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“Faceless” is the film adaptation of the homonymous novel written by Tamehito Somei. The said literary work was also first adapted by Wowow into a four-episode TV series with a different cast. With a focus on Japan’s corrupt justice system and the nature of identity and truth, it is a welcome addition to Fujii’s works available on Netflix such as “The Journalist”, “The Village”, and “A Family”, films that provide commentary on the social issues confronting modern Japan. This crime thriller won the following three major awards in the 48th Japan Academy Film Awards: Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

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It follows Keiichi Kaburagi (Ryusei Yokohama), a young man convicted for the murder of a family, as attested by the sole witness and survivor– a grandmother afflicted with dementia. The brutal crime happened when he was 18 years old,...

The 48th Japan Academy Film Awards ceremony took place on March 14, 2025 at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14, 2025, with free announcer Shinichi Hatori and actress Sakura Ando hosting the show.

“A Samurai in Time” continued gathering awards after the three it netted from Nikkan Sports, Michihito Fujii cemented his place on the top of the current directors, while Yuumi Kawai highlighted that she is the next super star of the local industry. “Kingdom 4″ Return of the General” expectedly won the majority of the technical awards. Here is the full list

Best Picture

A Samurai in Time Fantasia Film Review: A Samurai in Time (2024) by Junichi Yasuda

Best Animation Film

Look Back Anime Review: Look Back (2024) by Kiyotaka Oshiyama

Best Director

Michihito Fujii – Faceless

Best Screenplay

Akiko Nogi – Last Mile Film Review: Last Mile (2024) by Ayuko Tsukahara

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Ryusei Yokohama – Faceless

Best...

The award ceremony for the 48th Japan Academy Film Prizes was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14. From the five nominees in the animation category, Look Back won the Best Animation of the Year award. Additionally, the eight main animators of Look Back were also selected for the Creative Contribution Award, which was newly established this year to honor engineers who have made particularly outstanding contributions to the films selected for the awards. The eight animators were: Kiyotaka Oshiyama , Toshiyuki Inoue , Yuka Geshi , Takuya Ninuma , Katsuhiko Kitada , Shuichi Ohara , Tasan , and Ayako Hata . Among them, Oshiyama also served as the director, screenplay writer, and character designer of the film. Meanwhile, actor Yuumi Kawai , who voiced one of the film's two protagonists, Fujino, won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role award for her role as An Kagawa in the Yu Irie-directed...

The prestigious Mainichi Film Awards held its 79th edition ceremony on February 13, 2025 in Tokyo. From this year and to mark a new beginning since its establishment in 1946, the awards structure and selection criteria have been reformed. The Best Japanese Film Award and Japanese Film Excellence Award have been combined. In the acting categories, the distinction between male and female actors have been abolished in the interest of gender equality, with awards for the Best Actors and Best Supporting Actors. Nominees and winners are selected by about 70 leading film critics, journalists and experts. Eligible films in contention this year must have been released in theaters for a fee for at least 14 days in Japan between January 1 and December 31, 2024.

The winners are as follows:

Best Japanese Film: All the Long Nights (directed by Shō Miyake)

Best Foreign Film: Oppenheimer (directed by Christopher Nolan)

Best Actor: Yuumi Kawai for A Girl Named Ann...

The 67th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, has announced its winners on January 28, 2025. The nominees and winners are selected from movies released in 2024 by members of the Association who are film reporters from seven sports newspapers in Tokyo. Indie movie “A Samurai in Time” was the surprise hit last year and has picked up a double win for Best Film and Best Actor. Likewise for Yu Irie‘s “A Girl Named Ann” bagging the Best Director and Best Actress awards.

Best Film

A Girl Named Ann

Abudeka Is Back

Let’s Go Karaoke!

52-Hertz Whales

A Samurai in Time

11 Rebels

Faceless

All the Long Nights

Last Mile

Look Back

Best Director

Yu Irie – A Girl Named Ann

Kazuya Shiraishi – 11 Rebels, Bushido

Ayuko Tsukahara – Last Mile, La Grande Maison Paris

Michihito Fujii – Faceless, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days

Junichi Yasuda – A Samurai in Time

Best...

It's been three years since Song Kang and Han So-hee’s K-drama, Nevertheless was released, and this new Netflix romantic J-drama is perfect to watch if you miss the original show. Directed by Kim Ga-ram and based on the webtoon of the same name by Jung Seo, Nevertheless sees Yoo Na-bi and Park Jae-eon falling in love despite being skeptical about romantic relationships. The 10-episode romantic K-drama is one of Song Kang and Han So-Hee’s best shows and has been praised for how the plot isn't like the typical storyline that audiences have come to expect from shows in the genre.

Given Nevertheless’ success and popularity, a second season would have been expected. However, the K-drama didn't get a sophomore season. Instead, a Japanese remake of Na-bi and Jae-eon’s romance was created. The J-drama, Nevertheless: The Shapes of Love, follows the same storyline as the original K-drama and...

Han So-hee and Song Kang’s critically acclaimed Nevertheless K-drama is back three years later but as an entirely different project with different actors. Based on a Korean webtoon of the same name, Nevertheless is one of the best romantic K-dramas of all time and ditches a lot of the genre’s tropes to tell a more grounded, intense love story. Han So-hee plays Na-bi, who has just come out of a toxic relationship and is not ready to fall in love again. Jae-on, Song Kang’s character, is a charming, flirty man who doesn’t seem interested in a real relationship.

The concept of two people who are not ready for a relationship falling in love made Nevertheless a rather fascinating K-drama that stood out from other entries in the genre. While broadcast K-dramas rarely get sequels, it is not uncommon for Korean shows to get international remakes. Nevertheless:...

I am not sure why, but it seems films about boxing have been coming in abundance from Japan during the last few years, with titles like “100 Yen Love” and “Blue” being the first that come to mind. It seems that the recipe of either “Million Dollar Baby” or “Rocky”, or both on occasion, still has an impact on the audience, and that is exactly the path “Last Bloom” follows.

Last Bloom is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The story is based on the novel “Haru ni Chiru” by Kotaro Sawaki and revolves mostly around two men. Jin is an elderly former boxer who has just returned to Japan after a forty year subpar boxing career in the US, following an unfair decision in the beginning of his career in Japan. Shogo is a struggling young boxer from a poor family, who has also experienced something similar. One night in a bar,...

The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre's 13th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival will be held from June 6th to 20th at the Jccc's Kobayashi Hall. The festival has now grown into one of the largest film events of its kind in the world and is recognized by the Japanese film industry as a vital conduit for bringing Japanese film to the world.

TorontoJFF is programmed to reflect the rich diversity of the world 4th largest film industry and the 2024 edition will feature 24 films including the International Premieres of Kosai Sekine's mystery drama Stay Mum「かくしごと 」starring Anne Watanabe and Eiji Okuda and Toshiyuki Teruya's heartwarming Okinawa-based comedy Kanasando「かなさんどー 」. The festival is also very proud to present the World Premiere of Alice Il Shin's Landscapes Of Home 「故郷の風景」 from producer Eiko Kawabe Brown. The film is an investigation of Japanese Canadian struggle from a new perspective redefining...

Michihito Fujii has been working like a factory lately for Netflix, with the majority of his latest works featuring in the streaming service, including “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045”, and the more recent “Hard Days” and “Village” among others. His latest work, however, signals a change to a “tamer” narrative, as “The Parades” is a drama about the afterlife, inspired by the Fukushima disaster.

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Minako, a TV reporter and single mother, finds herself roaming the area she lived in after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in search of her lost boy. Soon she realizes though, that she is dead and that the living cannot see or hear her. While getting totally lost about her new reality, she is discovered by Akira, a writer who is in the same situation, who takes her under his wing and introduces her to his...

