Television
-
What Happened at Hiroshima review – this rushed, flimsy look at a world-changing atrocity isn’t good enough
Thirty minutes simply isn’t enough time to do justice to such a colossal event. Let’s hope the BBC have someth…
-
Kamikaze: An Untold History review – a bewilderingly brutal act of collective desperation recalled
Japan’s deployment of kamikaze pilots to bomb US ships in the Pacific during the second world war killed almos…
-
Broken Rage review – the strangest show of the year is here
This staggering Japanese programme from veteran Takeshi Kitano follows an ageing hitman … twice. First the sto…
-
‘Asura is the best Netflix drama in years’: this strikingly beautiful show will leave you salivating
Palme d’Or-winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s tale of four sisters is a stunningly shot, laugh-out-…
-
Anna Sawai on Shōgun: ‘Our show taught women it was OK to stand up and say no’
Sawai’s astonishing performance as the fierce Lady Mariko won her an Emmy – and inspired women worldwide. She …
- Japan, Reality TV, World news, Documentary films, Asia Pacific, Television & radio, Television, Culture, Film
The Contestant review – the cruelty of reality TV on show in one of its earliest manifestations
Tomoaki Hamatsu was a sensation over the year he stayed alone in a single room amusing the camera, but this do…
-
Pachinko season two review – this excellent drama is extremely close to being an all-time classic
There’s a rare emotional intelligence to this deft, heartfelt look at Koreans living in Japan. It’s a methodic…
-
Atomic People review – the quietly devastating truth about surviving Hiroshima
This deeply moving documentary gives a voice to the ‘hibakusha’ who endured the horrific US bombings – and are…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Science fiction and fantasy films, Action and adventure films, World news, Asia Pacific, Television & radio, Books, Television, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film
Spy x Family Code: White review – ingenious espionage antics with special-power family
Popular manga characters receive their first film adaptation as they seek out a villainous colonel and an elus…
-
Shōgun: why the English samurai’s life and legacy still grip Japan 400 years on
Epic new TV adaptation of the 1975 novel reignites interest in the exploits of the Kent sailor William AdamsOn…
-
Disney series Shōgun breaks mould with careful respect for Japanese culture
High-budget series with largely Japanese cast avoids well worn western orientalist fantasies and wins plaudits…
-
Around the World in 80 Weighs review – I thought this kind of depressing, deeply misguided TV was over
In an oddly jaunty new documentary, ‘plus-sized pilgrims’ travel the world to get dieting tips. It seemed like…
- Music, Japan, Society, Rape and sexual assault, Law, Asia Pacific, Television & radio, Television, Culture
Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop review – a breathtaking look at Japan’s paedophile boyband ‘god’
As young stars smile brightly and declare their love for him, this documentary about a music svengali’s grueso…
-
TV tonight: the secret sexual abuse allegations in Japanese pop
This harrowing documentary investigates Johnny Kitagawa, media mogul and the maker of J-pop superstars. Plus, …
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, World news, Asia Pacific, Television & radio, Books, Television, Anime, Romance films, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
The Quintessential Quintuplets review – sisters compete for love in charming anime
The premise of a high-school tutor forced to choose which of his students to marry could have been disastrous …
- Japan, Star Trek, Science fiction TV, US news, Musicals, Asia Pacific, Television & radio, LGBTQ+ rights, Television, Stage, Theatre, Culture, Race
‘There was one prima donna on Star Trek’: George Takei on William Shatner, love and life as an ‘enemy alien’
TV made him a star, but activism turned him into a hero. Now 85 and still going strong, the actor remembers hi…
-
One Piece Film: Red review – eye-popping hijinks in spectacular anime franchise
There are frequent stretches of nonsense in this anime about a pop star, but with music and a central story th…
-
‘Astonishing’ errands: Old Enough’s Japanese creator on the child star TV hit
Junji Ouchi says show grew out of tradition of sending toddlers off on their own to do simple but challenging …
-
In praise of iyashikei: why we love soothing anime where nothing happens
Too tired to enjoy stressful telly after work? Perhaps you need slow anime, where the drama might be someone f…
- Japan, Libraries, Ukraine, Home Office, Politics, Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin, Schools, Television & radio, Television, Conservatives, UK news, Sri Lanka, Art, Education, Narendra Modi, Mohammed bin Salman, Jair Bolsonaro, Drama and dance
Ministers are old enough, but not wise enough to go it alone | Brief letters
A remake worth watching | Strongman myth | Boris Johnson’s ‘secret’ trip | Drama in schools | Ukrainian visa b…