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Get ready for the next phenomenon as Nakoi Urasawa’s hit manga finally hits our screens as a live-action trilogy… (more…)

The first of Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s three-part adaption of Nakoi Urasawa’s 20 million copy selling 2oth Century Boys is released today – check it out! (Sorry, no English Subs!)

You can read our review of 2oth Century Boys here »

Fantasy fun from director Yojiro Takita, but seriously, it’s no When The Last Sword is Drawn… (more…)

A solid horror/thriller with enjoyable nods to Hitchcock and Argento – it’s just a shame that ending is so unsatisfying… (more…)

With the upcoming release of the live-action version, what better time to revisit the original that started it all… (more…)

It’s been creating a buzz of anticipation since its production was first announced in late-2006, and now the Japanese movie event of the decade, 20TH CENTURY BOYS, is finally here.

Based on the hugely successful, award winning manga series created by Naoki Urasawa (Yawara; Monster), 20TH CENTURY BOYS is the first instalment of the mind-blowing, three-part live-action adaptation of the epic sci-fi fantasy adventure originally inspired by the T. Rex song of the same name.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Sushi King Goes To New York; Happily Ever After; Keizoku: The Movie) and starring Toshiaki Karasawa (Casshern), 20TH CENTURY BOYS’ epic storyline spans 50 years and several continents, factors that necessitated a budget of 6 billion yen for the trilogy – an unprecedented figure for the Japan film industry.

Japan, 1973. Elementary school kid Kenji Endo (Toshiaki Karasawa) and his small gang of young friends pass the long, boring summer days fantasizing about fighting world-threatening super villains and then recording their fictional crime-fighting exploits in their own ‘Book of Prophecies’.

Almost thirty years later, and now adults with families, jobs and responsibilities that have caused them to drift apart, their lives are turned upside down when one of the former friends dies mysteriously and an entire family from Kenji’s local neighbourhood goes missing. Further afield, a bizarre religious cult is growing in popularity and appears to be connected to a strange chain of catastrophic events that unbelievably appear to be duplicating the imaginary events recorded in the ‘Book of Prophecies’ decades earlier. Disturbed by what he initially believes could only be a coincidence, Kenji reunites the group of childhood friends and attempts to unravel the mystery. The investigation reveals a shocking and sinister conspiracy that seeks to fulfil a doomsday prophecy on the eve of the new millennium. As their renewed friendship is tested in a world gripped by global terrorism and hysteria, Kenji and his companions find themselves involved in a spectacular showdown as a giant robotic machine threatens the city of Shinjuku!

And that’s merely the start of the compelling three-part saga in what has become one of the most highly anticipated, must-see sci-fi movie trilogies since “The Matrix” series.

A national phenomenon in Japan and a huge hit internationally, Urasawa’s 24-volume sci-fi fantasy manga has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with the film attaining similar success by becoming one of the country’s biggest box office hits of 2008.

20TH CENTURY BOYS (cert. 15) will open at selected UK cinemas on 20th February 2009.

Based on one of the most popular and most frequently adapted modern stories in Japanese literature (‘Paprika’ author Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1965 novel ‘Toki o Kakeru Shojo’), the award winning, feature-length anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time comes to the UK boasting an unrivalled pedigree of creative talent.

Produced by Madhouse Studio (Paprika; Millennium Actress; Perfect Blue), directed by Studio Ghibli veteran Mamoru Hosoda (director of Digimon: The Movie and the originally intended director of Howl’s Moving Castle before Hayao Miyazaki took the reins), with art direction by longtime Ghibli art director Nizou Yamamoto (Princess Mononoke; Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland) and character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was the first ever recipient of the Japanese Academy’s newly formed Best Animation Film Award in 2007.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (cert. PG) is released by Manga Entertainment and will open at selected UK cinemas on 19th September 2008.

A(nother) 21st century take on an anime fave from the past, former model Eriko Sato gets a flimsy excuse to run around in her underwear and skintight cat suit… (more…)

Chor Yuan directs Derek Yee in this classic Wuxia tale from Shaw Brothers… (more…)

A solid live-action version of a manga starring Battle Royale’s Tatsuya Fujiwara that thankfully doesn’t quite replicate the amoral tone of the original manga – but be prepared to wait for the sequel! (more…)

A satisfying conclusion to the Death Note series, but did we really need this exercise in tediousness to get there…? (more…)

Following the huge critical and commercial success of the original five-episode mini-series, the fan-favourite anime “Afro Samurai” returns to DVD with the feature-length sequel, AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION.

