Category: Reviews

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Japan Reviews Wrestling

Top 20 Matches 2019 (Live) Prelude

Going to be sharing a long overdue look at some of my favorite matches I was lucky enough to see in 2019. It’s been a while since my last list for Fall 2018, so there’s a ton of excellent wrestling to cover.

In essentially switching here to time periods (as opposed to my previous lists by trip) a gap was created omitting December 2018. The 2019 list is already incredibly difficult to narrow down so I didn’t want to expand the criteria, but December 2018 had a number of matches I really enjoyed. So I’d like to take a moment just to list those favorites briefly. Please check out the show links for more information.

December 2018:

Honorable mention: Reika Saiki vs Nadoka Tenma – TJPW 12/22/18
5. Emi Sakura, Baliyan Akki, & Masahiro Takanashi vs Riho, Greg Ho, & Mei Suruga – Michinoku Pro 12/21 
4. Emi Sakura, Mei Suruga, & Yuna Mizumori vs Nanae Takahashi, Ryo Mizunami, & Sae – SEAdLINNNG 12/28
3. Emi Sakura, Obihiro Sayaka, & Riho vs Mitsuru Konno, Mei Suruga, & Yuna Mizumori –  Gatoh Move 12/31
2. Ice Cross Infinity Championship: Tsukasa Fujimoto (c) vs Maya Yukihi – Ice Ribbon 12/31/18 
1. Regina di Wave Championship: Misaki Ohata vs Ryo Mizunami (c) – Wave 12/29/18 

Ok, on to 2019. The remainder of this entry will cover honorable mentions, including a number of instances where I wanted to talk about several matches together.

Honorable mentions

The Hot Dog Match Ice Ribbon: Frank Sisters Produce 1/5/18

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What better way to start than with a match that became immediately infamous. Ice Ribbon’s second show of the day on 1/5/19 at Yokohama Radiant Hall was produced by the Frank Sisters trio of Kurumi Hiiragi, Akane Fujita, and Mochi Miyagi. The “frank” theme was nowhere as apparent as in the tag team encounter of Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hamuko Hoshi vs Maya Yukihi & Tae Honma.

Music would randomly be played during this tag match, at which point any wrestler currently in the ring could eat hot dogs (brought in by the respective teams’ seconds). The team that had the most hot dogs eaten at the end of the match won (winning the fall to trigger the end of the match by pin or submission was worth five “virtual hot dogs” in the final count).

This was absurd in all the best ways. It was viscerally hard to watch them stuff their faces and then bump on their stomachs seconds later, and as usual with Ice Ribbon everyone was fully invested in making even the most ridiculous of situations wonderfully compelling. This was given proper time to emphasize the gimmick, with the match going almost twenty minutes, and the wrestling in between the eating was top notch. Fantastic in ways I can’t properly describe.

PS – TAE IS A MONSTER.

Gatoh Move 1/13/19

I debated what to do with this entry as sneaking a full show in is a bit of a cheat. But I really loved this as a complete show and wanted to highlight it as such, and this section seemed the right place to put it.

The opening match was a treat in the form of a rare singles match between Emi Sakura and Sayaka Obihiro, made even more special by Obi goading Sakura into putting her 3-Count Championship on the line. Mei Suruga wrestling like she thinks she can take on the whole world is AWESOME, and her 3-way against Baliyan Akki and Saki was a ton of fun. The main event was a case of being so-over-the-top-it-worked, as Riho & Madoka were in full villain mode against the hero duo of Mitsuru Konno & Sawasdee Kamen with easily distracted referee Emi Sakura presiding over it all.

The show had a little bit over everything and just all came together into a wonderfully engaging whole.

DareJyo Showcase –  5/1/19

DareJyo is short for “Daredemo Joshi Puroresu” or Anyone’s Women’s Professional Wrestling. Run by Gatoh Move founder Emi Sakura, the idea is to offer a suitable environment for any woman, regardless of age, experience, etc, to learn the basics of pro wrestling in a casual manner within a professional, safe environment. There are limits on the types of things the participants will learn and try (avoiding more difficult and potentially dangerous aspects like certain types of strikes, etc) while still giving a strong introduction and base to build off of.

It’s a wonderful concept, making wrestling extremely approachable while providing the right framework and support system to learn properly.

