NYAFF XXIV Review: In BABANBA BANBAN VAMPIRE, An Inspiriting Manga Adaptation
BABANBA BANBAN VAMPIRE enjoyed its North American Premiere at the 24th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival.
ryo yoshizawa
KINGDOM: RETURN OF THE GREAT GENERAL Review: Shinsuke Sato’s Latest Rages On In An Extant Tale Of High Drama And Heroic Bloodshed
Kingdom: Return Of The Great General is now streaming on Netflix in the U.S. Imaginably, if the rest of us outside of Japan got to see Shinsuke Sato’s Kingdom: Return Of The Great General, the film would have easily listed for many of us somewhere in our top favorite action titles of 2024. Interest be damned, however, the obligatory window still applies for titles like these, and now the film is finally streaming on Netflix as of Wednesday. Sato’s continued adaptation of Yasuhisa Hara’s celebrated manga-cum-anime fave re-establishes the cast of the franchise thusfar, led by Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, and Takao Osawa, as well as Nana Seino. Additionally, the film also brings back actors Koji Kikkawa and Oguri Shun whose characters are introduced in the outro sequences of the previous chapter, Kingdom: The Flame Of Destiny. As Ohki (Osawa) prepares to lead the Qin army into its […]
KINGDOM: THE FLAME OF DESTINY Review: Secrets, Lies And Intrigue Heat Up Shinsuke Sato’s Already Propulsive Third Chapter
Kingdom: The Flame Of Destiny is streaming on Netflix. Filmmaker Shinsuke Sato is staying the course with his sprawling action adventure saga that is Kingdom, based on the work of mangaka Yasuhisa Hara and with production banner CREDEUS Inc. in his wheelhouse. With a fourth film in toe, Netflix subscribers now have a chance to run the current three-film course leading up to the latest installment, Kingdom: The Flame Of Destiny, segueing to the next phase of Sato’s Warring States epic with Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa and Kanna Hashimoto each reprising their roles. Also among the returning cast are actors Nana Seino and Masami Nagasawa, and Takao Osawa, the latter in what continues to be the most pivotal role of the whole franchise, possibly. To get the gist of what I’m saying, and if you haven’t done so yet, I recommend watching the first two installments. Otherwise, Kingdom: Flame Of […]
KINGDOM: RETURN OF THE GREAT GENERAL Signals The Next Explosive Chapter In The First Teaser
Director Shinsuke Sato’s treatment of the Kingdom franchise continues to be one of the greatest and most beautiful looking things to happen to live-action manga adaptations, all right up to this past summer’s hit third chapter release, Kingdom: Flame Of Destiny. Following its announcement in September, the next feature installment based Yasuhisa Hara’s publication is only half a year away now with the July 12 release of Kingdom: Return Of The Great General, with Toho leading the charge as its begun so with an official teaser to signal fans. The cast of returning and new characters is led by Kento Yamazaki who continues the saga as Shin, the former orphan-turned-warrior whose ongoing pursuits to become the greatest general in the Warring States carry with them the memory of a beloved friend Piao, who sacrificed himself as the penultimate body double to King Eisei, both dually played by Ryo Yoshizawa. Following […]
Shinsuke Sato’s KINGDOM Sequel Campaign Kicks Off 2022 With New Teaser Announcement And Artwork Goods!
We now have our first look at new teaser and poster art for the brand new Kingdom sequel from Toho, thanks to the film’s campaign announcing a Summer 2022 release. Filmmaker Shinsuke Sato (Bleach, Alice In Borderland) is back in the director’s chair with a mix of new and returning cast members headlining, including Kento Yamazaki, Kanna Hashimoto, Ryo Yoshizawa and Takao Ozawa all reprising their roles. Kingdom was released in 2019, based on Yasuhisa Hara’s 2006 Weekly Young Jump publication. The story for the inaugural epic is set against the backdrop of Qin – one of the seven major territories in 255 B.C. during the Warring States period – where a young war orphan named Shin (Yamazaki) bans together with a tribal drifter, and an exiled king with a keen likeness to Shin’s departed best friend, to help unify China by defeating the king’s evil younger half-brother who’s usurped […]
Fantasia XXV Review: Tsutomu Hanabusa’s TOKYO REVENGERS, As Gangsta As It Gets
There’s ample reason why it is anyone in my time zone, or living within three hours within it, can tell you their perceptions about the state of live-action projects based on any Japanese IP to negative avail for the past decade. Granted, barring any such announcements made in the last four or five years, it still bears noting the phenomena of what we’ve seen on the feature film front, specifically with Japanese studios. That’s not to say Japan hasn’t had its misses, but the hits are nearly as consistent as you would expect compared to anywhere else. Warner Bros. Japan’s own streak remains supreme of late with Kakegurui shepherd Tsutomu Hanabusa’s treatment of mangaka Ken Wakui’s Tokyo Revengers, based on the 2017 manga adapted for TV by Liden Films this Spring, and for this summer’s big screen run by Izumi Takahashi (Zebra, Museum, One Night). The bulk importance of films […]
Shinsuke Sato Inherits A KINGDOM Sequel!
Buried in all the terrible goings-on of news in the world in the last few weeks, at least one gem came to pass and just recently made my way with word that a sequel has been greenlit to follow-up Bleach helmer Shinsuke Sato’s hit manga adaptation, Kingdom. The official website presented an illustration from Kingdom creator, mangaka Yasuhisa Hara, to signal the sequel, formalizing the return of actors Kento Yamazaki and Ryō Yoshizawa, and actress Kanna Hashimoto to reprise their roles. Indeed, Sato himself, whose work I’ve enjoyed since The Princess Blade with Yumiko Shaku years ago, will return to the helm. Sequel details are pending, although those who are more apt to the franchise may have an idea for what may come after Sato’s intricate and sweeping Warring States Period story, about a young war orphan destined to become a hero following the death of his best friend. Designed […]
Fantasia Review: Shinsuke Sato’s KINGDOM Is A Soaring, Sweeping Epic That Dares You To Dream
Following the success of Bleach, I least expected Shinsuke Sato to have directed his latest rags-to-renown action adventure epic, Kingdom – a title in what would be a series of thrilling back-to-back films from a director who first landed on my radar around 2004 with a DVD copy of The Princess Blade from A.D. Vision. Actress Yumiko Shaku starred in that one and showcased key action direction by Donnie Yen, and it aptly invoked Sato in his early growth as a filmmaker who knows action. I still have yet to see all his films, but to date, he’s never let me down; I toiled through the Bleach anime before the film and save for what you can read for yourself, I can easily say it is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, and I’m proud to say I’m not alone in that opinion. Instantaneously, upon seeing the teasers […]
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