English Film Title.... The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion
Also Known As......... The Gangster's Moll and The Anti-Extortion Woman
Language...............Japanese
Subtitle...............English (hard-coded)
Duration..............2 hour 3mins
Container.............S-MPEG-4 v2 (avi file)
Resolution............352 x 240 (1.467)
BitRate...............703 kbps
Framerate.............29.970 fps
Audio Format..........MP3, 2channels, 48 Kbps, 24KHz
Size..................673 MiB
Genre..................Comedy, Yakuza, Classic
Director...............Juzo Itami of "Tampopo", "A Taxing Woman", etc.
Release Date...........May 16, 1992 (Japan)
Veteran filmmaker Juzo Itami spins this biting satire cum do-it-yourself video about the do's and don'ts of dealing with yakuza extortion techniques. The film centers on the posh Europa Hotel that lost a big conference bid to its rival; the reason was because gangsters were openly conducting business and harassing customers in the lobby. The hotel manager (Akira Takarada) drafts bellboy Wakasugi (Masahiro Murata) and pudgy middle manager Suzuki (Yasuo Daichi) into the heretofore non-existent yakuza task force. These two nice guys have no clue how to handle their sneering, loudly dressed adversaries. Paying them off only results in them demanding more money, and talking to them results only in a hail of insults. Enter Mahiru Inouye (Itami's wife Nobuko Miyamoto) -- a gutsy lawyer who is intimately familiar with Japan's newly installed anti-racketeering laws. Bribery, she tells the pair, won't stop their problem -- recording equipment, surveillance cameras, and a little backbone will. When asked if the yakuza might whack them for their defiance, Inouye laughs it off, arguing they won't risk jail killing a non-yakuza. In spite of their abusive language and menacing leers, they are first and foremost businessmen. This film proved to be so accurate about how to thwart mob shakedowns and so unflattering to the yakuza (who are used to being portrayed as latter-day samurai), that days after this film was released, Itami found himself on the receiving end of a gangland knife attack. The pugnacious director wore the resulting scars on his face as badges of honor.
Japanese Film Title.... Supa no Onna
Language...............Japanese
Subtitle...............English & Japanese (idx.sub files)
Duration..............2 hour 6mins
Container.............MPEG-4 Visual XviD (avi file)
Resolution............528 x 288 (16/9)
BitRate...............588 kbps
Framerate.............23.976 fps
Audio Format..........AC-3, 2channels, 224 Kbps, 48KHz
Size..................760 MB
Genre..................Drama, Comedy, Food, Classic
Director...............Juzo Itami of "Tampopo", "A Taxing Woman", etc.
Release Date...........June 15, 1996 (Japan)
Story Plot:
It is a comedy directed by Juzo Itami, better known as the director of the ‘noodle Western’classic Tampopo, and as with most of his movies stars his wife, Nobuko Miyamoto. Miyamoto plays Hanako, a 40-something widowed woman who wanders into a run down small suupaa, a local supermarket, which happens to be run by her childhood friend Goro, a widower played by Masahiko Tsugawa. The suupaa is called Sho-jiki Ya, (“Honest Goro”). Sho-jiki ya is teetering in the edge of failure because a brash competitor called Yasuuri Daimaoh (“Bargains Galore”). Hanako, who keeps insisting she’s “just a housewife with a housewife’s wisdom”, is a supermarket expert with a sharp eye and strong opinions about how a supermarket should be run. In short order she’s hired by Goro, first as the head cashier, then as the assistant manager of Sho-jiki Ya. Together with Goro, she must fight the corrupt figures behind Yasuuri Daimaoh to prevent Sho-jikiya from going under.
Supa no Onna is part of the “Fighting Women” series of movies that Juzo Itami made in the ’80s and ’90s, such as Marusa no Onna (A Taxing Woman) and Minbo no Onna (known among other titles as The Anti-Extortion Woman). Like those movies, the general theme is that of the fiesty, honest heroine who has the courage to stand up against a corrupt establishment.
