'Fictitious Girl's Diary: The Movie': An honest portrait of office minutiae
Comedian Bakarhythm brings his nameless female bank clerk character to the big screen and lovingly documents the trivial goings-on in the life of a Japanese office worker.
Towa Tei goes deep on death and puns
Towa Tei has mortality on his mind. "More and more, I've been thinking about what death means and what life is. One of my best friends died about 10 years ago, and then there was March 11," says the 53-year-old musician referring to the Great ...
This woman's work is never dull
Hidetomo Masuno says he thinks too much. The 41-year-old comedian who goes by the name Bakarhythm says he spends most of his waking hours deep in thought — "but first," he stresses, "I observe." Observation is what led him to create the blog, book and, ...
Japanese TV is making some progress in writing broader female roles
One of the best things to come out of the rise of streaming websites overseas has been an increase in productions that have featured great roles for women. This year alone we've seen some phenomenal acting from Elisabeth Moss on "The Handmaid's Tale" and ...
Actresses enter a parallel universe; three species of romance; CM of the Week: Big
The comedian-turned-scriptwriter Bakarhythm specializes in surreal "what if" situations. In the new drama "Kamoshirenai Joyutachi" ("Maybe Actresses"; Fuji TV, Tues., 10 p.m.) he focuses on three famous Japanese actresses and places them in a parallel universe where they didn't become famous. In this parallel universe ...