The Parades is a movie written and directed by Michihito Fujii starring Masami Nagasawa, Kentaro Sakaguchi, Ryusei Yokohama, and Nana Mori.

From Japan comes “The Parades”, a lovely film that, we warn you, goes straight to the heart and speaks from the deepest human emotion and the most profound concern of human beings: death.

A film that starts precisely from there, and gradually contrasts it with life, creating a whole ode to life itself in death.

A film, as you may have imagined, full of sentiment and nostalgia, but also of life and hope.

Synopsis:

After an earthquake, a woman feels confused and disoriented as she tries in vain to find her son. A stranger takes her to a camp where he tells her the truth: she is dead, and she still has unfinished business to take care of before she can move on to the other side.

About the film:

This Thursday,...

The 66th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, has announced its winners on January 24, 2024. The nominees are selected from movies released in 2023. The trifecta wins for “Godzilla Minus One” come as no surprise, sweeping the Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories. Yuya Ishii picks up the Best Director award for both his movies “The Moon” and “Masked Hearts”.

Best Film

Masked Hearts

Ichiko

Egoist

Monster

The Dry Spell

Godzilla Minus One

Mom, Is That You?!

(Ab)normal Desire

The Moon

One Last Bloom

Perfect Days

Bad Lands

September 1923

Do Unto Others

As Long as We Both Shall Live

Best Director

Yuya Ishii – The Moon, Masked Hearts

Hirokazu Koreeda – Monster

Daishi Matsunaga – Egoist

Takashi Yamazaki – Godzilla Minus One

Yoji Yamada – Mom, Is That You?!

Best Actor

Goro Inagaki – (Ab)normal Desire

Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One, We're Broke, My Lord!

Quite similar to the significance of Noh, a Japanese dance-drama art form, that provides an emotional vessel to the characters in the film, Netflix's The Village extends a cathartic experience to the audience through the journey of its characters. Directed by Michihito Fujii, the Japanese drama film sets itself for a tragedy right from the beginning when its young protagonist Yu Katayama (Ryûsei Yokohama) is mercilessly treated by a society that refuses to acknowledge him as a deserving member. In many ways, the waste treatment plant or the environmental center, which serves as the epicenter of the once-scenic Kamon Village, reflects the festering moral disposition of the village's residents who take pride in the advancement brought about by the establishment built on the very foundations of corruption and crime. The ending of The Village on Netflix only cements the eventual fate of its characters who continuously find themselves amidst...

If I had to define the word tedious with a movie, it might be Netflix’s Japanese-language film The Village, also known simply as “Village.” What looks like a mystery tinted with Japanese art and a deep message of “be kind to everything around you” turns out to be more tiring than inspiring. It’s quite disheartening because this movie could’ve turned out brutal and emotional if it weren’t so sporadically paced. The two hours have definitely been underutilized, and the details that have been paid attention to are redundant. A lot of the film is dark, and if you’re watching it in the daytime, it might be a little difficult to understand what exactly is happening. The plot attempts to cover the dark and difficult subjects of bullying, the idea of evil being hereditary, climate change, depopulation, and the abandonment of tradition for contemporary culture. While...

The Village is a Japanese film starring Ryusei Yokohama, Haru Kuroki, and Arata Furuta and directed by Michihito Fujii. The movie takes us on a journey between fantasy and reality in a Japanese village that has become a dumpsite. This film blends ancient tradition with the harsh reality of modern times, making it very relevant.

About the Movie

The film constantly seeks the truth, which is commendable. It is a different kind of movie on Netflix, as it is full of realism and delves into a pressing issue of contemporary society: waste management and the social problems it brings. It is a good starting point, and after an excellent opening sequence about Kabuki theater, the film continues to maintain our interest by presenting a well-told story that finds its own rhythm. With a lot of personality and a strong message, the film develops and reaches a level of maturity.

This movie will have its audience,...