The approach to their shows is also wonderfully unique and engaging. They start with warm up drills and “competitive” practice sequences (two wrestlers locking up then trying to force each other into the ropes, etc), then proceeded to exhibition matches. As a wrestling fan the little deeper glimpse of preparation and training was really cool to see, and overall this was once of the most unique and fun events I attended all year.

Chigusa’s Return – Marvelous 12/8/19

At Marvelous’ 12/8/19 show at Korakuen Hall Chigusa Nagayo returned to the ring for a pair of special matches. Chigusa wrestles infrequently nowadays and had not competed in her company for some time.

First was a exhibition match where Chigusa teamed with Maria, Mikoto Shindo, & Mei Hoshizuki vs Nyla Rose, Tomoko Wantanabe, KAORU, & Hibiki. After five minutes Chigusa and Nyla would switch sides, with the remaining five minutes being wrestled with the revised teams. It was all about the participants, and often their seconds, interacting with Chigusa. It was a lot of fun and clearly emotional for everyone involved.

After that, it was founder against ace as Chigusa faced Takumi Iroha. This was a deliberately paced, epic encounter that told a story that could only be told between the two of them. The packed Korakuen crowd was electric for it all, and it was a special day all around.

 Tequila Saya’s retirement

After her originally planned last show in October got canceled due to the typhoon, Ice Ribbon’s Tequilia Saya ended up postponing her retirement to cover the commitments left by Giulia’s sudden departure from the company. It would be a great couple of months for her, seeing her first and only overseas match and first and only singles title run. Selfishly it was also nice that it all meant I would get to see Saya wrestle a few more times.

Her final dojo match on 12/28 was a great singles encounter with Ice Ribbon’s ace Tsukasa Fujimoto, and she ended her career with an incredibly fun 36 (plus a few) person gauntlet match in the main event of Ribbonmania. I loved both matches and it was a great way to see Saya off.

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That does it for this intro. Hope everyone enjoyed reading about these great matches/shows. More to come soon.

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Comics Reviews

Hemlock Volume 3 Review

Volume 3 is fairly self-contained but builds directly off of previous volumes. Starting at the beginning is best.

** This review contains no spoilers for Hemlock volume 3 but will have them for previous chapters. **

This installment of Hemlock feels different, as it’s both shorter and more focused on a single story than before. The combined effect makes it feel even shorter than it is (still a very respectable 46 pages). There’s a brief flashback to open, then the remainder of the chapter features Tristan’s cousin Kolya looking for some answers regarding Tristan’s death. It doesn’t feature the slice of life feel previously established nor provide a lot of information, but it’s still a nice character tale that follows up on the status of Tristan’s family and drops some tantalizing hints about future story progression.

Though a bit of a departure to the established and not quite as strong as the first two parts this installment of Hemlock is still a good entry in the series that fleshes out a supporting character and adds to the overall mythos being built.

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Comics Reviews

Hemlock Volume 2 Review

Volume 2 of Hemlock stands relatively well alone but builds directly off of volume 1. Starting at the beginning is best.

** This review contains no spoilers for Hemlock volume 2 but will have some for volume 1. **

This volume continues the everyday adventures of the quiet witch Lumi and her new familiar Tristan, the three eyed frog. It took me a little bit to get into the comic’s initial volume but I ended up really enjoying it. Here that momentum is kept and the story is intriguing and compelling from start to finish. We get a lot of information about Lumi’s past and present, including things about her last familiar, her husband, and other witches. Everything is logically connected, well layered, and nicely paced. Like volume 1 what’s here is a complete tale on it’s own but sets up future developments and plot lines.

The thing I like most about the comic is how well formed and interesting the characters and world are. Lumi and Tristan are terrific leads and really make me want to read more about them.

The art is quite good. Appropriately dark but very detailed and incredible as far as expressions and body language. The author is excellent at conveying emotions of the characters and situations.

Hemlock is shaping up to be an excellent comic and has a ton of potential going forward.

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Comics Reviews

Hemlock Volume 1 Review

A look back on a old favorite.

Hemlock is a black and white webcomic about a witch named Lumi. She lives in a friendly giant snail’s shell and is about to cross paths with a young man named Tristan who dreams of a more academic life than that of a farmer’s son.

I was uncertain about Hemlock at the start but got drawn in fairly quickly. The atmosphere and tone is really well done. Lumi’s quasi-boredom at times and Tristan’s distress combine to make the introductory stuff quite interesting. There’s a great balance here between setting the stage and moving things along and a lot of intriguing things are foreshadowed for the future. This is also a nicely complete story in it’s own right in addition to being the first part of a longer tale.

