Akira
In the futuristic year 2019, Tokyo has been destroyed and a new metropolis built on artificial islands now rife with violence, protest and gang warfare. During a skirmish the young […]
Tag Archives: Japan
Whisper of the Heart
Yoshifumi Kondō’s only directorial effort before his tragic death in 1998, Whisper of the Heart follows 14-year-old Shizuku (Yōko Honna) whose studies are stymied by trips to the library, brushes […]
Grave of the Fireflies
A Japanese brother and sister (Tsutomu Tatsumi and Ayano Shiraishi) struggle to survive the end of World War II in Studio Ghibli’s only 12A-rated feature. Isao Takahata’s (Pom Poko, The Tale […]
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a pre-Ghibli Hayao Miyazaki movie set in a post-apocalyptic kingdom bordering a toxic jungle. Though watching the dubbed version is less than […]
Ring
A journalist (Nanako Matsushima) faces the toughest deadline of her career when she’s given 7 days to live after watching a cursed videotape that resembles one of David Lynch’s home […]
Ponyo
Newly reopened cinemas are releasing some classics back into the wild, including Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo; the story of a boy (Hiroki Doi) living on the coast who befriends a magical goldfish […]
Ran
Akira Kurosawa once again takes Shakespeare from The Globe to the other side of the globe in this adaptation of King Lear. As compared to Throne of Blood, Ran is […]
Samurai Marathon
When an American naval officer (Danny Huston) lands on the shores of Feudal Japan, a daimyo (Hiroki Hasegawa) sends his army on a 36-mile footrace to test their mettle that […]
Arrietty
Studio Ghibli shrinks to Studio Gimli in this 2010 Borrowers adaptation. Ghibli is all about detail, making Mary Norton’s diminutive classic the perfect playground for the anime giant’s miniaturised magic. […]
Penguin Highway
From the nation that gave us Pingu in the City comes this 2018 anime about a precocious fourth-grader (Kana Kita) investigating a sudden influx of penguins. Waddle they think up […]
Screen Goblin 