Fukuoka story

My latest travel column for Paper Sky.




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Shinji Aramaki and the Appleseed Ex Machina Opening

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Got blogged down, I guess, but a few notes here from New York: I was privileged recently to spend some time conversing with veteran designer and Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki in Tokyo. Aramaki is among the most candid and clear-headed of the folks I've met in the anime industry in Japan; he's also an ambitious and committed artist, one who retains faith in the future of his art form, even as he offers suggestions for its survival. Portions of our conversation were published in The Daily Yomiuri on the eve of the Japan nationwide theatrical release of Appleseed: Ex Machina , the latest and most visually stunning film in the Appleseed series. The film will be released in the US in the form of a DVD disc set in 2008. On the same day (Oct. 20, US-time), Kinokuniya will open its largest overseas bookstore in midtown Manhattan. The three-floor outlet will overlook Bryan Park in the very center of the city. Look for expanded offerings of manga, anime, and all books related to th...
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BBC TV interview on virtual sex and Japan's declining birth rate

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(click to play)   I gave an interview in Tokyo to the BBC for a documentary about Japan's birth rate. I talked about Japan's expanding menu of options for virtual romance and sex — from dating sims to erotic manga, anime and video games. It's not just Japan, of course. The annual birth rate here remains higher than it is in South Korea, Singapore or Hong Kong, and birth rates have also been steadily declining in the United States and across Europe. Options for virtual romance and sex are increasingly popular in developed nations worldwide. Dating app , internet hookup and pornography addiction are hackneyed phrases by now. But what I didn't know during the shoot was that virtual romance and sex would be among the safest, sanest and most responsible options for intimacy in the middle of a global pandemic.
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