In Takeshi Kitano's summer road movie, Kikujiro, a young boy searching for his estranged mother sets out from Tokyo into rural Japan with an unruly former Yakuza as his guide, begetting a series of misadventures, felonious incidents, comedic interludes, surreal vignettes,  and tender moments, as bonds of affection form between the unlikely pair.   

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introductions and Nonsense
[09:09] Mini-Review of Tatsuki Fujimoto's Manga Goodbye, Eri
[44:40] Kikujiro Review

#79: Kikujiro

Join us as we lick our blades, banter and ramble on, and provide in depth reviews of some of our favorite (and not so favorite) Anime, Kaiju, Martial Arts, Chambara, and Asian films.  You can find out more about our show, all of our previous episodes, and our show notes at our blog: bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com

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Film Reviews

Animation & Manga

The Blade Licking Thieves podcast has hit 100 episodes!  Thanks to all the listeners out there that have taken the ride with us.  Please keep sending us your comments, feedback, and suggestions for new films or shows for us to watch.

This being the 100th episode, we thought what better time than now to finally break the glass and at long last tackle a work by Akira Kurosawa, arguably, THE Japanese film maker.  Kurosawa's first film to achieve critical recognition in the West, Rashomon (1950) tells the story of an encounter in a bamboo grove between a bandit (Toshiro Mifune), a samurai (Masayuki Mori), and the samurai's wife (Machiko Kyo) ending with a rape and murder, yet the narrative is fragmentary, as the story is retold multiple times, through various eye witness accounts, often varying and contradictory, forcing the audience to judge "the truth" of the story for ourselves. 

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro
[24:14] Review - Rashomon (1950)
[2:31:35] Twitter Questions

#100: Rashomon (1950)

BLT Team B return with a review of the schlocky, horror movie Humanoids from the Deep (1980) in which a small fishing village is laid siege by mutated fish-men intent on rape and murder.

Team B #16: Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

We review Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), from acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, a visually arresting, erotically charged, and boldly operatic retelling of Stoker's classic gothic horror novel that remains just as spellbinding a cinematic vision today as it was upon release.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro + The Human Target, Brave Bang Bravern, Delcious in Dungeon

[36:33] Review - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

[2:43:05] Twitter Questions

#99: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Tragic space vampires, sabre tooth tigers with laser beams, terminator-esque death machines, enough F-bombs to pop your explosive cyber collar, and more delightful nonsense abounds in Yoshiaki Kawajiri's classic cyber punk OVA:  Cyber City Oedo 808!  Tune in for the full review and your twitter questions!

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro + Kaiju No. 8, Fist of the North Star, The Boy and the Heron

[48:24] Review - CYBER CITY OEDO 808

[2:25:58] Twitter Questions

#98: Cyber City Oedo 808

We're starting off the new year with a review of Shin Kamen Rider (2023), the third film in Hideaki Anno's Shin series of remakes of classic Tokusatsu franchises.  This latest entry, with a plot heavily inspired by Shotaro Ishinomori's original Kamen Rider manga, finds man turned cyborg Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu), as the titular Kamen Rider, squaring off against the villainous organization SHOCKER and its rogues' gallery of evil animal cyborgs; along for the ride is his beautiful but icy partner Ruriko Midorikawa (Minabi Hanabe) and a mysterious rival Kamen Rider (Tasuku Emoto) whose allegiance is unknown.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro, Baldur's Gate 3, Berserk, The Knick, Mad Max: Furiosa, Onimusha, and Symphogear

[27:48] Review - Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

[2:17:07] Twitter Questions

#79: Kikujiro

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