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Japanese

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Blu-ray Review: Ultra Q (1965)/Ultraman (1966)

As a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with Japanese creature features (still am, actually!) but there was only so much of that material available in my small mountain hometown. Occasionally my friends and I would trek to the nearest “big” city where there was a store that had all manner of import toys and magazines, and here is where my mania became even more intense as I wanted so badly to see some of the Far East flicks and shows mentioned in those petulant pages… and nowhere seemed to be kaiju ground zero more than the Ultra shows produced by Tsuburaya Productions, headed by man-in-suit wizard Eiji Tsuburaya! Anyway fast forward to like last week sometime, and those sexy devils at Mill Creek Entertainment have sent yours cruelly Blu-ray sets of the first two series set in the Ultra universe; 1965’s Ultra Q and 1966’s Ultraman! Let’s get balls deep in the Q to kick things off, shall we? Now

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DanXIII

Nov 7, 2019

ForeignMoviesParanormalReviews

Blu-ray Review: The Ringu Collection (1998 – 2000)

1998’s Ringu is the fright flick phenom that started a J-horror wave that spread across continents, and today I’m going to be putting my putrid peepers on a whole mess of them preternatural pictures, so gather the fuck ’round! First up is the “original” Ringu (this is technically the third film adaptation of Kōji Suzuki’s 1991 novel), who’s plot goes a lil’ something like this: After a gaggle of teenage girls begin dying seemingly from extreme fright, investigative reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), an aunt of one of the victims, begins to believe the tales of a cursed video tape she has been researching may be involved. Discovering the girls rented a cabin before their demise, our heroine treks out there and actually finds the damn tape… which of course she watches, even though she knows the evil within will most likely come a-callin’ on her soon. And what an “evil” it is; namely a tortured ghost of a mutant

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DanXIII

Nov 5, 2019

Reviews

The Sun Sets On ‘The Terror: Infamy’

The season finally AMC’s horror anthology series, “The Terror” ended on a high note with its second season titled “Infamy” that took place during the events of the Second World War when American citizens of Japanese descent were forced into internment camps as the American government feared that they would aid the Empire of Japan from within. After watching all the episodes here’s my spoiler-free look at The Terror: Infamy. First off, unlike the first season, this season’s story is original and right from the get-go, it pulls you in with the creepiness! As much as I loved the first season, it’s kind of boring in comparison with this one as there’s a lot of buildup with brief moments of horror followed up by more exposition. In this season, the story is being told as the action unfolds. I should also note that there are moments where the characters speak Japanese and there are subtitles, thankfully these moments are timed

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Capt McNeely

Oct 15, 2019

HalloweenHoliday HorrorProductReviews

Preview: Welcome Autumn With The ‘Moon Festival’ Box From BOKKSU

It’s September and even though the weather may say its still summer, our hearts are in fall. What’s not to love about autumn? Cooler nights, leafs changing colors, pumpkin/apple/maple flavored things, and the fact of knowing that Halloween is around the corner! Also, one thing many people like about fall is all the harvest festivals. As much as I love a traditional harvest festival, it gets kind of boring. Well, BOKKSU was awesome enough to send me a preview of their upcoming Moon Festival box! BOKKSU is a monthly subscription like a lot of those box sites, but this one sends you snacks directly from Japan! Each month the box is themed and for September, the theme is based on the traditional Japanese Moon viewing festival (also known as Tsukimi, Otsukimi, or Jugoya). This year the celebration is on September 13th to the 16th. The festival is to celebrate the arrival of the fall harvest moon and to welcome autumn.

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Capt McNeely

Sep 3, 2019

Comic Books/Graphic NovelsNewsParanormal

Legendary Horror Manga ‘Uzumaki’ Gets Anime Adaptation

If you ask anyone who reads manga which artist makes good horror mangas, you’ll most likely be pointed in the direction of Junji Ito whose stories and the images that accompany them are legendary and frightening. On the opening day of the Crunchyroll Expo 2019, it was announced that Ito’s popular story Uzumaki, will be getting a four-episode anime adaptation. The series will be directed by Hiroshi Nagahama who is known for directing the anime series adaptation of the supernatural adventure Mushishi. Colin Stetson who composed the soundtrack for the film Hereditary will be composing Uzumaki’s soundtrack. Uzumaki is Japanese for “spiral”, in the manga the story revolves around (no pun intended) fictional town where the citizens are tormented by a curse where spirals are appearing in everyday objects and driving people insane to the point that either they turn into snails OR die with their bodies twisted in a spiral. In 2000 a live-action film adaptation was released as

