‘We Are Not Free’ review: Traci Chee voices the stories of Japanese Americans during WWII

Traci Chee’s beautifully written historical fiction novel pulls from her own family history of being forcefully relocated during World War II to draw attention to an often overlooked episode of American history. We Are Not Free follows a group of…

Perfect Blue 20 years later remains beautiful and haunting

How better to describe the films of the late Satoshi Kon than guiding spirits to our agitated subconscious. Although all his films can be called dream factories, this notion becomes quite literal in his last feature Paprika, a film that…

Movie Review: Shin Godzilla

Godzilla may be a character and symbol widely recognized across the entire globe, but culturally, the monster has never had more impact than he does in Japan, born of a cautionary tale barely a decade after the atomic bomb events…

Yakuza 5 Takes Gamers on a Tour of Japan

After nearly three long years to the day since its original release in 2012, Western gamers are being treated at last to “Yakuza 5.” It’s a rare occasion these days for PlayStation 3 owners to have something to feel excited…

Godzilla Week: Top 10 Toho Monsters (Kaiju)

  With Gareth Edwards’ and Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla opening this Friday, people are getting caught up in Godzilla-mania. Whether it be fans reliving old favorites on DVD, or newcomers to the King’s 29 film franchise watching on Hulu Plus (yes,…

Book Review: Ink (Paper Gods #1) by Amanda Sun

When you read a lot of books, especially YA, sometimes they tend to blur altogether. A book needs a certain quality to stand out amongst the rapidly growing genre, and Amanda Sun’s new book, Ink, definitely has that. Ink’s backdrop…