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This weekend, a new Bl ("Bloody Love-comedy") kicks off in the form of Babanbabanban Vampire . Ranmaru Mori's quest to preserve his ultimate vintage begins on Saturday—but before that, check out the latest trailer! The new trailer also features a sample of the show's ending theme, "Ne-chu-show," performed by Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! opening theme artist Botchi Boromaru: Babanbabanban Vampire Trailer Related: Babanbabanban Vampire TV Anime Premieres on January 11 Akita Shoten serializes the original Babanbabanban Vampire manga by Hiromasa Okujima in their Bessatsu Shonen Champion manga magazine. Itsuro Kawasaki writes and directs the TV anime at animation studio Gaina with assistant direction from Takahiro Tamano. Yukiko Ban serves as character designer and chief animation director, Manami Minakata serves as assistant character designer and Jun Ichikawa of Julydex provides the music. The series will stream on Netflix starting January 11. The story of Babanbabanban Vampire centers on Ranmaru Mori, a...

Babanbabanban Vampire , an upcoming TV anime based on the Bl (“Bloody Love-Comedy”) manga, has published a new trailer as well as information about the show's official opening theme song. The series will broadcast in Japan as part of TV Asahi's “IMAnimation” programming block beginning on January 11, 2025 and it will also stream in worldwide markets on Netflix. Babanbabanban Vampire New Trailer Blue Encount performs the opening theme song for the series, which is entitled “Bloody Liar” and which is sampled in the trailer above. Akita Shoten serializes the original Babanbabanban Vampire manga by Hiromasa Okujima in their Bessatsu Shonen Champion manga magazine. Itsuro Kawasaki writes and directs the TV anime at animation studio Gaina with assistant direction from Takahiro Tamano. Yukiko Ban serves as character designer and chief animation director, Manami Minakata serves as assistant character designer, and Jun Ichikawa of Julydex provides the music. Babanbabanban Vampire key art Related:...

Babanbabanban Vampire , an upcoming TV anime based on the Bl (“Bloody Love-Comedy”) manga, has revealed a new piece of key art (below) as well as two new cast members. The series will broadcast in Japan as part of TV Asahi's “IMAnimation” programming block beginning on January 11, 2025 and it will also stream in worldwide markets on Netflix. The new cast members include: Umetaro Sakamoto voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi Kaori Yamaba voiced by Akira Sekine Akita Shoten serializes the original Babanbabanban Vampire manga by Hiromasa Okujima in their Bessatsu Shonen Champion manga magazine. Itsuro Kawasaki writes and directs the TV anime at animation studio Gaina with assistant direction from Takahiro Tamano. Yukiko Ban serves as character designer and chief animation director, Manami Minakata serves as assistant character designer, and Jun Ichikawa of Julydex provides the music. Related: Baban Baban Ban Vampire Live-Action Movie Announces Three New Cast Members The story of...

The highly anticipated Italian spin-off of Citadel, titled Citadel: Diana, premiered on Prime Video on October 10, 2024. Expanding the universe of the Russo Brothers’ 2023 spy-thriller Citadel, this new series brings a fresh storyline and a diverse international cast to the forefront. Set in a futuristic 2030 Milan, Citadel: Diana introduces undercover agents played by a dedicated cast, hidden moles, and powerful crime syndicates, all while adding a unique Italian flavor to the global Citadel saga.

Here’s a comprehensive look at the cast and their characters in Citadel: Diana:

Citadel: Diana Main Cast & Characters: Matilda De Angelis as Diana Cavalieri

Born in Bologna, Italy, Matilda De Angelis has gained recognition for roles in films like Rose Island and The Law According to Lidia Poёt. In Citadel: Diana, she plays the titular character Diana, an undercover Citadel agent who must navigate the world of the Manticore organization while trapped behind enemy lines.

