©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…
©Courtesy of GKIDS GKIDS has announced plans to bring “Kokuho” to North America. The live-action movie, which was first introduced at Cannes and will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this month, will be Japan’s official submission in the Best International Feature category at the 98th Academy Awards. GKIDS has…
©Courtesy of HBO Max HBO Max and GKIDS announced today a continuation of their prolific partnership, solidifying HBO Max as the U.S. streaming destination for award-winning Japanese animated films for years to come. The streamer is already the exclusive home of the world-renowned Studio Ghibli catalog in the United States, distributed by GKIDS, and now…
Photo by Nobuhiro Hosoki Nobuhiro Hosoki grew up watching American films since he was a kid; he decided to go to the United States thanks to seeing the artistry of Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange.” After graduating from film school, he worked as an assistant director on TV Tokyo’s program called “Morning Satellite” at the…
(C) Tatsuki Fujimoto/Shueisha (C) 2024 “Look Back” Production Committee Look Back : Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as…
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