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December 21, 2024
 

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Matt Schley
In a year of anime hits, Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back” stood out from the bunch.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 13, 2024
Big franchises and bold voices dominated anime in 2024
In a year of major box-office hits such as “Conan” and “Haikyu!!,” smaller animators used nontraditional tools to stand out from the rest.
Naoko (Ayaka Onishi, right) starts moonlighting as a paid companion for older men under her missing colleague’s identity in “Strangers.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024
‘Strangers’: A satisfyingly unnerving stolen identity drama
Kenta Ikeda and his cinematographer imbue the thriller about a woman who takes on the identity of her more carefree and flirtatious colleague with a sense of paranoia.
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2024
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow
The 11th edition of the annual blues, jazz and roots festival will also be its last, at least in its current form, but the core concept of the event will live on.
“Patlabor: The Movie” keeps the fun and irreverence of the small-screen series while adding a more contemplative touch.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 20, 2024
At 35, ‘Patlabor’ now looks awfully prescient
The robot-centric film is back in theaters across Japan in celebration of its 35th anniversary, and the future it paints looks mighty familiar.
The protagonist of “The Colors Within” is Totsuko (voiced by Sayu Suzukawa), a cheerful young woman who views the world in a unique way: Everyone she sees gives off their own distinct color that represents their personality.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024
'The Colors Within' tunes into everyday moments of love
Director Naoko Yamada's new anime film, which explores themes of acceptance and communication without words, was born from a creative relationship of complete trust.
An ambitious high school student (Gordon Maeda) devotes all his waking hours to making art in “Blue Period,” Kentaro Hagiwara’s live-action adaptation of an ongoing manga series of the same title.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2024
‘Blue Period’: Gordon Maeda paints a subtle picture of internal struggle
The actor’s performance as an ambitious student pursuing his dreams of being an artist is a highlight in this live-action adaptation of an ongoing manga series.
“Ghost Cat Anzu” centers on an 11-year-old girl who travels to hell and back with a walking, talking, moped-driving, human-sized cat.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 11, 2024
Two hidden gems hint at a path to more diversity in anime
“Ghost Cat Anzu" and “A Few Moments of Cheers” stand out from blockbuster hits by finding creative partners abroad and embracing techniques old and new.
A vengeful spirit threatens the residents of Edo Castle’s maze-like women’s quarters in “Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024
‘Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain’: A fast and furious visual spectacle
Kenji Nakamura’s cinematic sequel to his “Mononoke” anime series is an overwhelming onslaught of sights and sounds.
Two friends bond over their shared love of art, but when tragedy strikes, one of them gets the chance to ask “what if” in Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2024
‘Look Back’: A tale of self-discovery and tragedy told at a refreshing pace
A touching story that’s also a pleasure to look at thanks to director Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s springy, supple art style.
An ambitious high school freshman recruits three girls from her region to create an “idol” group from scratch in “Trapezium.”
CULTURE / Film
May 9, 2024
‘Trapezium’: Being an idol isn’t always a dream come true
The anime adaptation of a book by Kazumi Takayama, a former member of Nogizaka46, offers an authentic look at the pressures of show business.
In “Evil Does Not Exist,” Hitoshi Omika plays a single father and village handyman who a Tokyo company tries to recruit as the caretaker of a new glamping site that threatens the area’s natural environment.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 19, 2024
Ryusuke Hamaguchi ponders the dangers of disrupting the rural idyll
"Evil Does Not Exist," which delves into humanity's relationship with nature, was directly inspired by a collaboration with musician Eiko Ishibashi.
As two friends deal with normal problems teenagers face, their lives are complicated by the looming specter of an alien takeover in “Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction Part 1.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2024
‘Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction: Part 1’: A prophetic vision of pandemic life
Tomoyuki Kurokawa’s adaptation of Inio Asano’s manga of the same name pokes fun at modern society and politics amid a crisis.
In the weeks leading up to the Academy Awards, analysts believed the winner for best animated feature to be a toss-up between Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Mar 15, 2024
An agile campaign helped Hayao Miyazaki score another Oscar award
Even the greats can use an assist when it comes to awards season in Hollywood, and Studio Ghibli has no shortage of supporters.
A young man (Ayumu Nakajima) argues over trivial matters with his love interest in “This Hamburger Has No Pickles.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 17, 2024
‘This Hamburger Has No Pickles’: A hefty helping of awkward heart-to-hearts
Satoshi Kimura’s rambling rom-com offers a peek into the lives of entangled adults struggling to communicate with each other.
“Metallic Rouge” centers on android assassins on Mars and explores classic science fiction tropes like whether robots have souls.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 4, 2024
You're spoiled for choice with new anime to watch this winter
From the fantasy series "Delicious in Dungeon" to the sci-fi offering "Metallic Rouge," nearly 50 new shows are airing this season.
A teenage boy (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) discovers he has been changed into a vampire in “Kizumonogatari.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 11, 2024
‘Kizumonogatari’: The weirdness is back and better than ever
Tatsuya Oishi combines three anime adaptations of Nisioisin’s book into one edit that retains the gore and humor of the original.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2023
20 Questions: The best answers of 2023
Our interviewees this year gave a lot of advice for living a good life and paying attention to the things that matter most.
Holiday classic "Tokyo Godfathers" centers on three homeless people who have formed a makeshift family.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2023
Satoshi Kon’s unexpected anime classic for the holidays
The late director and animator's "Tokyo Godfathers" celebrates 20 years with new screenings.
A young girl’s imaginary friend, Rudger (Kokoro Terada), is separated from his grieving “owner” in “The Imaginary.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 21, 2023
‘The Imaginary’: Flight of fancy could have soared even higher
Animation studio Ponoc’s feature is a visual treat with some poignant moments, but it won’t be taking on the mantle from Studio Ghibli just yet.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023
Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda
Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
A year after going private, structural reforms bearing fruit for Toshiba
Toshiba's Corporate Senior Executive Vice President Koji Ikeya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Monday.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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