Presented as a two-disc Special Edition Director’s Cut, and including over 100 minutes of extra features, AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION features the vocal talents of Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Lucy Liu (Kill Bill Vol. 1), along with brand new original music by the Wu-Tang Clan’s the RZA.

The story picks up with Afro Samurai (Samuel L. Jackson) having avenged his father and found a life of peace. But a beautiful and deadly woman from his past emerges and forces the legendary master back into the game. The sparks of violence dropped along Afro’s bloody path now burn out of control, and nowhere are the flames of hatred more intense than in the eyes of Sio (Lucy Liu). Driven by revenge, she won’t quit until Afro is schooled in the brutal lessons he once dealt those who stood in his way.

With no such thing as final vengeance, the cycle of bloodshed spinning around the Number One Headband must roll on as the saga that began in the best-selling anime DVD of 2007 continues.

Special features include: Afro Samurai Game; Enter the RZA; Afro in Depth; Afro Samurai: Meets the West Part 1; Afro Samurai: Meets the West Part 2; Afro Samurai at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 and Part A Video Commentary.

AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£22.99) by Manga Entertainment on 27th April 2009.

It’s been creating a buzz of anticipation since its production was first announced in late-2006 and now 20TH CENTURY BOYS, the first instalment of the epic live-action trilogy adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s hit manga series, is finally coming to DVD.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Sushi King Goes To New York; Happily Ever After; Keizoku: The Movie) and starring Toshiaki Karasawa (Casshern), 20TH CENTURY BOYS’ epic storyline spans 50 years and several continents, factors that necessitated a budget of 6 billion yen for the trilogy – an unprecedented figure for the Japan film industry.

Japan, 1973. Elementary school kid Kenji Endo (Toshiaki Karasawa) and his small gang of young friends pass the long, boring summer days fantasizing about fighting world-threatening super villains and then recording their fictional crime-fighting exploits in their own ‘Book of Prophecies’.

Almost thirty years later, and now adults with families, jobs and responsibilities that have caused them to drift apart, their lives are turned upside down when one of the former friends dies mysteriously and an entire family from Kenji’s local neighbourhood goes missing. Further afield, a bizarre religious cult is growing in popularity and appears to be connected to a strange chain of catastrophic events that unbelievably appear to be duplicating the imaginary events recorded in the ‘Book of Prophecies’ decades earlier. Disturbed by what he initially believes could only be a coincidence, Kenji reunites the group of childhood friends and attempts to unravel the mystery. The investigation reveals a shocking and sinister conspiracy that seeks to fulfil a doomsday prophecy on the eve of the new millennium. As their renewed friendship is tested in a world gripped by global terrorism and hysteria, Kenji and his companions find themselves involved in a spectacular showdown as a giant robotic machine threatens the city of Shinjuku!

And that’s merely the start of the compelling three-part saga in what has become one of the most highly anticipated, must-see sci-fi movie trilogies since “The Matrix” series.

A national phenomenon in Japan and a huge hit internationally, Urasawa’s 24-volume sci-fi fantasy manga has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, with the film attaining similar success by becoming one of the country’s biggest box office hits of 2008.

Special Features include: 24-page “Book of Prophecies”; Japan Premiere Documentary (64 mins approx); Paris Premiere Featurette (20 mins approx); Cast Interviews (22 mins approx); UK Trailer (2 mins approx); Japanese Trailers (5 mins approx).

20TH CENTURY BOYS (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£19.99) by 4Digital Asia on 4th May 2009.

Veteran Hong Kong director Tony Siu-Tung Ching (director of classic “A Chinese Ghost Story” and the “Swordsman” trilogy and the action choreographer for “Curse Of The Golden Flower”, “Hero” and “House Of Flying Daggers”) makes a dazzling return to vintage form with the epic, AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS, starring Donnie Yen (Flashpoint; Dragon Tiger Gate; Seven Swords; Hero), Kelly Chen (the Infernal Affairs trilogy; Tokyo Raiders) and Leon Lai (Seven Swords; Infernal Affairs 3). You can read our review here »

AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Cine Asia on 23rd March 2009. Special Features include: Making Of featurette; Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo audio options; theatrical trailer.

Black Kiss, directed by Tezka Macoto (Hakuchi: The Innocent) and starring Reika Hashimoto (Survive Style 5+), Masanobu Ando (Battle Royale) and Ken Mitsuishi (Audition), is released by 4Digital Asia on 22 September.

Cinematic guilty pleasures of the bubblegum-flavoured variety don’t come any more fun or satisfying than the superhero fantasy flick, CUTIE HONEY, in which the irresistible heroine of the popular Japanese manga and anime series is brought to vivid life in an effervescent eruption of exquisite eye candy.