For food lovers, it’s a fascinating if broad (and now somewhat outdated) view of Japanese grocery shopping, from the store’s point of view and the buyer’s point of view - the buyers in this case being the all-mighty, no-nonsense Japanese housewife. It may not be as profound as Tampopo or have as much universal appeal, but for anyone interested in Japanese culture or food or even supermarkets, I highly recommend it.
English Film Title.... Tales Of A Golden Geisha
Language...............Japanese
Subtitle...............English & Japanese (idx.sub files)
Duration..............1 hour 58mins
Container.............MPEG-4 Visual XviD (avi file)
Resolution............512 x 384 (4/3)
BitRate...............647 kbps
Framerate.............23.976 fps
Audio Format..........AC-3, 2channels, 224 Kbps, 48KHz
Size..................760 MB
Genre..................Drama, Comedy, Classic
Director...............Juzo Itami
Release Date...........June 2, 1990 (Japan)
Story Plot:
A-ge-man refers to someone who has the tendency to bring good luck to others (verb ageru means "to raise"). Nayoko (Nobuko Miyamoto) is a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps. Because of her role as a geisha, Naoyoko comes into contact with some of the most powerful men in Japan. She then learns and observes the world of power politics.
Story Plot:
At a young age, Nitaroh is stricken with an illness that leaves him blind. He inherits the shamisen guitar once used by his mother and is taught its basics by a blind travelling shamisen player. In time with the help of friends old and new, he walks the paths that leads to his ultimate fate - that of founder of the Tsugaru style of shamisen play.
Story Plot & Movie Review:
Hirayama's hero, a young rakugoka named Mitsuba (Taichi Kokubun), is a self-described "idiot" trying to stand out in a crowded field, in a dying art - and he's only scraping by. His shisho (teacher), the crusty veteran Kosanmon (Shiro Ito), calls him a stiff and urges him to quit. After years of struggling, only to still see audiences yawn and file out midway through his act, he is inclined to agree, but something - stubborn pride, a love of the art - keeps him going.
English Film Title.....Happily Ever After
Language...............Japanese
Subtitle...............English (hard-coded)
Duration..............00:56:24 (disk 1) and 00:56:26 (disk 2)
Container.............MPEG-4 Visual XviD (avi file)
Resolution............624 x 336 (1.857)
BitRate...............997 kbps
Framerate.............23.976 fps
Audio Format..........AC3 6channels, 448 Kbps, 48KHz
Size..................633MB & 624MB
Genre..................Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director...............Tsutsumi Yukihiko
Release Date...........27 October 2007 (Japan)
Story Plot:
Jigyaku no uta is based on a manga of the same title created by Gouda Yoshie. First published in 1996 the manga has so far sold more than 300,000 copies. A hopeless woman who loves a hopeless man, no matter what happens. The man who have difficulty expressing himself, simply turns over the table - out of frustration, short temper, at times even out of love. Would being together become a nightmare, or a love that will sustain them to live with happiness and hope for a better tomorrow?
9 pages | Aozora Pub | Digital Text | PDF | 131 & 144 KB |
Audio: 2 files.mp3 (34777 KB & 29410 KB)|
Gauche the Cellist (Sero Hiki no Goushu, also transliterated Gorsch the Cellist or Goshu the Cellist) is a short story by the Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa. It is about Gauche, a struggling small town cellist who is inspired by his interactions with anthropomorphized animals to gain insight into music. The story has been translated into English and Italian, and was adapted into a critically acclaimed animation in 1982 by Isao Takahata. It had previously been adapted to the screen several times.
Compiled from Aozora Publishing and audio narration from the Fantajikan.
Language..............Japanese
Subtitle..............English
Resolution............320 x 232
Duration..............1:03:00
BitRate...............16 bits
Audio Format..........mp3
Framerate.............n.a.
Size..................142 MB (FLV format)
Genre..................Animation | Fantasy | Music
Director...............Isao Takahata
Release Date...........23 January 1982 (Japan)
Based on a classic Japanese story by author Miyazawa Kenji, Cello Hiki no Gauche (or Gauche the Cellist) tells the serene tale of young Gauche, a professional cellist who has been deemed the poorest member of his struggling orchestra. With 10 days left before a very important concert, Gauche practices away into the night - except he gets bothered nightly by forest animals who show up on his doorstep. But these animals have a goal: to give Gauche a true understanding of music, so that he can play the cello with all his heart.
