Category: Japan

I Keep Ruining Video Games

November 16, 2025

Like any God-fearing millennial male, I am hopelessly nostalgic about the Xbox 360 era. And I say “era” because I also enjoyed the Nintendo Wii, and what defined both consoles – in my shining eyes, anyhow – was local multiplayer. Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, three Halos, two Gears, Guitar Hero. One of the highlights in that pantheon was Resident Evil 5. I knew enough about the Resident Evil brand to know that 5 was a tonal shift, from survival-horror to horror-themed action, but it was a great game. “Come on! Come on!” “Chris!” “Sheva!” “I need a herb!” Endless fun, at least when you’re trying to farm enough gold to upgrade all the guns. Still, Resident Evil 5 could be accused of starting the ball rolling off a cliff, leading to the extremely unfun Resident Evil 6 – doesn’t even control right, feels like shit to play – and then a soft reboot with Resident Evil VII: Biohazard and its current heights with the parallel remake line. The action direction ultimately proved to be wrong, but how could you blame the Capcom execs in the mid-2000s? Japanese games were dead, said Lord Inafune. Why not cater to the Call of Duty bros? Well, the bros was I. Though I’ve never really played a Call of Duty game, I was the problem. … More I Keep Ruining Video Games

Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: Asia

November 14, 2025

We’re on the precipice of the season finale of Physical: Asia, but have already witnessed bracing human drama through punishing feats of endurance. Robyn almost drowned, James put 110 pounds on his back, and Alexandra pushed herself farther than anyone I’ve ever seen. It’s the signature appeal of its mothership series, Physical: 100, though this wasn’t obvious to me at first. Jang Ho-gi’s Netflix reality show premiered in January 2023, a self-proclaimed search for the “perfect physique” between one-hundred South Korean contestants – athletes, soldiers, bodybuilders – in challenges like “how long can you hang on this metal bar?” and “how far can you carry these sandbags?” Even as the set pieces scaled up to elaborate excess, the challenges felt oddly accessible, deferring spectacle to the contestants’ performances (even when they appeared to be static). And while often incredible, the contestants were additionally impressive for being so unlike the archetypal reality show character. They were polite and friendly with each other, and so interested in proving themselves that they’d rather compound an obstacle than weasel around it. Of course, none of this would’ve been enough to entice ol’ Harrison “gives up on movies and TV shows after mere minutes” Chute. No, the last essential ingredient of Physical: 100’s freshman season was Jang Eun-sil. … More Jang Eun-sil Report – Physical: Asia

IT’S HERE (again)

October 26, 2025

Donovan, my Baby Assassins partner-in-crime (the Miyauchi to my Tasaka, if you will, though maybe there’s a better duo to be), informed me a few days ago that the TV show, Baby Assassins: Everyday!, was eminently streamable on Hulu and HBO Max, and has been since October 16th. I was late. How could I not have known sooner? Where was the YouTube trailer? Where are the outlets meant to warn me? So, I’m here now to pass it along, realizing that perhaps I am one of those outlets. Not really, but seriously, what the hell happened? … More IT’S HERE (again)

Critical Lore Question

September 12, 2025

My understanding of Baby Assassins was that it was, if not “a big deal,” then at least “known.” Using this very website as a record, my earliest awareness of the series dates back to 2022 (see: “Hydra review”), one year after the first movie released, and even by then, I felt late to the party. Note, in that review, I reference the movie without disclaiming that I hadn’t seen it, which might lead readers to incorrectly assume I had. Garsh, I just can’t let myself get away with anything, can I? I’m such a humble guy! I’d learned about it from an entertainment website like Polygon (which it wasn’t, as their earliest coverage is 2024), in an enthusiastic review or discussion. I suppose this is my mistake, thinking that such writing is somehow indicative of the national (or international) pulse. No, outlets like that are pretty small-time, despite all the damage wreaked by unethical games journalism. Regardless, I then assumed that there were tons of people out in the world whom I could chat with about Baby Assassins, or at least pose this burning question: “Who’s older?” … More Critical Lore Question

