Since the July 6 release of the “Pokemon Go†app for the iOS and Android devices, millions of users have downloaded the game to catch the popular Japanese video game monsters. The game has become a social phenomenon as cnet.com reports users have, on a daily average, spent more time on the app over Facebook […]
Pop Culture
Monster hunters descend upon California’s Japantowns with ‘Pokemon Go’
July 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Gangnam Style video upends crossover success myths
October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Anthropologists and linguists no doubt are having a field day trying to chronicle and dissect how, in the early autumn of 2012, “Gangnam Style†became an American idiomatic expression. It stands for something along the lines of a brash, flamboyant way of doing things, clownishness, or an act of in-your-face spoofing that is both original […]
Hunger Games v. Battle Royale: Deja vu in simplification
April 3, 2012 by 1 Comment
No. No, no, no, no, no. For once, I will step out of my normal realm of being ironic and trite to give a solid argument on something that has been bothering me for the past few weeks. Hunger Games v. Battle Royale “The Hunger Games†by Suzanne Collins and “Battle Royale†By Koushun Takami […]
Falling birth rates and infantile otaku culture
March 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I’m more of a Western gamer when it comes to my video gaming habits. I guess I just never got into the Moe-blob romance and tsundere masochism my friends have enjoyed (though I did play a few dating sims in my day). If I had to choose, I’m much more an “action games†person. That, […]
Battle Royale Adapted for Live Theater in the Philippines
March 7, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Now no matter what they do with the American remake, we’ll always at least have this. I seriously have to remember to check Twitch much, much more often. From their site: “Filipino theater troupe Sipat Lawin Ensemble have teamed up with Australian playwrights David Finnigan, Jordan Prosser, Sam Burns-Warr, and Georgie McAuley to create a […]
Aziz Ansari Tour Dates Announced
March 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Tickets for Ansari’s “Buried Alive” standup tour can be purchased here.
The Best Films of 2011: An Alternate to the Oscars
February 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Every year, to coincide with the Academy Awards, I try to roughly rank all the films I saw in the previous year. I do this, instead of picking out a top five or 10, because I think those lists are inherently flawed — I think it’s important for the reader to know that I didn’t […]
Is the Non-existent Lin/Kardashian Date a Problem?
February 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
So Asian America collectively shuddered the other day at rumors that Jeremy Lin and Kim Kardashian might go on a date. (Interestingly, if you Google “jeremy lin,” “jeremy lin kim kardashian” comes up as the first autocomplete result.) Â I guess it’s since been debunked, but I feel like I’m a little alone in thinking that […]
Buying American, Japan bashing in the post-industrial
January 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
UPDATE: It appears I was mistaken, and this was all just a clever ruse. I rescind my offer and reactionary knee jerk reaction. What? Something wrong happened on the Internet? Well LOOK OUT BLOGOSPHERE BECAUSE I’M A SHARK AND I JUST CAUGHT THE SCENT OF BLOOD. No, I’m not talking about SOPA or PIPA, which are […]
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Reflecting on diversity in video games through the LA Riots
Editor’s Note: An edited version of this post was published in the May 4, 2012 issue of the Nichi Bei Weekly. Who here remembers the Los Angeles Riots of ‘92? I certainly don’t. I was 4 (and now you feel old). LA burned following the acquittal of the four police officers charged in the beating […]