Some parting words from Yakuza movie icon Takakura Ken on yakuza films, his favourite movies, and acting
But I think that the reason the general public identified with the roles I played, was that they were struck by my stance as a man who unrelentingly stands up…
Aliens Versus Yakuza: 宇宙人対極道: A Masterpiece Of Bad Genre Films
I wouldn't want to spoil the rest of the film for our readers but it does solve the ancient question: in a battle between an alien and a yakuza, who…
Ghost in the Shell: The Matrix of Sci-Fi Anime
With the newest Ghost in the Shell film in theaters, and a live-action version on the horizon, it's important to take a look back at what made the original so…
The 10 Worst Films About Japan*: You Might Only Live Twice But Are These Movies Worth Seeing Once?
Memoirs of a Geisha starring Zhang Ziyi as a ravishing prewar geisha by the name of Sayuri ('white lily'), sinks to basement level lows of pigeon-holing and cultural misunderstanding. As…
The 100 Hour Japanese Work-Week and One Woman Who Escaped
On the other hand, most Japanese - white collar or not, are well aware that clocking in over 100 hours of overtime a month is quite common, and so is…
AKB48: A Microcosm Of Dark Corporate Japan. Sexual exploitation of child labor is sooo cute. (Book review)
Shohei Sakakura has linked Black Companies with the nation's most famous and lucrative girl group AKB 48. "AKB48 and the Black Companies," and his indictments make Walmart look like a…
How did Japan’s Whalers Of The Past Feel About Their Job & The Whales They Killed?
Despite the popular opinion that Japan’s dedicated pro-whaling community comes from a background of legendary, barbaric whalers who slaughtered whales without mercy, some reports show that pre-harpoon whalers were actually…
The Sweet Taste Of Thailand….In Kagurazaka? (神楽坂のタイ？）”Roti” rocks
Making Roti is not easy. It takes some real expertise to stretch the dough and make it very thin. Hence, despite the popularity of Thai food in japan, this dessert…
Manga and Dating Sims: The Real Path to Japanese Mastery
Boas also provides some useful vocabulary for the basic Japanese learner, particularly while exploring manga and anime's odd visual effects to communicate emotion, such as veins popping to signal anger…
Critics Up In Arms Over Doglegs
Heath Cozen’s controversial documentary ‘Doglegs’ has already scooped up a ‘Best Director’ award at Fantastic Fest 2015, and continues to divide critics since making the rounds of International film festivals. …