao Inoue, Yo Oizumi
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Manga
US DVD Release Date: October 28, 2008

GeGeGe no Kitaro tries too hard. It tries to be enchanting but relies too heavily on floppy CG (nearly 700 shots). It tries to be a comedy without wit. It wants to be an action [...]

Hana (aka: Hana yori no maho) — dvd movie review

Director: Koreeda Hirokazu
Starring: Junichi Okada, Rie Miyazawa, Susumu Terajima, Tadanobu Asano
Genre: Japan, Samurai, Drama
Koreeda Hirokazu is the master of the saccharine. The man has managed to tackle such subjects ranging from dealing with the suicide of a spouse (Maborosi) to the prospect of life after death (After Life), and in each instance, rather than depressing [...]

Origin: Spirits of the Past (aka Gin-iro no Kami no Agito) — anime — dvd review

Director: Keiichi Sugiyama
Genre: Anime, Action

In Origin: Spirits of the Past, the forest reclaims earth in catastrophic fashion and leaves human civilization devastated when an experiment in growing plants on the moon goes awry and the plants destroy the moon and extend to earth, tearing through everything in their path. In this post-apocalyptic world, [...]