On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about the manga creator Akira Toriyama and his impact on the world and my life. Topics Discussed About the passing of manga creator Akira Toriyama About the impact and influence of Akira Toriyama on the US and the world About the impact of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z About the popularity of the Dragon Ball franchise around …

Two men in Tokyo were arrested on March 22nd for allegedly having stolen a Yu-Gi-Oh card (Blue Eyes White Dragon) value at 4.98 million yen from an Akihabara card shop. Original news report from ANN News.

The world’s first dragon ball theme park is set to open in the outskirts of Riad in Saudi Arabia. Here is the original promotional video for the Dragon Ball theme park.

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Kushwagra Kushwaha, an animator working in Japan’s anime industry tells us how he got to Japan, how he got his break in the Japanese anime industry, what it’s like working as an anime animator in Japan and more. About Kushagra Kushwaha Kushwagra Kushwaha is a professional animator working in the anime industry …

 On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we’re talking about Big Hero 6, anime, drawing comics, and more with artist David Nakayama. About David Nakayama David Nakayama is an artist known for his work on covers for Marvel Comics, video games and more. He is also known for having worked with Chris Claremont to relaunch Big Hero 6 comic book series …

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we’re talking with Alex from the Sakura Stardust YouTube channel. She tells us about Japanese lost media and digs into some specific examples like Saki Sanobashi and the mysterious Akihabara cassette tape. About Alex (Sakura Stardust) Alex runs the popular YouTube channel Sakura Stardust. In her videos Alex focuses primarily on Japanese …

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we’re talking about depictions of Japan and Japanese people on popular American TV shows with Dr. Alisa Freedman. About Dr. Alisa Freedman Alisa Freedman is a Professor of Japanese Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender at the University of Oregon and the Editor-in-Chief of the U.S.–Japan Women’s Journal. Her books include Tokyo in Transit: Japanese …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is that sound? This time we’re talking about Japanese onomatopoeia and yes, we’re talking about some really wacky ones too! Topics Discussed About onomatopoeia in Japanese How onomatopoeia are used in Japanese The difference between giongo and gitaigo What giongo are What gitaigo are Examples of giongo What donburako means The story of Momotaro What jirojiro means What …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Should I go to Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan? Topics Discussed Whether we think it’s worth visiting Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan in Osaka About Ryan’s experience at Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan About Universal Studios Japan’s Cool Japan special event About the appointment system used …

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Dr. Wes Robertson stops by to talk about the wonderful mess that is the Japanese writing system. About Dr. Wes Robertson Wesley C. Robertson is Lecturer in International Studies at Macquarie University, Australia. His research focuses on variation and language play inherent in writing, with a focus on Japanese. He completed his …