Favourite Japanese films of 2025, unranked A Unique Country in Asia (アジアのユニークな国) 1st Kiss (ファースト・キッス) Escape (逃走) How Dare You? (ふつうの子ども) Jinsei (無名の人生) Renoir (ルノワール) Teki Cometh (敵) Tokyo Taxi (TOKYO タクシー) Transcending Dimensions (次元を越える) Two Seasons, Two Strangers (旅と日々)

I forgot to post this yesterday, but I wrote something about Japan's penchant for films (and TV shows) based on songs. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

I'm DJing at a couple of events this weekend, both at SUBstore in Koenji (which is convenient for me, though perhaps not for you). Come along if you're free.

Just finished this and it’s a remarkable piece of work. A deceptively slim book that kept me in a near constant state of whiplash, doubling back again and again to make sure I’d read what I thought I’d just read.

Spent Christmas Eve watching Rhodri Davies with Otomo Yoshihide and Sachiko M at Polaris, and I’m happy to report that Onkyo is alive and well.

Arashi and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto were on absolute fire tonight. Should probably have filmed more but I was too busy headbanging.

Had an absolute blast watching the 4K rerelease of NIGHT OF THE JUGGLER at Cinemart this morning. Glorious pulp from start to finish, even if that insane opening chase sequence (Mandy Patinkin and all) is definitely the highlight.

Sorry to hear about Masato Harada's passing. A versatile and consistently interesting filmmaker who never underestimated the intelligence of his audience. eiga.com/news/2025121...

The last film I'm set to review this year is a stinker, but in the meantime here's one I liked: THE CHATTERBOXES (みんな、おしゃべり！), Ken Kawai's puckish tale of a spat between the Deaf and Kurdish communities in suburban Japan. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

I finally got around to writing about some recent* Japanese releases, including neo-scum, minyo exotica and Sapporo singeli. Don't worry, it's not an Albums of the Year list. tokyodross.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-... * a couple of these came out last December, but who's counting?

Getting to see both PJ Harvey and Beth Gibbons live this year has made my inner 15-year-old very happy indeed.

Still updating the listings, but this month's gig calendar is absolutely stacked: Beth Gibbons, Arnold Dreyblatt, Tomeka Reid Quartet, Rhodri Davies, Congo Natty, Special Request, Jo Johnson, Geinoh Yamashirogumi... tokyodross.blogspot.com

SATO AND SATO (佐藤さんと佐藤さん): Chihiro Amano's follow-up to MRS. NOISY is a more sophisticated film that also captures how apartment living can turn into an emotional pressure cooker. Here's my review. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Five years ago, I started taking photos of things people had dropped on the hiking trail. I’ll be showing them at Gallery Rustico in Koenji this week, as part of a group show organised by @mattschley.com. Open 6-11pm. Stop by if you’re in the area.

These were a very unexpected find at Disk Union today.

Mark wasn't wrong about this one. If you're in the mood for some Yamada (and I definitely was today), TOKYO TAXI is a real charmer. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

The funny thing about the Panorama Trump edit is that there are surely few politicians who've benefitted more from being edited.

R.I.P. Nakadai Tatsuya, one of the giant figures in history of Japanese cinema news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6558551

So psyched for Season 5 of Stranger Things.

I spoke to Paul Schrader and Alan Poul about the Japan premiere of MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS for the JT. There will be additional screenings of the film in Tokyo this weekend, tickets for which go on sale at noon today. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

I thought Oudai Kojima’s FLAMES OF A FLOWER (火の華) was flawed but interesting the first time I saw it. Fortunately I had to wait nearly a year to review it, because I liked it more the second time around. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

I’m not going to be able to watch as much as I would’ve liked at Tokyo International Film Festival this year, but here are some disjointed thoughts on what I’ve seen so far…

I had a blast watching Toshiaki Toyoda’s TRANSCENDING DIMENSIONS (次元を越える), which opens in Japan tomorrow. Here's my review: www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Made an effort to get to Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival early this year but didn’t factor in the monster jet lag. Let’s see if I can actually stay awake through anything.

