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November 19, 2025
 

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Matt Schley
A happy-go-lucky guy with many obsessions (voiced by Masaya Sano) becomes intensely interested in a young woman named Pechka (Moka Kamishiraishi) in ¡°The Obsessed.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 6, 2025
¡®The Obsessed¡¯: Charming anime dances to its own tune
"Crayon Shin-chan" director turns a 2001 novel into a quirky, rough-edged musical anime.
Chloe Zhao¡¯s "Hamnet"
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2025
What you need to see at this year's Tokyo film festival
From slow cinema and satire to moving biopics and restorations of classics, the TIFF lineup has something for every cinephile.
An elderly inmate (voiced by Kaoru Kobayashi in the present and Junki Tozuka in flashback) confides in a potted balsam flower (voiced by Pierre Taki) about the decisions that led him to prison in "The Last Blossom."
CULTURE / Film
Oct 2, 2025
Pieces fall perfectly into place in the reflective ¡®The Last Blossom¡¯
Reflective and heartfelt, Baku Kinoshita¡¯s animated feature tells a story of second chances without being overly sentimental.
Two 100-meter sprinters face the pressures of their sport, sometimes as friends, sometimes as rivals, from childhood to the pros in "100 Meters."
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2025
¡®100 Meters¡¯ brings kinetic energy to rivalry drama
In his latest film, Kenji Iwaisawa turns a 10-second dash into cinema with rotoscoping and a bigger production than his indie masterpiece "On-Gaku: Our Sound."
"Animator Skill Test Textbook¡± was written in concert with a test created and administered by the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association since 2024. The test was designed to help set a baseline for those studying animation, and so that animation studios can get a better idea of applicants' current skill level.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 4, 2025
English textbook targets a skills gap in Japan¡¯s growing anime industry
From "d¨­ga" to ¡°lip flap,¡± the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association¡¯s "Animator Skill Test Textbook" teaches aspiring animators how to talk like the pros.
Osaka Asian Film Festival, which will hold its 21st edition early to draw on Expo 2025 visitors, is set to open on Aug. 29 with a restoration of ¡°Tracing to Expo ¡¯70.¡± The Taiwanese film follows a Japan-raised Taiwanese woman whose search for her long-lost benefactor takes her to the 1970 Osaka Expo.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2025
Osaka Asian Film Festival gets an expo boost
In a rare double bill, the Osaka Asian Film Festival will stage a special summer edition to make the most out of interest in the ongoing world's fair.
¡°ChaO¡± is a romantic comedy centered on a mild-mannered human and a mermaid princess. A spin on Hans Christian Andersen¡¯s ¡°The Little Mermaid,¡± the animated film takes place in a near-future Shanghai.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2025
Futuristic mermaid tale ¡®ChaO¡¯ makes a splash
Yasuhiro Aoki¡¯s feature film debut reimagines ¡°The Little Mermaid¡± in vibrant detail.
¡°Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle¡± is the first installment in a trilogy that's set to wrap the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga about sword-wielding heroes fighting man-eating demons.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2025
¡®Demon Slayer¡¯ movie slashes its own box office records
¡°Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle¡± kicks off a new trilogy that is set to bring the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga to a close.
Ubu (Saki Miyashita) is a bounty hunter who takes down cyborg criminals in "Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 4, 2025
¡®Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl¡¯: Beautiful, brutal and bringing back ¡¯90s anime energy
The first chapter of Yasuomi Umetsu's new "Virgin Punk" project delivers old-school action and animation in a cyberpunk future.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda¡¯s 1998 play ¡°On Summer Sand¡± to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025
From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki
Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
Gentleman thief Lupin (Kanichi Kurita) and crew head to an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle and find themselves up against vaguely human monsters inspired by "The Island of Doctor Moreau¡± in ¡°Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jun 19, 2025
¡®Lupin the IIIrd The Movie The Immortal Bloodline¡¯ goes big on action, light on plot
Takeshi Koike¡¯s latest ¡°Lupin¡± film needs more than poison gas, bullets and nudity ¡ª its characters need something to do.
¡°Junk World¡± is Takahide Hori¡¯s second entry in his stop-motion ¡°Junk¡± series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called ¡°Mulligans.¡±
