Movies
Great Tale of the Foundational 4½ Tatami Room
Leiji Matsumoto is best known as a mangaka (and his immensely popular anime derivates), but like most working in the animation industry, he also tried his hand at a live-action film. And not too surprisingly, it's about the adventures of a young boy in a boarding house (also based on one of his mangas). When Adachi moves into a small room in a local boarding house, he isn't ready for what life will throw at him. The room next to him boards a local gangster whose gang is a menace to the neighborhood, a bit further down lives a boy who dresses like a woman. And the old people managing the boarding house are quite peculiar too. These boarding houses are popular locations for mangakas, you write about what you know I guess. Matsumoto made a pretty fun film that jumps between different genres, but there's not a whole lot that jumps out. Some wacky characters and silly situational comedy, which is just enough for 90 minutes of pleasant entertainment. It's not a stand-out though.Read all
