By Fernando Ramos

In the small pool of prominent anime directors, Mamoru Oshii seldom requires introduction. In a medium largely defined by a narrow set of frequently parroted visual tropes, his geometrical compositions, calculated pacing and obsession with basset hounds are in a league of their own. For crying out loud, this is the man who managed to smuggle Hitler and Christ into Urusei Yatsura and turned Mas...

By Patrick Macias

Now that's what I call ART: Nirasawa's creepy creatures! Document Four: “Mysterious Thief - Electromagnetic Transmission Burglar” *Spoilers* Being sick on your own in Japan can be a drag. I know the hard way because that was me a few weeks back, suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous food poisoning, laying in bed wishing someone else could go and get me some food and medicine. But when ...

By Patrick Macias

Food, folks, and fun (as well as slot machines and statues of one's self) are always on tap at the Antonio Inoki Saka-Bar. Document Three: “Blitzkrieg Magic Battle! A Program of Assassination” The question of the age: Whatever happened to Tokyo Terminal Diary? Why, it seemed like only a few weeks ago I was hitting new standards of Japan reportage with my complaints about the summer heat and ho...

By Fernando Ramos

“Comiket vs. Comic-Con International: both have “comic/k” in the name, one is still all [about] them.” - Lea Hernandez, comic artist and former Vice President General Products USA It’s telling that San Diego Comic-Con is almost always framed in the context of a celebration. A time to meet friends, make new ones and have the time of your life while getting within feet of the current celebrities...

By Erin Finnegan

These were my personal goals for Otakon 2010: • Give a panel – Failed! (I was wait listed.) • Record a group podcast – Accomplished! (I'll have it online eventually.) • Interview Felipe Smith for my podcast and/or this website – Failed! • Interview Michael Sinterniklaas for my podcast – Failed! • Have a Ninja Consultant Podcast meet-up – Success! I put in a formal request through the conventio...

By David Cabrera

Not to say it’s exactly all the rage with the kids these days ( Hetalia’s over that way), but in the last couple years Japanese (or riichi, or reach) mahjong has become a very small trend in the Western otaku culture. If you’ve watched Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s Akagi psychologically dismantle a man or the girls of Saki quiver and make eyes at each other at the mahjong table, you might have gotten cu...