Tag Archives: Japan

Even Gundams Get Snowed On

This is a life-sized, 1:1 model Gundam (making it going on 60 feet in height) that exists in real life in Japan. Gundam was Japan’s first “realistic” (that is, realistic style) leading robot in Japanese animation (i.e. anime). You can … Continue reading

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Buried In Various Ways

If you haven’t heard, Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, has been hit by the biggest snowfall since scientific records began there in 1949. The snow was so heavy that the weather measuring gear broke. They’re talking about mounds of up to … Continue reading

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Vexing and Taxing Problems in Japan

This report from the Daily Telegraph (UK, no pay wall) tells us that Japan Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda wants to call a snap election if the Diet will not pass bills required to double their currently 5% sales tax to … Continue reading

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A Short Tale of a Novel

It had taken me many years, but I finally tracked down the first novel of the Record of Lodoss War novels. I’d seen the OVA years before and was a great fan of it for many reasons. It took a … Continue reading

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When Japanese Corp Culture Goes Bad

A Sobering Report Those interested in Japan should take a good look at this story by Reuters, titled Special Report: The masterminds of the Olympus coverup. I’ll paste two key paragraphs here due to cultural importance, because this really shows … Continue reading

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Sensei’s Corner, Dec. 9, 2011

Nothing Bad It’s been a while since I’ve been writing in this blog, but it’s not really because of anything bad. Actually, a number of minor and major problems have been fixed so I feel like I have the luxury … Continue reading

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On Pacific Media Expo

I helped a friend who is attending Pacific Media Expo (“PMX”) in Los Angeles in her quest to connect manga and comic book culture from both East and West, and along the way, help the people affected by the 3/11 … Continue reading

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On Sacred Seven

Sacred Seven is a 12-episode anime by Sunrise with high quality imagery in a “tokusatsu” style, reflective of popular shows like Kamen Rider, but with the sweeping visual power anime can provide. It is a little about love, a lot … Continue reading

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On Katanagatari

Katanagatari (“Katana Tale”) is ostensibly about swords, but it is really about people. It is epic in various senses. It is 12 episodes of 50 minutes. It is beautiful, yet simple; frivolous, yet deadly serious. It is an experience. It … Continue reading

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Kobe Beef

A Somewhat Modern Tradition Until the Meiji Restoration, consumption of beef had been banned in Japan for about a thousand years! This reflected not only Buddhist cultural prejudices, but to keep penalties severe in case anyone was tempted to slaughter … Continue reading

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