Posts tagged samurai in January 2008

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Batten Vol. #1 (×天~ばってん) (Tōya Ataka)

I’m tempted to like Batten just for its period setting, but most especially for its ultra-goofy hero—easily the most flamboyant creature of his kind since “Peter” minced across the screen in Funeral Procession of Roses. His name’s Tsubaki Seijurō and...

The Blade of the Courtesans (Keiichiro Ryu)

The very things that make The Blade of the Courtesans deeply immersive and engrossing are also what make it frustrating. Here we have a novel of historical Japan written by a native Japanese, one who has obviously taken the time...

Chiba Chiba Dept.

Last night I watched one of the first Blu-ray offerings that could be filed under the “Japan” category—a double feature of Shogun’s Ninja and Killing Machine. Both star Sonny Chiba, both are from Toei, but the two movies could scarcely...

Blade of the Immortal Vol. #3: Dreamsong

“Beautiful” and “deadly” are two words that seem fated to go hand-in-hand in most manga. They certainly apply to Makie the geisha, a woman of both uncommon loveliness and unearthly skill with her choice of weapons. A woman that gorgeous...

Basilisk: Box Set

Once again, I’m fighting the urge to collapse into complete blathering fandom. Basilisk is as grand and glorious an anime as anyone could ask for, violent and beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. I love most any show that taps...

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade [Blu-ray]

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade is a live-action adaptation of Fûtaro Yamada’s ninja-adventure novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls, which in turn inspired the manga and anime Basilisk—so with a pedigree like that it ought to be a knockout. It’s stuffed with...

See previous posts tagged samurai from January 2007

See future posts tagged samurai from January 2009