Film adaptations
- Running, Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Athletics, Life and style, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Sport, Film, Film adaptations
100 Meters review – mesmerising anime of young athletes in search of physical and spiritual high
Dazzling rotoscoped running sequences make up for a lack of narrative subtlety in Kenji Iwaisawa’s filmMuch ha…
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‘I had a chance to pass my mum’s story on’: Kazuo Ishiguro on growing up in shadow of the Nagasaki bomb
The film version of A Pale View of Hills, the Nobel-winner’s tale of loss, exile and a pregnant radioactive br…
- Hayley Atwell, Japan, Studio Ghibli, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
The Imaginary review – charming anime about made-up best friends from former Ghibli protege
Spirited Away animator Yoshiyuki Momose takes the reins in this dreamy and dark family fable, adapted from AF …
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Sport, Film, Film adaptations
Haikyuu!!: The Dumpster Battle review – huge anime hit goes deep into high school volleyball
Obsessively detailed clash between two rival high school teams has done massive box office in Japan, but it wo…
- Music, Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Jazz, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Blue Giant review – electrifying animation captures the ecstasy of live music
A sublime score from Hiromi Uehara drives this coming-of-age-anime, which brings three young jazz musicians to…
- Japan, Drama films, Haruki Murakami, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman review – Murakami’s surreal tales around a Tokyo earthquake
The seductively quirky sad-serious tone of the author is evident as a constellation of characters try and save…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Film, Film adaptations
That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond review – high-spirited anime
This playful tale about an ogre samurai, a poisoned queen and a demonic pool of talking slime has a lot of con…
- 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, Science fiction and fantasy films, Studio Ghibli, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
The Deer King review – Studio Ghibli graduates take on dystopian deer tamer saga
Two grandees of Japanese animation adapt a Nahoko Uehashi fantasy novel that covers too much ground to take fl…
- Japan, World cinema, Cannes film festival, Drama films, Haruki Murakami, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Festivals, Culture, Film, Film adaptations
Drive My Car review – mysterious Murakami tale of erotic and creative secrets
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi reaches a new grandeur with this engrossing adaptation about a theatre director grappling wi…
- Japan, Science fiction and fantasy films, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Violet Evergarden: The Movie review – a breathtaking return for Kyoto Animation
Stunning visual details, from blooming flowers to morning dew, illustrate our troubled hero’s growth in this b…
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The Reason I Jump review – an empathic study of nonverbal autism
Documentary inspired by Japanese teenager’s bestselling book takes us into the world of young neurodiverse peo…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train review – an anime fever dream
Good, bad and powerful spells collide in this impressively animated romp that inspires touching reflections on…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, Crime films, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Romance films, Culture, Film, Film adaptations
Ride or Die review – bloody revenge and blossoming love in shocking Japanese thriller
A young woman hits the road with the killer of her abusive husband in Ryūichi Hiroki’s adaptation of cult mang…
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Lost Girls and Love Hotels review – submission and secrets in erotic Tokyo drama
Alexandra Daddario’s American English teacher drinks, parties and explores BDSM in this cool movie that only o…
- Japan, MANGA, Comics and graphic novels, World news, Asia Pacific, Books, Anime, Culture, Animation in film, Film, Film adaptations
One Piece: Stampede review – piratical manga mayhem
This imaginative carnival of battling buccaneers makes Pirates of the Caribbean look like Swallows and Amazons…