My family and I are big fans of Studio Ghibli films and have seen a good portion of them (roughly half of their 20 films). A few classics like Totoro and Spirited Away we’ve seen several times. For some time I was eager to see their 2013 animated film “The Wind Rises” (風立ちぬ), but wasn’t… Read More »
In the last few years, the frequency that I see movies has dropped considerably, so in order for me to rematch a movie it has to be pretty darn good. Mamoru Hosada’s “Summer Wars”, released in 2009, is one such film which I immensely enjoyed the second time around. I had alluded to this movie in… Read More »
Me and my wife decided to buy this movie’s DVD from Amazon since it had quite good reviews and we were glad we did. This film is partially based on real events, where several girls from a small mining town, Iwaki (Fukushima prefecture) began learning hula dancing after discovering a spa resort (Joban Hawaiian Center) is… Read More »
Since I speak to my son in Japanese most of the time, I’m always looking for more ways to increase my vocabulary in the area of natural phrases that I can use when playing or interacting with him. This is one of the reasons I was eager to watch this film, which my wife found… Read More »
I stumbled upon this Japanese CG movie by chance, having picked it up from a store credit received due to faulty headphones. The title sounded interesting, and the screenshots on the back of the box, while small, looked pretty good quality. It was produced for Fuji TV’s (a major Japanese broadcast company) 50th anniversary, and… Read More »
Japanese anime is great – it’s filled with enough action, fighting, emotion, and creative stories to make any fantasy lover do a double take. I tend to like long running anime series (like the popular “Naruto”), but with a child now my time is limited, so I prefer shorter series or movies. “The Garden of… Read More »