In the current era of sports manga, audiences are familiar with the likes of Slam Dunk, Blue Lock, and Haikyu!!, each having had their stories adapted into anime series and features. These stories depict not only the drama of their… Read More ›
Japanese
With GKIDS Films’s brand-new 4K UHD remaster of Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name.,” one is quite inclined to stay a little longer.
“Ah, if only our voices speak at night Could ever reach the very edge of this world and the time … “ – Dream Lantern by RADWIMPS 2016 was a strong year for animated films. While there was Academy Award… Read More ›
Ichikawa and Wada’s dark comedy “Ten Women in Black” joins Radiance Films’s collection with a 4K HD restoration.
When it comes to cheating and cheaters, there’s often more than one side to the story. Someone wasn’t getting what they needed from one partner, so they sought it elsewhere. This, of course, doesn’t make the act of cheating correct… Read More ›
Genki Kawamura’s “Exit 8” now brings its rewarding and challenging exploration of the human psyche into your home.
Liminal spaces are making a comeback … or rather, an arrival. With the success of Kane Parsons’s high-grossing 2026 hit Backrooms and the word-of-mouth reputation of Alexander Ullom’s 2025 It Ends (a film initially released on Letterboxd Video Store then… Read More ›
Off its recent theatrical remaster re-release, Michael Arias’s 2006 animated adventure “Tekkonkinkreet” arrives at home with a first-time 4K UHD edition via GKIDS Films.
“At least believe in love, Kimura. Love is all you need.” – Suzuki in Tekkonkinkreet The bonds we make in life have a tendency to follow us everywhere. We don’t always know what they mean to us, either, until we’ve… Read More ›
“The Specials” mashes up all the genres with their fancy footwork. [Fantasia]
Mixing genres is a frequent and sometimes dangerous proposition. We’re not talking about mixing romance with comedy or horror with thriller elements (though there is a science to this, as well), but films which incorporate seemingly desperate genres like yakuza… Read More ›
Ryuya Syzuki’s contemplative existential drama “Jinsei” arrives on home video with few supplemental materials.
How does one measure a life? Through the seasons of change? Through their age? Through their responsibility? In the scope of all things, how does one determine how well or poorly someone lived their life? You could live for a… Read More ›
Kentaro Hagiwara’s manga adaptation “Wind Breaker” transforms shōnen entertainment into a theatrical Blue Sky experience. [Fantasia]
What does it mean to be strong? What does it mean to hold power? Is it the means to defeat a thousand foes and to draw fear from opposition *or* is it to be able to protect all who matter… Read More ›
“The Samurai and the Prisoner” traps itself.
Things are not going great — globally and locally. Upheaval is in the air, and we’re all waiting to see when it will come down. In 1578, the same could be said for the feuding Samurai lords of Japan, and… Read More ›
Filmmaker Kenichi Kutsuna’s animated video game adaptation “Sekiro: No Defeat” beautifully captures its jidaigeki roots through classic animation and action. [Fantasia]
What does it mean to live an honorable life? Is it honoring yourself? Honoring your community? Existing by a code? These may sound like old-fashioned queries, the sort of things that warriors or soldiers asked themselves when written by poets,… Read More ›
“You Are the Film” continues the trend of fantastical whimsy as writer Makoto Ueda shifts his talents to include the director’s chair. [Fantasia]
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts – From the “All the World’s a Stage” speech within William… Read More ›
“Audition” gets a 4K restoration with two new bonus features via Arrow Video.
Arrow Video’s new 4K restoration of Takashi Miike’s Audition in 4K is surely going to have fans, new and old, jumping at the chance to add it to their collection. Audition defined Miike’s style as a director and the adrenaline-filled… Read More ›
Anime “Adolescence of Utena” gets a 2-day only theatrical rerelease from GKIDS Films.
Back in the early 2000s, a treasure trove of Japanese animation titles took over North American video stores. Featuring stories involving various fantastical adventures, one subgenre (thanks to the international popularity of Sailor Moon) began to slowly make a bigger… Read More ›
Polarizing, maddening and surreal, Toshiaki Toyoda’s “Transcending Dimensions” comes home, courtesy of Third Window Films.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are three instances of powerful strobing/flashing lights that may trigger a painful response in audiences: two shortly after the title card appears and one in the climatic sequence of the film. A sadistic sorcerer. An existential hitman…. Read More ›
“G.I. Samurai” gets a worthy Blu-ray edition release via Arrow Video.
G.I. Samurai (1979) feels like one of those movies that was accidentally sealed away in a time capsule (no pun intended) only to be rediscovered decades later by the exact audience ready to appreciate it. Thanks to Arrow Films and… Read More ›
The Home for Anime Podcast: Talking “Cosmic Princess Kaguya!”
As a writer, my comfort zone is putting my thoughts on paper and hitting publish, but there’s truly nothing like having a conversation with a fellow film nerd. In this case, joining fellow NCFCA member Cameron Allison on his The… Read More ›
Yûta Shimotsu’s sophomore film, cosmic horror “New Group,” challenges the meaning of “one of us.” [The Overlook Film Festival]
Muno (Yo, right), he’s tall and friendly Foofa (Oh, hehehehehe), she’s pink and happy Brobee (Woah), the little green one Toodee (Yeah, woo), she likes to have fun Plex (Woah), a magic robot Let’s all come and play with DJ… Read More ›
Takashi Miike’s sports drama “Blazing Fists” is ready to enter the ring at home.
Everything you have in this life is because of where you started. Some people have a leg up by being born into a wealthy family (and can afford to get bailed out time and again), while others struggle to afford… Read More ›
Transgressive master Takashi Miike’s violent, mean-spirited “Agitator” gets a solo-edition home release with updated resolution by Radiance Films.
Trigger Warning: Agitator contains sequences of graphic violence and sexual assault that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. It’s a rather tall order to not expect a yakuza film with title Agitator to not … well, agitate you. But such… Read More ›
A classic sprawling epic of power and politics within a powerful crime syndicate, Sadao Nakajima’s “The Japanese Godfather Trilogy” finally arrives on Blu-ray, courtesy of Radiance Films.
Sadao Nakajima’s Japanese Godfather Trilogy is a collection of three yakuza films made between 1977 and 1978 based on the true story of Japan’s largest crime syndicate. Taking some inspiration (both thematically and visually) from Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 gangster… Read More ›