Produced in 1982, Cello Hiki no Gauche is perhaps less familiar to English-speaking fans of director Takahata Isao. One of Ghibli Studios' most stalwart contributors, Takahata was responsible for the animated classics Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, and My Neighbors the Yamadas, among others. Cello Hiki no Gauche retains its charm years after its initial release through assured storytelling, simple character designs, universal themes, and of course a rich classical music score. Subsequent release in 2006 featuring English subtitles.
144 pages | Japanime Co Ltd (2005/1/26) | 4921205027 | PDF | 16429 KB
Manga University uses original comic artwork to teach readers how to identify and write the most common Japanese kanji ideographs. Introduces 80 basic kanji that all Japanese schoolchildren are required to learn before entering the third grade.
61 pages | Aozora Pub | Digital Text | PDF | 7429 KB |
Audio: 25 files.mp3 (89201 KB & 83265 KB)|
The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince), published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery's most famous novel. It has been translated into more than 180 languages and sold more than 80 million copies making it one of the best-selling books ever. This compilation is from Aozora Publishing (digital text) "Anotoki no O-ji Kun" translated by Okubo Yu (2006/12). Audio narration by Sasaki Takeshi from the Kokorojin Project.
144 pages | Japanime Co Ltd (2005/5/18) | 4921205035 | PDF | 23945 KB
Manga University uses original comic artwork to teach readers how to identify and write the most common Japanese kanji ideographs. Introduces 80 basic kanji that all Japanese schoolchildren are required to learn before entering the third grade.
144 pages | Japanime Co Ltd (2005/1/26) | 4921205019 | PDF | 8793 KB
Kana de Manga, the latest entry in the popular Manga University lineup of books, uses original manga artwork to teach students how to read, write and pronounce the Japanese hiragana and katakana alphabets, also known as "kana." Author Glenn Kardy, editor of several of the English-language volumes in the world-renowned How to Draw Manga series, and artist Chihiro Hattori have teamed up to create this must-have book for manga enthusiasts who are interested in more than just pretty pictures.
Invaluable for those traveling to Japan, this guide features useful sidebars featuring English expressions commonly used in Japan. Pronunciation guides, a reference dictionary, sample dialogues, and an offensiveness-rating system from "use at will" to "use at your own risk" also help readers learn to communicate effectively.
The books in the Making out series are fun and accessible guides to languages as they're spoken on the street. These classic phrase books have been updated and expanded for use in informal situations such as bars, parties, or anywhere else one needs to know slang to survive! The books also now feature phrases written in their native script as well as in English, so the book can be shown to the person you are trying to communicate with.
Language...............Japanese
Subtitle.....English and Japanese (hard-coded)
Resolution............656 x 384
Duration..............1:55:48
BitRate...............128 kbps
Audio Format..........AC3 2ch
Framerate.............NTSC (29 fps)
Size..................946 MB
Container.............XviD (avi file)
Genre................. Drama
Director...............Isshin Inudou
Release Date...........6 September 2008 (Japan)
Feel-good comedy/drama apparently based on a Japanese manga story. A female, middle-aged, successful writer of manga, Asoko, loses her inspiration after her long time companion, Saba, a cat, dies. Asoko is sad and alone. A quirky group of young all-female assistant writers who work with and adore Asoko, encourage her to get a new cat and try to set her up with a boyfriend. They are relieved when eventually she finds the perfect cat, "Gu Gu", whose antics and personality bring joy back to Asoko. Her love for Gu Gu and her friendships help her deal with new challenges. Takes place in the trendy Kichijoji area of Tokyo. This is a woman's movie with unique Japanese comedy elements. Fun but also sad. A goofy American English teacher at a local school is a sort of observer and commentator during the film has an unfortunate resemblance to Kenny G. A must see for cat lovers.
