Tag - disney-plus

 
 

DISNEY PLUS

The Netflix series "House of Ninjas" partially succeeds in elevating its subject, but there is still room in Hollywood to give ninja the "samurai" treatment.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 8, 2024
Shine and shadow: Unpacking favoritism in ‘Shogun’ and ‘House of Ninjas’
When it comes to Japanese archetypes in Hollywood, samurai are like rock stars compared to the less-considered ninja. It's time ninja took the spotlight.
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 18, 2024
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
Min Tanaka plays a powerful political fixer in the 10-episode show, which centers on the behind-the-scenes machinations of "kuromaku."
New series "Shogun" focuses on power struggles during Japan's samurai era, with warlord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) finding himself in danger of being bested — and perhaps beheaded — by rival Lord Ishido and his allies.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 9, 2024
New ‘Shogun’ series is a cut above the original
From the 1980 original to ‘Last Samurai’ to now, Hollywood is getting better at depicting Japan.
Hulu was founded in 2007 as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal, with Disney joining soon after as a partner.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023
Disney to complete takeover of Hulu with $8.6 billion deal
The acquisition comes as the company strives to boost subscriber numbers at its Disney+ streaming service.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2022
Bob Iger returns to reshape Disney as giant faces biggest decline since 70s
Iger, who led the entertainment company from 2005 to 2020, will have to tackle growing losses in streaming and fraying cable-TV viewership.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2022
Disney+ makes gains in Japan by banking on anime, echoing its competitors
As streaming giants adopt a lockstep programming approach, who will come out on top?
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 5, 2022
Classic sumo film 'Shiko Funjatta' finds new life as spinoff drama
The upcoming Disney+ series based on director Masayuki Suo's award-winning work is leading a new wave of sumo content on streaming platforms.
Reader Mail
May 23, 2007
The American failure to speak out
Ted Rall's May 6 article, "George Tenet's worst ever career choice," certainly hits the nail on the head. Why didn't former CIA Director Tenet speak up and admit that the White House was deceiving us? Why didn't so many other politicians and bureaucrats speak up? And why did it take the majority of...
Reader Mail
May 9, 2007
Pulvers column shows bias
Roger Pulvers' columns on trends in Japan over the past decades are good pieces of writing from a journalist who was actually there and knows what he's talking about.
Reader Mail
May 6, 2007
Daylight saving, Japan style
As the spring sun continues to rise earlier and earlier, there are likely not a few readers muttering to themselves, "If only Japan would adopt daylight saving time, then some of this early morning light could be put to better use." Few seem to be aware that Japan practiced a form of daylight saving...
Reader Mail
Apr 29, 2007
U.S. squarely faces its history
In regard to the letter submitted by Setsuko Tokita, although it is true that there was a long history of African slavery in the United States, the U.S. government finally put an end to slavery once and for all during the bloodiest conflict in American history, the Civil War. However, the institution...
Reader Mail
Apr 8, 2007
Giving Tokyo what it needs
The candidates in Sunday's Tokyo gubernatorial election seem at a loss for innovative ideas. The current governor has done a middling job on crime (Kabukicho, curfews for kids) and has banished diesel fumes, but he's a xenophobic blowhard who, among his many irrational proclamations, has averred that...
Reader Mail
Mar 7, 2007
Yasukuni's spiritual integrity
Illuminate new facts and reinterpret old facts to develop a more accurate and truthful understanding of what happened in East Asia between, say, the middle of the 19th century and the end of World War II? Fine. With a focus on Japan, China and the United States during the 1930s and 1940s? Fine. This...
Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2007
Renaming the Sea of Japan
The Jan. 9 article " 'Sea of Peace' instead of Sea of Japan: Roh" stated that South Korean President Roh Myoo Hyun had proposed renaming the Sea of Japan to either "The Sea of Peace" or the "The Sea of Friendship." Since the name of this sea has been a stumbling block in improving the Japan-Korea relationship,...
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2007
Puzzling stand against Pyongyang
In her Jan. 8 article, "Japan's peculiar silence on rights abuses," Sophie Richardson criticizes the Japanese government's exclusive focus on the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals while it ignores human rights abuses in countries such as Myanmar or Uzbekistan.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’