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November 21, 2024
 

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Matt Schley
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2019
'School-Live!': Zombie flick lands dead on arrival
A manga series whose time in the public consciousness peaked years ago? Check. A cast of idol singers whose acting chops are questionable at best? Check. A script in dire need of a rewrite? Check. You guessed it: It's time for another manga-to-live-action adaptation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jan 24, 2019
Anime Feminist: Tackling anime's gender bias
Over the past few years, there has been more mainstream recognition of the idea that discourse is better served when it is expanded outside the sole realm of heterosexual, white, cisgender men. That's true of major forums, and no less true when it comes to niche media, including the world of anime fandom....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2019
'The Relative Worlds': A rough ride across two universes
The concept of parallel universes is a fascinating one. What if there was another you out there, making the big bucks, fighting in a war or writing bad poetry? And what would happen if you and your alternate self were ever to meet up?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 10, 2019
As the heavyweights return, will 2019 be a smash year for anime?
When looking forward to the coming year in anime, it may be helpful to jump in the time machine and hop back to 2016. That's the year Japan was hit with a flood of smash original anime films, including the sleeper hit "In This Corner of the World" and Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name." By the time 2016 was...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 13, 2018
Anime in 2018 saw serious cash but no surprise hits
What do a 24-year-old child detective, a group of seriously laid-back campers and anthropomorphic blood cells have in common? 2018, that's what.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 20, 2018
Kyoto gears up for a film festival — rain or shine
It may be a spring chicken compared to its film festival siblings in Tokyo, Yamagata and elsewhere, but the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival has reached an important milestone: its fifth anniversary.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2018
'In Pursuit of Silence': A documentary looks at what it'll take to finally get some peace and quiet
The 1964 tune "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel is a bona fide classic, but it never really identifies just what this "sound of silence" is. That task instead falls to "In Pursuit of Silence," the documentary about this surprisingly hard-to-pin-down aural quality and why it's worth...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 5, 2018
'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas': An eye-catching title doesn't make up for over-the-top sentimentality
The most interesting thing about "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" is its title.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2018
'Ponoc Short Films Theatre, Vol. 1: Modest Heroes': An anime studio's modest break with norms
"Modest Heroes" studio Ponoc was founded by producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, formerly of Ghibli, just as that legendary anime studio decided to cool its jets back in 2014. Ponoc's debut feature, last year's "Mary and the Witch's Flower," established it as a kind of Ghibli 2, a place where Ghibli alums could...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2018
'Penguin Highway': What goes up must come down ... in penguin form
There's something about the playful, magical realist novels of Tomihiko Morimi that seems to lend itself to animated adaptations. Those adaptations include TV series like "The Tatami Galaxy" ("Yojohan Shinwa Taikei") and "The Eccentric Family" ("Uchoten Kazoku"), plus last year's film "The Night is Short,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2018
'Flavors of Youth': A China-focused anthology falls flat
So-called anthology films, made up of multiple shorts based around the same theme, are a staple of the anime industry and are generally created to a) give young directors a chance, b) show off what studios are capable of, or c) keep a director or studio in the public consciousness between full-length...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 25, 2018
'Mirai': Mamoru Hosoda's latest anime is for the young at heart
Though anime director Mamoru Hosoda rarely diverges from his pet theme of family, the scale of his movies rises and falls like the tide. "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (2006) was an intimate tale of high school life, "Summer Wars" (2009) dealt with the fate of the entire planet, "Wolf Children" (2012)...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 16, 2018
'Akira': Looking back at the future
On the 30th anniversary of the release of the animated version of 'Akira' in Japan, we examine the enduring legacy of Katsuhiro Otomo's sci-fi classic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 15, 2018
The enduring appeal of 'Akira,' the manga
Katsuhiro Otomo's cyberpunk masterpiece, 'Akira,' has gone through multiple English-language incarnations throughout the years, but reader demand has never wavered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 14, 2018
The pain and the passion that fueled the creation of 'Akira'
When I tell Kuni Tomita the anime classic "Akira" turns 30 years old this month, she shakes her head and laughs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 14, 2018
My deep dive into 'Akira' only scratched the surface of its legacy
A few months ago, I proposed to the editors at The Japan Times that we do a piece paying tribute to the classic cyberpunk anime film "Akira," which turns 30 years old on July 16. They were enthusiastic and the pitch ballooned (not unlike Tetsuo in the film's final scene) from a single article to an "Akira"-themed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2018
'Akira' soundtrack featured music worthy of a visual masterpiece
A crack of thunder. Pulsing polyrhythmic percussion. The roar of a passing motorcycle. A haunting symphonic chorus.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 13, 2018
Reshaping the sound of Neo-Tokyo for 'Akira'
If you were watching anime in English in the 1990s and 2000s, chances are you've heard a dub recorded by Les Claypool III. Some of the films and series that passed through Claypool's studio, Magnitude 8 Post, include "Macross Plus," "Ghost in the Shell" and "Cowboy Bebop." In 2001, Pioneer Entertainment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 12, 2018
Collecting 'Akira,' one scene at a time
Joe Peacock vividly remembers the first time he saw "Akira," the influential sci-fi anime film that turns 30 this month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 11, 2018
Speak Japanese like a biker punk from the future with 'Akira'
Those looking to give their Japanese a bit of biker edge could do worse than take in a screening of the classic sci-fi anime 'Akira.'
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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