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From arcades to consoles, Japan turned early 3D polygons into cultural icons.
Before Harajuku, Shoichi Aoki archived the world’s fashion.
Inside the legacy of one of anime’s most iconic studios.
Revisiting a handmade animation era with 1991’s ‘PAPERS’.
Tracing how jazz evolved from Lupin’s charm to Bebop’s sci-fi western universe.
The anarchic tribute that brings tokusatsu back from cultural oblivion.
Explaining the glue between anime, fine art, toys, and fashion.
Paprika is back, leading PARCO’s Grand Bazar.
Tokyo’s outsider spirit, Blue Spring, and emotion stitched into Elsewhere.
How the Bokka of Oze keep the porter tradition alive.
Discover how Akira Nakai and RWB transformed Porsche tuning forever.
An emotional blueprint evolved into wearable architecture.
The culmination of Kon’s experiments in psychological animation.
Kyoichi Tsuzuki’s cult classic gets a second life.
How Hara Kazuaki documents the daily lives of her kids in Nagano.
Shin Hanga preserved traditional aesthetics while negotiating Western influence and change.
How Yukinaga continues traditional techniques by working entirely in analog.
Rediscovering traditional indigo dyeing through a new generation.
Wenders wanders a city racing forward, searching for Ozu’s stillness.
The insanely detailed cardboard creations of Aidakko Sishou.
Ihei Kimura captured life’s raw beauty through unfiltered moments.
Japan’s hidden graffiti world, balancing creativity and legality.
The creative chaos of 90s Harajuku immortalized by iconic fashion magazines.
These quirky little creatures say more than words ever could.
From Ukiyo-e’s decline rose the Sōsaku Hanga movement.
OZ became the prototype for our online selves.
How FRUiTS and Chiaki Ito formed the base for a cel shade Tokyo.
Dive into the world of Japan’s female divers.
A chaotic genius who bent postwar Japan’s manga into delirium.
Fashion
Japanese denim found its way from Kansai to US skate culture.
Before Harajuku, Shoichi Aoki archived the world’s fashion.
Tokyo’s outsider spirit, Blue Spring, and emotion stitched into Elsewhere.
An emotional blueprint evolved into wearable architecture.
Rediscovering traditional indigo dyeing through a new generation.
The creative chaos of 90s Harajuku immortalized by iconic fashion magazines.
Runways, vintage book treasures, and konbini snacks, the final days of Fashion Week Tokyo.
Tradition becomes design as Kai Mackenzie refines heritage into form.
Dive into the first three days of Fashion Week Tokyo.
Yutaro Saito’s sixth column joins a man who cleans Tokyo voluntarily.
Precision and subtlety define the understated power of Tokyo’s uniforms.
How Japan’s charm culture keeps creating new trends.
Yutaro Saito’s fifth column joins a man who wears what he eats.
The ordinary unravels gently in Mihara’s layered emotional silhouettes.
Masculinity here is soft-spoken, styled, and rooted in routine.
Yutaro Saito’s fourth column joins a man on a worldwide fishing trip.
Streetwear’s silent coder, remixing chaos into something strangely coherent.
Born in post-war Kobe, reborn on Tarantino’s blood-soaked set.
Pickyou is single-handedly revolutionizing the second hand scene.
Yutaro Saito’s third column finds quiet strength in Crocs.
A collaboration that explored identity through fashion, music, and performance.
Yazawa’s manga wears its heart out loud, stitched in Westwood’s tartan.
How a carabiner on a belt says more than designer logos.
What are Japanese designers thinking about?
Genderless kei blends comfort, color, and confidence with effortless charm.
A knit cap, pink jacket, and 40,000 kilometers later.
Yutaro Saito captures the quiet confidence of aging in fashion.
IM MEN turns fabric into wearable flight.
SEVESKIG redefines impermanence through wabi-sabi, yakihaku, and Roujin Z.
Art & Design
Shin Hanga preserved traditional aesthetics while negotiating Western influence and change.
Music & Film
Manga & Anime
From doujinshi roots to global icons, the revolutionary impact of CLAMP on the world of manga.
The Rise, Rupture, and Collapse of Gainax
Inside the legacy of one of anime’s most iconic studios.
Jazz in Anime – How Cowboy Bebop set the Standard
Tracing how jazz evolved from Lupin’s charm to Bebop’s sci-fi western universe.
Satoshi Kon’s Final Gift - How Paprika Rewrote Dreams
The culmination of Kon’s experiments in psychological animation.
Yukinaga Yamada - Preserving the Analog Soul of Manga
How Yukinaga continues traditional techniques by working entirely in analog.
Summer Wars – The Foreshadowing of an AI Society
OZ became the prototype for our online selves.
Shigeru Sugiura - Pop Surrealist of Postwar Manga
A chaotic genius who bent postwar Japan’s manga into delirium.
The Nujabes Soundtrack that Crossed Cultures - Samurai Champloo
Nujabes' Impact on Anime’s most Iconic Soundtrack.
Grotesque Theatre - Mononoke and Japanese Horror
The medicine seller interrogates guilt, exposing sins behind restless spirits.
Teppu - Moare Ohta's Take on Fight Culture in Japan
The underground manga that showed women’s MMA fighting for recognition in Japan.
Manga and Anime in the Shadow of Hiroshima
The manga and anime that remember Japan’s biggest tragedy.
Gunbuster - The "Stupid Robot Girl" Anime that Birthed Evangelion
The robot girl anime that rewrote sci-fi storytelling rules.
Breaking Boundaries - Masaaki Yuasa and the Wild Grammar of Animation
The animator that finds freedom in distortion.
The Art That Makes Vagabond Ache - Takehiko Inoue’s Mastery of Expression
How Vagabond’s detailed facial expressions shape its emotional value.
Lost in the Megastructure - The Infinite World of BLAME!
A city that builds itself while everything else falls apart.
Laputa: Castle In The Sky - Hayao Miyazaki’s Ode To Animation
Ghibli’s first movie shows us Miyazaki’s dreams for a simpler time.
Ashita No Joe - How A Boxing Manga Impacted Japan
From the streets to the ring, Joe punched through history.
The Art Style of CLAMP - Baroque Armors & Avant-Garde Kimonos
Baroque armors, cyberpunk muses—CLAMP’s art redefines manga storytelling.
GANTZ vs. Battle Royale - Survival Genre Titans
Survival of the fittest, among chaos, and humanity at its breaking point.
Tekkonkinkreet - A Symphony of Childhood Chaos
Childhood, chaos, and urban decay collide in a visual masterpiece.
16 Retro Mecha Anime That Defined an Era
From Gundam to Evangelion, the must-watch classics of mecha anime.
Japanese denim found its way from Kansai to US skate culture.