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November 21, 2024
 

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Roland Kelts
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Dec 2, 2019
Gkids brings anime's best to big screens in the U.S.
Though relatively unheralded, Gkids scored the rights to U.S. re-releases of the work of anime giants — including Isao Takahata and Makoto Shinkai — by only showing them in cinemas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 3, 2019
U.S. anime market matures in 2019
With collaboration between nations increasing, the U.S. is seeing new opportunities in its anime market
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Aug 11, 2019
'Cannon Busters': Bending anime rules in all the right ways
When LeSean Thomas saw director Katsuhiro Otomo working through the night in a behind-the-scenes documentary of the anime 'Akira,' he thought: 'That's what I want to do.' Now, 20 years later, Thomas' 'Cannon Busters' is debuting on Netflix.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 4, 2019
Anime's aging but active artists: Mamoru Oshii on his latest project, 'Vladlove'
Writer and director Mamoru Oshii is best known for creating sci-fi thrillers that challenge orthodoxy with their philosophical musings and provocative, often nutty, imagery. His most famous film, the 1995 anime epic "Ghost in the Shell," features a stone-cold cyborg heroine who dives nude off a skyscraper...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 30, 2019
Why Hollywood doesn't yet get anime
When it comes to Hollywood's versions of Japanese content, most fans return to the originals and wonder: Why can't they get it right? Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner sheds some light on the West's cultural misreading of anime and manga.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 2, 2019
When Japan strikes the right chord
From missionary work in Kagoshima Prefecture to creating arrangements for Joe Hisaishi's 'Ni no Kuni' film score, composer Chad Cannon talks about his affinity with Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
May 5, 2019
New 'Ultraman' anime is a family affair
Now a proud father of an slightly insecure superhero son, Ultraman has evolved not only stylistically but also emotionally for the new Netflix anime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 10, 2019
#MeToo allegations roil U.S. anime conventions
Over the past two months, the #MeToo movement breached the American anime convention industry. Most feel it was inevitable. Many say it's about time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 3, 2019
The story behind anime localization
'The structure of Japanese storytelling does not adhere to a strict three acts. At times, the story meanders and takes the viewer on a seemingly unrelated path. ... Characterizations are richer, deeper, darker. Plots are often complex and convoluted, serving primarily as vessels to display incredible visuals.' — Mary Claypool, anime localization expert
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jan 6, 2019
Second chance for Japan's manga museum
While official Japan may be slow to act on the appeal of its otaku mavens, the rest of the world appears keen to embrace manga and anime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Dec 23, 2018
Hayao Miyazaki: The never-ending story
In September 2013, animator Hayao Miyazaki said: 'Through the years I have frequently talked about retiring, so many of you are perhaps wondering if this time I am really sincere. I am.' But was he?
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 25, 2018
Netflix anime welcomes the dark side
As manga artist Go Nagai celebrates the 50th anniversary of 'Shameless School,' first published in the debut edition of Shonen Jump magazine, Netflix releases his 'Devilman Crybaby' as an anime series.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Oct 27, 2018
Defining the Heisei Era: When anime and manga went global
The Heisei Era commenced after two gods fell in rapid succession. The first, Emperor Hirohito, was no longer officially a god, having repudiated his quasi-divine status under the terms of Japan's surrender in World War II, but he remained god-like in stature. His January death in 1989 at age 87 signaled...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 22, 2018
Motherhood in modern anime
'I still feel the loneliness of being hikikomori. Maybe I'm successful, maybe not. I can't tell. But I still feel the loneliness. The only difference now is that I can express my loneliness, my pain, and all those feelings in my writing. They don't go to waste.' — Screenwriter, author and anime director Mari Okada
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 24, 2018
Can Japanese 'light novels' remain publishing heavyweights?
Two years ago, light novel publisher Kadokawa added Thailand to its list of foreign publishing investments, which already includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and the United States. Now there are signs that English-language readers are catching on.
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 27, 2018
Will digital piracy ruin the future of manga?
Author and manga translator Frederik L. Schodt once pointed out to me that many of Japan's cultural products are embraced abroad just as they are declining at home. Ukiyo-e prints became the rage in Europe in the late 19th century, nearly 100 years after they'd peaked in Edo and Kyoto. Sake sales have...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Apr 22, 2018
Japan's pop culture and literature drive soft power
Anime, manga and Haruki Murakami may form an unlikely trinity, but outside of Japan they're responsible for filling Japanese Studies departments and sprawling convention halls with generations of the devoted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 25, 2018
Netflix is animated about anime
Netflix's director of anime, Taito Okiura, tells me he feels like a local baseball player who got drafted into the U.S. Major Leagues. Except, he doesn't play the sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Dec 24, 2017
Foreign anime artists still face a long haul
In an interview with Buzzfeed two years ago, American animator Henry Thurlow, who had moved to Tokyo from New York six years earlier, summed up his dilemma. "When I was working as an animator in New York, I could afford an apartment, buy stuff and had time to 'live a life,'" he said. "Now (in Japan)...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 26, 2017
Diana Garnet sings the praises of anime
It has become one of the most common questions I'm asked after talks at anime conventions in the United States: How can I get a job in the Japanese pop culture industry — not here, but in Japan?
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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