FILM

MUSIC

ART

STAGE

ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

BOOKS

TV

WHAT PEOPLE ARE READING

Cyberpunk specter: Mamoru Oshii’s “Ghost in the Shell” is an adaptation of the original manga by Masamune Shirow.

‘Ghost in the Shell’ goes big with Imax release

by Matt Schley

On Sept. 17, a 4K remaster of Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 animated masterpiece “Ghost in the Shell” is set to hit Imax theaters in Japan and around the world. Despite having seen the film well over a hundred times, I’ll be there on Day One. There’s something endlessly fascinating about this sci-fi cla...

All the right moves: The production team for “Ride or Die” hired an intimacy coordinator to coach the film’s two leads, Kiko Mizuhara (right) and Honami Sato (left), through sex scenes. Netflix says this was a first for a Japanese movie.

Sex, murder and a getaway car: ‘Ride or Die’ stars go on the trip of a lifetime

by James Hadfield

Today’s viewers may have grown desensitized to screen violence and CGI spectacle, but there’s still something bracing about seeing an actor go beyond the call of duty for a role. Ryuichi Hiroki’s “Ride or Die,” which will be released worldwide on Netflix this month, is likely to get people tal...

New beginnings: Koji Yakusho (right) stars as an ex-con trying to restart his life in Miwa Nishikawa’s drama, “Under the Open Sky.”

Japanese films you won’t want to miss in 2021

by Mark Schilling

Last year was an annus horribilis for much of the Japanese film industry, except for companies lucky enough to partake in the bonanza that is “Demon Slayer.” The animated film set a new all-time box-office record in 2020 and is still going strong with total earnings of ¥34.6 billion as of Jan. 4....

Singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi is genuinely interested in hearing about what fans think of her music.

Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018’s surprise online smash hit from Japan

by Patrick St. Michel

Even if Mariya Takeuchi wasn't directly responsible for the biggest Japanese musical breakthrough in the West in 2018, she would still struggle to describe her year as anything other than eventful. The singer-songwriter is celebrating 40 years in the music industry, and has commemorated the oc...

Author Ruth Ozeki explores modern society's relationship with material objects in “The Book of Form and Emptiness.”

‘The Book of Form and Emptiness’: Ruth Ozeki’s inquisitive side is still on point

by Kris Kosaka

An award-winning author with four titles and two film credits under her belt, Ruth Ozeki’s greatest talent may be her ability to ask the right questions. Her fifth novel, "The Book of Form and Emptiness," demonstrates that her inquisitive side is still on point. The Book of Form and Emptiness, b...