The art’s a little too dark and abstract in a couple of places, but is very good overall with a unique, well executed style. The character designs are excellent, particularly Lumi and Tristan. Fenton is very good at conveying emotion through facial expressions and body language.

I’ve read this both online and in printed form. While smaller in paper size than most comic collections, in does not detract from the reproduction of the art and the paper and printing quality are high. The content holds up well to subsequent reading.

A good start overall with a lot of potential going forward.

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Comics Reviews

Usagi Yojimbo Vol 33 Review

The Hidden is volume 33 of Stan Sakai’s samurai epic, Usagi Yojimbo. It’s a single volume-length story, so while it benefits from having read Usagi’s previous adventures it would also be a suitable jumping on point.

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For those who are new to Usagi, a comment from my review of Vol. 1 on Sakai’s choice of medium that has remained relevant throughout the comic’s long run:

“The use of amorphous animals as the characters might seem unusual to first time readers, but it gives Sakai more visual diversity and symbolism to play with, and is executed with such finesse that it quickly becomes impossible to imagine the book without this choice. Don’t mistake the presence of animals as people as a sign this is a ‘kid’s book.’ Usagi Yojimbo covers a period of war, political unrest, and an unhealthy level of danger and can get dark and bloody at times.”

As mentioned above the entirety of this volume is dedicated to one story (with a short chibi-Tomoe strip included at the end). It features both Usagi and series regular Detective Ishida, who’s grown into a huge supporting role. The Hidden, perhaps unsurprisingly since it’s a bit of a spotlight for Ishida, is another mystery and weaves together a number of disparate elements and plot threads in a thoroughly engaging way. I was particularly impressed with the interesting use of certain themes, as well as its careful subversion of expectations.

A secondary undercurrent of this story seems to lead to a turning point in the series again, which makes sense given Usagi Yojimbo changed publishers after this story. The way it’s done is a little ham handed, but it’s fine overall and moves things in proper direction.

As always I really enjoy Usagi’s adventures, and I’m curious to see how things will progress in the future under new publisher IDW.

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Books Reviews

The Winter Long (October Daye Book 8) Review

“Unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of experiencing things that sound reasonable when you try to explain them to other people.”

Toby weathered a storm a long time coming and the result is a rare moment of peace. But just a moment. Toby’s demons are coming back to haunt her. Even the one she never knew she had…

This is the eighth book in the October Daye series, paying off several long running plot lines going all the way back to the beginning. Start reading there (Rosemary and Rue).

“Please don’t mistake villainy for evil.”

It seems weird to say after the major confrontation and developments of  Chimes at Midnight, but THIS is is the story that the series has been leading to since the very beginning. I gushed in the previous review about how masterfully McGuire had built and layered the story across the series, and if possible it pays off even more here. There are a number of shocking yet logical twists that are done to perfection for maximum impact. I’ve been waiting a long time for a lot of the issues that are addressed in this book to come up, and it all comes together wonderfully.

Nothing further to say really, especially since I want to avoid all the potential for spoiling this suspenseful, excellently executed tale.

Highly recommended.

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Board Games Reviews

Doctor Esker’s Notebook Review

I’m a big fan of puzzles and puzzle type games so was very interested to check out the curious little box of cards called Dr. Esker’s Notebook.

As implied above, Dr. Esker’s Notebook is a series of puzzles presented via a deck of cards. There are 73 cards total, made up of 58 puzzle cards, 10 solution cards, and 5 instruction cards.

The solution to each of the 9 puzzles in the deck is a 2-4 digit numeric code. The solution cards are numbered 0-9 on their backs, and when arranged in the correct order for each solution they will identify the next puzzle to be played (via seemingly random elements on the answer cards coming together to form words, pictures, etc). It’s a very clever, elegant way to handle solving the puzzles and is well implemented.

The puzzles themselves were quite good, with decent variety to them and some really inventive elements. There were a couple I thought were exceptional, and only one I didn’t really care for. I played this solo, but it feels like it would also work well with a small group (I’d probably cap it at 4 players rather than the “1-6, or more” the box suggests).