Directed with enthusiastic verve by legendary anime director Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and starring model-turned-actress Eriko Sato (Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!) and Mikako Ichikawa (Memories Of Matsuko), CUTIE HONEY is a shamelessly entertaining antidote to the recent spate of depressingly serious superhero flicks that have been gracing out screens lately (we’re looking at you, Dark Knight and Watchmen!).

Described as a “high energy Japanese adventure comedy” by the New York Times and as “damn good fun” by Asian Cinema Drifter, CUTIE HONEY’s cheeky combination of “Charlie’s Angels” attitude, “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” fantasy and “Austin Powers”-style comedy adds up to a fun and wacked out spectacle that is impossible to resist.

CUTIE HONEY (cert. tbc) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by MVM on 11th May 2009. Special Features include: Making of Cutie Honey; stills gallery; original trailers.

The sequel to Death Note, Death Note – The Last Name, is released on DVD in the UK by 4Digital Asia on 13 October.

Writer-director Daihachi Yoshida’s multi-award winning debut feature Funuke: Show Some Love, You Losers! is a darkly comic family drama that features standout performances from an impressive cast and marks Yoshida as a filmmaker to watch.

Based on a novel by Yukiko Motoya and starring Eriko Sato (Cutie Honey; Carved), Aimi Satsukawa (Naoko; Arch Angels), Masatoshi Nagase (Sakuran; Mystery Train) and Hiromi Nagasaku (Closed Diary; Hanging Garden), the story concerns the tense and often amusing relationships and day-to-day struggles of four dysfunctional family members following a recent tragedy.

When both her parents die in a road accident, twenty-something wannabe actress Sumiko Wago (Sato) returns from Tokyo to visit her teenage sister, Kyomi (Satsukawa), and her elder brother Shinji (Nagase) and his wife Machiko (Nagasaku) in their modest countryside home. Informed that the family can no longer afford to send her money to fund her non-existent acting career in the city, Sumiko reluctantly moves in with her siblings, thereby reviving a long-buried, bitter rivalry with Kyomi. Years earlier, budding Manga artist Kyomi had used a shameful family incident as the basis for a comic, which was eventually published much to the horror of her parents and her sister and brother. Now, with Sumiko back on the scene, old memories are unearthed and familial tensions rise again. Caught in the middle of what becomes a tangled mess of jealousy, violence, dark secrets and sexual deviance is Machiko, whose forced cheerfulness merely serves to add fuel to the fire.

A wry and engaging comic drama, Funuke: Show Some Love, You Losers! is the winner of several international film awards including the Best New Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards at the 2008 Yokohama Film Festival.

Funuke: Show Some Love, You Losers! (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by Third Window Films on 11th May 2009.

Prior to the DVD release, the film will play at London’s ICA cinema from Friday 1st May to Sunday 10th May, with additional screenings on weekend of 16th and 17th May.

Co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi (Battlefield Baseball) and Junichi Yamamoto (Kabuking Z: The Movie), with special effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura (director of Tokyo Gore Police and effect supervisor for The Machine Girl) and starring Issei Takahashi (Detroit Metal City; Kill Bill Vol.1), Shôichirô Masumoto (Battlefield Baseball; Versus), Toru Tezuka (Ichi The Killer; Dead Or Alive 2) and Ayano Yamamoto (Tokyo Gore Police), MEATBALL MACHINE is a wild, Japanese splatter-punk monster of a movie that combines the “body horror” shock tactics of John Carpenter’s The Thing, the Testsuo movies and David Cronenberg’s most extreme work.

Based on an original short made by Yamamoto in 1999, the feature length MEATBALL MACHINE is an all out, in-your-face gore-fest – an experimental sci-fi/horror rollercoaster that will have your entire brain and body shaken and stirred.

Capable of making biomechanical weapons out of human flesh, alien parasites grotesquely invade the Earth, turning their hosts into maniacal killers who seek to destroy each other and further their own existence by eating their victims alive. In the midst of all this alien induced mayhem is a moving love story between a shy boy and the equally sheepish object of his affection. It’s just a shame the budding romantics are soon infested with slimy, tumor-like globules that drive them to all kinds of bloody distraction.

Co-directors Yamamoto and Yamaguchi pull out all the stops and don t let up until the final epic battle in their deranged cinematic testament to the joys of young love, bloodletting and alien ooze. If you’re a fan of the likes of The Machine Girl, Tokyo Gore Police and X-Cross, you will love the extreme MEATBALL MACHINE.

