'Inuyashiki': It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's salaryman!
Fantasizing about instantly acquiring superpowers is something you do as a kid — or when you're late for an appointment and imagine flying to it like Superman. But what if your power-up comes when you're creaky in the joints and counting the days to retirement? That's the premise of "Inuyashiki," Shinsuke ...
'Liz and the Blue Bird': A brilliantly executed return to an anime favorite
At my high school in the U.S., it was said that while the athletes were the talk of the school, it was actually the band kids who were embroiled in the juiciest drama. If "Sound! Euphonium" is any indication, that trait is international. The anime ...
'Liverleaf': Sadistic school bullies get their comeuppance in a bloody, bleak thriller
From "Battle Royale" to "The World of Kanako," the past 20 years of Japanese cinema have yielded countless examples of school kids behaving very, very badly. Director Eisuke Naito is a specialist in the genre: He started his career with the charmingly titled "Let's ...
'The Bastard and the Beautiful World': Former SMAP stars let loose in a quartet of twisted tales
The members of SMAP, the five-man mega-group that disbanded in December 2016, had their share of hit films, though their central field of operation was always television. Now three of them — Goro Inagaki, Shingo Katori and Tsuyoshi Kusanagi — star in a four-part ...
Isao Takahata's gentle spirit enriched the world of Japanese animation
Isao Takahata, who died on Thursday at age 82, was long overshadowed by Studio Ghibli colleague Hayao Miyazaki, even though he was Miyazaki's senior when they both worked together at Toei Animation in the 1960s, as well as a co-founder, together with Miyazaki and ...
'After the Rain': A problematic love story deftly presented with emotional heft
"After the Rain" ("Koi wa Ame Agari no Yo Ni"), the 12-episode anime series that finished airing March 30 (and is streaming worldwide via Amazon Prime), centers around 17-year-old Akira Tachibana, a high school student who falls in love with Masami Kondo, the manager ...
His darkest hours behind him, Kazuhiro Tsuji returns to Hollywood and Oscar glory
After two Academy Award nominations for his work doing makeup and hairstyling on the films "Click" (2006) and "Norbit" (2007), Kazuhiro Tsuji finally got his hands on an Oscar to call his own at last month's ceremony. The 48-year-old Kyoto native was recognized for the ...
'Yamato (California)': Hanae Kan does well as an aspiring rapper that's straight outta Japan
The American military bases in Okinawa are often in the news, usually because of an accident, protest or crime. The bases elsewhere in Japan, not so much. These reminders of a postwar occupation now seven decades in the past have mostly faded from the ...
'Saimon & Tada Takashi': High school drama with anime and sci-fi twists
The pangs of unrequited love are a familiar staple in high-school movies, but it's not often that they involve an altercation with a flying saucer. In his lopsided debut feature, "Saimon & Tada Takashi," writer-director Manabu Oda mixes sensitive teen drama with surreal humor ...
The anime industry readies for another gold rush
If you didn't already know that the anime industry was in the middle of a boom, a quick look around the trade fair AnimeJapan would give you a pretty good indication. The annual event, held for its fifth time last week, was full of new ...
Casting director Ko Iwagami plays matchmaker in Hollywood
It was Ko Iwagami's love for American cinema, and "Indiana Jones" in particular, that took him to the United States. Now a successful casting director, he understands that Hollywood isn't always so kind. "After watching 'The Last Samurai,' I thought I could be like Ken ...
'Eriko, Pretended': Fake tears fuel a tale of self-discovery
People who secretly fear they are phonies when in actuality they aren't are said to suffer from "imposter syndrome." The title heroine of Akiyo Fujimura's debut feature "Eriko, Pretended" has the opposite problem: She calls herself an actress but in 10 years has only ...
'Smokin' on the Moon': A stoner buddy flick takes a serious turn
Marijuana was a subject for comedy back when I was taking my first clumsy steps into stoner culture: The comedy routines of Cheech and Chong, the music of Commander Cody, the midnight screenings of the unintentionally hilarious 1936 film "Reefer Madness." In Kanata Wolf's "Smokin' ...
