'Honnouji Hotel': Drama on the wrong side of history
Is Haruka Ayase the Japanese version of Anne Hathaway? In everything from their perky public personas and sterling work ethic to their toothy smiles and flawless complexions, the two stars symbolize a type of good-girl perfection. And yet they also rub some imperfect types ...
'The Kodai Family': A daydream believer and her mind-reading prince
Doesn't everybody want somebody who understands their true inner self? For some, it's a spouse, for others, a friend; for others still, it's Mom. Some, however — and not all under the age of 5 — have this meeting of minds and hearts with ...
The future of comedy looks bleak in 'Galaxy Turnpike'
Comedy is hard. That's what many comedians say, at least. Think of Charlie Chaplin filming hundreds of takes per immortal gag. But Koki Mitani — the famously workaholic comic playwright, scriptwriter, director and producer — makes it look easy, with a stupendous number of film, ...
NHK spotlights gunslinging daughter of the north in yearlong Sunday drama
How to rebuild when you've lost everything? In the immediate aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, as many thousands of people in northeastern Japan sought to answer that question for themselves, public broadcaster NHK began looking for a historical ...
