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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy
@helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
510 followers 130 following 580 posts
Writer, speaker, poet, scholar, mad about creative life. A dozen books plus presentations/articles on anime, manga, cosplay, history, art, crafts. I've given talks across the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. You can contact me via my website helenmccarthy.net
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 22d
Hello everyone, I'm Helen McCarthy. I've been researching anime, manga and Japan since 1981 and my first book was published in 1992. A dozen books since, two more in 2026, cosplay history and talks. Follow me for anime/manga titbits, snippets about Japan, recommendations, daily poems and fun stuff!
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 9h
robinsong
get yourself out here
get living

#haiku #poetry #lifeinallseasons
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 19h
This month is the 56th anniversary of the #TV #anime Sazae-san, running weekly since 5 October 1969, the longest-running animated TV show in the world. Midori Kato holds the record for the longest career as the voice of a single character. Last year's celebrations: soranews24.com/2024/11/19/s...
Sazae-san breaks own Guinness World Records again for 55 years on television
Star voice actor is 85 going on 25.
soranews24.com
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 20h
The "polluter pays" principle is often ignored (eg with the environmental costs of #AI) but in this case it would prevent far greater costs and health risks from hitting communities and consumers all over the world.
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 20h
Invasive species have a massive impact on agriculture (and hence good prices) as well as disease control and the natural and built environment. Requiring shipping companies and ports to sanitise all containers would add to distribution costs but minimise much greater costs from species incursion.
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
catsuka.bsky.social
Catsuka @catsuka.bsky.social · 20h
Note: the new Pokétoon animated short is a co-production between Studio Colorido (Japan) & Rudo (Argentina).
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Kangaskhan" :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfNr...
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 20h
Check out #ZoeCrombie's six-week Introduction to #StudioGhibli course at the #CityLit in #London - starts 27 October, still time to enrol! www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/intr...
Introduction to Studio Ghibli
Founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki in 1985, Studio Ghibli is the most well-known anime studio of all time, combining boundless imagination with a complexity that has led them ...
www.citylit.ac.uk
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 20h
“To give shape to the idea that the passage of time itself adds value is the achievement of Japanese diligence and an unyielding spirit of inquiry." Full Count jeans are resolutely old-tech even though the Levis that inspired them no longer use old-school looms. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...
Full Count jeans maker embodies craft and value of Japanese denim | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
When Mikiharu Tsujita launched Full Count in 1992, he did so with a singular, almost romantic ambition: to re-create the jeans he revered most—the Levi’s 501s of the 1940s and ’50s, the bedrock of blu...
www.asahi.com
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 20h
Animals have colonised far-flung corners of the world on human transport, often devastating ecosystems unprepared for them. The largest incursion of fire ants in Tokyo to date arrived on three containers from China. Time shipping companies took action? mainichi.jp/english/arti...
Over 10,000 invasive fire ants found at Tokyo port, largest discovery since 2017 - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- Over 10,000 invasive fire ants along with at least 8,000 eggs, larvae and pupae were found at the Port of Tokyo's Aomi container terminal, th
mainichi.jp
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 21h
Enter the world of Aomame, the assassin who strays into an alternate world in Haruki Murakami's "IQ84", with installations and events across the triennial Okayama Art Summit. Until 26 November.
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
Artists turn Okayama into Murakami-esque city of wonder
The fourth edition of the triennial Okayama Art Summit transmutes the sensibility of Haruki Murakami’s “1Q84” into an urban art program.
www.japantimes.co.jp
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 21h
Dolly Parton's sister asked for prayers because Dolly's feeling unwell. The reaction across social media - from those of all faiths and none - suggests that if an American wins the Nobel Peace Prize, it should be this generous, kind, hardworking joybringer.
www.newsweek.com/entertainmen...
Dolly Parton's sister provides update after telling fans to pray for star
Freida Parton concerned fans with a social media message saying she was "was up all night praying" for the country music icon.
www.newsweek.com
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 22h
That's uk.bookshop.org here in Britain. Money for indie bookshops supports diversity and choice. You can even nominate the bookshop you want to benefit!
Bookshop
uk.bookshop.org
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
bookshop.org
Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 1d
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?

Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
readjapaneseliterature.com
Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 1d
Bookshop.com is running two-days of anti-Prime free shipping. Now is a great time to stock up on your RJL back-list or get ready for RJL next episode, all about Lafcadio Hearn and different versions of the story "The Peony Lantern".
In Ghostly Japan: Japanese Legends of Ghosts, Yokai, Yurei and Other Oddities
Japanese Legends of Ghosts, Yokai, Yurei and Other Oddities
bookshop.org
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
readjapaneseliterature.com
Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 1d
Happy N American release day to Yasushi Kitagawa's The Lucky Ride, trans Takami Nieda.

