Film Review: Obon Brothers – A Film By Akira Osaki

A charming and heart-warming portrayal of a man down on his luck!

Akira Osaki (read interview here) has not had an easy time in the Japanese film industry. After the failure of his debut film Catchball-Ya, Osaki struggled to secure funding for a new film. Again and again his projects were dropped in the early stages, and this made him frustrated about the film industry he was working so hard to be accepted in. This anger has been translated into his latest film, Obon Brothers, a dark comedy penned by his close-friend, and

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

JAPAN CUTS: Festival Of New Japanese Film Announces Full Slate Of NY Premieres

July 9-19, 2015 at Japan Society

Expanded 9th Edition Boasts Nearly 30 Features, Dozens of Shorts,

Classic Restorations and Most Special Guests Ever!

New York, NY – North America’s largest festival of Japanese

New Directors From Japan: Kickstarter Crowd-Funding Campaign

Third Window Films is pleased to announce the Crowd-Funding Launch of a planned Dual Format 3-disc Limited Edition of New Directors From Japan!

Kickstarter Crowd-Funding Campaign now live at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/893976289/new-directors-from-japan

Popular independent UK film distribution company Third Window Films has always tried hard to bring a wide variety of films from the Far East to the West, from big studio productions to minor indie masterpieces, and this project is another step in our goal to open up the West to what’s so great about Asian cinema!

DVD Review: Shady – A Film By Ryohei Watanabe

 Watanabe manages to evoke the depression associated with being alone at school!

High school life is a daunting time for older teens, but in Shady director Ryohei Watanabe successfully illustrates how bad it can get. The loneliness aspect is a large issue in most Japanese movies about school life and this is a good example of how an isolated person can be influenced by someone else. Here Misa Kumada and Izumi Kiyone are two girls who share the same pain of being loathed and bullied but for different reasons. Misa is seen as an unattractive girl who is the subject of much hatred while Izumi is the pretty girl everyone wants to be and as a result envies.  Misa sits at her desk and hides her

DVD/Blu-ray Review: The Woodsman And The Rain – A Film By Shuichi Okita

A gentle story of a local woodsman who forms a friendship with a young director of a zombie film!

In The Woodsman and the Rain (Kitsutsuki to Ame), 60 year-old lumberjack Katsu (Koji Yakusho) is about to undergo a life changing experience, but is at first reluctant to have his run of the mill life interrupted by a film crew that arrives in his hometown to shoot a zombie movie.

Director Shuichi Okita (The Chef of South Polar, City Boys’ Film Noir) shows the normal everyday life of a woodcutter, Katsu and how it changes when he is asked to help out the young withdrawn director, Koichi (Shun Oguri) by assisting with location scouting since he is a local and knows the

DVD Review: The Foreign Duck, The Native Duck & God in a Coin Locker

 A charming and quirky story with an unexpected twist!

Student Shiina (Gaku Hamada) moves into an apartment in  Sendai. One day while Shiina is outside getting the rubbish ready, Kawasaki (Eita) comes along and asks him in for a drink and a chat.

Shiina thinks this will be a normal chat, but this is when the movie changes into one of strange proportions. After Kawasaki tells him of his younger life at high school, he also decides to ask his help with one of his neighbours, a Bhutanese man who hasn’t left his apartment in a long time. He tells Shiina

MCM London Comic Con October 2012 Line-Up

Games, sci-fi, comics, anime and cosplay!

26-28 October 2012

ExCel London

MCM Expo London Comic Con returns to ExCel London on 26-28 October and there’s a brilliant line-up of special guests, games, sci-fi, comics, anime and cosplay content to entertain the

DVD Review: Crime Or Punishment!?! A Film By Keralino Sandorovich

A zany slapstick comedy from Third Window Films!

Crime or punishment!?! is the latest offering from writer/director Keralino Sandorovich and is a multi-layered, multi-character comedy with elements of almost all other genres thrown in for good measure. When people in the West think of Japanese films many may presume that all there is on offer is horror/ thriller. One reason for this is because films of this genre are what Western audiences can identify easiest with because horror/thriller themes are universal and will work in any language, whereas a comedy can be country-specific or even region specific in its themes. Also, to watch only one

Event Review: Friday Late: Loli-POP! Lolita Fashion Fun At The V&A Museum

London embraces the Japanese street style Lolita!

