This is free-form, counter-cultural Japanese cinema at its astonishing best—playful, powerful and brutal all in the same breath.
Tag / Japan
Weathering with You (2019)
It remains visually and aurally stimulating, but Makoto Shinkai’s new work doesn’t really fly off the ground, and ultimately succumbs to perfunctory storytelling and a so-so emotional payoff.
Your Name (2016)
Shinkai’s breathtaking romance anime is imbued with a modern sensibility as it takes on conceptual themes of time travel, apocalyptic disaster and body swapping with effortless aplomb.
Place Promised in Our Early Days, The (2004)
In his beautiful if sometimes convoluted first feature, Makoto Shinkai shows the early rumblings of an artist who would become a first-rate anime director.
Tale of Zatoichi, The (1962)
A tale of respect and dignity between friend and foe, this influential classic birthed the legendary blind swordsman as we know it.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
Another worthy entry into the series with requisite gory fight scenes and heightened sensuality, this time shot by the legendary Kazuo Miyagawa.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Despite being more talky than usual, this satisfying entry features a terrific climactic action set-piece.
