Tag Archives: interviews

For Honor: Samurai vs Everyone

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Over at Samuel Steele’s YouTube page, he interviews me about the technology and culture of the samurai. It’s “just a bit of fun” as the TV historians like to say, designed to think through some of the implications of the ideas behind the computer game For Honor, in which samurai, Vikings and knights duel for control of thinning resources. The interview is split into three parts, the first, largely on weapons and armour, the second, largely on “the warrior code” and the existence of the ninja, and the third on archery, women, and who would win in a stand-up fight.

Back in the Japan Times

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AnimeEncyclopedia3 copyAnd I’m back in the Japan Times again, this time in a review-interview by Roland Kelts, in which he compares the Anime Encyclopedia to the ravings of an Irish drunk.

“The book is almost Joycean — you can dip in and out of its pages and entries at any point and derive delight. My favorite entries make me want to watch titles I haven’t yet seen and revisit those I have, and the authors’ disquisitions on related topics such as fandom and the future of anime consumption make further exploration irresistible.”

And if you’re wondering how I can publish a 1200-page book only a month after Modern Japan: All That Matters, it’s because the editorial process of the Anime Encyclopedia is so long and complex that it took more than year from the initial delivery to lay-out, check and augment.

All That Matters

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1794542_10152891885498054_7621884663292162755_n“Japan is still living five years into the future, but whereas that was once a breathless boast of oncoming technologies and trends, today it’s a warning of the crises that could also face the developed world as a whole.” Over at The Japan Times, I am interviewed by JJ O’Donoghue about my new book, Modern Japan: All That Matters (US/UK).

Doctrine of Lapse

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Behind the link, James Hidahl in Texas interviews me about regional lockout on DVD and Blu-ray players, and what it all means. Includes a comparison of fan entitlement issues to the behaviour of the East India Company, and allusions to several import/export scandals from the anime business in recent years. Also an entire article by Ben Carter from Manga Max in January 1999, one of the first ever pieces to address lockout in print.