Film Review And Q&A: ‘Blade of the Immortal’ (無限の住人- Mugen no Jūnin) Takashi Miike

Fights involving different types of weaponry leave nothing to the imagination!

Filmed in Kyōto and based on the manga series of the same name by Hiroaki Samura ‘Blade of the Immortal’ is Takashi Miike’s 100^th film, his previous films in the jidaigeki genre include ‘13 Assassins’ and ‘Hara-kiri; Death of a Samurai’. The film follows Manji (Takuya Kimura) who after witnessing his sister die and lying on the battlefield near death is made immortal by a strange nun called Yaobikuni (Yoko Yamamoto) who infects him with a Buddhist Lama’s ‘sacred bloodworms’ (kessen-chu) which help his body to regenerate after

Interview: Sebastian Masuda – Art Director and J-Pop Culture Pioneer

Internationally-renowned artist Sebastian Masuda brings global participatory art project to London with NHK WORLD TV for Hyper Japan!

In the run up to Hyper Japan, which took place on July 15 – 17 July, internationally-renowned artist and Japanese pop culture expert Sebastian Masuda – who is art director for Kawaii International  – brought his global art project to London with NHK WORLD TV.

Time After Time Capsule is a five-year participatory artwork in which Masuda, invites people to share their love of kawaii. It has been created in collaboration with NHK WORLD TV to

Interview: NO CARS Talk Samosa, Cress, And The Mystery of Yoko

A tongue-in-cheek pub-rock band that merges jazz, punk and even Punjabi!

NO CARS are having the time of their lives on stage as they play their headline show at the Spice of Life in London. Dressed in brightly coloured Saris and a racoon onesie, the band is getting the audience to chant “Samosa” alongside them before they dive head first into their comic set of songs. If there’s one thing that should be taken from this performance, it’s that NO CARS know how to put on an entertaining

Interview: Film Director Akira Osaki

“My films won’t all be about losers, I do want to make something different in the future!”  – Akira Osaki

Akira Osaki is an independent filmmaker whose latest production, Obon Brothers, was screened in London (represented by Third Window Films) as part of the 23rd Raindance Film Festival. Hailing from Gunma prefecture in Japan, Osaki is a humble and friendly director, who has worked predominantly as an Assistant Director. Much like the lead character in his film, Takashi Kitano , Osaki was looking for his big break in the Japanese

Interview: Michael Booth Author Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking

“I can’t walk down the streets of Japan without finding something unusual or peculiar. It’s just so stimulating.” – Michael Booth

Award winning food writer and traveller Michael Booth (author of the bestselling Sushi & Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking) attended the popular three-day J-Culture festival Hyper Japan 2015 (photo report here), which was held at London’s O2 on 10-12 June, to participate in his first talk show with Japanese celebrity chef Rika Yukimasa, co-host of

Interview: Mayuko – Singer/Songwriter

A child in a cocoon!

Since making her debut back in 2001, Mayuko’s popularity as a singer and songwriter in Japan and abroad has been steadily growing and she has been gaining much interest from the media since her collaborations with talent like Daniel Wang (Balihu Records) and DJ Kensei as well as Shynola who designed the cover artwork for her first mini-album

Interview: YANAKIKU – Female J-pop Duo With A Difference

Their mission is to share the wonders of Japan with the world!

Japanese duo YANAKIKU are more than just a pop group. They do KIMONO cosplay and represent Japanese pop & decora culture!

Since forming in 2012, dynamic J-pop duo YANAKIKU have been causing much excitement with their catchy tunes and cool decorative costumes and entertaining performances at packed venues like the Tokyo Dome, the

Interview: Yoshiki – Rock Star And Co-Founder Of X Japan

“My philosophy is anything is possible, nothing can stop me!” – Yoshiki

Born on 20th November 1965, the immensely talented classically trained musician Yoshiki is one of Japan’s most formidable superstars. In 1982 he co-founded the visual kei pioneering super rock group X Japan (originally called X) who have sold 30 million records and have played sell-out tours all across the world, including the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome an incredible record-breaking 18 times. As a soloist

Interview: Director Kayoko Asakura Talks ‘It’s A Beautiful Day’

‘I made it a precedence to try and create a very visual form of storytelling!’ (Kayoko Asakura)

Kayoko Asakura is a writer, director, editor and producer. She took on these roles collectively for her first short entitled Off Season released in 2010. Her other work includes the TV movie Kaidan shin mimibukuro hyaku Monogatari (2010) and the short Hide and Seek (2013), a things-are-not-what-they-seem story about a girl who takes private koto lessons. But Asakura’s most ambitious work so far is her debut feature film It’s a Beautiful Day, an American and Japanese produced graphic

