By Jonathan Clements. In his lively new book Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All, Daniel Dockery talks us through the original plans in Japan for a game called Capsule Monsters, subsequently renamed and refashioned when it proved impossible to trademark. Along the way, he has time out for asides about […]
Jan 4, 2023 • Subscribe
More like this
The Books of Monster Hunter
Want to see ALL videos early? Support me on patreon for exclusive access! https://www.patreon.com/oceaniz TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Intro 01:44 - Artbooks 07:30 - Lorebooks 15:21 - Guidebooks Books shown/discussed in this video: Monster Hunter World Editors…
Monster Kids: How Pokémon Taught A Generation to Catch Them All
The new text on the gaming phenomenon that took America by storm is chronicled here with mixed results. Callum May reviews "Monster Kids."
[Stray Kids] Fairytale
I can see right through you, but I’ll pretend I can’t.
Books & Sake
「高円寺古本酒場ものがたり」狩野俊 Story of Koenji Books & Sake, by Suguru Karino The “Story of Koenji Books & Sake” is Suguru Karino’s account of how he started a bookstore and…
Books & Sake
「高円寺古本酒場ものがたり」狩野俊 Story of Koenji Books & Sake, by Suguru Karino The “Story of Koenji Books & Sake” is Suguru Karino’s account of how he started a bookstore and…
Books: Ghibliotheque
By Andrew Osmond. The Ghibliotheque podcast started in 2018, and soon became an institution. It offered a journey through the films of Studio Ghibli, presented by Michael Leader…
Books: Sexiled
By Shelley Pallis. Tanya is twenty-five years old. She’s got half a decade of adventuring behind her, looting treasure from dungeons, spell-casting to protect her friends from goblins…
Books: Orienting
By Jonathan Clements. “My stay here has been so short,” said Rabindranath Tagore to Japanese students in 1916, “that one may think I have not earned my right…
Monster
The ultimate villain in all the history of anime! Feel free to argue with me on that, but I know a lot of people will agree with me.…
Monster
Monster follows Dr. Tenma, a former brain surgeon, as he tracks down a serial killer he feels responsible for letting loose.
The Kids Are Alright
Very gradually working through the backlog of blog posts I drafted months ago and never finished with. This one is from this past August, not that I think…
Animation is for Kids
It’s a tale as old as time. I’m sure you’ve heard someone proclaim their disdain for animation . “Why would you watch something so immature?” They’d say. “…
Kids on the Slope
By Andrew Osmond. Kids on the Slope was the first collaboration between director Shinichiro Watanabe and composer Yoko Kanno following the iconic Cowboy Bebop. The new anime proved…
Enjoying Tanabata With Kids
Tanabata, one of the quintessential Japanese summer holidays, is even more fun with kids around. Whether you’re creating homemade decor, slurping somen noodles or writing your own wishes,…
Books: Combat Baker…
By Jeannette Ng. The light novel series The Combat Baker and the Automaton Waitress follows Lud “Silver Wolf” Langart, a former captain and mech-operator who retires after a…
Books: Leiji Matsumoto
By Jonathan Clements. For all the passion and excitement that the contributors bring to the new collection Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Anime and Manga Legend, their subject…
Books: Studio Ghibli
By Jonathan Clements. Producer Toshio Suzuki was entertainingly underwhelmed when he was approached by agents for the pop stars Chage and Aska, who asked if Studio Ghibli would…
Books: Otherside Picnic
By Shelley Pallis. Sorawo Kamikoshi is a loner, a twenty-year-old nerd studying cultural anthropology at a Saitama university, whose hobby is exploring spooky places. Nor are these randomly…
Books: Infinite Dendrogram
By Shelley Pallis. Infinite Dendrogram is the best game ever invented, a “virtual reality massively multiplayer online game” but not a crap one like all the ones that…
Books: Tatami Galaxy
By Tom Wilmot. Any mention of The Tatami Galaxy usually brings to mind Masaaki Yuasa’s much-loved 2010 anime. The charming series has become something of a modern classic,…
Books: Hayao Miyazaki
By Andrew Osmond. Hayao Miyazaki, published to tie in with the current exhibition about the director at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, is a whopping big book.…
Books: Terminal Boredom
By Jonathan Clements. “There is something wrong with our present society,” Izumi Suzuki once wrote, “and I can’t stand SF written by people who don’t understand that… Even…
The Best Books
Buying books, especially old books, is a fascination and my biggest weakness. I love the old wear and tear on antiques, and sitting and pondering where the scraped…
Books: Anime’s Identity
By Jonathan Clements. Stevie Suan’s new book, Anime’s Identity, cannot resist telling a story from the production of King’s Avatar (above), a 2019 Chinese animated series that subcontracted…
Books: Tearmoon Empire
By Jonathan Clements. Then she woke up, and it was all a dream. Or was it? The teenage princess Mia Luna Tearmoon vividly recalls being eight years older,…
