こんにちは！Something seems a little fishy here... It's a family-friendly episode all about the endearing animated film "Ponyo," released in 2008 from Stuido Ghibli. Dive in to our salty symposium covering goldfish, ocean cleanup, Japanese legends, and Morse code. 

Check out our show notes here, or visit the Ponyo IMDb page here.

こんにちは！　What's this? This isn't the 2018 film... This is the book it's based on! Welcome to a weird month, where our book-club style podcast about films actually reads a book instead. For February we're celebrating cats with "Tabineko Ripoto" (2012) by Hiro Arikawa, or "The Traveling Cat Chronicles" translated by Philip Gabriel. Instead of bringing research topics, we talk about our own experience traveling across the world with our two cats. We hope you find our discussion helpful!

Check out the Goodreads page for the book, as well as Ep. 19 Show Notes!

こんにちは！ We're starting 2022 with the 1954 classic "Gojira," AKA "Godzilla," directed by Ishirō Honda. Strap in for a history lesson on atomic bombs in World War II, a vocab lesson on denialism, fun facts about the movie and a behind-the-scenes look at Godzilla's iconic roar. 

For more, check out the Godzilla IMDb page, and our show notes.

If you'd like to listen to our other (NSFW) podcast, where we review the 1998 US rendition of "Godzilla," check out The Bargain Den!

おめでとう！ We made it through another year, and that deserves congratulations! Also, Brandon and Donna made it through the first full year of The Ōkī Okie Show podcast. To celebrate, we're taking a look back at all 17 movies we've watched so far for the show. 

Thank you all for supporting this little movie club, and may you have a happy and healthy 2022!

こんにちは！ We're ending 2021 with "Kamikaze Girls," a sweet, funny story about a Lolita and a Yanki living in rural Japan. This 2004 film directed by Tetsuya Nakashima brings a lot to the table for discussion, from the directorial style to the movie's origins as a light novel. We also dig in to gender roles and genderbending, Anna Tsuchiya and how she's connected to NANA, and Lolita fashion. (Any fans of BABY, THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT out there??) 

For more, check out the Kamikaze Girls IMDb page, and our show notes.

こんにちは！ This episode about "Ghost in the Shell" (1995, dir. Mamoru Oshii) brings up a lot of questions for us, like, "Who am I?" and "Why is this dub so bad?" We also talk about the movie's scoring, policing in Japan, and the whitewashing controversy that surrounded the 2017 remake starring Scarlett Johansson. Check out the Ghost in the Shell IMDb page, and our show notes.

こんにちは！ Of course we chose a spooky film for October: "Ringu" (1998, dir. Hideo Nakata). We discuss Japanese media, the meaning of names, the vast world of Ring lore, and what makes a scary movie like The Ring work. Check out Ringu's IMDb page, and our show notes.

こんにちは！ This month, help us decipher Masahiro Shinoda's Japanese noir "Kaseki no mori." We hope you enjoy this discussion on the movie's themes and style! Also, listen to Brandon and Nikki's brand new podcast "2D or Not 2D," with the first full episode out on Sept. 25. Check out The Petrified Forest's IMDb page, and our show notes.

こんにちは！ This month we dive into Hikari's 2019 film "37 Seconds." We discuss symbolism, learn more about Cerebral Palsy, take a look at the cinematography, and explore LGBTQ+ culture in Japan!

Check out the 37 Seconds IMDb page and our show notes.

こんにちは！ This month we explore the world and art of BEAT Takeshi, AKA Takeshi Kitano. He wrote, directed, edited, and starred in 1997's HANA-BI (Fireworks). We hope you enjoy this discussion on the movie's themes of art and disability, connections to other movies like Drive (2011), the Lost Generation, and more!

Check out HANA-BI's IMDb page, and our show notes.