Interview: Producer Thelma Holt – Anjin: The Shogun and the English Samurai

“The influence of Japanese theatre has been and is tremendous!”  Thelma Holt

Thelma Holt CBE began a long and distinguished theatre career as an actress. She then founded the Open Space Theatre in Tottenham and has worked for the Roundhouse, the National Theatre and the Peter Hall Company. She went on to found her own theatre production company, Thelma Holt Limited. She works with the distinguished Japanese Director Yukio Ninagawa to bring Anglo-Japanese theatre to the

Interview: Actor Stephen Boxer – Anjin: The Shogun and the Samurai

“What I love is how their friendship [Anjin and Tokugawa] crossed boundaries and superseded all that and became mates!”  Steve Boxer

Stephen Boxer is an Olivier nominated stage, film and television actor. A veteran of the RSC he has performed widely at, amongst others, the National Theatre, the Barbican, the Duchess Theatre, and the Hammersmith Lyric. He won a London Fringe Award for Best Actor in his role as the Governor in ‘The Clearing’ at the Bush Theatre and his performance with the RSC as

Interview: World Class Pianist Chisato Kusunoki

“Music is a sublime form of spiritual existence for me.” (Chisato Kusunoki)

Chisato Kusunoki is an award winning world class pianist who has been described as being one of the most talented players of all time. She attended and read music at the University College, Oxford where she graduated with the prestigious Gibbs Prize in performance. Her outstanding performances at various prestigious venues around the world, such as the Purcell Room in London, the Mendelssohn Institute in Leipzig, the Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo, and

Interview: Actor Denden – Uzumaki, Cold Fish, Himizu

“I found it really difficult. It was really hard because it was so real!” (Denden on filming Himizu)

Between 13 – 15 April 2012, actor Denden attended the Terracotta Far East Film Festival in London to promote the theatrical release of Himizu, a hard-hitting film by maverick film director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Guilty of Romance) set soon after the 3/11 Japan earthquake/tsunami in which Denden plays a brute money lender, a character-type he is best known for to Western audiences. But in reality he is a very warm, funny, friendly man, which is a

NEO Magazine Issue 101 Out Now! Featuring High Kick Girl Rina Takeda and Director Shinya Tsukamoto

On sale from 10th August!

Fresh from celebrating its 100th issue, NEO magazine returns with batch 101, packing a double cover; Blue Exorcist on one-side, with a full-length feature on the school-based hell raiser; and Tales of Graces f, as the publication explores the vast history behind the hit Japanese RPG franchise.

That’s not all! This month’s profile series focuses on Karate Girl and Dead Sushi star Rina Takeda. Also

SFX Collection: The Ultimate Guide to Anime

On sale: 20th July 

Cover price: £7.99

Popular UK magazine SFX is back with another fantastic special edition, this one revealing everything you need to know about the anime scene. Hot new shows detailed, DVDs reviewed, stars interviewed and more! With columns from some of the UK’s best-known commentators on the subject, tons of information on anime old and new, and a celebration of seminal series Dragon Ball Z, you won’t want to

Interview: Comedy Actress Eri Fuse – Cutie Honey, Adrift In Tokyo, GTO

“As long as I can act and I can eat something nice I’m happy!” Eri Fuse

Back in February of this year (24th – 26th February 2012 to be exact), comedy actress Eri Fuse and her husband film director Miki Satoshi came to the UK to appear as special guests at the three-day London event Hyper Japan 2012 Spring and took to the stage for a Q&A session hosted by Adam Torel of Third Window Films. They were also gracious enough to give up some of their valuable time for Diverse Japan to take part in a

Shodo (Japanese Calligraphy) Master Shoho Teramoto & The Enso Of Zen

Japanese calligraphy is an art-form that can reveal the depth of enlightenment and the personality of the artist!

Many of us are familiar with Japanese calligraphy.  Although we may not know the meaning of a particular character, its formation is instantly recognisable as being a symbol of the Far East which in itself is just a communication tool.  However, as the calligrapher forms a spiritual union with his/her brush and ink it then becomes known as ‘Shodo’, meaning to express the

Interview: Maki Tsukada – Olympic & World Judo Champion

“The more confident I am, the more strict I am with myself!” Maki Tsukada

Female judoka Maki Tsukada has become one of the most revered figures of the popular martial art deviced by Jigoro Kano. During her competition years, Tsukada was a force to be reckoned with – an absolute powerhouse who has won a mass of awards. She won the 2003 World Judo Championship Games and became a gold medallist in the Women’s Judo +78kg catergory at the

Interview: Miki Satoshi – Inventive Director Of Adrift In Tokyo & Instant Swamp

“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I’m always open minded!” Miki Satoshi

The inventive director of comedy films, Miki Satoshi, is making much headway in the West of late thanks in part to Third Window Films releasing DVD’s of his films, which include Adrift In Tokyo, Instant Swamp, and Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, available separately or collectively as a box set. His films can best be described as