Babanbabanban Vampire , an upcoming TV anime based on the Bl (“Bloody Love-Comedy”) manga, has revealed a big bite of new information, including a new trailer, new key art (below) and new cast additions. The series will broadcast in Japan as part of TV Asahi's “IMAnimation” programming block beginning in January 2025. Babanbabanban Vampire Trailer The new cast members include: Aoi Shinozuka voiced by Mayuko Kazama (Hakua Igarashi in Kaiju No. 8 ) Ken Shinozuka (“Franken”) voiced by Taku Yashiro (Spitz Feier in Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions ) The original Babanbabanban Vampire manga by Hiromasa Okujima is serialized in Akita Shoten's Bessatsu Shonen Champion manga magazine. Itsuro Kawasaki writes and directs the TV anime at animation studio Gaina with assistant direction from Takahiro Tamano. Yukiko Ban serves as character designer and chief animation director, Manami Minakata serves as assistant character designer and Jun Ichikawa of Julydex provides the music. Babanbabanban Vampire key art Related:...

The public bathhouse is the setting for a bloody good time, because Babanbabanban Vampire , an upcoming TV anime based on the Bl (“Bloody Love-Comedy”) manga by Hiromasa Okujima, has revealed the main staff, key cast members, a teaser trailer, and a teaser visual. The series will broadcast in Japan as part of TV Asahi's “IMAnimation” programming block beginning in January 2025. The cast of the anime includes: Ranmaru Mori voiced by Daisuke Namikawa (Adam in NieR:Automata Ver1.1a ) Ranmaru Mori character visual Rihito Tatsuno voiced by Yusuke Kobayashi (Zagan in An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride ) Rihito Tatsuno character visual The original Babanbabanban Vampire manga is serialized in Akita Shoten's Bessatsu Shonen Champion manga magazine. Itsuro Kawasaki writes and directs the TV anime at animation studio Gaina with assistant direction from Takahiro Tamano. Yukiko Ban serves as character designer and chief animation director, Manami Minakata serves as assistant character designer,...

Essentially a vehicle for Yasuko Tomita, an idol singer and actress then at the height of her fame, to shine, Jun Ichikawa's debut “Bu Su” was still a successful film, netting the protagonist a Best Actress award in the Yokohama Film Festival, where it was also declared as the second best film of the year (after “The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On”). It also netted Masahiro Takashima numerous awards as first time actor, including one from the Japanese Academy.

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After an incident that is not exactly clear, Mugiko leaves the island she had been living with her mother, a former famous geisha, in order to go live with her aunt, who runs a geisha house in Kagurazaka district in Tokyo. There, she plans to train as a geisha while also attending highschool in the city. Her decision, however, is...

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s death sent waves of shock and grief alike, the rare passing that suggested losing some necessary force in the universe. It would be true for his music alone, but the cinematic scale of Sakamoto’s contributions are equal with so many greats. Thus the list of films Metrograph are playing in their aptly named “Ryuichi Sakamoto: A Celebration” would be envy of any director: The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, an Apichatpong Weerasethakul short and presentation (about which more below), with maybe my favorite of the bunch being the great (and vastly underseen) Jun Ichikawa’s Tony Takitani.

After Apichatpong presents his short film “first light” produced for Sakamoto’s 2017 album async, Metrograph will host the U.S. debut of async surround, a surround-sound version of the album. Tickets are currently sold-out, but perhaps standby will be available day-of––surely an event waiting around Dimes Square for.

While not the strongest film – even within director Jun Ichikawa's oeuvre – 2001's “Tokyo Marigold” is interesting within the context of Japan's ‘lost decades' and the changing face of the metropolis. At the turn of the millennium, the grime and gloom of 90s cinema was replaced by a cleaner, fresher look, as style replaced substance. Clearly a student of Ozu, Ichikawa's Tokyo story shows a Japan of the gloss and sheen of Haruki Murakami novels and Muji furnished apartments; of upwardly mobile young office workers in doomed, short-term love affairs.

Eriko (Rena Tanaka) is a young woman somewhat lost in adult life, working as a clerk for a car dealership, drifting through her days. Around her, colleagues and friends appear surer of themselves, going places with their lives, offering her friendly advice, job opportunities and chances at love: More exciting work comes when she bumps into an old school...

Adaptations of the celebrated Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novels and short stories into live-action films, have always generated a mixed bag of outcomes; their success – in my opinion – being often inversely proportional to their adherence to the original source material. To mention some, “Tony Takitani” by Jun Ichikawa, “Hanalei Bay” by Daishi Matsunaga”, “Burning” by Lee Chang-dong and the most recent “Drive My Car” by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The author’s rich universe, fluctuating between magical realism, mundanity and straight-out surrealism, makes visual representation an arduous enterprise. For his ambitious animated feature film debut, “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman”, composer, screenwriter, and animator Pierre Földes draws inspiration from several Murakami’s short stories, to create his own tale about how trauma can open the doors of perception. The film is an international coproduction that involves France, Holland, Luxemburg and Canada, and, so far, has won the Jury Distinction in the Best...

