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July 16, 2025
 

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Matt Schley
Ubu (Saki Miyashita) is a bounty hunter who takes down cyborg criminals in "Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 4, 2025
‘Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl’: Beautiful, brutal and bringing back ’90s anime energy
The first chapter of Yasuomi Umetsu's new "Virgin Punk" project delivers old-school action and animation in a cyberpunk future.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda’s 1998 play “On Summer Sand” to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025
From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki
Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
Gentleman thief Lupin (Kanichi Kurita) and crew head to an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle and find themselves up against vaguely human monsters inspired by "The Island of Doctor Moreau” in “Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
‘Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline’ goes big on action, light on plot
Takeshi Koike’s latest “Lupin” film needs more than poison gas, bullets and nudity — its characters need something to do.
“Junk World” is Takahide Hori’s second entry in his stop-motion “Junk” series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called “Mulligans.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025
Stop-motion sci-fi saga ‘Junk World’ expands its bizarre universe
The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori’s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.
Lee Sang-il’s “Kokuho,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice — and loneliness — behind kabuki greatness.
Artists offer their own interpretations of Japan's most famous monster at "Godzilla The Art Exhibition."
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2025
'Godzilla The Art Exhibition' reimagines film icon as monstrous muse for modern art
The Mori Arts Center Gallery exhibition takes Japan's most famous monster beyond the world of filmmaking and asks nine artists to interpret the beast from their own point of view.
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2025
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
With no script or crew, the animator created "Jinsei," a bold debut inspired by classics such as "Citizen Kane" and "Scarface."
The film to beat for the Niigata International Animation Film Festival’s top prize seems to be Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back,” one of the two Japanese features in competition.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2025
Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival
From Satoshi Kon tributes to indie gems, this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues its dedication to feature-length animation.
“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025
‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons
Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
“Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie” centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative
Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan’s first interactive movie.
Gensho Yasuda’s “Make a Girl” follows an inventor whose relationship with the robot girlfriend he builds becomes increasingly complicated as she develops an unexpected sense of independence.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025
Indie animator Gensho Yasuda paves his own way with a DIY spirit
With “Make a Girl,” the young Japanese creator takes the leap from short videos to full-length films.
“The Rose of Versailles” centers on the real-life Marie Antoinette (voiced by Aya Hirano) and the fictional Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (Miyuki Sawashiro) a few years before the French Revolution.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025
‘The Rose of Versailles’ opts for empty opulence
Riyoko Ikeda’s seminal manga that tackled themes of political and sexual revolution gets a film adaptation that lacks the depth of its source material.
Despite impressive visuals that hark back to Peter Jackson’s live-action trilogy from the early 2000s, Kenji Kamiyama’s “The War of the Rohirrim” falls flat in its storytelling as a standalone film.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2024
‘The War of the Rohirrim’: Striking visuals, insipid storytelling
Kenji Kamiyama's anime addition to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" universe has impressive qualities, but lacks the magic of Peter Jackson's film adaptations.
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.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men
Scientists say a recently-published study could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions and may lead to new therapies that target calorie-burning mechanisms.
Music idol and anime fandom merch is big business
Businesses who cater to fandoms gathered at Tokyo Lifestyle Week for the second annual Oshikatsu — Merch Collection Expo, a trade show devoted to fandom goods.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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