The Dream | Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024) Review

August 28, 2025

For two movies, Baby Assassins has been a source of unusual joys. They’re charming even in their deficiencies, with scenes lingering on nothingness for so long that it becomes funny and the lack of plot making for unpredictable sketch comedy. With this third outing, the winning non-formula is finally given structure, which might sound unduly disciplinarian for our anarchic duo, but this was the only ingredient missing. I think that sometimes, filmmakers, film critics, and film students can romanticize the subversion of convention, when so much of the artistry and effect of movies is in the exercise of character arcs and stories which resonate with subtextual meaning. And yet, even with a Baby Assassins set to provide usual joys instead, I couldn’t have anticipated such virtual perfection as Nice Days. I was already a fan, guys. You didn’t have to do all this! A proper coming of age, it’s an optimization of every formerly experimental element; a bloodsoaked spectacle with a cathartic, heartfelt finish. … More The Dream | Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024) Review

Chisato Gaiden | Ghost Killer (2024) Review

July 22, 2025

Action maestro Kensuke Sonomura finally nails it as director on his third attempt – with a little help from his friends. After a baffling debut, Hydra, and its unremarkable follow-up Bad City, I’d have to be a real sucker to stick around for whatever came next. Well, “Akari Takaishi” is always a compelling argument, the ex-idol actress with a fairly standard career – TV dramas, manga adaptations, animation voiceovers – but for the occasional Baby Assassins title, which intervene on her filmography like a running joke. In fact, it’s Ghost Killer that comfortably proves her participation in Baby Assassins wasn’t a one-off (or a four-off, to be fair). Equally crucial is a script by Yugo Sakamoto, the creative braintrust behind, well, Baby Assassins. As a screenwriter, he may be rough and tumble, but his work here is surprisingly disciplined. Ghost Killer may be the most technically sound accomplishment between either filmmaker. … More Chisato Gaiden | Ghost Killer (2024) Review

IT’S HERE

July 11, 2025

Well, August 26th. I kept seeing news stories about this yesterday and was getting angry like, “I know this is a movie, you don’t have to keep telling me — WAIT. This is a release date announcement!” and just about wept. Ghost Killer is also coming out soon, in a couple of weeks. … More IT’S HERE

The Beach Episode | Sonatine (1993) Review

June 3, 2025

It’s rare for a film to give the sense that we, the audience, are seeing the world through the director’s eyes. Typically, great direction serves the story, but in this case, the director may be the story, doubling as the lead actor. As his character Murakawa, Takeshi Kitano observes. Along with countless static shots of people standing by, sitting still, waiting, we look at a lot of Murakawa looking. More than that, Sonatine, like Kitano’s earlier film Boiling Point, moves to its own rhythm. Proceeding without a lot of dialogue, it establishes a unique language with what we see and when we see it. Often, what we see is a shocking instance of violence. For my money, Sonatine has the most effective jump scare in any non-horror movie. I practically leapt out of my seat. And yet, it’s also irreverent and tender, melancholy and affecting. It’s phenomenal. … More The Beach Episode | Sonatine (1993) Review

Automatic Arsenal | Battle Girl (1991) Review

May 22, 2025

It’s true that the movie fully entitled Battle Girl: The Living Dead in Tokyo Bay has a very low budget. As much as I’d prefer to be an enlightened critic who doesn’t discriminate on such bases, in this case I’m interested in how the miniscule production influences the viewing experience. For reference, we can plot this one somewhere between, say, Nemesis and Screamers? The former is so raggedy that it’s sometimes incoherent, not only in the big picture but in the micro, where the camera and editing have to be so judicious, so careful not to show the edges of the set, so to speak. Battle Girl has a little bit of that, though its setting – the zombie post-apocalypse – is easier to render than other sci-fi worlds, where “scatter some trash in the corner” is actually workable. … More Automatic Arsenal | Battle Girl (1991) Review

Japanese Fighting Girl: The New School

April 15, 2025

So, I got into anime relatively late in life, and it was a lateral move, from an existing interest in science fiction movies. As a big fan of The Matrix, of course my first anime was Ghost in the Shell. And I liked Trinity, but wow, the Major? Now, there was a helicopter-wrangling, tank-wrassling straight shooter – and unlike what I was used to, she wasn’t alone. There’s her cousin Deunan Knute in Appleseed, Priss and the Knight Sabers in Bubblegum Crisis, Nausicaa, Battle Angel Alita, Armitage III, the Dirty Pair, Gall Force, Iria: Zeiram the Animation. It’s an embarrassment of riches. An embarrassment. … More Japanese Fighting Girl: The New School