MEATBALL MACHINE (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by 4Digital Asia on 6th July 2009. Special Features include: “The Making of Meatball Machine”; the original “Meatball Machine” short film; “Meatball Machine: Reject Of Death” short film; The Making of Meatball Machine: Reject Of Death”; “What’s About Doi?” short film; original Japanese trailer; Necroborg designs by character designer Keita Amamiya.

Originally adapted from Wu Chengen’s classic Chinese novel, “Journey To The West”, one of the best-loved cult TV series of all time – the 1970s series “Monkey” – gets a rousing, special effects laden, 21st century makeover in MONKEY MAGIC, a brand new, live-action feature length adventure featuring the further comic exploits of Tripitaka, Sandy, Pigsy and, of course, the irrepressible Monkey.

On their quest from China to India to collect a set of ancient holy scrolls, the Buddhist monk Tripitaka (played by Japanese actress Eri Fukatsu) and his three protective disciples, Monkey (Shingo Katori), Pigsy (Atsushi Ito) and Sandy (Teruyoshi Uchimura), encounter a young princess who implores them for their help to fight off two demon warlords who plan on plunging the entire world into eternal darkness.

A lively fantasy adventure for all ages MONKEY MAGIC brilliantly captures the surreal, zany, comic spirit of the 1970s TV series, adding a contemporary flair to the timeless fable that will delight the established legions of “Monkey” fans and win over a whole new generation of “Monkey” converts.

MONKEY MAGIC (cert. 12) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Cine Asia on 16th February 2009. *UPDATE* This will now be released Monday 23 February.

Origin: Spirits Of The Past is released by Manga on DVD on 25 August.

Directed by Isao Takahata (The Raccoon War) and recognised as the first notable work by Oscar winning director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) – here responsible for the original story, scripts and layout – PANDA! GO PANDA! comes to DVD featuring the delightful, eponymous animated adventure from 1972 together with its 1973 sequel, The Circus In The Rain.

Left alone while her grandmother goes on a trip out of town, bright young girl Mimiko manages to fend for herself without much trouble but longs for a mother and father to keep her company. Her wish comes true when she happens upon a baby panda named Panny and his large, bamboo-loving father, who have been drawn to the bountiful bamboo patch near Mimiko’s house. Mimiko immediately befriends her visitors and quickly decides to play mother to Panny. In no time at all, the three friends agree to become a family and look after each other, beginning a series of wacky adventures that sees them having to deal with everything from burglars prowling around the house to rescuing the group of circus animals from a devastating flood.

Made at a time when Japanese “panda fever” was as its height, PANDA! GO PANDA! was a huge hit in its home country at the time of its release and has since charmed itself into the hearts of audiences of all ages all over the globe.

Considered by many to be a prototype for Miyazaki’s acclaimed 1988 feature film, My Neighbour Totoro, PANDA! GO PANDA! is a superb piece of family entertainment and is essential viewing for kids and for grown-up fans of Studio Ghibli’s output alike.

PANDA! GO PANDA! (cert. U) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by Manga on 6th July 2009. Features include: English and Japanese (with English subtitles) audio options; original opening; creator biographies.

Based on one of the most popular and most frequently adapted modern stories in Japanese literature (‘Paprika’ author Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1965 novel ‘Toki o Kakeru Shojo’), the award winning, feature-length anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time comes to the UK boasting an unrivalled pedigree of creative talent.

Produced by Madhouse Studio (Paprika; Millennium Actress; Perfect Blue), directed by Studio Ghibli veteran Mamoru Hosoda (director of Digimon: The Movie and the originally intended director of Howl’s Moving Castle before Hayao Miyazaki took the reins), with art direction by longtime Ghibli art director Nizou Yamamoto (Princess Mononoke; Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland) and character design by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was the first ever recipient of the Japanese Academy’s newly formed Best Animation Film Award in 2007.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is released on DVD by Manga Entertainment on 8th December 2008.

Tokyo Zombie is released on DVD in the UK by Manga on 13 October.

Written and directed by Miki Satoshi (In The Pool), TURTLES ARE SUPRISINGLY FAST SWIMMERS is a delightfully quirky Japanese comedy about a young woman who discovers that everybody is special no matter how ordinary they may seem on the outside.

Twenty-three-year-old Suzume “Sparrow” Katakura is a remarkably ordinary housewife, living an unremarkable life, with only her husband’s turtle, Taro, to keep her company. Her days are spent whiling away the hours waiting for the regular phone calls from her husband who is overseas on business and whose only concern appears to be Taro’s well being.

