Weathering With You is the latest feature from Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai and his studio CoMix Wave. It tells the story of a teenage runaway and a “sunshine girl” with the power to control weather. A chance encounter between them … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (January 22nd, 2020)

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It is a shōnen manga series by Alifred Yamamoto about two graduate students at Saitama University who are attracted to each other, but are unsure if what they’re experience is “love,” … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (January 15th, 2020)

The winter anime season is almost upon us, so it’s time for a quick preview. For a full list of what’s on offer, AniChart has got you covered. This season has some continuations, most notably Chihayafuru, My Hero Academia, and … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (January 8th, 2020)

Happy new year, and welcome to the Japanese pop culture thread! I’m on vacation right now, so this is all you get. Next week, I’ll have a preview of the winter 2020 anime season. Header image from Persona 5: The … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (January 1st, 2020)

Merry Christmas! Here’s a video of Japanese electronic rock quartet Negoto performing「水中都市」(“Underwater City”) at their last ever live concert before their disbandment. What have you been watching/eating/playing/reading/listening to lately. (Header gif from Kyōran Kazoku Nikki.) Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (December 25th, 2019)

Food Wars! is a shōnen manga series written by Yūto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki, set in an elite Tokyo culinary school. An anime series by J.C.Staff, based on the manga, is currently airing its fourth season. What have … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (December 18th, 2019)

Vinland Saga is a historical manga series by Makoto Yukimura about the Viking invasion of Dane-controlled English during the 11th century CE. An anime adaptation of the manga by Wit Studio is currently airing. If you haven’t already, please get … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (December 11th, 2019)

No Guns Life is a seinen manga series by Tasuku Karasuma, serialized in Ultra Jump. It’s set in a future in which cyborg war veterans turn to crime in order to survive, and it tells the story of one cyborg … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (December 4th, 2019)

Oresuki is a romantic comedy light novel series by the mononymous Rakuda. It’s about a high school boy who thinks he’s going to end up in one love triangle only to end up in a completely different one. An anime … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (November 27th, 2019)

Chihayafuru is a josei manga series about a girl who dreams of becoming the world’s greatest competitive karuta player and reuniting with her childhood crush. An anime series produced by Madhouse is currently airing its third season. What are you … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (November 20th, 2019)

Death Stranding is an open-world action-stealth-exploration-adventure game by Tokyo game studio Kojima Productions, released last week for PlayStation 4. Starring Norman Reedus as the protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges, it tells the story of his quest to reunite the fractured city … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (November 13th, 2019)

Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious is a semi-parodic isekai light novel series whose premise is pretty easy to discern from the title. It has been adapted into a manga, as well as an anime series produced … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (November 6th, 2019)

Babylon is a Japanese novel series by Mado Nozaki about a public prosecutor who gets sucked into a conspiracy when he investigates a pharmaceutical company for marketing a defective drug. An anime series based on the novels and produced by … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture (October 30, 2019)

There’s no shortage of moe anime series featuring cute girls doing cute things, but that won’t stop production committees from making them any time soon. That means that this season, you get to watch After School Dice Club, a series … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (October 23rd, 2019)

Case File No. 221: Kabukicho is a new detective anime series from Production I.G loosely based on the Sherlock mythos, set in Tokyo’s vibrant Shinjuku ward. It is currently airing, and it can be streamed on Funimation and Hulu. What … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (October 16th, 2019)

African Office Worker is a shōjo comedy manga series about a group of anthropomorphic African animals who work together in an office. An anime series based on the manga is being produced by Hotzipang and is currently airing. It can … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (October 9th, 2019)

The fall anime season is almost upon us, so it’s time for a quick preview. For a full list of what’s on offer, AniChart has got you covered. This fall’s slate is full of sequel seasons and second cours: if … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (October 2nd, 2019)

Promare is an action/science-fantasy film by Studio Trigger about a version of Earth where a group of mutant humans known as the Burnish, who are prone to spontaneous combustion, are locked in a conflict with regular humans who don’t possess … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 25th, 2019)

The Naked Director is a quasi-biographical live-action comedy-drama series about prolific pornographer Toru Muranishi and the impact he had on the Japanese pornography industry. The series debuted for streaming last month on Netflix, and it has been renewed for a … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 18th, 2019)

Cannon Busters began as an American fantasy comic book series by LeSean Thomas before being reimagined as an anime series by Satelight and Yumeta Company, with Thomas acting as chief director. The series is a mish-mash of magic, robots, and … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 11th, 2019)

My Husband Won’t Fit is a Japanese live-action romantic drama about a young married couple who cannot consummate their marriage due to a physical incompatibility. The series follows the couple as they try to fix the problem and start a … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 4th, 2019)