Books: Spirit Chronicles
By Shelley Pallis. Yuri Kitayama’s Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles has several different beginnings, and to be frank, I am not sure that it has stopped beginning yet, even…
Books: Hell Mode
By Shelley Pallis. Kenichi is a gamer suffering from that common modern malaise, a frustration with games that make life too easy for him. He’s just spent three…
Books: Japanese Drinking
By Shelley Pallis. Masaaki Watanabe’s anime series Bartender is part of a long tradition of TV shows about smart loners who help others in secret. Its leading man…
Books: Japanese Cinema
By Jasper Sharp. There are many paths one might take through the vast and varied terrain of Japanese cinema. Peter Cowie’s addition to the ever-expanding range of publications…
Books: Rediscovered Classics
By Zoe Crombie. Anime has taken inspiration from Western cultures throughout much of its history, from Astro Boy’s Disney-inspired aesthetics to the gorgeous European locales of films like…
Books: Rebuild World
By Jonathan Clements. When we first see Akira, he is gripped in the jaws of a mutant dog. Nafuse’s Rebuild World ditches the tiresome induction scene of many…
Books: Reading Murakami
By Jonathan Clements. Almost everything that is written about fiction is either reception (what the reader thought of the book) or production (an occasional making-of about the author…
Books: Kyoto Stories
By Jonathan Clements. “Riding on public transportation in Japan makes you feel a part of the general population,” writes Steve Alpert in Kyoto Stories. “One of the people.…
Samurai Kids (水の旅人-侍KIDS-, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 1993)
A small boy grows closer to the natural world while guiding a tiny samurai on his journey to the sea in Nobuhiko Obayashi’s charming family adventure.
Monster Incidents #01 — Random Monster Generator
Suddenly, giant zombie deer! Impressions: I hate trying to talk about this kind of episode because it was pretty much just okay. The animation budget is possibly…
Square Enix Manga & Books Reveals New Books Coming Spring 2023
The good folks from Square Enix Manga & Books have sent us their upcoming release slate for spring 2023. Headlining their releases is the Ch...
Monster Musume
A monster girl manga where you get to see your favorite mythical creatures after their shirts disappear, or whatever gimmick happens this week. 1:16 - Monster Musume 38:14 - My…
Chainsaw Man, Cipher, My Hero Academia, One Piece, Undead Unluck
Monster Politics
Bobby Pickett's next big hit! My Hero Academia 240 - 1:24Food Wars 315.3 - 17:57EDENS ZERO 58 - 40:04Mission: Yozakura Family 1 - 50:13Beast Children 13 - 60:06Samurai 8…
The Promised Neverland, The Seven Deadly Sins, Black Clover, EDENS ZERO, My Hero Academia
Review – “Monster”
I wrote this a long time ago, for a blog that no longer exists (it’s for the best, trust me). I can’t remember if I ever published it…
Speech Delays In Bilingual Kids
Expectations and experiences when raising bilingual kids.
Special 1, "Not For Kids"
On this special episode of the One Piece Podcast we’re joined by Tsukento as he finishes his top ten list for his Worst Moments in 4Kids One Piece…
Lupin Zero – Kids Doing Crimes
What? A Prequel? My sphere of conversation that I see on twitter was kind of baffled by the idea of Lupin and Jigen as kids. Especially since Lupin…
U149 is about shimpy kids
Miria's episode in the regular Cinderella Girls anime was good. Speaking of which, is Miria still a member of Decoration? Are Rika and Kirari now going through a…
Ultraman Ace – For The Kids
Writing this post is a big reminder of how far I’ve gotten into the showa era Ultraman series. Not counting UltraQ, Ace is the fourth Ultraman series. Before…
Special 1, "Not For Kids"
On this special episode of the One Piece Podcast we’re joined by Tsukento as he finishes his top ten list for his Worst Moments in 4Kids One Piece…
Akudama Drive – 05 – Damn Kids
“Mission Impossible” is accomplished…or is it? Brawler is ready to head back to Kansai to fight Master, who is the first opponent to ever scare him and thus more…
Monster Musume no Oishasan (Monster Girl Doctor)
This anime doesn’t have much of an overarching plot. It’s essentially just about the protagonist Glenn, a doctor dealing with various patients, though the twist is that despite…
Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls
A fun, tropey, sexy, harem of monster girls that’s got great moments. It does get a little sweaty at the end, but still a great time.
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp (First Impression)
After finishing up Dream Daddy, the first game on my list to start was Monster Camp. Actually, I knew there were three games but I wasn’t sure which…
Monster Munsume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls
Monster Munsume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls is a 2015 Fantasy Harem anime series from Japanese animation studio Lerche. While the studio has had some popular series like…