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The popular Summer Explorers free film season returns! From puppetoon animation to Samurai comedy, and a film version of Japan’s mega hit TV drama, there is something to suit all ages and tastes. Sunday, 12 August 2018: Courthouse Hotel Cinema, London

“His Master’s Voice” by Hiroyuki Itaya

Set in the Edo Period, Sadakichi (Nayuta Fukuzaki) returns home to take a holiday from his work after being bullied there. In order to cheer up their little son, his parents ask their gloomy looking neighbour, Taihei (Taihei Hayashiya), a former Rakugo storyteller, to give a performance for him. Sadakichi is deeply moved by his performance and hopes to become Taihei’s apprentice.

“Giovanni’s Island” by Mizuho Nishikubo th of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast. On the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship...

In “Inuyashiki,” an alien encounter mutates two unsuspecting charaters — one, a decrepit salaryman, the other, a neighborhood teenager — into indestructible cyborgs, but contrary to genre conventions, it’s the kid who turns evil, leaving the wussy old codger to save the day. Adapted from a manga by Hiroya Oku, this Japanese genre effort is ably directed by Shinsuke Sato, who foregrounds interpersonal relationships and human emotion over action and effects. The fact that English translations of the 10-volume series exist digitally, while an anime miniseries can be viewed on Amazon Prime Video, should boost the film’s overseas potential. Meanwhile, in a country with the world’s highest elderly population, the action movie’s anti-ageist thrust — demonstrating how undervalued senior citizens kick ass — proves unexpectedly heart-warming.

From “Parasyste” to “Gantz” (also written by Oku), Japanese science fiction is rife with stories of humans merging with androids or aliens. Of this tradition,...