A struggling young boxer Shogo is stunned by an elderly guy Jin's sharp counterpunch during a street fight, and asks him to be his trainer. Jin, as it turns out, used to be a promising boxer who retired without realizing his dream to become a world champion. Jin tries to persuades Shogo not to risk his life when Shogo severely injures his eye right before the championship match; however, the young man's firm determination reminds Jin of his own dream. Jin also puts his life on the line for Shogo's world title match that could be their last bout together. (Source: Japanese Film Database)

Directed by Takahisa Zeze (Fragments of The Last Will) with cast members including Koichi Sato (The Sun Stands Still) and Ryusei Yokohama (Usogui), this movie will premiere in Japan on August 25, 2023.

The Japan Academy Film Prize Association held the 46th edition of its awards ceremony on March 10, 2023. The nominees are selected by industry professionals from the pool of film releases between January 1 and December 31, 2022 which must have screened in Tokyo cinemas. Award categories are modelled after Hollywood's Academy Awards®.

Following its success at the recent Blue Ribbon Awards, and leading with 13 nominations in 12 categories, Kei Ishikawa's “A Man” walks away with 8 Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The full list of winners is described below.

Picture of the Year

A Man

Shin Ultraman

Phases of the Moon

Anime Supremacy!

Wandering

Team from A Man Animation of the Year

Inu-Oh

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Suzume

One Piece Film Red

The First Slam Dunk

Director of the Year

Kei Ishikawa – A Man

Takashi Koizumi – The Pass: Last...

One of the prestigious national cinema awards in Japan presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, the 65th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards announced its winners on February 24, 2023. The nominees are selected from movies released in 2022 within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Leading with 6 nominations, A Man by Kei Ishikawa, wins Best Film while Plan 75 by Chie Hayakawa picks up Best Director and Best Actress for Chieko Baisho. The full list of winners is described below.

Best Film

A Man

Kingdom 2: To Distant Lands

Small, Slow But Steady

Missing

Silent Parade

Dr Coto’s Clinic

Plan 75

Motherhood

Fragments of the Last Will

Wandering

A Man Best Director

Kei Ishikawa – A Man

Shinzo Katayama – Missing

Takahisa Zeze – Tombi: Father and Son; Fragments of the Last Will

Chie Hayakawa – Plan 75

Ryuichi Hiroki – 2 Women, Motherhood; Phases of the Moon

Best Actor

Sadao Abe – Lesson in Murder; I am...

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Opening this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival is Takahisa Zeze’s war drama Fragments of the Last Will, a tragic but hopeful story from a little-known chapter of Russo-Japanese history.

Based on the true story of Hatao Yamamoto (Kazunari Ninomiya), one of more than half a million Japanese soldiers taken to the Soviet Union after World War Two, the film tells of his battle to keep hope alive and keep his promise to his wife (Keiko Kitagawa) waiting for his return.

Taken to labor camps after surrendering to the Soviet Army in China, the soldiers, and some civilians, were put to work for years in Siberia and across Stalin’s empire in contravention of multiple international treaties and conventions. Some were not allowed to return home for more than a decade. Estimates of the number who died range from the tens to...

Korean pop sensation, Bts will provide the original theme song for upcoming Japanese movie “Your Eyes Tell.” With Bts member Jungkook among the composers, it is the first time that the best-selling band has participated with a film in this manner.

The song and the movie share the same English-language title, though the English title of the song is presented as “Your Eyes Tell” and the film also goes by the Japanese title “Kimino mega toikaketeiru.” The song features as a track on the new “Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey” album being launched Wednesday for the Japan market.

The film is a remake of the 2011 Korean movie “Always,” which was directed by Song Il-gon. The retread is directed by Takahiro Miki and stars Yuriko Yoshitaka (“We Were There”) and Ryusei Yokohama (TV drama “Your Turn to Kill”). It is set for release by Gaga Corporation on Oct. 23 this year.