Hashi’s Field Guide to Japanese TV
When I first came to Japan when I was 11 years old, Japanese TV was a source of mystery and wonder to me. I kinda knew about all of the parodies about Japanese game shows, and I can remember sitting...
View ArticleWhat Commercials Are Playing in Japan Right Now?
One of my favorite parts about watching Japanese television programs is getting to see what their commercials look like. For whatever reason, I’m always fascinated by how other countrys’ commercials...
View ArticleCreative Sketches on Japanese TV [Masquerade]
In my years on the internet, one Japanese TV show has popped up over and over again in GIFs, videos, and excited discussions. Even though the people who post about this show usually speak no Japanese...
View ArticleHow I Played the Foreign Tourist on Japanese TV
Japanese TV seems to be obsessed with interviewing foreigners and asking them what they think of Japan. There’s even a whole NHK show called “Cool Japan,” where a bunch of foreigners sit around the...
View ArticleNasubi, The Naked Eggplant-Man Who Lived Off Sweepstakes
Japan can call itself an innovator in the reality TV and game show world. Shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Za Gaman garnered more viewers abroad than they did domestically, because of their complete...
View ArticleA Peek Into Japanese Childhood Nostalgia and The Power Rangers That Could...
In 1992, Kyouryuu Sentai ZyuRanger (Dinosaur Squad Beast Ranger) aired on TV Asahi in Japan. One year later, an Israeli TV producer named Haim Saban took the footage from ZyuRanger, cut out the...
View ArticleA Japanese Obsession With Food And Drama
TV reflects the obsessions of a culture, so there are interesting differences in the TV shows of different countries. Comparing American and Japanese TV, one subject where there’s a big cultural...
View ArticleMr. Heavy Metal: An Interview with Marty Friedman
Imagination time: You’re one of the world’s greatest guitar players and a pioneer of the metal genre. You’ve had an illustrious career in the U.S. and it shows no signs of stopping. You’re at the top...
View ArticleTop Ten Real Life Kaiju of Japan
Movies like Pacific Rim and the thankfully-better-than-last-time American Godzilla have been rekindling a love for giant monsters. Kaijū have been igniting the imaginations of children everywhere since...
View ArticleGaki no Tsukai And The Living Legends Of Japanese Comedy
When I took my first shot at learning Japanese, nothing stuck. I would learn new kanji or grammar, then it would fly out of my head in a week. It took me three months to realize I had to escape my...
View ArticleInside the Japanese TV Industry: An Interview with a TV Salarywoman
Last year, we interviewed a Japanese TV announcer, Naomi Uemura, and she taught us How To Speak Beautiful Japanese. Since she provided some intriguing insight into the business, I wanted to learn more...
View ArticleAnime’s Great Deception – The Difference Between Anime and Cartoons
Even as a child, I sensed something different about cartoons like Robotech and Voltron. Compared to other shows, they struck me as serious, dramatic and stylish. Each episode contributed to a longer...
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