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 »

1 Comment

This past week marked the Viz Pictures release of 20th Century Boys 1 on DVD, the first in a sure-to-be-a-hit trilogy, as well as first news of Studio Ghibli’s next project. In addition, there were a wide range of subjects explored during the week ranging from japanese travel to literature and even free music (and who doesn’t like free music?). Check it out. More »

1 Comment

Maybe at one time or another, you’ve wondered what the world would be like if tiny people lived in the walls of your house. Can you imagine matchbox car races, or pool parties in teacups? If not, you’re probably normal. If yes, then you’re me.

More »

5 Comments

Today marks the beginning of a new feature here on Rekuru - The Weekly Bento. Much like a bento box is packed full of bite-sized portions of varying foods, this new feature takes this past week’s happenings here on Rekuru and provides them to you in easily accessible, catagorized portions. Think of it as a week in review only with a Rekuru twist. Here’s what happened last week: More »

0 Comments

A theme I’m irresistibly drawn to is the contrast between the tedium of everyday life and the richness of the imagination. The Japanese term for “everday life” is nichijou, and it crops up fairly often in anime and manga taking place in the limitless suburbs surrounding big cities like Tokyo. A perfect vehicle of this theme is Studio Ghibli’s Mimi wo Sumaseba (lit. “If You Listen Closely”), and of their films it is, in spite of the greatness of Totoro, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, my favorite. More »

5 Comments

Everything these days seems to end up becoming an anime. Take Devil May Cry for example, an anime based off the popular Capcom video game franchise. Or Samurai 7, a loose retelling of Akira Kurosawa’s famous film the Seven Samurai. It seems nothing is safe from the grasp of anime lately. So with that in mind, I decided to come up with five films that should be made into an anime series. Here’s what I got: More »

9 Comments