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by Danica Pacardo

“The Queen of Villains” is a drama based on the life of Dump Matsumoto, one of the most notorious celebrities in Japanese professional wrestling during its peak in the 1980s. Osamu Suzuki decided to produce and co-write this engaging five-episode Netflix mini series when he learned about Matsumoto’s account of her experiences in the ring. Known for critically acclaimed action thrillers such as “Blood of the Wolves” and “Last of the Wolves”, Kazuya Shiraishi capably co-directs this with Katsuhito Mogi. This also reunited the former with Junya Ekigami, the screenwriter of his aforementioned films.

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It follows the personal struggles of Kaoru/Dump (Yuriyan Retriever) before gaining global recognition. Her life has been hard since childhood, as she, along with her mother and her sister, endures the neglect and abuse of their alcoholic father. They soon find...

Ring in September with Netflix’s latest offerings!

This month on the streamer, several major series will have their premieres, including the highly anticipated limited series adaptation of the murder mystery “The Perfect Couple,” starring Dakota Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, and more. Also on the way are Zack Snyder’s Norse mythology animated series “Twilight of the Gods” and the second half “Emily in Paris” Season 4. On the unscripted side, two of the streamer’s most popular competition series will return: “Outlast” and “The Circle.”

September also brings the long-awaited streaming premiere of the Netflix Original Film “His Three Daughters,” starring Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen as a trio of estranged sisters who reunited to care for their ailing father. After a brief limited theatrical run, the acclaimed drama will come to the streamer later in the month.

From the high-octane Japanese wrestling limited series...

New Delhi, Aug 15 (Ians) In another thrust to his electric vehicle (Ev) dream, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the country needs to be ‘Aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) in its energy sector.

Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 75th Independence Day, Modi said that from solar energy and bio fuels to adoption to electric vehicles (EVs), the country needs to “reach the next level for energy independence”.

Modi’s push for EVs came as the electric two-wheeler industry is facing scrutiny over battery explosions and fire incidents that has led to several government probes.

In a recent webinar on ‘Make in India for the World’, the prime minister asked the industry to tap growing opportunities in areas like semiconductors and EVs.

“Aatmanirbharta is all the more important if we see from the prism of national security. The private sector needs to be more ‘vocal for local’,” he emphasised,...

This past weekend, a new commercial began airing in Japan for the upcoming One Piece Film Z and the tie-in television anime special One Piece Episode of Luffy: The Hand Island Adventure (One Piece Episode of Luffy: Hand Island no Bōken) that comes in December, as we earlier reported. The song “Bad Reputation” by Canadian singer Avril Lavigne is featured in the ad and the special’s original characters: the wax craftsman Diego and his only son Regis (a Portuguese name pronounced in “Hejisu” in Japanese). Check them out after the jump.

Both the film and the special will debut on Saturday, December 15th. (The One Piece TV anime series normally airs on Sunday mornings.)

Original manga creator Eiichiro Oda is supervising both projects. Tatsuya Nagamine directed the film off a script by Osamu Suzuki. Hiroyuki Morita and Mitsuru Hongo co-directed the special, and singer/designer Shizuka Kudou is collaborating...

On Thursday it was announced that Teruyoshi Uchimura of the comedy duo Ucchan Nanchan is working on a new movie called Bokutachi no Koukan Nikki (literally “our exchange diary”), his first since his 2006 feature-length debut Peanuts.

The film is based on the novel “Geinin Koukan Nikki ~ Yellow Heart no Monogatari” by screenwriter and television personality Osamu Suzuki. The story revolves around a fictional manzai comedy duo that are forced to deal with various problems due to their sustained lack of success.

Last year, Masayasu Wakabayashi of the comedy duo Audrey and actor Kei Tanaka co-starred in a stage adaptation of the novel.

This version will star Atsushi Ito and Keisuke Koide as a comedy duo called “Bousou Swimmers” who have been living in utter obscurity since forming 12 years earlier. At the end of their tether, they decide to start an exchange diary as a way to communicate with each other.