Usagi-tei

The ten Japanese titles I have rewatched most, ranked, by a fan living in Japan. Princess Mononoke, Jin-Roh, Mind Game and seven more, each with an honest reason for its place and where to stream it in the US.

NIPPON SANGOKU streams exclusively on Prime Video with an English dub, not Crunchyroll. A clerk who lost his wife fights with arguments instead of swords, and the villain is the best thing in it.

Ten Japanese work stories picked by a fan in Japan: an astronaut selection exam, a toilet cleaner in Shibuya, an undertaker, a film editor and a body run like a logistics company. Honest reasons and US streaming info for each.

Comedy travels badly across languages, so here are ten anime that actually land — picked by a fan in Japan, with current US streaming info for each.

Ten Japanese war films and anime picked by a fan in Japan: Hiroshima five years on, a private starving in the Philippines, a home front held together by one mother, and a galactic war about political philosophy. Honest reasons and US streaming info.

Ten violent Japanese films and anime picked by a fan in Japan: Kitano's flat, sudden cruelty, Miike at his most confrontational, a class ordered to kill each other, and a boy who can see what he is inheriting. Honest reasons and US streaming info.

Ten Japanese stories built to flatten you, picked by a fan in Japan, from Grave of the Fireflies to Takopi's Original Sin. Content warnings included, plus current US streaming info.

Nine Japanese true-story films and series picked by a fan in Japan: Kore-eda's Nobody Knows, Miyazaki's only biopic, a guide dog's working life, and the radical left eating itself. Honest reasons and US streaming info for each.

Ten Japanese stories that refuse to settle, picked by a fan in Japan: Death Note, Monster, PLUTO, Tokyo Story, Rashomon and more, with current US streaming info for each.

Ten Japanese stories built around the release, picked by a fan in Japan, from Shin Godzilla to Rurouni Kenshin. Why the setup matters more than the payoff, with current US streaming info.