Latest news with #Yamanaka
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Desert of Namibia' Review: Ups and Downs
It's rare that a movie portrays the kind of messy and absurd arguments that can unfold in relationships, so there's a special awe to seeing a movie that goes for it. Yoko Yamanaka's brilliantly observed 'Desert of Namibia' often boils over with the anger of its young protagonist, Kana (Yuumi Kawai), but it often also just simmers with her frustrations about her place in the world. Outright fights are just one facet of the film's unvarnished fidelity to Kana's state of mind. She upends parts of her life, sometimes for the better in the long run, but can't always reassemble the pieces into a satisfying future. Her boyfriend, Honda (Kanichiro), dotes on her at their shared apartment, but she lurches into another relationship with a writer, Hayashi (Daichi Kaneko), whom she's seeing on the side. Her mind-numbing job at a hair-removal salon doesn't help. What clinches the portrait is the sure-handed direction and Kana's organic performance of a daunting character. Dramatically, Yamanaka finds unpredictable ways into and out of scenes, and she has an eye for the poignant details amid the angst, like neatly packed baggies of food in a refrigerator, and for underplaying other moments, like the breeziness of a doctor who diagnoses Kana over a video call. Kana's spikiness (which recalls Kit Zauhar's similarly candid triumph 'Actual People') segues into an eventual need for stability. But Yamanaka is admirably in no hurry to simplify or explain what Kana is still sorting out for herself.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Brains Over Brawn: 10 Naruto Techniques That Weren't Meant to Kill
The world of Naruto is full of explosive jutsu, intense battles, and powerful shinobi clashing in epic ways. But not every ability in the series was designed to cause destruction. Some of the most memorable and influential jutsu were created for support, strategy, or survival — yet they turned out to be just as impactful as any Rasengan or Chidori. Here are the 10 most powerful non-combat jutsu in Naruto, ranked from bottom to top. 10. Shadow Clone Jutsu What started as a basic duplication technique quickly became Naruto's signature move. The real brilliance of Shadow Clones wasn't in fighting, but in learning. Each clone passed its experience back to the original, allowing Naruto to train at lightning speed. 9. Mind Transfer Jutsu by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Fresh input at the top-class supporting program automatica | Messe München Explore Undo Used by the Yamanaka clan, this technique allows the user to control another person's body. Though slow and risky in combat, it's perfect for gathering intel or turning the tide through precision moves. 8. Summoning Jutsu While sometimes used in battles, the real strength of summoning lies in its versatility. From bringing in giant toads for travel to summoning weapons or messengers, this jutsu was crucial throughout the series. 7. Flying Thunder God Technique Minato's teleportation jutsu changed the battlefield forever. While not a direct attack, it allowed him to move instantly across space, making him nearly untouchable and brilliant at defense and rescue. 6. Reanimation Jutsu (Edo Tensei) Originally created for research, this forbidden jutsu brought dead shinobi back with their memories and powers intact. While it became a tool for war, its roots were scientific and strategic, not combative. 5. Sealing Jutsu Vital to the Naruto story, sealing techniques were used to contain demons, suppress powers, and lock away dangerous secrets. These jutsu required immense skill and were crucial in many key moments. 4. Infinite Tsukuyomi Technically not a direct attack, this genjutsu placed the entire world under an illusion. It was a dream of peace — twisted by power. Its non-lethal nature masked its enormous consequences. 3. Sage Mode Sage Mode wasn't a jutsu for offense. It enhanced perception, sensory range, and stamina, making Naruto and Jiraiya much more aware and in tune with nature. It was about harmony, not just strength. 2. Byakugan Though often overlooked, the Byakugan 's all-seeing nature gave the Hyuga clan major advantages. It wasn't built for attack but for insight — in battle, reconnaissance, and beyond. 1. Izanagi & Izanami These forbidden Uchiha techniques blurred the line between illusion and reality. Izanagi could rewrite death, while Izanami trapped opponents in time loops. They weren't about winning battles — they were about understanding fate and accepting truth. These jutsu prove that in Naruto, not all power lies in destruction. Some of the most incredible abilities weren't about fighting at all — they were about changing the game in smarter, deeper ways.
