I am often asked if the musical references and songs that I include in the Reiko Watanabe/Inspector Aizawa series are real. Well, the answer is ‘yes’ and I have the reciepts to prove it.
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History
Otto Eckhart’s Ordeal Review
Otto Eckhart’s Ordeal is a historical novel by Nail Edworthy, dealing with the Nazi hunt for the Holy Grail. It answers the question, ‘what if
Indiana Jones was told through the Nazis’ point of view?’
City of Devils Review & Paul French Interview
1930s Shanghai has long captivated people for its lurid underworld, usually presented in the form of the notorious Green Gang. However, there was a brief period in Old Shanghai where a new batch of gangsters rose to prominence, and their story is told in Paul French’s City of Devils.
[Read more…] about City of Devils Review & Paul French Interview
China Dawn by Robert L. Duncan Novel Review
China Dawn by Robert L. Duncan is a historical epic novel from 1988, spanning the years of 1931 to 1981, moving through various locations, from Tokyo to Shanghai, to Manchukuo, to Singapore, to Paris.
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Babylon Berlin Season 3 Review
Babylon Berlin returns for a third season, taking us back to the hectic and hedonistic days of 1929 Berlin. This season (or series as the Brits 
say; staffel fur die Deutschen) follows Detective Gereon Rath and his assistant/sidekick Charlotte Ritter as they investigate the strange murders on a movie set, committed by a mysterious and nightmarish Phantom. With them are enough side characters and subplots to give Deadwood a run for its money.
5 Japanese War Movie Recommendations
Japanese cinema has never gained widespread acceptance in the West, save for Godzilla and Kurosawa films. But those are only a tiny pinprick of Japanese films, which cover all genres, including war. Aside from Tora Tora Tora and Letter From Iwo Jima, there haven’t been many movies that show war from a Japanese perspective that have gained traction in the West. I’d like to change that with 5 Japanese war movie recommendations.
Memoirs of Japanese Assassins (1969) Movie Review
Memoirs of Japanese Assassins in an anthology film from 1969 and directed by Sadao Nakajima, which dramatizes famous assassinations in modern Japanese history. Needless to say, I loved it.
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The March Incident of 1931 – Japanese History
1931 was an important year in Japanese history. Casual research of this era will have a brief overview of the invasion of Manchuria in September, and vague references to a coup d’état which put the Army in charge. In truth, there was no armed coup d’état in 1931, at least none that were successful. However, the March Incident (Sangatsu Jiken 三月事件) came close.
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7 Edogawa Ranpo Recommendations
Edogawa Ranpo has become synonymous with Japanese horror and mystery fiction. Using a pen name based off of Edgar Allen Poe, (try saying it three times fast), the author Taro Hirai wrote many short stories and novels as Edogawa Ranpo (sometimes Romanized as Rampo). Like his namesake, Ranpo wrote mostly horror and mystery stories, basically introducing the genres into Japanese literature. While Ranpo has a plethora of material to choose from, here are my recommendations on where to start with his writing and films based off his work.