The punning title of HOKUSAI'S DAUGHTER (おーい、応為) got lost in translation, but Tatsushi Omori's biopic has plenty going for it, including strong performances by Masami Nagasawa and Masatoshi Nagase. My review: www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

Realised on our final day in Madrid that we were staying near the venerable Cine Doré, so naturally that’s where we ended up spending the evening. Watched the restored version of José Antonio Nieves Conde’s EL INQUILINO, which was a cracker (even with my cruddy Spanish comprehension).

Kakuhan and Adam Golabiewski at Unsound Osaka. Videos are a bit crap, but this was one of the highlights of the festival for me.

I’m staying in Osaka this weekend and had time to kill, so I went to watch 28 Years Later at a rundown cinema near my hotel. Thought there was something amiss when they played the first 10 minutes of the film with the sound and visuals way out of sync and nobody got up to complain.

Since I seem to spend most of my time on here talking shit about Japanese films, let me just say that Mipo Oh's HOW DARE YOU? (ふつうの子ども) is delightful, and gets surprising mileage out of a 6-year-old Greta meme. Here's Mark's review: www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Good to see Netflix Japan acknowledging one of its proudest legacies: keeping Pierre Taki in regular work when the big TV networks wouldn’t touch him.

Kei Ishikawa's A PALE VIEW OF HILLS comes out in Japan this week, and it's a good example of the "new literalism" Namwali Serpell wrote about in that notorious New Yorker article from earlier in the year (probably better than most of the examples Serpell actually cited). gaga.ne.jp/yamanami/

Weird bit of synchronicity today, when the book I was reading on the way to the cinema contained a reference to the source novel of the film I was about to watch.

Kokesaku at Koenji Awa-Odori yesterday.

I liked Yoshihiko Taniguchi’s HAPPY LIFE (嬉々な生活) when I saw it during SKIP City last year, but wondered if it would stand up to a repeat viewing. Turns out I needn't have worried. Here's my review: www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

What’s a classic novel that you consider a banger? Asking because I just finished “Middlemarch” and it absolutely qualifies.

This year's Soul Beat Asia (aka 橋の下大盆踊り) was a glorious experience. Not sure photos can do it justice, but here are a few.

We've got an absolutely stacked lineup for the next edition of Fashion Crisis on Friday 29th, with live music by David Thomas Broughton and Rob Noyes (presumably not together, but who knows?), and guest DJs Sawari On and Kyo.

I sat through YUKIKAZE twice just to make sure it deserved a one-star review. It did! www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Damn, Shinjuku's Cinema Qualite is set to close next January. It's insanely cramped and has one of the most peculiarly shaped auditoriums in the whole of Tokyo, but I'm going to miss this place. qualite.musashino-k.jp/news/26804/

I binge watched Netflix's Glass Heart so you don't have to. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Faceb**k just reminded me of the most epic moment I've ever witnessed at Fuji Rock. 15 years ago!

Just watched MAHANAGAR and ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT back to back at Bunkamura Le Cinéma and I’ve got to say, that was an absurdly good double bill.

This is your periodic reminder that I have an unpaid side job doing data input for Tokyo's most lopsided live music guide. Still updating the August listings, but you might find something you like: tokyodross.blogspot.com

This is the only Fuji Rock review I need. Amazing work.

I really wanted to like Keishi Kondo's NEW RELIGION, but it left me a bit cold. (I actually gave this a 2.5-star rating in print, though the Japan Times website doesn't display half stars for some reason.) www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

I had a chat with Craig Mod about overtourism, finding beauty in decline, and his wonderful walking memoir, THINGS BECOME OTHER THINGS. In today's print edition of the JT. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

Here's a slightly belated review for Toshiya Kominami's YOUNG & FINE. I don't want to oversell this one, but Yuka Kouri's performance in it is pretty special. www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...

This is a dream pairing if ever I saw one. valentinamagaletti.bandcamp.com/album/kansai...

Great, clear-eyed, must-read piece from @davidehrlich.bsky.social: