(TV SERIES) Song of the Samurai Season 1 - An Entertaining Series With Plenty of Well Crafted Sword Fights Albeit A Bit Too Much Details on the Historical Part

I knew about this series since it was promoted on HBO Max a couple of months back. It was something that really interest me but as it was released one episode per week, I decided to wait till it's complete last Sunday to start watching. It took me longer than expected but last night I finally finished the whole season. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

Story was set during the late Edo period where Hijikata Toshizo (Yamada Yuki - Godzilla Minus One, School Police TV series etc) the poor son of a farmer was searching for someone that could make him stronger till he finally met Kondo Isami (Suzuki Nobuyuki - Prince of Legend TV series, Revenge Girl etc), the master of Shieikan Dojo. Toshizo became the latest disciple of Shieikan together with several others including the sword prodigy Okita Soji (Hosoda Kanata - A Kiss Lasts Forever TV series, Bullet Train Explosion etc), the academically intelligent Yamanami Keisuke (Nakamura Aoi - Tokyo Refugees, Tokyo Salad Bowl TV series etc), Nagakura Shinpachi (Uesugi Shuhei - Land of Tanabata TV series, Windbreaker etc) who was excellent in using his hands and others with their own specialties.

Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc - Wonderful Story Combined with Great Action Animation that Would Make You Like Denji Even Better

When this movie was released in Indonesian cinemas, I was still having a long overseas holiday trip with my wife and did not have the chance to see it after I returned. So I had to wait till it's available via online streaming. Few days ago, it was finally released in Catchplay+, albeit with a premium special price. Anyway yesterday I decided to watch it. OK here's more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

After the events of the first season, Denji (Toya Kikonosuke) was assigned by his boss Makima (Kusunoki Tomori) with a new temporary partner, the devil Beam (Hanae Natsuki) while Power (Ai Fairouz) was having her excess blood drained. Meanwhile Aki Hayakawa (Sakata Shogo) was working together with Angel Devil (Uchida Maaya).

(TV SERIES) Last Samurai Standing Season 1 - A Wonderfully Created Martial Arts Series with Some Visually Striking Sword Fight Scenes & Engaging Story

I gave this series a try on the day it was released by Netflix last Thursday and finished it the day after. However I only got the chance to write about it today as I focused more on the new films that I saw during the last weekend. All right then, I'll get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Story was set in 19th Century Japan during the Meiji restoration period where Samurai were no longer allowed to hold sword and were forced to change profession. Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada - Hell Dogs: In The House of Bamboo, SP TV series etc) former great Samurai had been living normal life and married with two children. However when cholera hit their village and his family were all sick, Shujiro decided to join a mysterious contest held in Kyoto where the winner would receive large prize that should help for their medication.

(TV SERIES) Bet Season 1 - A Series Inspired by Popular Manga/Anime and Live Action Series "Kakegurui"

This series went unnoticed for me till I saw it in the Coming This Week section on Netflix. When I read that it was adapted from Japanese series Kakegurui I thought it might be interesting. So I gave it a try last Thursday and finished it the day after. Without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

After continuously making troubles at various schools with her gambling addiction, Yumeko (Miku Martineau - Kate, Star Trek: Section 31 etc) got transferred to St. Dominic's private school which was having a hierarchy system based on gambling winnings. It was run by the student council president Kira (Clara Alexandrova - Danger in the Dorm etc) along with her group that consisted of her sister Riri (Anwen O'Driscoll - Burden of Truth TV series etc), social media queen Suki (Ryan Sutherland), the psychotic Dori (Aviva Mongillo - Backstage TV series etc) and Mary (Eve Edwards).

(TV SERIES) Who Saw the Peacock Dance in the Jungle? - Despite Its Sometimes Melodramatic Moments and Slow Burn Process, but the Series was Pretty Worth the Watch with Its Multiple Shocking Twists

During 2 weeks vacation with my wife, I did not have chance to see anything in the cinemas but I did complete few series on Netflix. As they were released some time back, I decided to write about this Japanese series instead, since its finale was made available only recently and I finished it last night. All right then, I'll get right to it.

Brief Story Line

Komugi (Hirose Suzu - The Third Murder, Chiyafuru trilogy etc) was a college student living only with her ex-cop father Haruo Yamashita (Lily Franky - Tokyo Swindlers TV series, Shoplifters etc) for years. On the Christmas eve, Komugi's father was found murdered on their burnt house. Haruo's old partner from the police, Detective Akazawa (Fujimoto Takahiro - Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning, Golden Kamuy 2 TV series etc) caught the culprit Endo Tomoya (Narita Ryo - Modern Love Tokyo anthology series etc) who was the son of convicted murderer of the whole Hayashikawa family that occurred 22 years before.

Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram - The Latest Movie in the Long Running and Hugely Popular Manga Series

If you have seen my previous posts, you would know that my wife and I are major fans of Detective Conan. So once again we got the chance to see this latest movie in the cinema. It was another movie marathon day for us as we were planning to see another film after this in what had been a very busy weekend for us. Without further ado, here's a little bit more on the movie.

Brief Story Line

Conan (Minami Takayama), Hattori Heiji (Ryo Horikawa) and Detective Kogoro (Rikiya Koyama) together with the police were guarding a couple of swords owned by Takuzo Onoe (Hiroshi Naka) which were targeted by Kaito Kid (Kappei Yamaguchi). The place was located in Hakodate, Hokkaido where Heiji was supposed to join Kendo tournament. Kazuha (Yuko Miyamura) who was Heiji's love interest also went to Hakodate to give him support, together with Ran (Wakana Yamazaki).

(TV SERIES) Land of Tanabata - A Live Version Adaptation of Popular Manga Which Unfortunately Lacking the Excitement and Suspense

I read the brief synopsis on Disney+ about this Japanese series which sounded interesting. So naturally I was intrigued to give it a try. When I saw that the finale was about to be released two days ago, I started watching it a day before and finished it last night. All right, I will get started now.

Brief Story Line

Yoji Minamimaru (Kanata Hosoda - One Summer Story etc) also known as Nanmaru was a college student who had unique ability to create small hole in anything. He was also the president of a small club with several members including Aki (Yui Narumi - Unfeigned Happy Ending etc). Yoji was approached by Assistant Professor Sayuri Emi (Mai Kiryuu -  Grown Ups etc) due to his possible same lineage with Professor Marukami (Hiroshi Mikami - Premonition etc) who was studying Japanese foklore and focusing on the village of Marukawa.

New Dimension! Crayon Shinchan the movie: Battle of Supernatural Powers ~Flying Sushi~ - The First 3D CG Movie with Story that would Please Fans of the Series

When my wife found out there was going to be a new Shin-chan movie in the theater, she was ecstatic as she is a big fan of this character. So when it was released on Friday, we decided to see it on the day after. OK then, let's get more into it.

Brief Story Line

On a clear night in Japan, two lights from outer space somehow reached the earth. While the dark light entered into the body of a jobless and bitter man named Mitsuru Hiriya (Tori Matsuzaka - Samurai Sentai Shinkenger TV series etc), the white light entered into Shinnosuke Nohara aka Shin-chan (Yumiko Kobayashi) the kindergarten kid. Apparently the lights gave both of them super power which Mitsuru used to wreak havoc but Shin-chan used to play around.

City Hunter - Another Live Action Adaptation of the Hugely Popular 1980s Manga

I have seen this movie in the upcoming section of Netflix for quite some time and was looking forward to watch it. So once it was finally released two days ago, I immediately gave it a try. Without further ado, let's get right on it.

Brief Story Line

Ryo Saeba (Ryohei Suzuki - Tokyo MER: The Movie, The Emperor's Cook TV series etc) and his partner Makimura (Masanobu Ando - The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill, Sukiyaki Western Django etc) were asked to find a missing person named Kurumi (Asuka Hanamura). While pursuing a lead, they found that Kurumi was involved in drugs that made people do erratic behavior. The case was also being investigated by the police, led by Detective Saeko (Fumino Kimura - Seven Secretaries: The Movie etc).

(TV SERIES) Parasyte: The Grey - An Entertaining Sci-fi Action Series Inspired by the Manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki

When I saw the trailer to this series in the Coming Soon section on Netflix, I was really excited as it seemed like the kind that I would have liked. So I was looking forward to the day it was released on Friday. OK here's more on the series then.

Brief Story Line

Story focused on the mysterious creatures in the form of parasite that fell on earth and started to inhibit human and took over their brain. A group of special forces called Team Grey led by Captain Choi (Lee Jung-hyun - The Battleship Island, Decision to Leave etc) was tasked to kill all the parasites. Their latest pursue brought them to the city of Namil where there seemed to be a nest of the human taken over by the parasites.

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes - Lovely Animation Movie that Managed to Combine Fantasy Element and Sweet Romance

When I noticed there was a new anime movie shown in the theaters few days ago and read the interesting premise, I asked my wife to join me in seeing this yesterday. We caught the earliest show available at 11AM so we have more time to enjoy ourselves after. All right, let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Kaoru Tohno (Oji Suzuka - Listen to the Universe etc) was a high school student living in a small city who mostly kept to himself. In the city, there was an urban legend of the existence of Urashima tunnel that could grant the wish of people entering it, but with dire consequence. 

When Tohno unexpectedly found what he believed to be the tunnel, he decided to give it a go. However, his life was turned upside down with the appearance of new girl in school named Anzu Hanashiro (Marie Iitoyo - Love You as the World Ends TV series etc).

Jigen Daisuke - A Stylish Action Movie Based on Character from the Famous Lupin the 3rd Manga Series

This new movie on Prime Video was released two days ago but as I already decided to watch another film on different streaming platform, I only watched it yesterday. I was interested as this looked like one of those nice action genre. Anyway I'll get straight to it now.

Brief Story Line

Daisuke Jigen (Tetsuji Tamayama - Ajin: Demi Human, Samurai Gourmet TV series etc) was the legendary gunman who had been going around the world for years. But when he felt his gun no longer had the best aim, Daisuke was told to search for the rumored best Gunmaker in the world located in small town in Japan. However, Daisuke's plan went awry when he finally met with Yaguchi (Mitsuko Kusabue - Miyamoto Musashi etc) who instead of repairing his gun, requested him to help a young girl named Oto (Kotoka Maki - Burn the House Down TV series etc).

(TV SERIES) One Piece Season 1 - A Wonderful Adventure Series Based on the Highly Popular Manga

After being hyped in various social medias as well as by Netflix, I was eager to find out about the series.  Lucky for me, I could access my Netflix account even when I am not in Indonesia. Anyway, I finally got the chance to watch it 3 days ago and finished it last night. OK, without further ado, here's more on the series.

Brief Story Line

Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy - The Imperfects TV series etc) had been dreaming of becoming a pirate since he was a child and wanted to find the treasure left by the infamous pirate Gold Roger referred to as One Piece. During his quest, Luffy met and befriended with various people, from the cabin boy of a pirate ship named Koby (Morgan Davies - Evil Dead Rise etc), the master swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu - Knights of the Zodiac, The Master Plan etc), the thief Nami (Emily Rudd - Moonshot, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 etc), Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson) who always talk big and the cook Sanji (Taz Skylar). 

Knights of the Zodiac - Disappointing for Hard Core Fans but Personally not as Bad as I Thought would be

While I was on the flight for my holiday trip with my wife few days ago, there were so many options of the inflight entertainment on Emirates Airline. And since both connecting flights took several hours, I managed to watch few movies that never got the chance to be shown in Indonesia till now. This was one of those. All right, let's get to the movie then.

Brief Story Line

Seiya (Mackenyu - Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Chapter, Pacific Rim Uprising etc) had been trying to make ends meet by becoming a street fighter while trying to search for his older sister Patricia. After showing some sort of energy burst (cosmo) when he fought with Cassios (Nick Stahl - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Carnivale TV series etc), Seiya was approached by a mysterious wealthy man named Alman Kido (Sean Bean - Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Golden Eye etc) who was locating people with such cosmo. Despite his reluctance, Seiya had no choice but to cooperate with Alman and his trusted assistant Mylock (Mark Dacascos - John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, Double Dragon etc) as a group of cyborg soldiers tried to capture him.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead - The Live Version Movie Adaptation of Popular Manga Series

I did not know anything about this movie and only realize its existence when I scroll through new movies on Netflix last night. Apparently it was released the day before so it was still very brand new. After reading the synopsis and watching its trailer, I decided to give it a try as it looked interesting. All right, I will head to it then.