Sparrow’s life takes a more interesting turn one day when she fortuitously spots a tiny advertisement recruiting spies. Intrigued, she calls the number on the ad and several days later is contacted and instructed to go to a small apartment in town. An arrival she is greeted by an innocuous couple who claim to be “sleepers” – spies working for a foreign state who are awaiting instructions from their superiors. Impressed by Sparrow’s “ordinariness” and her ability to go about her life unnoticed by others, they offer her a job and an advance payment of five million yen in cash. Accepting the offer, Sparrow begins a life as a spy and enters a whole new world where being ordinary is anything but.

Full of oddball characters – from a dancing hairdresser and a fitness-obsessed police chief to a lonely but amiable plumber and a chef whose main goal in life is to make average-tasting ramen noodles – TURTLES ARE SURPRISINGLY FAST SWIMMERS is an offbeat and colourful comedy reminiscent of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amelie”.

TURTLES ARE SURPRISINGLY FAST SWIMMERS (cert. 12) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by Third Window Films on 23rd February 2009.

Anyone believing that the Japanese horror film industry had run out of creative steam in recent years will find many reasons to reconsider that opinion in the revelatory horror-comedy X-CROSS (pronounced ‘criss-cross’), the fourth and by far the most impressive and accomplished feature from director Kenta Fukasaku (Yo-Yo Girl Cop; Under The Same Moon; Battle Royale 2: Revenge).

Based on the hit novel by Nobuyuki Joko, scripted by Tetsuya Oishi (Death Note: The Last Name; Death Note; One Missed Call) and starring up-and-coming Japanese star Nao Matsushita (Sand Clock) and J-Pop star Ami Suzuki Ami (Rainbow Song), the film plays out like a bizarre mix of elements from ‘The Wicker Man’, ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘The Burning’ complete with inventive ‘Rashomon’-style flashbacks that coolly and cleverly reveal the plot and its many twists through several different perspectives.

X-CROSS (cert. 15 tbc) will be released on DVD (£14.99) by 4Digital Asia on 19th January 2009. Special Features include ‘Making of’ featurette and cast and crew interviews.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop, directed by Kenta Fukasaku (Battle Royale 2; X-Cross) and starring J-Pop sensation Aya Matsuura, is released by 4Digital Asia on 22 September.

The Film4 FrightFest begins at the Odeon West End in London today, including a midnight showing of Yoshihiro Nishimura’s Tokyo Gore Police on 23 August – described as ‘David Cronenberg body horror and insane RoboCop-style TV commercial inserts meet freaky Samurai bondage splat-stick starring Eiihi Shiina of Audition fame’.

Read more about Tokyo Gore Police at the Fright Fest »

This month Third Window continue to release Asian films that might otherwise get missed with two ‘offbeat’ Japanese comedies… (more…)

Writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s thoughtful and hilarious take on the samurai genre… (more…)

More schlock thrills from the J-Horror Theatre, but this is more Garth Marenghi’s Dark Places than Lars von Trier’s Kingdom Hospital… (more…)

Little Red Riding Hood retold as a psychological thriller from the director of Ghost In The Shell and Patlabor – but just who exactly is the wolf? (more…)

John Woo’s new Chinese epic Red Cliff, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro, has been chosen to open the 21st Tokyo International Film Festival running from October 18 to 26.

Read more on the official Tokyo International Film Festival site »

Scary and genuinely unsettling, presenting the latest cult Asian horror to get a Hollywood makeover… (more…)

There’s no doubting director Takashi Shimizu’s ability to do some very scary, very unsettling stuff, but has he achieved his potential yet?… (more…)

‘I am Quick Gun Murugan. Mind it.’ Fast and silly, Shashanka Ghosh’s Tamil Nadu western spoof is a whole lot of fun… (more…)

The groundbreaking manga that influenced generation upon generation of comic book creators and inspired the notorious ‘Baby Cart’ series that began with Shogun Assassin… (more…)

As Damon Albarn’s latest collaboration with Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, the opera of Monkey: Journey To The West, draws to a close at London’s O2 dome, and we await the release of the new Monkey Magic film on DVD, is there a better time to remember the soundtrack to show that started it all. Come on now, you all know the words: ‘Born from a rock on a mountain top…’ (more…)

Nope, it’s not the food counter at Ikea – Tetsuo meets the Power Rangers in this schlock horror from the creators of Versus, Kabuking Z: The Movie, Battlefield Baseball, Tokyo Gore Police and The Machine Girl… (more…)

An astounding visual mash-up of pop cultural references, welcome to the work of director Tetsuya Nakashima… (more…)