Outside: the devil himself would recoil from such heat! Document one: “Prelude to the Japanese Islands Fragmentation Plan” Oh hey. It’s Patrick. Hello from the floor of a tiny shower/bathroom in an apartment somewhere on the west side of Tokyo. Welcome to my office, my …Read more »
So trains are everywhere in Japan. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has heard the ping-ping-ping-ping of a Hideaki Anno or Makoto Shinkai sepia-tinged railroad crossing. Japan loves its trains and with good reason. Anyone who has endured the dirtiness of a …Read more »
“It’s a quiet night,” a very kind gent, by the name of Jab, with a predilection for gadgets, geek talk and some stylish bug-eyed contact lenses said as he surveyed the scene. It was a sentiment being echoed throughout the night. Meanwhile, your intrepid reporter …Read more »
It’s cheap, it’s delicious and it fuels college dorms. It cooks in three minutes and if you put tabasco sauce and lime in it, it becomes down right holy. Yes, we’re talking about Instant Ramen, that import so ubiquitous that many often forget it’s Japanese. …Read more »
The first day the Gundam Café opened up on the side of the (in)famous Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station, there was a true carnivale spirit in the air. Fans lined up out the door, couples in full cosplay gear from all eras, and there …Read more »
Winter is a depressing time to be in Japan. Most of the trees are brown, leafless skeletons and the weather is bitterly cold. As someone from San Diego, home of the everlasting summer, this is double-plus ungood. For those living in Japan, the only thing …Read more »
About that headline... there's good news and there's bad news. The bad news is you're not going to be able to stroll over to Universal Studios and hop on the Going Merry any time soon; pardon the disappointment. The good news is anyone near the …Read more »
Watching the first two New People Artist Series documentaries back to back is quite the experience. NEW PEOPLE in San Francisco showed both Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama I Love ME Tuesday night; for 2.5X the price of a normal ticket, attendees received …Read more »
If you've ever spent a semester in college and suffered a fit of procrastination, you have probably felt exactly like this series' protagonist, Satou Tatsuhiro, on some level or other. Pressed with the stresses of college classes and the outside world, and left on his own …Read more »
Photos by Daniel Eggert "Is it love that makes my heart go BOOM BOOM BOOM?" Nope, not this time (but props if you get the reference) -- it's the "sensational kawaii," Harajuku stylings of 6%DOKIDOKI, available live in the states for a limited time only …Read more »
I had set my alarm for 8:00, but ended up waking up around 7:00, perky with J-pop glee. It was a lot like Christmas, only instead of a tree incubating brightly wrapped packages, I got a building in San Francisco's Japantown made of windows, full …Read more »
This is quite the feast to return to after taking a break and having... quite the feast. With Thanksgiving behind us, we can now turn our heads back to things we're truly thankful for... like ONE-METER TALL TOYS. Yes, you read that right, and as …Read more »
Not too long ago, we passed along word that one of developer Level5's 10th anniversary projects was a DS collaboration with legendary anime house Studio Ghibli. Unfortunately, such a titillating announcement was only accompanied with a small image from the title, leaving everyone wondering what …Read more »
So! Everyone already knows that maid cafes have become really popular in Japan, right? Did you know that "shops with maids in them" don't have to just be cafes? Now in Japan, the Otaku Empire, there are all sorts of stores with maids working in …Read more »
Well, in this issue, I'm going to introduce you to Japan's subcultures—not just cosplay, but I'm also going to show you what my life is like! First off, let's talk about the Supersonic Warrior G-Five television drama, in which I appear as an actress. Everyone, …Read more »
Patrick Macias
Fernando Ramos
Joseph Luster
Emily Balistrieri
Julian Gnam
![Tales of One-Meter Toys [Evangelion]](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/evatoy-202x202.jpg)
![Tales of One-Meter Toys [Evangelion]](https://otakuusamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/evatoy.jpg)
Yunmao Ayakawa