©Courtesy of GKIDS Three of the biggest anime franchises share certain similarities. In Chainsaw Man, they fight devils, while in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba they do indeed slay demons. In the case of Jujutsu Kaisen, human “Jujutsu Sorcerers” battle so-called “Curses,” demonic monsters that coalesce from the excess negative energy humans release into the…
©Courtesy of GKIDS Kokuho : Nagasaki, 1964 — After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men…
©Courtesy of GKIDS Continuously reliving the same events in a seemingly endless time loop can be an initially daunting task. But once again delving into the visually and emotionally in-depth story of the new sci-fi anime film, All You Need Is Kill, is an exciting adventure. The feature is based on the 2004 best-selling light…
©Courtesy of GKIDS LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN : The world is a perplexing, peaceful mystery to Amélie until a miraculous encounter with chocolate ignites her wild sense of curiosity. As she develops a deep attachment to her family’s housekeeper, Nishio-san, Amélie discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths…
©Courtesy of GKIDS Honestly, animation was probably the only way to adapt Amélie Nothomb’s otherwise “unadaptable,” “biographical” novella. Describing the world as she supposedly saw it as a three-year-old toddler, her book-club-friendly The Character of Rain reads something like Look Who’s Talking in the style of Terrence Malick. Regardless, the title rugrat character has a…
©Courtesy of GKIDS 100 Meters : The film follows Togashi, a track star who is born to run. As a kid, he is naturally gifted and wins every 100-meter race without effort. But in sixth grade, he meets Komiya, a transfer student who is full of determination but lacks technique. In teaching him, Togashi gives…
©Courtesy of GKIDS One of a highly anticipated Kabuki drama “Kokuho,” which stars Ryo Yoshizawa, Ken Watanabe, and Ryusei Yokohama, has been released in Japan and features the first trailer. The second-highest-grossing Japanese live-action movie of all time is “Kokuho,” which has taken more than $104M since its June premiere. At the Japanese box office,…
©Courtesy of GKIDS When asked why he runs, a junior high track star replies “to win,” as if it’s a stupid question, but it isn’t. In fact, several Japanese track stars at various stages of their careers must wrestle with that question throughout this film, especially during losing streaks. Yet, they keep running in Kenji…
©Courtesy of GKIDS An isolated scream of personal despair can ultimately become the voice of a generation that’s contending with the nature of their existence. The anguish felt in the reverberating cry of the young heroine in the fantasy anime movie, Angel’s Egg, echoes the crisis of faith many adolescents face as they come of…
©Courtesy of GKIDS The coming-of-age film ‘Linda Linda Linda’ has been digitally remastered in 4K to mark its 20th anniversary. GKIDS has secured the U.S. release of the film, which was also shown at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. In this column, we asked director Nobuhiro Yamashita, who led the project, to reflect on the…
©Courtesy of GKIDS “Linda Linda” is one of the biggest hits from Japan’s most popular punk bands, the Blue Hearts. Yet, this Japanese high school garage band totally makes it their own, despite their new Korean vocalist’s spotty command of the language. A lot of Americans discovered the real band indirectly through this film when…
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