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025
Stop-motion sci-fi saga ¡®Junk World¡¯ expands its bizarre universe
The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori¡¯s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.
Lee Sang-il¡¯s ¡°Kokuho,¡± which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice ¡ª and loneliness ¡ª behind kabuki greatness.
Artists offer their own interpretations of Japan's most famous monster at "Godzilla The Art Exhibition."
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2025
'Godzilla The Art Exhibition' reimagines film icon as monstrous muse for modern art
The Mori Arts Center Gallery exhibition takes 911±¬ÁÏÍø most famous monster beyond the world of filmmaking and asks nine artists to interpret the beast from their own point of view.
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2025
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
With no script or crew, the animator created "Jinsei," a bold debut inspired by classics such as "Citizen Kane" and "Scarface."
The film to beat for the Niigata International Animation Film Festival¡¯s top prize seems to be Kiyotaka Oshiyama¡¯s ¡°Look Back,¡± one of the two 911±¬ÁÏÍø features in competition.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2025
Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival
From Satoshi Kon tributes to indie gems, this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues its dedication to feature-length animation.
¡°Ravens¡± stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2025
¡®Ravens¡¯ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons
Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
¡°Hypnosismic ¡ª Division Rap Battle ¡ª Movie¡± centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
¡®Hypnosismic ¡ª Division Rap Battle ¡ª Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative
Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan¡¯s first interactive movie.
Gensho Yasuda¡¯s ¡°Make a Girl¡± follows an inventor whose relationship with the robot girlfriend he builds becomes increasingly complicated as she develops an unexpected sense of independence.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025
Indie animator Gensho Yasuda paves his own way with a DIY spirit
With ¡°Make a Girl,¡± the young 911±¬ÁÏÍø creator takes the leap from short videos to full-length films.
¡°The Rose of Versailles¡± centers on the real-life Marie Antoinette (voiced by Aya Hirano) and the fictional Oscar Francois de Jarjayes (Miyuki Sawashiro) a few years before the French Revolution.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2025
¡®The Rose of Versailles¡¯ opts for empty opulence
Riyoko Ikeda¡¯s seminal manga that tackled themes of political and sexual revolution gets a film adaptation that lacks the depth of its source material.
A beloved Tokyo penguin¡¯s end presages Suica¡¯s shift to payments giant
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
More 911±¬ÁÏÍø firms relax rules in tussle for workers
Hinako Mori, 22, arranges products at a Don Quijote outlet in Tokyo in October. The 911±¬ÁÏÍø retailer, which relaxed its rules concerning hair and nail polish three years ago, says nearly a quarter of its employees sport brightly colored hair.
What you need to know about the shift to My Number health insurance cards
With the government's integration of health insurance with My Number cards, conventional health insurance cards will no longer be accepted at clinics and hospitals across Japan from Dec. 2.
Bears attacks and sightings continue in northern Japan
A bear walks in front of a box trap set up at a park in the city of Akita on Nov. 2.
How Band-Maid brought anime energy into the hard-rock sound of ¡®Scooooop¡¯
Members of Band-Maid combine heavy riffs and maid-inspired visuals in their latest project, "Rock Is a Lady¡¯s Modesty."
Japan uses series against South Korea to prep for World Baseball Classic title defense
Japan's Ryuhei Sotani pitches against South Korea at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
Who is cricket¡¯s Shohei Ohtani?
South African cricket legend Jacques Kallis plays a shot during the final day of a cricket test match against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.
Good fortune, wrapped in fried tofu
Golden "age-fukuburo," a culinary take on Japan's new year "lucky bags," can be served on their own.
Foreign Correspondents¡¯ Club of Japan celebrates 80 years at the forefront of press freedom
Located near the Imperial Palace, the Foreign Correspondents¡¯ Club of Japan prides itself on the accessibility of its events and the support it offers to budding and established journalists. The club is currently headed by Dan Sloan, a former reporter for Reuters.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

An illustration features the 911±¬ÁÏÍø signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo
By Kathryn Wortley

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