Usagi-tei
2026/9/30
Where to Watch Millennium Actress — Satoshi Kon’s 87-Minute History of Japanese Cinema
Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress is easier to stream in the US than in Japan. Where to find it, why it is the Kon film to start with, and why the last line has been argued about for twenty years.
2026/10/4
Where to Watch Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, Plus Its Japan Cup Sequel
Kitaro Kosaka left Studio Ghibli to direct 47 minutes about a bike race, and it became the first anime feature selected for Cannes. Where to stream it free in the US, and why the last five minutes look broken on purpose.
2026/10/3
Where to Watch The Blood of Wolves, and Why the Sequel Is Missing
Kazuya Shiraishi’s 1988-set Hiroshima noir, with Koji Yakusho as a detective worse than the yakuza he polices. Where to stream it in the US, why Shudder is the answer, and why the sequel is unreachable.
2026/10/3
Shall We Dance? (1996): The Japanese Original, and Where It Streams
Masayuki Suo’s 1996 Shall We Dance?, not the Richard Gere version. Where to stream it in the US, why the cut America saw for 28 years was 18 minutes short, and what the film assumes you know about Japan.
2026/10/2
Where to Watch A Silent Voice in the US: Crunchyroll + Age Rating
A Silent Voice streams on Crunchyroll in the US while Japan gets it on Netflix. What the X marks do, the two syllables subtitles cannot carry, and the one thread in the film that never fully convinced me.
2026/9/30
Wood Job! Review — The Best Film About a Job You Cannot Stream in the US (Read the Novel Instead)
Shinobu Yaguchi's forestry comedy has no US release, but Shion Miura's source novel is translated as The Easy Life in Kamusari. What the countdown reversal does, why the trees are real, and what naa-naa means.
2026/9/30
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence Review — You Know the Song. Here Is What It Is For.
Oshima's 1983 POW film streams on the Criterion Channel and free on Tubi. Why a war film with no combat still works, what Sakamoto's theme means in Japan after 2023, and why subtitles make you better off than a Japanese audience.
2026/9/30
Crayon Shin-chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back — Japan's Best Film About Being an Ordinary Father, Unwatchable in the US
The 2001 Crayon Shin-chan film is on Netflix in Japan and Korea but has no US release at all. What Hiroshi's wordless flashback does, why the film called the nostalgia industry four years early, and what survives the border.
2026/9/30
Haibane Renmei Review — No US Subscription Carries It, and It Is Still Worth Buying
Haibane Renmei has no US subscription home in 2026, only a purchase on Apple TV, while Japan has it on three services. What the walled town is for, why episode six changes everything, and who it is for.
2026/9/30
All About Lily Chou-Chou Review — Free With a US Library Card, and Not an Easy Watch
Shunji Iwai's 2001 film streams free on Kanopy and Hoopla with a US library card, which is a better deal than Japan gets. What the beauty is doing, why the message-board scenes still land, and who should skip it.
