Sensei Sensibility

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour quality Asian cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. The great thing about the  Katsuhito Ishii Collection Box Set  from Third Window Films is that the works selected show the staggering diversity and continued growth of the director they're highlighting. Everything from violent, hyper-surreal, stylized V Cinema pieces to charming, heart warming coming-of-age movies. The genres may change, but Kasuhito Ishii stays very much - wonderfully - the same.  Hello Junichi! (2014): Who doesn't love a Little Rascals-esque coming of age story that shows the beauty of friendship but in a cool, non-saccharine way? The lives of wimpy third grader Junichi Hayashida (Amon Kabe) and his little pals are changed forever when a sassy new student teacher Miss Anna (Mitsushima Hikari) enters their classroom.  The di...

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour quality Asian cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Juliet Capulet If cinema is the great zeitgeist reflector it claims to be, what does that say about turn-of-the-millennium Japan? While Isao Yukisada 's adaptation of Kazuki Kaneshiro 's novel GO isn't as dystopian as Battle Royale (2000) , it's still as grim a portrayal of disillusioned, angry youths as Blue Spring   (2001) or Bright Future (2003).  Not exactly a bunch of happy campers, are they? Sugihara, (played with seething perfection by Yosuke Kubozuka) however, has even more cause for displeasure. Part Korean, part Japanese, all " Zainichi ", Sugihara is too Japanese for the Koreans (he wears jeans and listens to Mariah Carey! "Traitor!") and ...

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour weird Asian horror;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. As someone who spends an awful lot of time writing words, with many of my peers also primarily engaging in the act of also writing words, the rapid growth of AI engines being able to mock up reviews and articles at the click of a button is of course, terrifying to us all.  However, can the robots actually help us bloggers, journalists, and content creators galore? For absolute shits and giggles (and as the curator of a spooky Asian themed blog) I decided to ask the Notorious G.P.T to generate for me a list of the top fifteen most haunted places in Japan. While I copy/pasted the core factual text, I did edit Chat's findings to give it the good old  Sensei Sensibilty "Voice".  (1) Baddest of Them All: Aokigahara Forest (Yamanashi): Known as the "Sea of...

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour quality Asian cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. Anime Supremacy! is the live action adaptation of the same-name light novel written by Mizuki Tsujimura and illustrated by CLAMP.   Though it may be by women, and about women, this is a story for everyone who's ever wanted to peek behind the curtain into the chaotic Oz that is the anime industry. Just be warned, what has been seen - can't be unseen.  A pox! A pox on both your anime! Hitmoi Saito (played by the understated Riho Yoshioka) is an ambitious young woman on the cusp of her anime directorial debut. Soundback: Playing Stone is a passion project years in the making, and not only must it be a roaring success to prove Saito's prowess as a director, it must surpass the ratings of all other anime so that it's creator may achieve the titular "Anime S...

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour Asian horror cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. "I can't shake this creepy feeling..." In a terribly jaded world where everyone has already seen everything , it's a tremendous pleasure to stumble across something that one has not in fact, seen. One such previously un-seen entity is Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 made-for-T.V. movie Séance (Kôrei).  Starring Japanese screen legends Koji Yakusho (Cure, Pulse, Tokyo Sonata) and Jun Fubuki (Like Father, Like Son, Our Little Sister, Call me Chihiro),  Séance is a cerebral slow-burn paranormal thriller. And bloody eerie to boot. Based on Mark McShane's  Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1961 novel, 1964 film adaptation), Kurosawa's version centres around Junko and Koji Sato, a couple whose outwardly placid marriage is irreparably rocked by the kidnapping of a yo...

"An unopened door is a happy door..." - Maurice Moss Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour quality Asian cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. For those concerned about who will gift the world with spellbinding, epic anime once Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki finally travels on The Great Cat Bus to the Sky , fear not. Makoto Shinkai is here. Suzume is the latest release from the award-winning director, and like his recent popular works  Your Name  and Weathering With You , Suzume is an, action-packed coming-of-age fantasy, with  Ghibli-esque aesthetics and jaw-dropping animation.  And, forgive the cheesy cliché, a lotta heart.  "Strangers on a hill, exchanging eye contact..." I had the privilege of watching a special preview screening of Suzume at Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin with thanks to Japanese Film Festival Ireland (in ...

Welcome to Sensei Sensibility!  You  are the hungry mind yearning to devour quality Asian cinema;  I  am the (questionably) knowledgeable  Sensei , more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite. "Is this literature, or a prank?" - Masahiro Higashide Gakuryu Ishii 's 2018 movie adaptation of Ko Machida 's novel Punk Samurai Slash Down - how the hell do I review this without sounding like I've been licking hallucinogenic toads?  Let us start at the beginning, dear readers.  Picture it: Rural feudal Japan. A purple haze rolls over the mountains of the Kuroae domain. The camera surfs along with the rock 'n' roll soundtrack. A lone samurai and a ne'er do-well cross (exquisitely framed) paths. The ne'er do-well is obviously a member of the troublesome "Bellyshaker Party" and must be cut down by the lone samurai. And in an explosion of blood worthy of a  Tokyo Gore  flick, we are introduced to the potty-mouthed, "superhuman swordsm...