JONAR COWAN WRITES — It has been little longer than a year since the start of the pandemic and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. As vaccines are given out, the world seems to be slowly returning to normal, especially for moviegoers. Movie theatres are…
Full Article JAPANESE MANGA: DEMON SLAYER – MUGEN TRAIN STEAMROLLS INTO THE THEATERS
JONAR COWAN WRITES — In Japan, with the pandemic at hand, many businesses are slowing down and closing down. And as more family-owned businesses and restaurants are closing down, one form of entertainment is doubly impacted: Arcade centers like Sega, which has to sell around 85 percent of their arcade business…
Full Article JAPAN: GAME MAY BE OVER FOR ARCADE GAMES
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES — It’s a short 25-minute train ride from Central Station in Hong Kong to Quarry Bay, a tightly packed neighborhood on the Eastern side of Hong Kong. The number of commercial buildings in this district has increased exponentially over the past two decades, and more buildings go…
Full Article CULTURE: LIFE IN HONG KONG’s ‘MONSTER BUILDING’
JONAR COWAN WRITES — With bias regarding the origins of COVID-19 contributing to Asian hate crimes, the premiere of Disney’s animation Raya and the Last Dragon March 5 helps us forget all that for a brief second. ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ is revolutionary in its representation of a kind…
Full Article ASIAN CULTURE: DISNEY’S HEART BEATS HARD FOR MULTICULTURALISM IN ‘RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON’
MILES WHITTINGHAM WRITES – The Anime craze in the United States is one that I’ve never fully understood. Fans seem to keep coming forward, but this type of animation has never particularly drawn my interest. So recently I figured, why not finally see what all the infatuation with this art…
Full Article JAPAN ANIME: WHO NEEDS GIANT HUMANOIDS AND DARK VIOLENCE IN TODAY’S CRUEL WORLD?
CADY ABE WRITES — Pokémon, one of the most well-known video games, trading card games and anime both in America and Japan, celebrated its 25th anniversary February 27th. How to celebrate? Nintendo released free Pokémon trading cards alongside any purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal, created an anniversary event within…
Full Article JAPAN: HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY POKÉMON – BECOMING THE VERY BEST THAT NO ONE EVER WAS
ALEX DASHWOOD WRITES — There exists a myth in the United States that the addition of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to food, which is predominantly used in Chinese cuisine, is a health risk causing negative side effects. Some consumers of it purport to experience symptoms such as dizziness and palpitations after…
Full Article CHINA: HOW THE RACIALLY-CHARGED MYTH OF MSG HAS TAINTED AMERICANS’ PERCEPTION OF CHINESE CUISINE
MELANIE MARGARYAN WRITES — If you don’t know much about Armenia, that’s not really surprising. Armenia is a tiny country in the Caucasus, where nothing interesting really happens. Well, besides war and really sad stuff. But let’s talk about something great that’s been happening for Armenians, for once: TikTok. If…
Full Article ARMENIA: TIKTOK BRINGS LIGHT INTO A CULTURE OF DARKNESS
SOPHIA JARAMILLO WRITES — Recently, three women of Dallas, Texas took it upon themselves to launch a ‘refreshed’ version of the traditional Chinese tile-layering game, Mahjong. This event definitely sparked controversy, as none of the women involved in the project of The Mahjong Line are of Chinese descent, but rather,…
Full Article CHINA: THE NEW, LUXURY LINE OF MAHJONG: NO DICE FOR CULTURAL DECIMATION
MILES WHITTINGHAM WRITES — Japanese cuisine is among the most popular in the world. But the Japanese fish market has been hit especially hard among the multitude of things affected by COVID-19. The most extensive wholesale fish trade located in Tokyo, Toyosu, has seen its sales halved in recent months.…
Full Article JAPAN: SOMETHING’S FISHY IN THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT BUSINESS
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — Culinary culture is never written in stone… it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Or Ssamjang. The term Asian fusion takes on different meanings in the culinary community. To the OGs, it is a blasphemous meddling with traditional ingredients, methods and flavors. To…
Full Article ASIAN FUSION: MELTING POT OR CULINARY CANCEL CULTURE?
JONAR COWAN WRITES — Despite Studio Ghibli’s notable reputation for warm, whimsical stories, Goro Miyazaki’s punk and dark art-style Earwig and the Witch fails to reach the expectations for a “Studio Ghibli” animation. Earwig and the Witch was released on Feb. 5. The studio, which was founded by Hayao Miyazaki,…
Full Article JAPANESE MANGA: GORO MIYAZAKI’S NEW FILM PALES BESIDE HIS DAD’S COLORFUL CINEMATIC CONFECTIONS
NICOLAS PAPA WRITES — The European footballing landscape, or soccer, as we Americans call it, is undoubtedly the pinnacle of competition for the world’s most popular sport. The greatest players from around the world congregate in Western Europe to play against the best of the best, while some of the…
Full Article CHINA: ARE INVESTORS DROPPING THE BALL ON EUROPEAN SOCCER?
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES (in the third of three reviews of new Japanese books) – Oyamada’s protagonist is not much different from Alice who fell down the rabbit hole. As Asahi descends deeper down the chasm, reality itself tears at the seams and breaks open, folding in all around her. The…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE HOLE BY HIROKO OYAMADA
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Clubhouse has recently gained media and investment attention, having secured roughly a billion valuation-10 times higher than its actual app valuation. But what, exactly, is Clubhouse? It’s an audio chat-based social media app created during the pandemic. Users can hop in and out of…
Full Article CHINA: HOW LONG CAN CLUBHOUSE LAST?
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES (in the second of three reviews of new Japanese books) – As you read this thoroughly entertaining yet gruesome tale, you will wonder, is this narrator mentally ill? Or does the problem lie in an evil society where humans are reduced to being baby-making, money-making cogs in…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: EARTHLINGS BY SAYAKA MURATA