Usagi-tei
2026/10/3
Where to Watch Harmful Insect — Aoi Miyazaki and Yu Aoi, Before Anyone Knew
Two of Japan’s biggest actresses appeared together once, as teenagers, in a film about a 13-year-old with nowhere to go. It streams nowhere on Earth. What the wind machine did, and why one song matters.
2026/9/30
Where to Watch Bayside Shakedown — Japan’s Biggest Unexported Franchise
It took 10.1 billion yen, gave Japan a catchphrase office workers still use, and ran to nine films. There is no Western release at all. What the police hierarchy means, and why it needs the TV series.
2026/10/3
Bright Future (2003) Is Free on Hoopla, and It Isn’t a Horror Film
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2003 Cannes competition film, with Joe Odagiri and Tadanobu Asano, is free on Hoopla with a US library card and included on OVID, Fandor and AsianCrush. What the jellyfish do, and why the bleakest hour ends in light.
2026/9/30
Where to Watch Ano Koro (In Those Days) — The Best Japanese Film About Being a Fan
Rikiya Imaizumi’s 2021 film about a man saved by an idol group, with Tori Matsuzaka unrecognizable. There is no US release. What oshi actually means, and why the ending is about a friendship.
2026/9/30
Where to Watch Solo Leveling Season 1 — A Simple Show Animated Like an Expensive One
A-1 Pictures spent theatrical money on a weekly slot, and that is the whole case for Solo Leveling. Where to stream it in the US, what the Korean-to-Japanese pipeline means, and where the film stands.
2026/10/3
Zatoichi (2003): Free on YouTube, and How It Fits the Katsu Films
Takeshi Kitano’s blond Zatoichi is free on YouTube in the US and gone from every Japanese service. How it relates to the Shintaro Katsu films, why the sword fights skip the swordplay, and what to make of that tap dance.
2026/9/30
Where to Watch Crayon Shin-chan: The Battle of the Warring States — A Real Samurai Film
Keiichi Hara followed The Adult Empire Strikes Back with a period war film about love across an impassable class line, and Japan’s arts festival gave it the animation grand prize. There is no US release.
2026/10/3
The Garden of Words: 46 Minutes, the Novel, and Where It’s Free
Makoto Shinkai built a 46-minute film on one piece of eighth-century etymology, and it is free on Kanopy in the US. What the Man’yoshu poem is doing, and the three complaints worth making about the ending.
2026/10/3
Bocchi the Rock! Season 2 Has No Date Yet: Where to Stream Season 1
CloverWorks’ 2022 band anime, streaming on Crunchyroll in the US. Why episode eight changes the whole series, what the Asian Kung-Fu Generation naming means, and where season two currently stands.
2026/10/3
Where to Watch NieA_7 (NieA Under 7): No Streaming, Only the Disc
Yoshitoshi ABe and the Serial Experiments Lain studio made a slacker comedy about a broke student and a freeloading alien, and it got to District 9 nine years early. No US streaming: here is the disc that works.
