Hanebado! is a seinen sports manga series about the daughter of a former badminton champion who returns to the sport after a humiliating loss that caused a rift between her and her mother. An anime series based on the manga … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 12th, 2018)

Hello folks! Welcome to September’s first entry in our weekly Japanese pop culture series. Today I’m spotlighting post-hardcore band Ling Tosite Sigure (which means “cold seasonal rain” in English). You probably know them as the band that performed theme songs … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (September 5th, 2018)

Flavors of Youth is an anthology anime film that was a co-production between the Japanese studio CoMix Wave Films (the studio of director Makoto Shinkai) and the Chinese studio Haoliners Animation League. It consists of three segments, each directed by … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (August 29th, 2018)

The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl is an anime film directed by Masaaki Yuasa, based on a novel of the same name written by Tomihiko Morimi. It tells the bizarre, surreal story of a night when a young male … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (August 22nd, 2018)

Boruto is a manga series written by Ukyō Kodachi about a group of ninjas doing ninja things. Apparently the titular character has a dad named Naruto? Or something like that. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. An anime series based on the … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (August 15th, 2018)

Normally I use this space to spotlight a band, video game, film, or anime series. This week, I’m going to do something a little different. Yesterday, news broke that AT&T had bought out the Chernin Group-owned portion of Otter Media, … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (August 8th, 2018)

Hello folks! Welcome to this week’s Japanese pop culture thread. This week, we’re spotlighting Asobi Asobase, a slice-of-life comedy manga series about three very stupid high school girls who get into ridiculous shenanigans. An anime series by Studio Lerche based … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (August 1st, 2018)

Hey folks! Welcome to this week’s JPopCult thread. I watched the debut film from director/screenwriter Mari Okada, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, earlier this week. It chronicles the life of a girl from a race of immortal beings as … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (July 25th, 2018)

Sorry for getting this up late, folks. Planet With is a new anime series that premiered a couple of weeks ago about an amnesiac boy getting involved in a bizarre conflict that he doesn’t understand. Saying anything more would spoil … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (July 18th, 2018)

Cells at Work! (Japanese: Hataraku Saibō) is a manga series whose characters are anthropomorphized cells of the human body. They face down threats from bacteria and other pathogens, represented as monsters. An anime series based on the manga started airing … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (July 11th, 2018)

What’s up, my fellow nerds? Since Canada Day just passed, and today is July 4th, I thought we’d pause to consider fireworks in anime. What are your favourite fireworks displays in anime series or movies? The header image is from … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (July 4th, 2018)

Sorry for putting this up late. The summer 2018 anime season starts next week, and it’s time to take a gander a what looks interesting: Aguu: Genius Dolls. (Aguu: Tensai Ningyou) I’m always down for fiction about how messed-up high … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (June 27th, 2018)

Video game industry exposition E3 took place last week, and though it’s mostly a showcase for the Western segment of the industry – Japan has Tokyo Game Show, after all – several Japanese developers had a presence there. Most notable … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (June 20th, 2018)

Hey Avocadoans! Welcome to this week’s JPC thread. Hinamatsuri is an ongoing manga series named after the Japanese doll festival. It follows the story of a yakuza member who has to take care of a mysterious girl with telekinetic powers … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (June 13th, 2018)

Hey folks! Welcome to this week’s Japanese pop culture thread. The Caligula Effect is a JRPG originally released for the PS Vita back in 2016 in Japan and 2017 in the West. A PS4 remake subtitled Overdose was released in … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (May 30th, 2018)

It’s time to shake your weeabooty and get down with the weekly Japanese pop culture thread! This week, we’re spotlighting the recently-released Batman Ninja, an anime film produced by Kamikaze Douga (curiously also the studio behind Pop Team Epic). It … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (May 23rd, 2018)

Digimon Adventure tri. is a series of six movies that serves as a sequel to the popular Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02 anime series that aired around the turn of the millennium. The fifth film in the series, Coexistence, … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (May 16th, 2018)

Hero Mama League is an upcoming crossover Super Sentai movie being released this Sunday in honour of Mother’s Day. It follows heroines from Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger, Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, and Mahou Sentai Magiranger as they try to balance crimefighting and parenthood. Here’s … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (May 9th, 2018)

Aggretsuko is a ten-episode anime series, produced by Fanworks for mascot company Sanrio, that premiered on Netflix a couple of weeks ago. It follows the life of Retsuko, a meek red panda who works in the accounting department of a … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (May 2nd, 2018)

Hey there, Austin Akihabara Freaks! It’s time for your weekly Japanese pop culture thread. This week, we’re spotlighting Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, a light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, spun off from the original SAO series. … Continue reading Weekly Japanese Pop Culture Thread (April 25th, 2018)