Cartoons are usually seen as harmless entertainment for children. Other than the occasional kerfuffle over violence, most parents have no problems allowing their children to sit and watch the latest adventures of their favorite animated characters. The Pokemon cartoon was among the most popular animated children’s show of the 1990s. The show, which was based…
Category: Culture
The Karakuri Ningyo–Japan’s Clockwork Puppets
The Japanese fascination with robots might seem strange to outsiders. After all, an entire genre of manga and anime is devoted to giant robots slugging it out (a genre that, for some reason, also likes to make weird Jungian segues into madness.) Additionally, Japan leads the world in the field of robotics. A brief look…
The Kamikaze–Japan’s Three Divine Winds
Japan’s turbulent history was marked by a series of internal wars among various noble factions, vying for the title of Shogun. While most of its history was spent fighting itself, the greatest threat to Japan came from outside, in the guise of Kublai Khan. Grandson of the infamous Ghengis Khan, Kublai succeeded to the throne…
An Ancient Science Fiction Story: The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child
Modern Japan is well known for its fascination with all things robotic. This is rooted deep in their history, when they used clockwork puppets called the Karakuri Ninyao to play out folk stories during religious festivals. Like their preoccupation with robots, the Japanese are well known for their contributions to science fiction. Famous science fiction…
Rockabilly in Japan, Baby
Rockabillies – or as we call them in the States: Greasers – is a fashion style that can still be found in Harajuku district in Tokyo. The rockabilly (or rokabiri in Japanese) is a strange import from America. Despite being in the style of Greasers, the fashion has roots in country and western music, dating…
Midoricon 2014 Coverage Pt. 2-Interview with Marble Hornets/THAC
At Midoricon 2014, I had the chance to sit down with Troy, Tim, and Joseph, the creators and stars of the amazing YouTube series Marble Hornets, to talk about their future projects, Luke Skywalker’s GoPro camera, and other things. Was there any point in time that you were tired of the series and wanted to…