Where: Kamakura Station on the I-forget-the-name-of-the-line from Tokyo (app. 1 hour) What to do: See ancient temples and one giant buddha What not to do: Buy anything–tourist trap alert, level orange–go to the beach

Moving out in a widening gyre from Tokyo, and in tune with the oldschool stylings of Akira Kurosawa, let’s take a look at a nearby center of traditional Japanese culture: Kamakura. The second capitol of Japan (after Nara, and before Kyouto and Edo/Tokyo), Kamakura hosts well-preserved Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, as well as one of Japan’s two great daibutsu (big ol’ Buddha statues). More »

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Homer Simpson: Aw Marge, why do we hafta go to Japan? Marge Simpson: You liked Rashomon. Homer: That’s not how I remember it. More »

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Obviously, your average anime series or film is full of people with really bad habits. No Face should probably resolve to stop eating people, while Lupin III should do something about his kleptomania. But since Rekuru is a serious forum for social commentary, I wanted to address a very real problem I’ve noticed: the example the older generation is setting for the youth. More »

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We always have a better sense of the resolutions our friends should make than those we should make ourselves. My own are rather simple: become wealthier and master the art of invisibility. But for certain of our friends across the pond, I have a few words of advice. More »

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What: Studio Ghibli Museum and Nakano Broadway indoor shopping mall Where: Tokyo Area, Nakano and Mitaka stations on the Chuo-Sobu line What to do: Get out of Tokyo, but still enjoy all the good things about it

Go West, Young Man is proverbial advice, funny when you consider that Japan (the “East”) is actually west of the States; but this is also good advice if you find yourself in Tokyo and crave a bit more animanga culture than Akihabara gives you, and especially if you’re a fan of director Hayao Miyazaki. Just jump on a west-bound train to the suburb of Mitaka for the Studio Ghibli Museum, and hit up Nakano Broadway en route. More »

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Above: Yukio Hatoyama, banzai!

It’s been an exciting year for the Land of the Rising Sun: we’ve seen a significant political power shift, Japanese technology continues to both fascinate and frighten us; but their expatriates are still embarrassing them. So without further ado (drumroll puh-leaze) her are Japan’s Top Five News Stories of ‘09: More »

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So to recap, we’ve seen that post-war Japanese artists were faced with the unenviable task of resuscitating a nation that was spiritually dead. I contend that, where literature and even the great films of Kurosawa and Ozu failed, anime and manga artists, well, succeeded. And their approach I see as three-fold: 1) replacing an aesthetics of death with an aesthetics of life, 2) redefining Japanese masculinity and finally (a tall order) 3) replacing the symbolic image of God Himself which died with the Emperor. Yes: I believe that men like this did all that, and more. More »

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Yes, the end of 2009 is upon us: time to reflect on what we’re grateful for, what we regret, what we hope to do better next year…you know, sort of like all the other holidays. In that spirit, I thought I would share with you guys why I sometimes (read:always) talk about anime, manga and other modern Japanese stuff as if it weren’t just enjoyable, but profoundly significant. Don’t worry, this won’t be one of those silly, look-at-me-I-went-to-college exercises that you see in books with titles such as The Simpsons and Philosophy and James Bond and Philosophy. If anything, it’s the opposite: I think the story of anime and manga (hereafter animanga, because I never liked having to refer to them separately) is quite simple, that any critic worth his salt could piece it together easily…if they could just bring themselves to take it seriously.

This is part one, in which I don’t actually talk about animanga at all. More »

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So, dressed in kimono of bold red and white Zetsubou, o’er the neighborhood rooftops, took flight For he had filled his sack with a quite thoughtful mix Of nice gifts for the girls of class two, section six. More »

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The most wonderful time of the year is again upon us, and you know what that means: fanfiction! And since Zetsubou-sensei is on my mind right now, gather round, boys and girls, and hear the story of how Zetsubou-sensei saved Christmas.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei is the intellectual property of Koji Kumeta; the images used are from the anime by Shaft Studios. How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Night Before Christmas have been parodied so many times I don’t really need to give credit, right? More »

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