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Capt McNeely

Aug 31, 2019

ParanormalTrailers

Opinion: Why ‘The Terror: Infamy’ Will Be The Greatest Show This Summer

On August 12th the second season of AMC’s The Terror will premier. This season’s installment titled The Terror: Infamy will follow in the footsteps of the first season where a historical event is a backdrop for a horror story. While the flagship (no pun intended) season and series are based on the novel by Dan Simmons, the second season is original. Seeing the trailers, pictures, and tweets, I have come to the conclusion that The Terror: Infamy will be the greatest show on TV this summer. The Setting The story takes place during one of the most controversial moments during the Second World War, the imprisonment of Americans of Japanese descent. After the events of Pearl Harbor aka “the Day of Infamy”, Americans of Japanese descent were put into Internment Camps as the US government believed that individuals of Japanese ancestry would sympathize with the Imperial Japanese Government and attack America from within. It was later determined that this course

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Capt McNeely

Jul 17, 2019

ForeignIndieNewsParanormalTrailers

New Trailer Shows A New Sadako

Sadako is the most iconic horror character in modern horror films, even her American version Samara has become a staple in the genre. Sadako is the paranormal antagonist from the “Ringu” film series from Japan that was later remade as “The Ring” movie series in the US. Ringu was based on the 1991 novel by the same name written by Koji Suzuki. In 1998, the first film was made in Japan before being adapted for American audiences and spawned sequels. This new film is simply titled Sadako and will be directed by Hideo Nakata, who directed the original Ringu and Ringu 2. Sadako enters the modern era where she can be found, of all places…YouTube. The story revolves around Mayu, played by Eliza Ikeda, a mental health counselor and sister to a Youtuber. Mayu’s brother wants attention and views to reach Youtube stardom but in his attempt released Sadako’s curse on the web. Sadako will be in Japanese theatres May

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Capt McNeely

Mar 2, 2019

ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller

Blu-ray Review: Audition (1999)

Audition is a classic fright flick that catapulted the absolutely insane mother fucker that is Takashi Miike in to the hearts of gonzo cinema lovers worldwide (though he was already el hombre in his home turf of Japan thanks to some rather bloody fare such as Fudoh: The New Generation) and most of you gore hounds have certainly laid your eerie eyeballs on it at some point since it’s release 20 fuckin’ years ago (holy shit…). Anyway, if you haven’t here’s a brief sinister synopsis before I get into why this new Blu-ray edition comin’ your way from Arrow Video and their beastly bedfellows MVD Entertainment is worth your hard earned dough… Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a middle-aged widower, is catching static from his 17-year-old son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki) to get back on the dating bicycle and join the Tour De Trim (so to speak). At the urging of a pal, Aoyama begins hiding auditions for a new wife, and

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DanXIII

Jan 26, 2019

NewsTrue Story

Japanese Twitter User Encounters A Creepy But Familiar Character

You may not know this but the fast food chain KFC is popular in Japan, especially the loveable grandfather-like mascot, Colonel Sanders. Japanese Twitter user @eastbighelp probably does not feel the same about the man anymore after their encounter with one of the many statues of Sanders that you may find in Japan. チャリ乗っててガチでうわーーって声出たわ pic.twitter.com/bPMouNzHdI — イースト (@eastbighelp) June 21, 2018 @eastbighelp was biking home at night when they say a figure standing under a street light. They approached cautiously thinking it was some hooligan but soon recognized the smiling face. The statue of the Colonel has seen better days due to being left out in the elements. On the chest of the beloved American is a sign that says, “Watch out for children!”, obviously, a message for drivers to be wary of children who live in the area, but to someone out late at night, it seems like this creepy old man is warning you about the children! This

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Capt McNeely

Jun 27, 2018

NewsProduct

Move Over Scarecrows, ‘Super Monster Wolf’ Is Coming!

Japanese farmers may soon be able to buy or rent a robot that will defend their rice and chestnut crops from wild boars. Meet “super monster wolf” a robotic wolf with fangs and glowing red eyes, yes they glow! The bot was deployed on a trial basis last July near the Kisarazu City and passed with flying colors moving the robotic wolf to go into production. The robot is low maintenance and is powered by solar charged batteries. The animatronic wolf is motion activated when an animal gets within its range the eyes light up and the wolf moves and plays an assortment of wolf sounds, this was designed so wildlife won’t get used to just one sound rending the deterring robot useless. Once the robots are complete, farmers can buy one for $4,840 or the can rent one for $114 a month. Who knows, if the success of the wolf ends up becoming revolutionary, we might see these robotic

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Capt McNeely

Mar 7, 2018

Japanese

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