There were some minor execution issues that hindered my enjoyment just a little here and there, but nothing that was impossible to work around. For example, when several puzzles depend on lining things up properly having white borders on the cards is a particularly poor choice. There were other small things that I’ll avoid discussing in detail due to spoilers, but again largely things that in my opinion kept some good puzzles from being great puzzles rather than anything really problematic.

There is a decent hint system available with several hints for each puzzle, allowing players to choose how much help they want. I like the approach a lot, but it’s worth mentioning that the hints and solutions are strictly available online so if players get stuck on a puzzle visiting the website is required to continue on.

Dr. Esker’s Notebook felt somewhere in between board game versions of escape rooms like the Exit series and puzzle books like  Journal 29 to me, and that’s a pretty favorable place to be. The deck of cards approach is creative in the way it was done and keeps this cost friendly, portable, and reusable. Overall I had fun with this and would welcome more puzzle games in this vein.

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Books Reviews

Chimes at Midnight (October Daye Book 7) Review

“When you decide to up the ante on getting in deep shit, you don’t mess around, do you? You’re just like, hey, what’s the worst that could happen? That’s the worst that could happen? Great. Let’s do that.”

As a changeling knight with a unique perspective and even more unique abilities, October Daye’s priorities have always been a bit different from many of the ruling purebloods of Faerie. But when a favorite treat of the purebloods’ that’s an addictive, deadly drug to changelings starts resulting in an increasing number of dead bodies October becomes even more confrontational…

Unfortunately for Toby, the Queen of the Mists has had enough.

This is the seventh book in the October Daye series, and several long running plotlines come together here. Start reading with Rosemary and Rue (book 1).

There’s a lot going on in this one, and again I marvel at how wonderfully McGuire has laid in the foundations of her epic in previous books. The meaning and significance of past hints become illuminated in stages in each new book, and there’s a number of significant developments in this one.

“I can’t believe I just said those words, in that order, like they meant something.”

Toby is in WAY over her head this time and the actions she takes, willing and unwilling, will have long lasting effects. There are a number of big reveals as well, with a definite feeling of escalation beyond what has come before.

I adore the way people’s strengths and weakness go hand and hand and sometimes morph in McGuire’s books. This series has many wonderful examples of it, as does her engrossing Indexing stories. Toby and her allies are extremely powerful, but not infallible and within specific, and often dire, constraints.

October Daye has become perhaps my favorite urban fantasy series of al time, and Chimes at Midnight is another tense and gripping installment with big twists and far reaching implications.

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Books Reviews

Ashes of Honor (October Daye Book 6) Review

“Nothing is ever simple or easy when Faerie meets the mortal world. There are just times when I find myself wishing it didn’t have to be quite so hard.”

October Daye may have avoided a war, but the heavy personal costs continue to haunt her as time inexorably passes in the Summerlands. But she isn’t the only one with secrets and regrets, and she may be the only one who can help her friends find an overpowered missing changeling who’s existence could be a threat to the foundations of Faerie itself.

This is the sixth book in the October Daye series, and it addresses the aftermath of major events from the prior book, One Salt Sea. Best to start with Rosemary and Rue (book 1).

“We were winging it again. That’s my favorite way to deal with crazy.”

“Winging it” is the exact opposite of McGuire’s carefully layered stories, and Ashes of Honor is incredibly well balanced. It seamlessly progresses long running story threads underneath a tense and dire current story that itself deals with major implications from One Salt Sea while introducing new concepts and complications. The adventure presented here is intriguing and captivating in its own right, and both new and old supporting cast members really shine in the spotlight.

“I’ve stood by and watched you throw yourself against the walls of the world, because I hoped the impact might shake sense back into you.”

As I alluded to above the development of story threads across these books as a series really is fantastic. There’s growth and change in both characters and environment, with real effects of the fallout of past books. McGuire knows when to let her characters breathe a bit, and when the emotions and problems they’re dealing with are too urgent to avoid or ignore. The handling of the progression of time throughout the series is masterfully done, and even the most dramatic of changes are deftly built to and executed.

As usual I’m going to avoid specifics and spoilers (and believe me avoiding talking about some of my favorite characters and their actions/antics grows more difficult book by book), but I really enjoyed this installment of October’s adventures. It both calls back to several subplots from prior books and, as with the rest before it, lays a lot of groundwork for some major things to come.

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Japan Reviews Wrestling

Merry Joshi Christmas 2019: Gatoh Move 12/22/19 Live Thoughts

December 22, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan

This was the go home Ichigaya show leading into Gatoh Move’s last big show of the year tonight at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.

