The year is 2071. Humanity has spread across the solar system and the Space Police have reinstated the bounty system of the Old West: catch wanted fugitives alive, deliver them to the cops and get paid.
Cowboy Bebop chronicles the adventures (and misadventures) of a group of bounty hunters as they try to catch bad guys and make a living.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on May 7, 2013 -
153 comments
Heavily influenced by samurai films from film makers such as Akira Kurosawa, French/Burkinabe
filmmaker Cédric Ido produced a short award winning film,
Hasaki Ya Suda (The Three Black Samurai) set in the future.
Its synopsis reads:
It is 2100. In the world engulfed in chaos and war whose residents are consumed by terrible hunger, the last fertile land became the subject of fierce battles. Three warriors: noble Wurubenba (Jacky Ido), Shandaru (Cedric Ido), who wants to avenge his father’s death, and Kapkaru (Min Man Ma) craving for power, will face one another in a fight for life and death.
Watch
the full 25-minute Hasaki Ya Suda short film (available only with French subtitles at the moment) or
the 1 minute teaser. Interview
with Cedric in English.
posted by infini
on Apr 23, 2012 -
7 comments
Samurai meets Minesweeper! Defeat the Seven Daimyos and their Shogun, and restore peace to the land! As the Samurai, you will have to choose your battles carefully to overcome the enemies' forces... [more inside]
posted by smcg
on Feb 17, 2012 -
8 comments
One of the longest-running and most-revered Samurai series of Japan,
Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman, played by actor
Shintaro Katsu, produced 25 films and 112 episodes of a popular television series. It was a popular favorite, and concerned the titular character Zatoichi, a poor blind mendicant masseur who carried with him a deadly secret: a hidden cane sword and complete mastery of swordsmanship, despite his blindness. Zatoichi was by far the great antihero of classic samurai cinema. Often low-budget, sometimes schlocky, always thrilling,
the Zatoichi series has slowly become more well-known outside Japan in later years.
Criterion has just
debuted a Hulu channel offering six of the greatest feature-length Zatoichi classics – the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh – completely free of charge:
The Tale Of Zatoichi Continues [1962];
New Tale of Zatoichi [1963];
The Fugitive [1963];
On the Road [1963]; and
Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold [1964].
posted by koeselitz
on Feb 21, 2010 -
40 comments
The Hagakure, written by Yamamoto Tsunemoto in the early 1700s, is a guide to being a warrior and servant in a decadent world. It's probably known best to Westerners, at least indie-film folk and Forest Whitaker fans, as being the favorite text of the hero of
Ghost Dog.
Study it well and you could be as
cool as
Ghost Dog. (NSFW)
[more inside]
posted by Bookhouse
on Mar 2, 2008 -
20 comments
Anime Music Videos. Yet another
remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the
competitive perfectionists, though, come
well lipsynched,
action packed,
meta-mashuped, and occasionally just
filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some
Daft Punk,
club,
and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to
hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill
on May 28, 2007 -
22 comments
Animation collective Three Legged Legs' (
previously) newest piece,
Samurai (embedded quicktime
here, High Def direct download
here) is a really beautiful looking short cartoon in Japanese.
Warning to those fearing advertising, the piece was sponsored by GE, although it shows no branding or GE messaging of any kind.) Via.
posted by jonson
on Jan 6, 2007 -
5 comments
Samurai Kittens - 99% fun and hilarity watching little martial-artsified kittens die in horrifying ways, 1% ad for IFC's Samurai 7, an anime about Akiro Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. I don't normally go for this stuff, but all ya gotta do is mash a few buttons, and even I got to see all 9 "Furtalities" and enter the drawing for a dvd box set. Check out the fake ads, I won't spoil them for ya.
posted by beth
on Apr 15, 2006 -
12 comments
Antkendo ... defeat the opposing samurai ant by clicking above, below and on your own samurai ant. Good luck, though. The other guy is preternaturally good.
[note: flash]
posted by crunchland
on Sep 16, 2005 -
11 comments
Black ships and samurai In 1853 four ships under Commodore Perry anchored off the coast of Japan against the wishes of the Japanese. According to historian John Dower, "This initial encounter between the United States and Japan was eye-opening for all concerned, involving a dramatic confrontation between peoples of different racial, cultural, and historical backgrounds. We can literally see this encounter of "East" and "West" unfold through the splendid, yet little known, artwork produced by each side at the time." This beautiful exhibition includes many examples of this artwork, juxtaposing scenes of the encounter from Japanese and American artists' points of view. (Part of MIT's open courseware initiative.)
posted by carter
on Mar 14, 2004 -
18 comments
