The ‘Free! -Dive to the Future-‘ friend circle is familiar, but not unchanged
Free! -Dive to the Future- marks a new era in Haru’s life. Our swim boy protagonist is attending college now, a major milestone in anybody’s life. But while college is…
How I unexpectedly found myself doing PR
Usually, my name can be found in the byline of an article. But last week, it was in reporters’ inboxes, too. That’s because I was in charge of sending the J-Novel…
On writing about cartoons in Hell World
There’s no going around it: this month has been a hellscape. The discovery that my country is imprisoning children and babies is horrific, even if it’s what we’ve always done.…
Standing still in 2018
First off, I wanted to let you know I’m giving a talk at the Japan America Society this Friday. You can still sign up for it here. I’ve been a…
Where to find me at AnimeNEXT 2018
John and I will be wearing our Gunpla 101 shirts and talking about mecha. Giving panels at anime conventions feels like coming full circle. At 19, when I attended my…
Mari Okada and writing with your soul bared
This post title comes from a criticism my mom used to give me whenever I was oversharing, overly trusting and too vulnerable with my friends as a teenager. “It’s fine…
The enthusiastic Ladybeard, or how fandom is different in Japan
Me with Reika Saiki and Ladybeard of Deadlift Lolita. I’ve barely done any significant writing in 2018, but that changed last week when I posted A Sunday With Ladybeard, A…
Why I decided to root for the Hanshin Tigers
John and I in our Tigers jerseys. 1) Everybody loves an underdog When I mentioned in Japanese class that I was thinking about attending a Hanshin Tigers game during my…
That time I rented a villa in Kyoto
View from the second floor. I didn’t do everything right on my trip to Japan. I, for example, accidentally took myself and my friends on a 20-kilometer march around Shinjuku.…
Animals I met in Japan
Snowy Owl, Akihabara, Tokyo This was one of the Owl No Mori cafe. He had a sign next to him that said he didn’t like to be touched, but photos…