Tomo has been abandoned by her mother, again. While this isn’t the first time it’s happened, and her mother has been more-or-less an absent parent since day one, it still hurts. Unable to live on her own, the eleven-year-old seeks refuge with her uncle Makio. He gladly accepts but he doesn’t live alone anymore, he […]

Pottery is as much a philosophy as it is an art form. In Mashiko and Kasama, two regions of Japan which is the home to some of the best potters in the world, this is especially the case. Those that work in these areas spend decades perfecting their craft, refining their skills until they are […]

“Why is everyone so obsessed with Kanako?” One character asks under duress to Kanako’s latest victim, Boku, who is desperately seeking the truth about her. Where she is? Why she is? How she is? What is she? Kanako. Kanako. Ka-na-ko. Perhaps it’s fitting then, that The World of Kanako is all about its eponymous character […]

Japanese animation, for the better part of two decades, has become a prominent feature in western society thanks especially to the works of Studio Ghibli, and in particular Hayao Miyazaki. Following Toshio Suzuki’s announcement of Studio Ghibli’s hiatus from film production on August 3rd the status of Japanese animation has been questioned by critics. However, […]