japanamerica

I was just interviewed for the DEEP IN JAPAN podcast about growing up half-Japanese, writing  JAPANAMERICA , editing the literary magazine Monkey: New Writing from Japan , writing  "The Fifth Flavor ," reading Nabokov and Canetti ... and catching clout chasers who crib your ideas. Also chatted about my new book, the novel, my kindergarten years in Morioka, living with my grandparents and falling in love with Ultraman. Good fun all around thanks to Jeff Krueger and his team. (pic: Ultraman Taro & Mini Roland in Tokyo Tower.) Deep in Japan · Roland Kelts - On Contemporary Japanese Fiction & Japanamerica

Why Hollywood doesn't yet get anime The Japan Times No fewer than three big-budget Hollywood films based on Japanese originals opened this year: “Alita: Battle Angel,” “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” While all three were still being promoted, “Gundam” and “Akira” were green-lit for production by Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros., respectively. An adaptation of Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog video game will be out in November, followed by Hollywood takes on Capcom’s Monster Hunter next year and Nintendo’s Super Mario in 2022. The highest grossing anime feature ever, Makoto Shinkai’s 2016 “Your Name.,” is being remade as a live-action film, produced by “Star Wars” reboot king, J.J. Abrams. Hollywood renderings of “Attack on Titan” and the iconic mascot Hello Kitty are also reportedly on the way. But so far, Hollywood’s versions of Japanese content have received mixed reviews at best, with some earning respectable but not remarkable...

New 'Ultraman' anime is a family affair The Japan Times I first met anime director and mechanical designer Shinji Aramaki in Tokyo 12 years ago. He had just completed “Appleseed: Ex Machina,” the second in a trio of epic CG-animated films based on Masamune Shirow’s four-volume 1985 manga. “Ex Machina” was a global collaboration: co-produced by Hong Kong/Hollywood director John Woo, costumed by Italy’s Miuccia Prada and scored by Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haruomi Hosono. Since then, Aramaki has become anime’s go-to guy for Japanese franchise reboots and sequels targeting international markets. As the nation’s domestic audience ages and its youth population shrinks, producers are scrambling to dust off older titles that might resonate both at home and abroad. That has them going to Aramaki a lot. Now 58 and the father of two adult daughters, he is currently working alongside screenwriter/director Kenji Kamiyama on anime adaptations of 1989’s “Ghost in the Sh...