Kill la Kill, at first glance, looks like one of those shows designed for horny teen boys by a horny teen boy. Nearly naked women battle each other for the pleasure of male onlookers. Only Kill la Kill has far more to it than that. I will be honest. At first watch, this anime made…
The Art of Blogging – How to Blog Well
There are countless blogs about blogging. In fact, it seems more people blog about blogging than they blog about anything else. So what can I add to the mess? I already wrote an article about anime blogging and an article about copyright considerations. So what more is there to add? Oh, there is much more…
Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan
Japan and the United States share a unique relationship on the global stage. This site has covered some historical aspects of that relationship, from the post war reconstruction of Japan that bred a work culture resulting in the phenomenon of karoshi to the infamous kamikazes of World War II and how they came to be…
The White Hare of Inaba
Long, long ago, when all the animals could talk, there lived in the province of Inaba in Japan, a little white hare. His home was on the island of Oki, and just across the sea was the mainland of Inaba. Now the hare wanted very much to cross over to Inaba. Day after day he…
Japanese Cults–Koji Takahashi and the Life Space Movement
Japan, like any other country, has its share of odd religious movements. Better known as cults, these groups live on the fringes of society, preying on people who find themselves in a vulnerable position in life. In the last twenty or thirty years, Japan has become a fertile breeding ground for cults and fringe religions…
Sword Art Online II – Thoughts on Social Technology
Not since Ghost in the Shell has an anime series stirred my inner technologist. Sword Art Online plays with some of the same ideas as Ghost but in the opposite direction. Instead of only pulling people into the digital realm SAO plays with the idea of pulling the virtual world into ours. At first, I…