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188 results, page 1 of 4
Of Boys and Men
I’ve often written about the struggles of men here on JP. Japan leads the United States and the West when it comes to social problems. This also applies…
Hanasaku Iroha
Anime often does character studies and coming-of-age stories well. Hanasaku Iroha centers on Ohana Matsumae who is sent from Tokyo to live with a grandmother she had never…
Discussing “The Lady Who Loved Insects”
The Lady Who Loved Insects is a charming short story set in the Heian period. The story follows a young noble woman who has intellectual interests, such as…
Facelift and Code Tweaks
After some work, I’ve finished a much-needed layout change and tweaked a lot of background code. Hopefully, it will make JP load faster for mobile readers. Google recently…
JAXA, The Japanese NASA
JAXA, or The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, formed in 2003 with the mergers of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the National Aerospace Laboratory, and the National…
Are Fans Entitled?
Steve Shives, a Star Trek YouTuber, released a video titled “Fan Service Leads to Fan Entitlement” where he outlines how catering to fans causes problems. He argues that…
Stranger in the Shogun’s City by Amy Stanley
History tends to represent the voices of men and those in power. Typically, governmental officials, who are most often men, know how to read and write. And those…
Geishas and the Floating World: Inside Tokyo’s Yoshiwara Pleasure District
Geishas and the Floating World by Stephen and Ethel Longstreet examines the history and development of Tokyo’s red-light district of Yoshiwara. The name of the book misleads a…
Parallel World Pharmacy Review
Parallel World Pharmacy takes a different direction from the usual isekai. When medical researcher Kanji Yakutani dies from karoshi, he wakes up to find himself reborn in a…
The Internet’s Spoiler Culture
Every week, some upcoming video game is leaked to the Internet. Either you have an entire ROM (read only memory) drop of the game, or leaks of screenshots…
After-Anime Sadness, Emotion Validity, and Responsibility
My article 5 Ways to Handle After-Anime Depression surprised me with the amount of comments people have posted. Feeling sad or empty after finishing a story that resonates…
Sketching Taoism’s Influence on Japan
Taoism, or Daoism depending on which transliteration system you want to use, like many Chinese imports, mixed with Japan’s culture and the native religion Shinto. Although calling Shinto…
My Top 5 Nostalgic Anime
Nostalgia has a bad reputation online. It is looked down upon because it isn’t objective. I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea of nostalgia goggles: the idea that…
The Value of Calm Silence
Because speech emerges externally from internal activity, whenever you are restless you speak thoughtlessly. You’re apt to be garrulous and flippant, speaking immoderately, talking too much, perhap…
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun Review
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun surprised me. As long-time readers know, it’s a rare comedy to make me chuckle. Kaguya-sama: Love is War is one of the most recent surprises.…
Using Anime to Heal
To say the past two years of 2020-2022 has been difficult for many people doesn’t do justice. Many people have lost loved ones, suffered mental difficulties, lost income,…
The Delicate Happiness of “The Guest Cat”
The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide focuses on a childless couple who is adopted by the neighbor’s cat. The novella offers a detailed slice of life set in the…
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
The Rape of Nanking covers the destruction of present-day Nanjing City by the Japanese during World War II. The book doesn’t hold back. In several chapters, I had…
No More Wars: the Edo Period’s Final Rebellions
After Japan was unified under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and finished with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa government declared there would be no more wars. The final war is…
Sugoi Summer – TokyoTreat Box Review
Ichigo, the parent company of SakuraCo and TokyoTreat, asked me to review a TokyoTreat box. If you aren’t familiar with TokyoTreat, it’s a monthly subscription service that sends…
The Nature of Online Piracy
You’ve most likely broken the law by downloading something illegally. In fact, more than an estimated 75% of computers have at least one illegally downloaded file, and 22%…
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie
Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie addresses interesting themes. Let’s get to them! But first, the summary for those who haven’t seen the anime yet. Not Just a Cutie…
11 Steps to Stop Being an Incel
Incels, or involuntary celibates, are men with an unhealthy view of women and of life. Many, of course, would disagree with that statement. They view themselves as more…
Interviews with Monster Girls, A Review
Interviews with Monster Girls follows a biology teacher named Tetsuo Takahashi as he teaches three demi (or demi-human) high-school girls. He also tries to understand them better, including…
