Mermaid Forest–Anime Review
Rumiko Takahashi is surely the most successful living manga artist, and the most influential since Osamu Tezuka. Just about every anime fan is familiar with at least some of her… Read more »
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull–Movie Review
Probably everyone knows what to expect from the latest Indiana Jones movie: thrills and chills leavened with cheerful good humor; lots of fun with no concern about passing the refrigerator… Read more »
This is Not a Joke
…I think. This pamphlet arrived in the mail: (Click for larger image.) Ever since the scientific community adopted heliocentrism as fact, attempts have been made to prove it. Some of… Read more »
The Economist on High-Tech Toilets
Maybe The Economist is preparing a special report on Japan for their next issue. That might be why they have just posted on their web site a strangely unfocused column… Read more »
Prince Caspian–Movie Review
The full title of this movie is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, but nobody is actually going to say that. It’s a sequel to 2005’s The Lion, the Witch… Read more »
Daughter of Twenty Insults
Chinese President Hu Jintao has just completed a rare state visit to Japan, supposedly establishing an “everlasting warm spring” in the relationship between the two countries. Meanwhile the writers of… Read more »
Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE–Anime Review
Even if you didn’t already know it, the title of this series should tip you off that the team of manga artists known as CLAMP has a weird sense of… Read more »
Iron Man–Movie Review
The season of Summer blockbuster action flicks is upon us, and the first one will probably prove to be one of the best of the lot. Iron Man is quite… Read more »
Civilization is Doomed
Raymond Chen discusses Hello Kitty Air, an airline devoted to Hello Kitty, with Hello Kitty images plastered over everything including the barf bags. (Actually I’m not sure that this should… Read more »
Forgetting Sarah Marshall–Movie Review
You may need to be in the right mood to watch this one. It’s very funny, but much of it is painfully funny, the sort of humor that strikes home… Read more »