Based on the excellent, homonymous novel by Banana Yoshimoto, “Goodby Tsugumi” (or “Tugumi” as it was referred to in the 90s) takes a number of creative liberties in comparison to the adaptation, which result, though, in a movie that is somewhat uneven and too “literature-like”.

Starting in similar fashion with the way the book is structured, the movie begins with Maria narrating her life in Tokyo and her past in the seaside town she grew up with her mother Masako, her aunt and uncle who run an inn with the help of her mother, and their two daughters, Tsugumi and Yoko. Thus, we are introduced to the titular character, a girl who was rather sickly from birth, but the pampering she received from everyone around her resulted in becoming a spoiled brat with a poisonous tongue who could not stop taking advantage or insulting any person that ever crossed her path.

A home isn’t just four walls and a roof, but a building that has with it many years’ worth of memories for its inhabitants. And for some of the elderly, the home isn’t just where they live, but their life itself. This is the theme of first-time director Yoshihiko Ueda’s loosely-plotted “A Garden of Camelias”.

“A Garden of Camellias” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Kinuko (Sumiko Fuji) is recently widowed and taking guests as part of the important forty-ninth day memorial for her late husband. Since the death of her estranged daughter, her granddaughter Nagisa (Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung) has lived with her as she tries to acclimatise herself to Japanese language and culture after her mother left the country. Kinuko now spends her days tending to her generous garden of natural beauty and helping Nagisa with her Japanese. But with problems regarding inheritance tax on the horizon,...

As much as we adore and revere the theatrical experience, as theater chains prep to reopen amidst a virus that is spreading rapidly in certain areas of the country, one is far better off staying at home and enjoying films from around the world. There’s no better place to do that than The Criterion Channel, and now they’ve unveiled their July lineup.

Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.

See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.

Adapting Haruki Murakami’s works in cinema is definitely an arduous task, chiefly due to the surrealism and minimalism that characterize his novels. However, this particular movie managed to capture the homonymous short story’s full essence.

The story behind the film is a very interesting. One day, Murakami entered a small shop with second hand clothes in Maui, where he bought, for $1, a T-shirt with the name “Tony Takitani” written on it. Actual Tony had produced these T-shirts as part of his failed campaign for a state Senate Seat. Murakami, though, was truly inspired by the name. According to an interview he gave at The Daily Yumiuri, “Every time I put on the T-shirt, I felt like this Tony Takitani was begging me to write a story about him.” And that he did, writing a short story that was included in the 2006 collection, “Blind Willow, Sleeping...

Based the homonymous manga by Osamu Tezuka’s, which was inspired by Jacques Offenbach’s opera, “The Tales of Hoffman”, “Barbara” is a very strange but quite appealing film, which also functions as a great sample of how directors can handle pretentiousness.

“Tezuka’s Barbara” is available from Third Window Films

Yosuke Mikuro is a successful novelist, who has succumbed to the calling of commerciality, however, during the last years, in essence writing books whose only aim is to please readers. Acknowledging the fact, he suffers from a kind of depression, until he meets upon Barbara, a beautiful, seemingly homeless girl whom he stumbles upon in the street, and, acting on a completely unjustified impulse, invites home. Barbara, however, is soon revealed to be much more than her looks suggested: she has read all of Mikuro’s books and she can quote French poetry at whim, but is also quite judgmental about his recent works,...

Dimension Extreme recently released the DVD artwork and details from the upcoming horror film “Mother of Tears” aka La Terza madre from cult director Dario Argento. Actors: Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Moran Atias, Valeria Cavalli, Philippe Leroy, Daria Nicolodi, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Udo Kier, Robert Madison, Jun Ichikawa, Tommaso Banfi, Barbara Mautino Synopsis: An ancient urn is found in a cemetery outside Rome. Once opened, it triggers a series of violent incidents: robberies, rapes and murders increase dramatically, while several mysterious, evil-looking young women coming from all over the world are gathering in the city. All these events are caused by the return of Mater Lacrimarum, the last of three powerful witches who have been spreading terror and death for centuries. [...]...