As I’ve mentioned before, in a wonderful move to grow their visibility Gatoh Move has been uploading a significant number of matches with English play-by-play on their YouTube channel. two of the three matches I’ll be discussing here are impressively already up, and in such cases I’ll add a hyperlink to it in the match title.

And as I like to explain to start my Gatoh Move reviews, the Ichigaya events are held in a small room with no ring and two large windows on one wall which are removed for the shows. The crowd itself is effectively the “rope break” marker and the wrestlers will sometimes use the front row to bounce off of for “running the ropes” and the windowsills to jump off of for high risk maneuvers. The limitations of the venue restrict the action in ways compared to “normal” matches, but also provide opportunities for creative variations on standard wrestling elements.

Pictures are not allowed during the show but can be taken afterward, so my pics here won’t contain anything from the matches and will only be of the roundtable and dancing following the shows (as well as of some souvenirs).

1) Cho-un Shiryu vs Sayuri vs Sayaka

Sayuri & Sayaka will be teaming tonight to face fellow rookies Chie Koishikawa & Tokiko Kirihara, but here it was everyone for themselves in a 3-way also featuring regular visiting wrestler Cho-un.

This had amusing overtones, with the rookies insisting on working together to start but still largely unable to withstand Cho-un’s vast experience and strength advantage. And what momentum they were able to generate evaporated when they started getting in each others’s way and wanting the individual victory. Eventually Cho-un was able to pin both of his opponents simultaneously for an emphatic win after a double diving stomp.

With Sayuri & Sayaka going in to a battle with two other largely unestablished rookies the double pin bothers me less than it normally would, illustrating a bit of how far they all have to go. Cho-un’s enough of a force that it made sense, they did get to show some fire on the way, and this was a solid little 3-way that packed a fair amount of story into a short, energetic six minutes.

2) Calamari Drunken Kings (Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi) vs Emi Sakura & Lulu Pencil

Clash of two teams both in action tonight against other opponents.

The structure of this one was particularly fantastic. Lulu was thrilled to be teaming with her teacher and had herself introduced as “Emi Sakura’s student” and vice versa to Emi’s barely maintained patience. But as the match progressed Emi encouraged the struggling Lulu, and whenever she was tagged in herself she was in full bore no-nonsense mode. Her first exchange with Chris had her going for a lockup and Chris LEVELING her with a big boot instead, and the war was most definitely on from there.

Another highlight saw Sakura pick up Lulu (in full pencil pose/mode) over her shoulder and charge Chris, who sold the hit like he’d been impaled by an actual spear. And of course Takanashi was his usual masterful self throughout as well.

End here saw Chris attempting to apply an arm bar when poor Lulu, already immobilized by Chris’ legs and unable to withstand it, tapped out to give CDK the win. A confused (or perhaps just sadistic) Chris continued to pull the arm a bit as Takanashi tried to explain they’d already won and to please let Lulu go.

This was great. Strong win for CDK (even considering Lulu’s weaknesses), and there was just enough to make one hopefully that Lulu might defy the odds and win with her mentor tonight.

During the post-show roundtable Chris said this victory (his first in Ichigaya) taught him that CDK’s previous troubles in 6-person tag matches were all Rin Rin’s fault. I feel he got lucky that the statement went by so fast Rin Rin and a good portion of the audience didn’t register it enough to be properly outraged.

3) Mitsuru & Rin Rin vs Mei Suruga & Saki

In addition to having the two wrestlers facing in tonight’s main event across from each other, their partners here were one half of the reigning tag team champions and one half of the team that will be challenging them in tonight’s semi-main respectively.

Rin Rin continues to be impressive beyond her experience level, and was great here showing no fear against Saki before their title match. The interactions of Mitsuru and Mei were also a great preview for tonight as well as a solid anchor for this match to build around.

It all escalated wonderfully and was naturally paced to the point where I didn’t feel the time limit draw coming at all. Nicely done and a really strong lead in to tonight.

For one final awesome bit of fun, after Gatoh’s traditional post-show song Chris spoke up and suggested to Sakura that with a number of foreigners in the audience and the proximity to Christmas they should also do an English song, then led wrestlers and fans alike in singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

This was as usual a total blast, and I thought a particularly strong show all around. There really isn’t anything else quite like Gatoh Move and I can’t recommend checking it out live if at all possible.