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When Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Shinji Sōmai, Gakuryū Ishii, and contemporaries needed to shirk themselves of the responsibilities and strictures driving Japan’s studio system, they formed Directors Company, an independent production outfit that did what it said on the tin. Their output proved some of the most scorching films ever produced in the country. Despite folding in 1992 from economic pressure, recent years have found cinephilia catching up with its corpus––to say nothing of Kurosawa growing into arguably Japan’s greatest living filmmaker, Sōmai’s been subject of multiple restorations and retrospectives, Toshiharu Ikeda’s Evil Dead Trap remains a perennial October favorite, while Ishii’s influence is simply too vast to count.

To celebrate the collective, my screening series Amnesiascope will present two Directors Company titles at the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research on Thursday, January 30: Ryûdô Uzaki’s Farewell Love: Rock Is Sex and Shigeru Izumiya’s Harlem Valentine: Blood Is Sex,...

Studio Ghibli is famous for combining its lighthearted animation style with complex characters, from protagonist to antagonist and everyone in between. Hayao Miyazaki once said that he puts a part of himself into his villains, which no doubt is why they authentically reflect real parts of the human experience (for better or worse). Many say that the word "antagonist" applies more aptly to Studio Ghibli movies than villains, because the characters aren't black and white.

Studio Ghibli movies aren't afraid to explore the darker parts of the human experience, like violence, consumption, and avarice. Villains like Spirited Away's Yubaba is more of an antagonist capable of change, whereas Nan from When Marnie Was There is absolutely cruel and indefensible. Some Ghibli "villains" aren't just one person, but a school of thought, or an entity that represents something like overwork, war, land-grabbing, or even apathy.

Updated on January 9, 2025, by Ajay...

Studio Ghibli creates singleton films with completed story arcs. Notably, there's only one sequel in the Studio Ghibli canon, and it's a loose sequel at best (The Cat Returns elaborates on the imaginary world established briefly in Whisper of the Heart). The worlds and characters they weave into their stories are so rich, though, that there would certainly be room for prequels.

So much storyboarding goes into a Studio Ghibli film. Often, a story goes through many rewrites, so it's obvious to the audience that there's a lot of thought behind each film's world, even if it's not fully explored in the film. Though each Ghibli film stands on its own completely, there are some interesting directions the filmmakers could take for any possible prequels.

Related 10 Best Studio Ghibli Movies Not Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki may be the Studio Ghibli co-founder and figurehead, but many other talented anime...

“Failing to succeed both as a pianist and a piano teacher, Ritsuki accepts a job at a cleaning service that specializes in clearing out cluttered apartments. He is not only confronted by loads of trash but also by dark secrets.”

Hoarder on the Border is screening at Nippon Connection

A peculiar anthology, “Hoarder on the Border” delves into the lives of several people struggling with extreme hoarding. These stories are tied together by Ritsuki, a failed pianist who takes a job with a cleaning agency that specializes in quick and discreet removal of junk from homes. While Takayuki Kayano's second feature-length film lovingly embraces the filth of its characters with a considered comedic approach, “Hoarder on the Border” only really scratches the surface of the complexities of obsessive behavior.

The success of the project lies within the production's ability to navigate sensitive subject matter with a degree of wit,...

Fresh off of the cult hit “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (1983), Nobuhiko Obayashi leapt into his fifth project with Kadokawa Productions, “The Island Closest to Heaven”. Based on the novel of the same name by Katsura Morimura, the film is a soul-searching affair that’s a far cry from the director’s earlier, more frantic pictures. However, despite moving away from his outlandish visuals, Obayashi manages to deliver a tender tale of love, childhood, and coming of age.

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After the death of her father, Mari Katsuragi (Tomoyo Harada) decides to venture to New Caledonia, an island in the Southwest Pacific where her dad once said she’d find ‘the island closest to heaven’. While looking for this fabled spot to fulfil a childhood promise, Mari explores new, exciting, and occasionally dangerous places, aided by expats, islanders, and other Japanese tourists who have travelled to this tropical paradise.

Sogo Ishii, who since 2012 has gone by the name Gakuryu, stamped his mark upon the world of Japanese film early on life, co-directing his first feature “Panic High School” during his first year of college. Two years on, the budding young filmmaker, now free from studio constraints, would go on to shoot his graduation project; “Crazy Thunder Road”. An effort so impressive that Toei picked it up for nationwide distribution, the film has become a classic of early cyberpunk cinema. A fiercely rebellious piece of filmmaking, the movie is a vital example of the jishu eiga (self-produced films) movement that emerged in the late 70s and early 80s.

The film follows the conflict that arises amongst the Maboroshi bikers, who agree to stop riding to form an alliance with similar gangs in the city. Their leader, Ken (Koji Nanjo), gives up riding altogether to settle down with his girlfriend,...

Hirofumi Arai (33) has been cast as the lead in an upcoming movie called Akai Kisetsu (literally “Red Season”).

Arai, typically a supporting actor, will head up a cast featuring names like Tomorowo Taguchi, Masatoshi Nagase, Shigeru Izumiya, Jun Fubuki, and Jun Murakami.

Tetsuhiko Yoshino, former general manager of the rock band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, wrote the screenplay and is directing the project himself. The story was inspired by the music from Yusuke Chiba’s first solo project, “Snake On The Beach”. Chiba was the front man of Thee Michelle Gun Elephant until they disbanded in 2003 and has been front man of The Birthday since 2006. He reportedly began working on tracks for his solo album in the summer of 2010, during a short break following a tour. He finished recording the songs earlier this year and the 20-track album will be released this fall.

Obviously there will be a strong tie-in...