Put this masterclass of genre-blending immediately on your to-watch list
Category: Comedy
Party 7 (2000) review
Ishii elevates the staging of the truth of the phallus with many moments of refined interactional absurdity and a finale that, in an inimitable fashion, exposes lack and castration.
Short Movie Time: Cheating Office Lady: Wet Galaxy (2016) review
Ono and his cast’s enthusiastic dedication to the absurdity fills the film with a winsomeness that allows the short to surpass its limitations.
A Samurai In Time (2024) review
A beautiful and genuinely endearing love-letter to the chanbara genre
Short Movie Time: Fashion Runner (2018)
An absurd little gem that is worth checking out.
I am Baseball (2023) review
Whether you like baseball or not, his absurd love-letter to women who love baseball will shock and charm you.
Stigmatized Properties: Possession (2025) review
From scares, unintended farce, to forced romance; another genre-mix that does not entirely click.
She Taught Me Serendipity (2024) review
Akiko Ohku steers away from delivering a clear-cut romantic fantasy to confront the spectator with the messy consequences of utilizing signifiers in the game of love in a very moving way.
Rental Family (2025)
Hikari re-affirms her talent for creating uplifting and touching filmic experiences.
Rainy Blue (2025) review [OAFF 2025]
Asuna Yanagi does not simply deliver a heartwarming coming-of-age narrative, but also a work that has the potential to inspire young people.
Under Ninja (2025) review
Great mindless fun, perfect to wash away the stress that has infiltrated one’s body during the week.
Golden Kamuy (2024) review
Shigeaki Kubo reaffirms that he has the skill and talent to bring action-driven narratives to life in a satisfactorily way.
Undead lovers (2024) review
Matsui delivers a heartwarming romance narrative that, due to its fresh approach to certain tropes of the genre, rises above the common derivative romance drivel Japan usually produces.
Strangers in Kyoto (2025) review [Japannual 2025]
A light-hearted exploration of uncomfortable truths that marks our interactions with others/the Other – what we say is not what we mean; what we want to say we are not allowed to say; politeness is often a fabricated facade that we must believe in.
Ghost Killer (2025) review [Japannual 2025]
Sonomura’s narrative does little to re-invent the genre, but delivers everything one’s desires in such narratives in spades – a crowd-pleaser, indeed.