Culture | Culture Smash Apr 10, 2013

Pop tourism gains traction

by Roland Kelts

Pre-flight shopping at Narita airport a couple of weeks ago, I passed a mannequin sporting a light-blue necktie and a turquoise wig with pig tails dangling down to its mini skirt. The vision spoke volumes: It was Hatsune Miku, of course, Japan’s holographic, animated ...

Openings outside Tokyo Mar 21, 2013

'Kunio Okawara: Mechanic Design'

by Tomohiro Osaki

Kunio Okawara’s robot designs have appeared in many widely loved Japanese anime series, including “Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman,” (“Science Ninja Team Gatchaman”) and “Kido Senshi Gandamu” (“First Gundam”). He is often praised for designing complicated and versatile robots that are also detailed enough to appear ...

Art Feb 8, 2013

The unexpected awaits at Media Arts Festival

by Tomohiro Osaki

When asked to describe his latest film in one word, director Shunichiro Miki repeated what most cinema critics worldwide had said after their own somewhat botched attempts to describe it: "Indescribable."

Review Sep 28, 2012

'Ashura (Asura)'

by Mark Schilling

An anime with a sad-eyed waif as the hero must surely be something for the kiddies, no? Well no, if the waif carries a blood-stained axe and greedily devours human flesh like a starved wolf. Keiichi Sato’s feature animation “Ashura (Asura),” whose eponymous hero ...

Events Outside Tokyo Sep 21, 2012

Dual events summon anime fans to Kyoto

by Tomohiro Osaki

Residents of Kyoto Prefecture may be used to the local bursts of festivity that come around this time of year. What’s new, though, may be the sudden influx of excited anime enthusiasts. This year will mark the city’s fourth time hosting a three-month-long exposition ...

Review Jul 20, 2012

'Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children)'

by Mark Schilling

Mamoru Hosoda is a leading contender to succeed Hayao Miyazaki for the title of anime master of masters — the one everyone in the industry, Japanese or foreign, looks up to and steals from. The Miyazaki influence on Hosoda’s own work seems obvious, from ...

Review Jun 24, 2012

A woman's world

by David Burleigh

PASSIONATE FRIENDSHIP: The Aesthetics of Girls’ Culture in Japan, by Deborah Shamoon. Univ. of Hawai’i Press, 2012, 181 pp., $27.00 (paperback) The subject of this book is one that is baffling to outsiders, but visible on the streets of Tokyo, especially the more fashionable ...

Review Apr 13, 2012

'Momo e no Tegami (A Letter to Momo)'

by Mark Schilling

By the time I entered college, my family had moved house seven times. The process of adjusting to a new place grew harder as I became a teenager, though by the time of our last move I was more accepting — or indifferent, take ...

Events Outside Tokyo Mar 23, 2012

Yearly anime fairs a must for die-hard fans

by Henry Wong

Tokyo’s otaku (geek) hub of Akihabara might be empty for the next two weekends as two major anime events hit the capital. The Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) will be first. Popular companies such as Studio Ghibli, Toei and Bandai are among those with ...

Openings outside Tokyo Mar 15, 2012

"Eshi 100: Contemporary Japanese Illustration in Kyoto"

by Henry Wong

Eshi are illustrators who work within various fields of Japan’s pop culture, such as manga, anime and games, all of which have become increasingly popular around the world. This exhibition is an extended version of the “Eshi 100″ show that was held in Tokyo’s ...