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Kaguya-sama: Love is War shares a lot of similarities with Seinfeld. Seinfeld made a fuss out of nothing, such as waiting to be seated in a Chinese restaurant.…
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War Season 3
Kaguya-sama: Love is War shares a lot of similarities with Seinfeld. Seinfeld made a fuss out of nothing, such as waiting to be seated in a Chinese restaurant.…
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War Final Season
Kaguya-sama: Love is War shares a lot of similarities with Seinfeld. Seinfeld made a fuss out of nothing, such as waiting to be seated in a Chinese restaurant.…
Basho’s Travel Memoir, “The Narrow Road of the Interior”
Matsuo Basho is known for his haiku, poetry consisting of 17 syllables divided into lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. However, he is also famous for his…
5 Books Lovers of Japan Need to Read
The following list of books are must reads for those who are interested in Japanese culture, anime, and manga. This list focuses on important events and sections of…
Why Do I Write? A Personal Post
I love books. As a kid, I’d devour every book I got my hands on, and I read far above my grade level. In fifth grade,…
Examining Animation: Marin’s Embarrassment
During one scene in My Dress-up Darling, Marin stands in a bikini while Wakana takes her measurements so he can make her cosplay outfits. At one point, Marin’s…
For the Love of the Hobby: How Not to be the Best
I feel the drive to be the best, or at least be good, at everything I do. Beyond being impractical–after all, no one can be good at everything…
Eastern Wisdom in a Modern Context
The wisdom of Japan and China remains valuable for us today. Like the wisdom of Stoicism, we can look toward the past for lessons on how to live…
Darwin’s Game
Darwin’s Game reverses the isekai premise: it brings the game into the real world. Kaname Sudo stumbles into the death game blindly and must learn how to survive.…
Can Anime Show Sexual Assault Ethically?
A reader posed the question that serves as the title for the article, along with several other difficult and important questions. Long-time readers know I’ve addressed anime’s portrayal…
The Anime Community’s Best Trait
Many anime fans feel like I often beat up on the community. I don’t really beat up on it as much as point out problem areas. The…
Manga Artists, Child Pornography, and the Influence of Manga, Part 2
In the first part of this article, I examined the effects associated with pornography use, both child and adult, and how they encourage personality traits that can lead…
Manga Artists, Child Pornography, and the Influence of Manga, Part 1
When I heard about manga artist Kenya Suzuki being arrested for importing child pornography, I began to wonder if there’s something about manga that encourages such behavior. Manga…
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform is a healing anime by CloverWorks, the same studio that produced the recent My Dress-Up Darling. The story follows Akebi as she joins an all-girls…
My Dress-Up Darling
My Dress-Up Darling surprised me with its heart and layers. I watched it on a whim, expecting the usual tired ecchi nonsense, but I quickly connected with the…
Impostor Syndrome
I suffer from Impostor Syndrome, and I am not alone. At least 70% of professionals report feeling Impostor Syndrome (IS) at some time during their careers (Gottlieb, 2020).…
Why are Incels, Neckbeards, and Others Attracted to Japan?
Why is Japan the fantasy for the socially awkward? Why does its culture, its media, and its women receive so much attention from some online men? Since I’ve…
Fact vs Truth in History
You’ve likely heard the phrase “history is written by the victors.” Because of this sentiment, historians feel skeptical about written histories sponsored by governments and winne…
Examining Animation: Marin’s Smile
In this article, I’ll attempt to show you an exercise I used to do when I was working on my animation undergraduate degree. The exercise has you take…
My Top Couples in Anime
Long time anime fans have their favorite couples. I enjoy couples with dynamic dialogue. It doesn’t matter if they get together by the end of the series or…
Japanese Professional Wrestling: Strong Style
Strong Style is the most common type of professional wrestling. It came from a disagreement in approach between the wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Shohei Baba. Inoki founded New…
Pythagora Switch on NHK is Strange But Enlightening
Pythagora Switch is a children’s educational broadcast on NHK. It’s a strange, surreal program that runs for 5-15 minutes. Pythagora Switch refers to how the segment uses a…
Japanese Professional Wrestling: King’s Road Style
Japanese professional wrestling has roots in American pro-wrestling. Many of the holds and brawling seen in early matches came from the various styles popular in the United States.…
The Authentic Voices Shift in Publishing
Lately in publishing there’s been a push for authentic voices. Authentic voices are usually minority authors writing stories that concern their groups and perspectives. This is wonderful! I…
What was the Cost of Things in Japan During the Early 1900s?
This seems like a strange question, but examining costs of items and salaries can offer interesting insights into history. I came across this information while I worked on…