Brief Story Line

Akira Tendo (Eiji Akaso - Kamen Rider Build, Super Rich drama series etc) was a young man who thought he got his dream job working for a commercial production company. Turned out it was his worst nightmare as he worked under bullying boss Kosugi (Kazuki Kitamura - Hell Dogs: In the House of Bamboo, Kill Bill Vol. 1 etc). His only solace was he had a crush on one of his senior Ohtori (Yui Ichikawa - Ju-On: The Grudge 2, Nana etc) who was kind towards him. Akira's best friend Kencho (Shuntaro Yanagi - Tokyo Seimenjo drama series etc) also told him to quit his job.

The Promised Neverland - Live Adaptation of Critically Acclaimed and Successful Manga Series

While people were talking about the latest Zombie series in HBO, I opted to watch this movie instead which was released just few days ago. I was interested in watching this as it seemed interesting from its trailer (not the synopsis as it did not hint anything at all). Anyway, let's get to it now.

Brief Story Line

In a special orphanage called Grace Field House, a lot of children were taken care there till they reached certain age and would be adopted. Emma (Minami Hamabe - Ajin: Demi Human, Love Me, Love Me Not etc), Norman (Rihito Itagaki) and Ray (Jyo Kairi) were the most intelligent of them and always scored high in their tests. This made them became the favorites of the caretaker known as Mum (Keiko Kitagawa - The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Your Home is My Business! TV series etc).

Usogui - Live Adaptation of the Popular Manga

After being released for more than a week on Netflix, I finally watched this movie yesterday as I was quite intrigued with the premise, plus it has been a while since I saw a Japanese movie. OK, here's more on the film.

Brief Story Line

Madarame Baku (Yokohama Ryusei - Your Turn to Kill TV series, The Journalist etc) was a gambler who could always tell when his opponent was cheating or lie. Hence he was also referred to as the lie eater (Usogui). Baku previously was part of the gambling organization called Kakero and now he tried to take the leader out one by one by challenging other gamblers.

(TV SERIES) The Files of Young Kindaichi 2022 - The Fifth Live Adaptation of the Popular Manga Series

I noticed about this series few weeks ago while I was looking for new show and movies in Disney+. As I am a sucker for mystery/detective series, plus I was quite familiar with the name, obviously this became my to watch list. I waited till the whole season was released and started watching since few days ago. All right, let's get to it then.

Brief Story Line

Story focused on a 17 year old high school student named Hajime Kindaichi (Shunsuke Michieda - 461 Days of Bento, My Love Mix-Up! TV series etc) who was very intelligent but lazy at school. He was very close to his childhood friend Nanase Miyuki (Moka Kamishiraishi - Soromon no gishô TV series etc) who had a crush on him. Together with another student named Ryuta Saki (Taisho Iwasaki - The High School Heroes TV series etc), they were involved in various murder mysteries that require the brilliance of Kindaichi to solve.

Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween - Another Fun Conan Movie

When this movie was promoted by certain cinema chains in Indonesia, my wife and I wanted to see it as we are both fans of the manga and anime series it was based on. This movie was finally released few days ago and to our surprise, it was playing in all major cinemas in Indonesia which gave us more options. So yesterday we went ahead and saw this one in the theater not far from our home. Well, I'll get right to it then.

Brief Synopsis

Conan Edogawa (Minami Takanawa) was involved in the case of a serial bomber who tried to attack the wedding ceremony of Detective Miwako Sato (Atsuko Yuya) and Detective Takagi (Wataru Takagi). As Conan dig deeper, he found out that it was related to the past incident involving Sato and the bomb squad.

The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill - Unique Story of Legendary Assassin based on Popular Manga

Few days ago, there were 2 new Japanese movies released on Netflix where one was the sequel to another. Both were having a very intriguing premise which interest me. Last night I finally got the chance to watch the 2 movies together with my wife, so it was kind of a marathon movie night for us. Right now, I am writing for the second movie which was quite brand new as it was released in 2021. 

Brief Story Line

A legendary hit-man known as Fable (Junichi Okada - Sekigahara, A Samurai Chronicle etc) was instructed by his boss to lay low and live a normal life in Osaka for a year. Now he went by the name of Akira Sato and was accompanied by his partner who was assigned as his younger sister named Yoko Sato (Fumino Kimura - 99.9 Criminal Lawyer TV series, Spark etc). While living in Osaka, Sato worked at a publishing company together with his co-worker Misaki (Mizuki Yamamoto - Sadako vs Ayako, Perfect World TV series etc) and their boss Takoda (Jiro Sato - Brothers in Brothel etc).