Reporter: Lizzie Ooi

On Friday, 31^st August the V&A Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London held a free evening of Lolita fashion, the unique street style that combines Japan’s obsessions with cuteness, punk and Gothic macabre. The programme included a kimono demonstration with Mamechiyo Modern, a wig workshop with Pixie Late and her team, photo shoots, a screening of Kamikaze Girls

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

DVD/Blu-ray Review: Himizu – A Film By Sion Sono

A boy and a girl struggle to survive a harsh and unsympathetic world!

Himizu is an adaptation of a manga by Furuya Minoruset that takes place soon after the earthquake/tsunami that devastated Japan in March 2011. It tells the story of a 14-year-old boy, Yuichi Sumida (Shota Sometani), who wants nothing more than to live a ‘mundane’ life, hence the title of the film which means “mole”. Although his parents have abandon him, his father, whom wishes him dead, returns every so often to give him a beating and take what little money he has. Yuichi’s only friends are a group of destitute survivors and

Love Exposure A Film By Sion Sono On Blu-ray OUT NOW!

Release date: 13th August 2012!

A film by the director of Cold Fish, Guilty of Romance, and Himizu!

One of the most talked-about Japanese cult films of the last decade finally makes its way onto blu-ray featuring a new high definition transfer supervised by director Sion Sono along with brand new extra features!

Having grown up in a devout Christian family, Yu (Takahiro Nishijima) has always been a well-behaved kid. After his mother dies, his priest father is seduced by a woman who breaks his heart, causing him to torment Yu by forcing him to confess his sins on a daily basis. Of course, being a fairly normal kid, Yu has no legitimate sins to confess. To appease his

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

Himizu – Sion Sono’s Latest Film In Cinemas From June 1st

‘Himizu’, the award-winning film from Japanese director Sion Sono opens in cinemas across the UK on June 1st.

The new film from Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Cold Fish) Himizu tells the powerful story of two teenagers’ struggle to live in dystopian future Japan destroyed by a natural disaster. When young Yuichi is pushed too far he embarks on a violent campaign of revenge against society’s evil doers and it’s up to Keiko who is desperately in love with him to try to bring him back to the path of a decent man. A heart-rending drama and tender love story, Himizu features startling performances from

DVD Review: Instant Swamp (Insutanto Numa) – A Film By Miki Satoshi

‘Instantly’ likeable and endearing!

Haname Jinchoge (Kumiko Aso) is tired with her life as day in day out it is all the same old thing for her of getting up in the morning when the cock crows, having a cup of cocoa and going to work, then doing it all again the next morning. She wants a life of her own choosing, but she cannot due to her demanding work schedule, and during the running narrative she gives at the beginning also cannot rise above the others at the company. As the movie shows, Haname is lively and energetic; she loves to arm-wrestle her mother in the morning, and also goes through her

DVD Review: Mitsuko Delivers – A Film By Yuya Ishii

Oddly quirky, fun and at times nonchalant!

Mitsuko (Naka Riisa) is a helpful and kind woman who will always do her level best to look after family and friends alike, yet who doesn’t seem to get an easy run in life. Through her life experiences she ends up meeting an American male with the intention of helping him out too, but it gets more complicated than that. She finds herself falling in love with him, and has a short relationship with him, which has her moving to California. Their relationship doesn’t quite work out the way she wanted it to, and he leaves her while she

DA&D Presents PechaKucha: Japan In Aid Of The Ashinaga Organisation

PechaKucha: Japan 23 May, Doors open at 6.00pm, lecture starts at 7pm Logan Hall, Institute of Education

Just over a year after the tsunami sent shockwaves through a country and around the world, DA&D are putting together a collection of the design and communication world’s greatest stars to share stories about

NEO’s Profile Series Continues With Video Game & Anime Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi

NEO magazine issue 98 on sale from 17th May 2012!

In the latest edition of NEO’s profile series, Diverse Japan’s creator and administrator, Spencer Lloyd Peet, focuses on video game and anime extraordinaire, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, best known for his involvement with the Resident Evil franchise. Other exciting features in issue 98 include:

THE UK’S ANIME, manga and Asian pop culture magazine is going super saiyan over the release of Dragon Ball Z this summer.