kenji iwaisawa

Streaming Sleepers: Rock Out On The Criterion Channel With ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND!

It’s been a while since Japan Cuts had a festival run, but one of the most memorable catches for me was Kenji Iwaisawa’s On-Gaku: Our Sound, adapted from an original manga and made in the span of seven years with almost 40,000 hand drawings. GKids eventually released the pic in late 2020 and launched it on disc the following year, while those who are more streaming-oriented can also find it available on The Criterion Channel to which folks can subscribe with a free trial. Based on Hiroyuki Osashi’s cult manga, the film centers on trio of delinquent high schoolers whose jaded leader decides to start a band. Not knowing a single thing about music or how to play instruments or sing, the film commences a quirky, remarkable, and vivid journey of self-discovery with an incredible soundtrack to boot. I’ll paste a trailer just below for good measure, but you’re welcome […]

ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND Rocks Out In Select Theaters This Friday

Lee B. Golden III

Making good on their word with Kenji Iwaisawa’s rockin animated feature, On-Gaku: Our Sound will be released in select theaters on December 11. Anime staple GKIDS made the announcement last month and are streaming a new trailer to boot. When you’re a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock ‘n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and – most importantly – jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Ohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a […]

Japan Cuts Review: Kenji Iwaisawa’s ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND, Shows How To Find One

Lee B. Golden III

Kenji Iwaisawa’s animated manga adaptation, On-Gaku: Our Sound, takes a quirky, awkwardly comedic journey into the lives of a trio of delinquent high schoolers, Ota, Asakura, and their leader, Kenji. Their reputations precede them as a group to be feared, with Kenji heralded as the master of the spaghetti fist – really it doesn’t take much for Kenji to chase anyone away, apart from entering the room. Kenji, for all intents and purposes however, is just a little more flippant and fickle than most folks read him as. He largely keeps to himself, and doesn’t pay much mind to anything unless he feels it’s important, kind of like when fellow girl student, Aya, warns him that a gang of mohawk-wearing students from a rival school have challenged him to a duel. He’s interested, initially, at least until some time passes, and soon enough, he’s not. This pattern of behavior is […]