Hikari re-affirms her talent for creating uplifting and touching filmic experiences.
Category: Friendship
Dollhouse (2025) review
Yaguchi’s horror will please audiences new to the J-horror genre as well as long-time fans of the genre.
Renoir (2025) review
Chie Hayakawa delivers an incredible moving experience that succeeds in exploring the difficulty for the subject to deal with death and the loss it introduces.
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.
The Man Who Failed To Die (2025) review [Camera Japan Festival]
Seiji Tanaka refuses to colour within the lines of comedy, creating an eclectic collage of different genre-elements that does not fail to satisfy the spectator.
Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
Ishikawa delivers an engaging narrative with some satisfying twists, many funny moments, and pleasing action-sequences.
Twilight Cinema Blues (2023) review
While fun to watch, Hideo Jojo’s film is a trick of all trades, but a master of none.
Let’s Go Karaoke (2024) review [Camera Japan Festival]
This is perfect film for anyone who, after a long day full of struggles, wants to sit in a comfy chair and relax.
Baby Assassins: Good Days (2024) review [Fantasia Film Festival]
Yugo Sakamoto successfully mixes up the formula that structured his previous two action narratives. Highly Recommended.
Kingdom 2: Far and Away (2022) review
An epic and quite emotional experience that sadly fails to reach it full potential by holding on too tight to its shonen-roots.
Natchan’s little Secret (2023) review [Camera Japan Festival 2023]
Tanaka’s narrative succeeds in entertaining the spectator with its light-hearted framing of the tension between these subjects and the Other they are surrounded by. So be sure to give it a watch if you have the chance.
Usogui (2022) review
‘Usogui’ got 99 problems, but the manga-like appearances of the characters ain’t one.
Short Movie Time: My Wings Became My Legs (2022) review [JFHH 2023]
A pleasant comical short that highlights that the idea of adulthood is a suffocating but unattainable ideal.
Baby Assassins: 2 babies (2023) review [Nippon Connection 2023]
Sakamoto’s latest film has such a irresistible charm that even those who normally shy away of action or comedy narratives will leave satisfied.
Setagaya Game (2023) review
The Ohara Bros do not only offer the spectator a pleasant concatenation of kicks and punches, but also deliver a touching emotional pay-off.
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