Tag - wide-angle

 
 

WIDE ANGLE

“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.
“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.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024
Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?
While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
“Extremely Inappropriate!” centers on Ichiro Ogawa (played by Sadao Abe), a crude high school teacher who is chain-smoking his way through 1986. He accidentally ends up on a bus that turns out to be a time machine, which drives him to 2024.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Apr 5, 2024
‘Extremely Inappropriate!’ took a big swing. TV is better for it.
The drama — which features a fish-out-of-water protagonist and satirizes social issues — is the most divisive Japanese TV show of the year so far.
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.
Following the death of manga artist Hinako Ashihara, X users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene — and appointing themselves the arbiters of law and order.
CULTURE / Wide Angle
Jan 31, 2024
The internet goes in search of blame after the death of Hinako Ashihara
To piece together what happened, social media users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene.
Members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists walk a picket line outside of Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles. Hollywood actors and writers are currently on strike, effectively bringing the giant movie and television business to a halt in the first industry-wide walkout in 63 years.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 10, 2023
The Hollywood strike is a wake-up call to Japan's film industry
With Hollywood writers and actors on strike, what lessons can creatives in the Japanese film industry learn from the fray?
Director Christopher Nolan (right) poses with "Oppenheimer" cast members (from left) Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt at the film's premiere in Paris earlier this month.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 27, 2023
Summer film releases in Japan and the 'Oppenheimer' problem
Moviegoers may not get their "Barbenheimer" moment, as Japan likes to keep things family friendly in summer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
May 27, 2023
Netflix's answer to finding love in the time of an aging population
Dating show “Love Village” and its cast of singles 35 years old and above offer the perfect bait to millennial audiences and show that entertainment can age up without losing its edge.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 19, 2022
Ghost of Tsushima casting prompts the question: Who is — and isn’t — Japanese?
Director Chad Stahelski says he wants a Japanese cast speaking Japanese, but pulling it off would mean navigating the murky waters of identity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 15, 2022
‘Drive My Car’ won a Golden Globe. Could it also pick up an Oscar?
“Drive My Car,” a film based on a short story by Haruki Murakami and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, has garnered a long list of prizes since premiering last July at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won three awards, including best screenplay.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Nov 27, 2021
Live-action 'Cowboy Bebop' shows the limitations of Netflix's originality
Netflix's adaptation of a beloved anime series has been met with groans, but the recent South Korean hit “Squid Game” demonstrates how anime can in fact be brought to life successfully.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 13, 2021
TIFF and Tokyo Filmex shakeup gets conversations going
The 34th edition of Tokyo's annual film event marked the debut of a newly appointed programming director, an emphasis on female perspectives and the resurrection of the TIFF Times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 23, 2021
Tokyo International Film Festival’s animation section aims beyond hardcore fans
The 34th iteration of TIFF will feature a retrospective, recent and upcoming films, and a look at a live-action tokusatsu special effects franchise.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 16, 2021
'Ghost in the Shell' goes big with Imax release
It has been 26 years since Mamoru Oshii's futuristic animated thriller “Ghost in the Shell” came into our lives and it still offers new surprises on renewed viewings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 22, 2021
Mamoru Hosoda called out Hayao Miyazaki, but was it deserved?
Anime director Mamoru Hosoda recently criticized famed animator Hayao Miyazaki for how he portrays women in his films, but the chiding isn't exactly warranted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 3, 2021
Is change sweeping the sclerotic Japanese film industry?
The Japan Academy awarded top honors to the LGBTQ-themed drama “Midnight Swan” and its star, and Tokyo International Film Festival announced that its 34th edition would see more diversity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Nov 6, 2020
‘24 Japan’ turns back the clock with remake of U.S. series
When studios in Japan suspended production of new programming due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic this past spring, TV stations turned to nostalgia to fill the suddenly vacant spaces on their nightly schedules. Reruns of dramas, in particular, proved successful, whether they were from a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Oct 1, 2020
‘Tenet’ triumphs at the Japanese box office
Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic may not be doing well in the U.S., but in Japan, the film has held the No. 1 box-office slot for two weeks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jun 11, 2020
Hana Kimura's legacy is one of inclusion and acceptance
With all the news about Hana Kimura focusing on her death, I wanted to write about her life.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?