The Guardian
08-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
The Ukrainian refugee fighting to become the first European sumo grand champion
Danylo Yavhusishyn arrived in Japan in April 2022 as a teenage refugee from the war in Ukraine, unable to speak a word of the language and uncertain how long he would be separated from his family. This weekend, the 20-year-old will make his debut in the top division of the ancient sport of sumo wrestling, after rising through the ranks with record speed. 'I'm more excited than nervous,' he told reporters and fans in a public appearance ahead of a major tournament in Osaka. Brimming with confidence, he added: 'I'm looking forward to competing against tough opponents. I want to win more than 10 bouts and win one of the three awards [for exceptional performances].' Now known by his Japanese ring name Aonishiki Arata, the Ukrainian wrestler recently won promotion to sumo's highest level when he ended the New Year's tournament in Tokyo with 12 wins and just three losses. It took him just nine tournaments to reach the top tier of Japan's de facto national sport – an accomplishment that ties him with two other wrestlers for the fastest ascent through all six divisions since 1958, when sumo adopted its current format of six grand tournaments, or basho, a year. On Sunday, he will start 15 days of bouts at the Osaka basho as the No. 15 maegashira, the most junior rank in the elite makuuchi division, but from where some sumo watchers believe he will mount a campaign to become the first European yokozuna grand champion. Aonishiki, who is 182cm in height and weighs a relatively modest 136kg, discovered sumo as a boy, practising judo and freestyle wrestling before encountering sumo athletes visiting his gym in Ukraine from Japan. Grappling, Japanese style, quickly became his athletic calling. In 2019, he finished third at the junior world sumo championships in Osaka, in a tournament that would one day give him a means of escaping the Ukraine conflict and shape his future as a professional wrestler. There he met the Japanese wrestler Arata Yamanaka, then captain of the sumo team at Kansai university, and the two stayed in touch via social media. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Aonishiki, who had recently fled to Germany with his parents, reached out to Yamanaka, whose family agreed to host the Ukrainian teenager. He was given permission to train at the university despite not being enrolled as a student. 'I had only met [Yamanaka] once in person and he welcomed me, even though I couldn't speak a word of Japanese,' Aonishiki told the Kyodo news agency last year. 'I was surprised when he said OK. If it had been the other way around, I would have refused.' Aonishiki, who took the first name Arata as a tribute to his Japanese friend and mentor, added: 'Thanks to him, I was able to come to Japan and meet so many people. If I hadn't met him, I wouldn't be who I am today.' Eight months after he arrived in Japan, Aonishiki joined the Ajigawa stable in eastern Tokyo to train under former wrestler Aminishiki. Despite experiencing culture shock and anxiety over the fate of his home country, 'Danya' – as his friends nicknamed him – was a dominant force in the university sumo ring, according to contemporaries, defeating heavier opponents using his physical strength and faultless technique. 'I have never beaten Danya formally in any of my 200 bouts against him,' Akihiro Sakamoto, 21, a former captain of the Kansai University sumo team, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. Aonishiki has risen through the ranks since his professional debut in September 2023, accumulating winning records in successive tournament, as his hair grew long enough to be tied into a top knot, while the addition of extra kilos has made him an even tougher proposition. 'Danya will end up becoming a yokozuna,' Sakamoto told the Asahi. 'He's formidable.' As he prepared for a tournament late last year, with yet another promotion in sight, Aonishiki, who is now fluent in the language of his adopted home, said he was fighting for the 'Japanese family' who had helped him since he fled Ukraine. His feats have not gone unnoticed in Ukraine, which had already produced another top-flight wrestler, Shishi. Writing in the Ukrainian Weekly, the sports journalist Ihor Stelmach said Aonishiki, a native of the city of Vinnytsia, had 'capitalised on his opportunity to the point of being mentioned as a potential future European sumo wrestler at the top of Japan's national sport'. More than 2,700 Ukrainians sought refuge in Japan after the Russian invasion as part of a scheme launched by the Japanese government that entitles them to working visas and long-term residency. Almost 2,000 remain. In a survey last year by the Nippon Foundation, which has provided living and other expenses to Ukrainian refugees, 39% said they wanted to stay in Japan 'for as long as possible', while 34% said they wanted to return home once the situation there had stabilised. Showing the kind of humility expected of sumo wrestlers, Aonishiki attempted to play down his achievement after fighting his way into the sport's elite, telling reporters: 'All I've done is follow my stablemaster's instructions.'
