Roland Kelts's Blog, page 91
November 21, 2009
My latest for the Yomiuri: Obama and Perry bow
My latest column in the Daily Yomiur i in Japan--on Pres. Obama, Commodore Perry, and the new Asia:
SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Soft power evolution from Perry's day to Obama's
Roland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
Less than a week before U.S. President Barack Obama touched down in Tokyo last Friday, I took the train to Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, the tiny port city at the tip of the Izu Peninsula famous today for its beaches, seafood and hot springs. But 156 years ago, Shimoda earned fame...
the PONYO watch ...
... courtesy of Studio Ghibli.
new review of Japanamerica
Big thanks to Mr. M. Douglas for the latest enthusiastic review of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded The U.S.Author: M. Douglas
Published: 10/19/09
Roland Kelts is a fiction and nonfiction writer, an editor of the literary journal A Public Space, and a lecturer at the University of Tokyo. His 2007 book Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. explores the conceptual history regarding the use of...
November 16, 2009
Monocle radio interview w/Tyler Brule on manga and Japanamerica
Had a blast this weekend chatting on the radio with Tyler Brule, founder and editor of Monocle magazine, based in the UK, about manga in Japan and Japanamerica--and my forthcoming novel, Access. You can hear it here, with the intro @ 1:00 and the entire conversation @ 22:00:MONOCLE interview w/Tyler Brule
Monocle interview w/Tyler Brule on manga and Japanamerica
Had a blast this weekend chatting with Tyler Brule, founder and editor of Monocle magazine, based in the UK, about manga in Japan and Japanamerica--and my forthcoming novel, Access. You can hear it here, with the intro @ 1:00 and the entire conversation @ 22:00:MONOCLE interview w/Tyler Brule
November 12, 2009
"Redline" anime from Madhouse--in ANIMATION MAGAZINE
Koike and Ishii in Locarno, Switzerland
Ribbon-cutting for debut of "Redline"
Heart Like a Wheel
-- ANIMATION MAGAZINE
Print 
EmailSunday, October 25, 2009 By: Roland Kelts
Redline, Takeshi Koike's heady new anime feature, embraces the car culture of the West.
Two years ago the staff at Madhouse, one of Japan's most adventurous animation studios, sat me down in a screening room in west Tokyo. A sequence of spasmodic images blazed across the screen: long sleek race cars burning past elaborate...
November 6, 2009
Japanamerica in VANITY FAIR: How Japanese cute conquered America
"There's no doubt that cuteness has been a part of the Japanese aesthetic since the postwar years," says Roland Kelts, the author of the 2006 book Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. "One theory, which has been proposed by a lot of Japanese artists and academics, is that, after the humiliation and emasculation of Japan in the postwar years, Japan developed this quasi-queer position of 'little brother' or 'little boy.' If you become 'little brother' or 'little boy,'...
October 26, 2009
October 24, 2009
Latest column for the Yomiuri / 3:AM on Miho and J-Pop in the USA
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My latest column for the Daily Yomiuri, and co-published by 3:AM magazine in the UK, features interviews with Miho Hatori, formerly of Cibo Matto, and Reni-chan, a 'maid cafe' performer, both of whom have been transplanted from Tokyo to New York to make it in America. It's a little riff on the status of Japanese music performers in the US, via AKB48, of course. SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Japan's music-makers in America
Roland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
When Japanese pop idol group...
Latest column for the Yomiuri-on Miho and J-Pop in the USA
My latest column for the Daily Yomiuri, and co-published by 3:AM magazine in the UK, features interviews with Miho Hatori, formerly of Cibo Matto, and Reni-chan, a so-called 'maid cafe' performer, both of whom have been transplanted from Tokyo to New York to make it in America. It's a little riff on the status of Japanese music performers in the US, via AKB48, of course. SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Japan's music-makers in America
Roland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri
When Japanese pop...