Shuichi settles into the backseat of a mysterious taxi and embarks on a series of magical rides that will teach him surprising life lessons.

(Buy today or tomorrow for free shipping!)
The Lucky Ride: A Novel Full of Opportunity
A Novel Full of Opportunity
bookshop.org
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
bookshop.org
Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 1d
$41 million: The amount of money we’ve raised for indie bookstores since 2020.

$0: The amount of money Amazon has raised for indie bookstores since 1994.
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
#Japanese #novelist Mizuki Tsujimura is in London, Sheffield and Cheltenham this weekend promoting her new novel 'Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon', translated by Yuki Tejima. More info and ticketing links: jpf.org.uk/whatson.php?...
Poster for Mizuki Tsujimura's book tour 9-12 October, with a portrait of the author and cover images of her three novels. The Japan Foundation London has booking information for these events on their website.
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
Thanks! Following the "unofficial" fansite on Ghibli's web address is a must if you want to pick up things like this immediately they appear. I got it @ani-obsessive.bsky.social who pick up an amazing range of info.
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
Ghibli Museum Mitaka is recruiting for a few full-time posts in customer service and catering, starting April 2026. Applications close on 3 November 2025. They obviously expect local applicants - fluent Japanese and legal right to work will be needed. ghibli.jpn.org/news/ghibli-...
三鷹の森ジブリ美術館で正社員を募集！ | スタジオジブリ 非公式ファンサイト【ジブリのせかい】 宮崎駿・高畑勲の最新情報
ghibli.jpn.org
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
brilliant sunshine
yet wind off the river cuts
like a hidden blade

#haiku #poetry #autumn #windchill #RiverThames
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Reposted by Helen McCarthy
johnfreeman.bsky.social
John Freeman @johnfreeman.bsky.social · 1d
A teaser for the Fanderson “Thunderbirds” strip written by me with art by Bill Storie, featuring in their 2026 annual fanderson.org.uk/product-cate...
A teaser for the Fanderson “Thunderbirds” strip written by me with art by Bill Storie, featuring in their 2026 annual https://fanderson.org.uk/product-category/annuals/
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
Applications now open for background art workshops at Ghibli Park, 14:00, 8 and 9 November! Learn from Ghibli artists using materials they use in the studio - what a chance for Japanese enthusiasts.
ghibli.jpn.org/news/ghibli-...
ジブリパーク「秋のどんどこ祭り」で絵画ワークショップ開催！ | スタジオジブリ 非公式ファンサイト【ジブリのせかい】 宮崎駿・高畑勲の最新情報
ghibli.jpn.org
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 1d
My goodness, those are exceptionally clean and shiny bowels!
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 2d
In a world that often seems focussed on self-destruction, I find it a source of irrational joy that this year's chestnut harvest in Obuse, Japan, is delivering fruits smaller than usual, but sweeter. #harvest #naturestreasures #autumnbounty #smallpleasures japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/gene...
Chestnut Harvest Season Hits Peak in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture; Nuts Are Reportedly Smaller and Sweeter Than Usual
<p>Chestnuts peek out from nests of spiky burs on Sunday in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture. Harvest season for the town’s famed chestnuts is now at its peak. This orchard, called Marron-zine Obuse, consists...
japannews.yomiuri.co.jp
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Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 2d
Absolutely fabulous lecture, 16 Oct, 6 pm BST: Prof. Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere on The Art of Manga, currently at the de Young Museum, San Francisco. Online, free, booking essential. I'm Ghibli-ing in Gillingham that night or I'd sign up for it! us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Eight manga panels showing character portraits from The Art of Manga exhibition, printed in tones morphing from orange-red on the left to purple on the right. In the middle of the image is a panel with Ryan and Japanese lettering reading 'Art of Manga' on a background that reverses the colour of the image, purple on the left shifting to red on the right.
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helenmccarthy51.bsky.social
Helen McCarthy @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social · 2d
Japan's #kabuki summer: how #anime, film and collaborations are bringing this ancient art form to new audiences in the modern era.
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
The summer kabuki came roaring back
A hit film and shifting demographics are drawing new audiences to kabuki, sparking hopes for a revitalized future.
www.japantimes.co.jp
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