JQ Magazine: Nippon in New York – ‘100 Meters,’ New York Comic-Con, ‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc’
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
As the summer days fade into fall colors, the weeks ahead are shaping up with these exciting events, ready to be enjoyed all through Halloween.
This month’s highlights include:
Brigitte Lacombe
October 17-26
Clark Studio Theater, Lincoln Center Samuel B. & David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza (165 West 65th street)
$89, $109
In Adam Gopnik’s New York, Best-selling author and legendary New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik returns for a limited engagement. In this one-man show presented by Steve Martin and James L. Nederlander, Gopnik is opening up his city, its mischief and its meanings, spinning tales that shimmer with insight and charm, in an intimate and luxurious evening of entertainment. Affiliated with The New Yorker since 1986, Gopnik has covered fiction, humor, criticism, art, book reviews, personal essays, profiles, and reported pieces from abroad. He has written nine books, ranging from essay collections about Paris and food, to children’s novels, as well as several musicals and theater pieces. Gopnik has won three National Magazine Awards, for essays and for criticism, and the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. In 2021 he was made a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur, and this year was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Letters.
GKIDS
Wednesday, October 8, 7:00 p.m.
100 Meters Premiere with Director Kenji Iwaisawa
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$20-$26
East Coast premiere! 100 Meters follows Togashi, a track star who is born to run. As a kid, he is naturally gifted and wins every 100-meter race without effort. But in sixth grade, he meets Komiya, a transfer student who is full of determination but lacks technique. In teaching him, Togashi gives Komiya a new purpose: to win no matter what. Years pass by, and Togashi and Komiya meet again as rivals on the track and reveal their true selves. Helmed by director Kenji Iwaisawa, who quickly rose to prominence for his debut film, ON-GAKU: Our Sound, 100 Meters is a heart-pounding adaptation of the beloved manga by Uoto. The film is written by Yasuyuki Muto (Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway, Tokyo Revengers), with a score by Hiroaki Tsutsumi (Jujutsu Kaisen, Tokyo Revengers, Dr. Stone).
© Studio Orange
Oct. 9-12
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 429 Eleventh Avenue
$90 (daily), $280 (4-day pass)
Breaking attendance records each year, the East Coast’s biggest gathering for fans of comics, film, anime and manga returns with its biggest roster of Hollywood talent to date, featuring exclusive screenings, gaming, cosplay photo ops, and more! Enjoy interactive panels and content from brands like Viz, Atsuko and Bandai Namco, and check out exclusive booths and artists alley to pick up con-exclusive merch and pre-release titles. Special anime-related events presented by Crunchyroll this year include Ghosts, Aliens, and Supernatural Shenanigans! Starring the English Voice Cast of DAN DA DAN, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill Season 2 - Special Premiere Screening, and TRIGUN STARGAZE Special Premiere ft. Author Yasuhiro Nightow! Also check out signings by The Legend of Zelda manga duo Akira Himekawa, and Scholastic’s Graphix works including Unico: Awakening and The Baby-Sitters Club!
Courtesy of Cursor Marketing Services
Wednesday, October 8, 7:00 p.m.
Author Talk: Jake Adelstein and The Devil Takes Bitcoin
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$20-$25
Japan Society is honored to welcome bestselling author Jake Adelstein for a special talk and signing in celebration of the release of his newest book,The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection. From the author of Tokyo Vice comes the wild, true story of cyber-era commerce, crime, cold-hard cash, and one of the greatest heists in history. The Devil Takes Bitcoin tells the true story of the humble-to-hot commodity, from the former geek website that launched the boom to an inside world of absent-minded CEOs, hucksters, hackers, cybercrooks, drug dealers, corrupt federal agents, evangelical libertarians, and clueless techies. Attendees of this talk and signing will be able to purchase copies of The Devil Takes Bitcoin, Tokyo Vice, and Adelstein’s other books at the event or bring books from home for a signing session following the author’s talk.
Courtesy of MSG.com
October 18-19, 7:00 p.m.
Atsuko Okatsuka: The Big Bowl Tour
Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway
From $46.90
Fresh off her hit Hulu special, Atsuko Okatsuka: Father, the comedian with the distinctive bowl haircut has added shows to her Big Bowl Tour. The special explores, in part, the themes of family and relationships, which, for Okatsuka, were hardly typical. Born in Taiwan and raised in Japan, her parents divorced when she was young and her mother developed schizophrenia. Custody of Atsuko was awarded to her father in the divorce, but while still a child, her grandmother brought her to the United States to be with her mother. In her first comedy special, Intruder, which aired on HBO in 2022, Okatsuka talked about her mother’s schizophrenia, her relationship with her grandmother and meeting her husband, whose mother also suffers from the condition. The New York Times deemed it the best comedy debut of 2022.
GKIDS
October 18-21
Various theaters
Various prices
Fathom Entertainment's monthly selection as part of Studio Ghibli Fest! Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Hayao Miyazaki‘s wondrous fantasy adventure is a dazzling masterpiece from one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animation. Chihiro’s family is moving to a new house, but when they stop on the way to explore an abandoned village, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits ruled over by the sorceress Yubaba. Put to work in a magical bathhouse for spirits and demons, Chihiro must use all her wits to survive in this strange new place, find a way to free her parents and return to the normal world. Overflowing with imaginative creatures and thrilling storytelling, Spirited Away became a worldwide smash hit, and is one of the most critically-acclaimed films of all time.
© MAPPA/Toho/Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures Releasing
Premieres October 23
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
Various theaters
Various prices
For the first time, Chainsaw Man slashes his way onto the big screen in an epic, action-fueled adventure that continues the hugely popular anime series. Denji worked as a Devil Hunter for the yakuza, trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, until the yakuza betrayed him and had him killed. As he was losing consciousness, Denji’s beloved chainsaw-powered devil-dog, Pochita, made a deal with Denji and saved his life. This fused the two together, creating the unstoppable Chainsaw Man. Now, in a brutal war between devils, hunters, and secret enemies, a mysterious girl named Reze has stepped into his world, and Denji faces his deadliest battle yet, fueled by love in a world where survival knows no rules.
© Courtesy of the Maison de la Culture d’Amiens
October 24-25, 8:00 p.m.
Le Tambour de Soie (The Silk Drum)
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$42, $55
Drawing from Yukio Mishima’s adaptation of the classic Japanese noh drama Aya no Tsuzumi, distinguished artists Yoshi Oida and Kaori Ito have co-created the spellbinding dance-theater work Le Tambour de Soie (The Silk Drum). Premiering to acclaim at the 2020 Festival d’Avignon in France, this alluring piece begins with an old man sweeping a theater stage – played in this U.S. production by New York’s Big Dance Theater co-founder Paul Lazar–who falls for a beautiful dancer rehearsing for a show–a role reprised by Ito. Set to a musical tapestry woven by Provence-based musician Makoto Yabuki, this darkly seductive dance strips the original fable down to its core drama between an old man desperate to feel loved again and an indifferent young woman made complicit in his downfall. The Oct. 24 performance is followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members. The Oct. 25 performance is followed by an Artist Q&A.
For more JQ articles, click here.