japanamerica

( JP announcement ) Seijo University Faculty of Arts and Literature Lecture Israel and Manga: A Public Conversation with Asaf Hanuka and Boaz Lavie Winners of the Foreign Ministry of Japan’s 9th International MANGA Award. Date: Thursday, February 25, 2016 Time: 13:30~15:30 Venue: Room 321, building 3 Admission: Free At this event, Asaf Hanuka and Boaz Lavie , winners of the Foreign Ministry of Japan’s 9th International MANGA Award, will speak about their award-winning graphic novel, The Divine (2015) and then will join writer and journalist Roland Kelts in a public conversation about their work as well as the current state of manga in Israel. After their conversation, Mr. Hanuka and Mr. Lavie will answer questions from the audience. This event is sponsored by the Faculty of Arts and Literature, Seijo University, with support from the Embassy of Israel in Japan and the Japan Foundation For further information, please contact: Dr. Ryuma Shineha, Faculty of Arts and Liter...

CG gains a ‘real’ foothold in anime By ROLAND KELTS Japanese audiences have long responded tepidly to the use of extensive computer graphics (CG) in anime. Even as CG has become the global standard for animation studios, anime fans prefer their homegrown artists to stick to labor-intensive 2-D illustration techniques and cel animation — or to at least create work that looks like they did. Case in point: Director and designer Shinji Aramaki’s “Appleseed” film franchise, based on the best-selling manga by Masamune Shirow (famous for “Ghost in the Shell”). The three-film series has grown increasingly digitally enhanced since its inception 12 years ago, with meticulous 3-D character and set designs and blockbuster visual effects. The second film, 2007’s “Ex Machina,” had double the budget of the first, was produced by Hong Kong-to-Hollywood director John Woo, and featured costume designs by Miuccia Prada. Yet both it and the more recent “Alpha” installment (2014), whil...

Honored to be a featured guest at Naka-Kon 2016 in Kansas City, March 11-13. Roland Kelts Convention Year:  2016 Roland Kelts is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling book "Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US." He was born to an American father and a Japanese mother and grew up in both countries. He is a visiting scholar at Keio University in Tokyo and a steering committee member of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, a Tokyo-based think tank. As a journalist, essayist, and columnist, he writes for many publications, such as  The New Yorker ,  Time  magazine,  Newsweek Japan ,  The New York Times ,  The Guardian  and  The Japan Times . An authority on Japan’s contemporary literary and popular cultures, Roland imparts his unique perspective on Japanese pop culture to the rest of the world as a public speaker and media commentator on CNN, NPR,...

I will be appearing at two events in next month's Tokyo International Literary Festival, March 4 & 6. Copies of Monkey Business Issue 6 and Japanamerica will be available for signings at both. *MARCH 4 : 会期 : 3月4日 時間 : 18:00～20:00 会場 : 上智大学 12号館502教室 住所 : 　 入場料 : 無料 予約 : 不要 ※定員75名 出演者 : トレーシー・スレーター / ジェイク・エーデルスタイン / マーク・カウフマン / ローランド・ケルツ / 贄田 貴美 Four Storiesとは4人の作家の朗読を中心としたグローバル文芸イベント。書き手と読み手、そして関心のあるあらゆる人びとをつなぎ、物語に耳を傾け、対話を生み出すことが狙いです。(英語のみ) 主催: Four Stories/上智大学英語学科共同主催 お問い合せ先担当者: 贄田貴美、マーク・カウフマン / 8:00 - 16:00 [平日] Four Stories is an award-winning global literary series, bringing together writers, readers, intellectuals, friends and interested people to talk, laugh, hear stories, and trade tales about literature. This event will be in English 「文芸フェスイベント Monkey Business(英語版) presents スティーヴ・エリクソン 自作を語る 」 現代アメリカ最重要作家が自作を語ります!! *MARCH 6 : 会期 : 3月6日 時間 : 15:00(開場: 14:30) 会場 : HMV&BOOKS TOKYO 7F イベントスペース 住所 : HMV&BOOKS ...

Launches in Tokyo next month; NYC, Chicago and the rest of North America in April.