TV & Film

Japan has a storied film history. Not only has it been around for over 100 years, but it has been a huge influence on filmmaking as a whole. Japanese cinema...

Live-action anime adaptations have seemingly always been criticized in their efforts to replicate their source material. Most would argue that anime is simply just better suited for animation. From the...

MilkTea, a screening label specialising in East and Southeast Asian films, will offer a trio of Japanese family films in December that will showcase families of all shapes and sizes as...

2021 saw the release of some of the most highly anticipated anime of the last decade. Both Japanese and global anime rankings courted a diversity of anime genres, from action...

Matchbox Cine is re-releasing Naoto Yamakawa's cult masterpiece The New Morning of Billy the Kid (1986) in an exclusive online showing on December 3rd-5th, 2021. Since its premiere, the film...

If you can’t decide on an anime to watch next or to add to your watch list, you might want to consider checking out My Hero Academia. Boku No Hero...

Experience Japanese film masterpieces with the maestro of action Akira Kurosawa and genius storyteller Yasujiro Ozu, capturing the splendour, scale, and aesthetics of the Land of the Rising Sun. Hosted...

Elegantly subtle and terrifyingly direct, these are words I would use to describe Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story. It's a film that hits you hard when you least expect it and...

We're thrilled to announce BFI: Japan 2021, the UK's largest Japanese film festival. Film screenings were postponed last Autumn 2020 due to COVID, so we're overjoyed to watch some of the best...

Mr O’s Book of the Dead it's the last movie in the experimental Butoh dance film trilogy that happened when celebrated dancer Kazuo Ohno and director Chiaki Nagano joined forces....

Revisiting older forms of media can often be a challenge. What was once new and pretty can feel outdated and cliche today. Watching old special effects in movies or playing...

Some people may be quick to point out the release date of this movie, its genre, and its premise and just write The Boxer off as a Japanese version of...

In partnership with the Japan Foundation, we’re super excited to announce the Japanese Avant-Garde and Experimental Film Festival of 2021: Bodies. Bodies explores how we interact with other beings, spaces...

Historical fiction has always had a tricky role to play. First and foremost, it must be a historically accurate portrayal of the time period; otherwise, you risk offending those who...

Satoshi Kon is regarded as one of the most groundbreaking and influential directors who ever set foot in the industry of animation and, to a larger extent, cinema. He only...

When you sprinkle a pinch of Japanese flair over movie posters it makes magic! The 20th century was the golden age of film, and when the international blockbusters entered the...

We chat with Max, the creator of Japan Poster Shop, a company that collects and sells vintage Japanese movie posters. Max has spent almost his entire life collecting these one-of-a-kind...

It's no secret Japan goes crazy for anime and manga, no matter the genre or theme. Classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Your Name, and Castle in the Sky...

The Auteur Yojimbo (Bodyguard) A Samurai’s Swansong A Fistful of Copyright Sayonara, Samurai The Auteur Coinciding with the BFI’s major season on Japanese cinema, we here at Japan Nakama have...

In our last film review, we discussed the transcendent efforts of the late Akira Kurosawa to distinguish the intricacies of human fallibility in his seminal crime drama, Rashomon. Dissecting the...

Akira Kurosawa is arguably the most well-known and celebrated filmmaker in Japanese cinematic history, bar perhaps one Yasujiro Ozu. With a prominent style and narrative diversity that has duly inspired...

With an endless array of captivating cinema dating back to 1894, Japanese films make up one of the largest, oldest, and universally admired film industries in the world. Luckily for...

In the UK, owning a car is overrated. Why would you own when you can so easily rent? Simply download one of the many apps, set up a pay-as-you-go tab,...

The Netflix series “Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020” along with its older renditions, has been garnering global popularity over the years: featuring its unique and distinctive concept of filming six strangers...

With the shutters of our favourite places firmly locked over the past few months, we’ve all been passing the time as best we can - searching for ways to capture...

A remake of the 2012 Korean film ‘Confessions of a Murderer,’ Yu Irie’s ‘Memoirs of a Murderer,’ explores a loophole in Japanese law that allows a serial killer, known up...

Next up in our Why I Love Japan series, which seeks to draw attention to some of our favourite artists, photographers, and creatives; all of who have a distinct interest...

Last week I explored Japanese avant-garde cinema at Barbican. JAEFF welcomed me in and I took my seat within the audience while the guest speakers prepared themselves, deciding which colour...

After the talk on the Tremors of the Japanese New Wave, I take my seat in the Barbican theatre for Bad Boys (Hani, 1961) and Studio Sunrise (Aoki, 2017). Inspired...

Inside the belly of Pirate Studios in Bristol, I connect to the Wi-Fi and let UMMMI know that I’m ready for a chat. I swipe the green button and she...

Beyond the cracked marble hotel lobby fountains and abandoned shopping malls lies a world that both owes vaporwave its respect whilst also being indispensable in carving it. Certain TV shows...

On a rainy day near Buckingham Palace, I went to the Institute of Contemporary Arts for the sold-out showing of Japanese Girls Never Die (2016), directed by Daigo Matsui. I shuffled...

Split between 1980’s Tokyo and Shizuoka, Yuhihiko Tsutsumi’s 2015 romantic comedy ‘Initiation Love, イニシエーション・ラブ)’ appears to explore the struggles faced by a couple navigating first love and long-distance relationships; a...