Book review by Matt S. Almost every single samurai throughout history was Japanese. That’s perhaps the most obvious thing a person could say of course, but by the time that Japan was genuinely opening its boarders to international trade and cultural exchange, the samurai had already come and gone as…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. Published a little over a decade ago (2008), Minato Kanae’s Confessions was the book that immediately established her as one of Japan’s pre-eminent crime fiction writers. Like many of the best modern crime fiction works, Confessions isn’t so interested in figuring out whodunnit – that’s…
Read MoreLiterature by Matt S. Kirino Natsuo is one of the most important figures in modern Japanese literature – right up there with Murakami. Kirino’s writing isn’t exactly pleasant to read, and you’ll walk away from Grotesque feeling more than a little deflated, but the way she structures her writing, and…
Read MoreArticle by Matt S. I’m a big fan of reading. I recommend it to all people. As much as the world seems to be moving away from the written word and books in favour of “in-depth” tweets at a whopping 280 characters, video games, YouTube videos of tasering rats, and…
Read MoreBooks by Matt S. We talk a lot about Japanese games, films, anime and manga in western culture, but we talk about Japanese literature far less frequently, and that’s a pity, because as with all those other mediums, Japan has produced many of the world’s finest writers, and literature gives…
Read MoreThe good folk over at PopMatters have run a review of Game Art, and saw it worth a very positive 8/10 score. As the author, Christopher Williams, writes: “Put simply, I’m rather taken by this book and the approach that Sainsbury has taken to his subjects and subject matter. This…
Read MoreSee, now I know how game developers feel. The anxious wait for reviews to start appearing after you know that the journalists are ploughing through something that you have spent years on and represents your very heart and soul. Hoping, praying, and begging any god that has ever been around…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. If you haven’t seen Princess Mononoke yet, then you really should. Arguably Hayao Miyazaki’s (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro) truest masterpiece, the 1997 film is almost more relevant now than it was even then. With such an intense debate raging around environmentalism and humanity’s impact on…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. I love collectible books. And that’s not just because I’ve got my own coming next year. I love them because, for fans, a good book about their favourite hobby is a wonderful way to engage with something they love doing on a deeper level. Like collectible…
Read MoreIt’s a week of Miku book reviews! Day 5: Hatsune Miku Graphics: Vocaloid Comic & Art Volumes 1 and 2
Review by Matt S. With all the coverage that we’ve been giving Hatsune Miku and her band of adorable vocaloids, I thought that it would be a good time to review a series of Hatsune Miku (and friends) art books by Udon Entertainment. And so each day this week we’ll…
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