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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 16h

I still feel that it remains more fondly remembered by foreign anime fans abroad than it is in Japan. Perhaps not quite Voltron-vs-Golion or Cowboy Bebop levels, but still. My point is, there used to be a real schism between what hit domestically and what hit abroad. That gap has truly narrowed.

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 18h

I get it -- it's a Gundam series, so fringe might be stretching -- but you just do not see Wing being celebrated here in the way series preceding and succeeding it are. You mostly hear it discussed in Japan as "the one that hit in America."

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 1d

The souvenir from Japan for your father:

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 1d

I regret knowing this! Thank you.

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 1d

First, AI came for the writers, then the coders, then the filmmakers. Now it seems to have come for the gashapon.

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Reposted by Matt Alt

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 2d

Two more books also by Hiroko and Matt are Yokai Attack and Yurei Attack. These are a really fun introduction to Japanese #yokai and ghosts.
#JapaneseFolklore
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Front covers of Yokai Attack and Yurei Attack.

Open page about Tsuchi-gumo, illustration on right of a giant spider.

Open book with more information about Tsuchi-gumo.

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 2d

This is a great lecture. The part about how "funhouse mirror" distortions of Japanese culture can then affect Japanese culture itself reminds me of @hirokoyoda.bsky.social's writing about how the Japanese gov't is now promoting Western "ikigai" on locals. blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/ikigai-vs-...

Dr. Wes Robertson @scriptingjapan.bsky.social · 3d

[X] the Ancient Japanese Art of [Y]: The Mobilization of #Japanese Metalinguistic Fantasies in Self-Help Literature

Recording of a lecture I gave at JSAA2025

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TElW...

X the Ancient Japanese Art of Y: The Mobilization of Linguistic Fantasies in Self-Help Books

YouTube video by Scripting Japan

www.youtube.com

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 3d

Before animation historians jump down my throat, yes, there were Japanese animated features before this, but Astro Boy was the first full length TV series. Tezuka described it thusly:「これは、アニメーションじゃないんです。テレビアニメなんです。アニメなんです」"This isn't animation. I call it 'anime.'" And a new word was born.

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 3d

62 years ago this month: Osamu Tezuka inks a deal with NBC for the broadcast of "Astro Boy," giving the world its first taste of anime:

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 3d

It's PURE JIMBOCHO as @patrickmacias.bsky.social & I broadcast from the heart of Japan's "coolest" (according to a certain foreign magazine) neighborhood -- Jimbocho, Tokyo's used and new book district. Listening to us talking about reading is fundamental: www.tokyoscope.blog/p/pure-tokyo...

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Reposted by Matt Alt

Deb Aoki @debaoki.bsky.social · 5d

A neat profile on Manga Awards host/judge & author @mattalt.bsky.social during @animenyc.bsky.social with some impressions of the Kagurabachi / Manga Plus panel with Takeru Hokazono

unwinnable.com/2025/10/02/s...

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 5d

Thanks to @aguaspoints.bsky.social for this profile from the floor of AnimeNYC in August: unwinnable.com/2025/10/02/s...

Staring at Japan’s “Fantasy Industrial Complex” at Anime NYC 2025 with Matt Alt - Unwinnable

“Anime is another form of drag for the human race.”

unwinnable.com

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 5d

The gothic elements certainly don't hurt. They've also moved far away from the distinctly Taisho-era Japan settings of the first few series into a fantasy world that's much easier for non-Japanese to digest.

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 6d

There are 10,000 manga artists working in Japan today. The extraordinary success of "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" is due to Shonen Jump's knack for spotting talent.

Its success abroad is due to a more singular factor.

We're all otaku now.

blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/dollars-an...

Dollars and Demons

Demon Slayer's success shouldn't surprise. We're all otaku now.

blog.pureinventionbook.com

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 6d

Congratulations!

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 11d

Turning Japanese: Japan-style "conbini" in the US, Japan-style "anime" sweeping the US, and Japan-style "horror" shaking up US, all brought to you by.... US, me & @patrickmacias.bsky.social! www.tokyoscope.blog/p/pure-tokyo...

Pure TokyoScope Podcast 149: Is the US Ready for Japanese 7-Elevens? Demon Slayer and Exit 8 Movie Reviews!

Patrick Macias and Matt Alt bring you pop culture direct from Japan!

www.tokyoscope.blog

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 13d

Count me in!!!

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 16d

The protest movements of the world are increasingly rallying around anime imagery. Is the US next? blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/anime-acti...

Anime activism

Global protest movements are relying on imagery from Japan. Here's why.

blog.pureinventionbook.com

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Reposted by Matt Alt

🐉 Carlos J. Eguren 🪐 @carlosjeguren.bsky.social · 18d

Si te gusta la cultura #japonesa, te recomiendo los libros de @hirokoyoda.bsky.social y @mattalt.bsky.social dedicados a yūrei, yōkai, ninjas y todo lo que mola en esta y en la otra vida: labibliotecadelfenix.com/2025/09/19/y... vía @bibliotecadelfenix.bsky.social

La mitología japonesa al ataque, según Hiroko Yoda y Matt Alt

¿Te gusta la mitología y la cultura japonesas? Repasamos la colección Attack de Hiroko Yoda y Matt Alt, dedicada a yūrei, yōkai y ninjas.

labibliotecadelfenix.com

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 22d

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 22d

There are some intriguing similarities between the political chaos in Japan in the late Sixties, and the political chaos unfolding in America today. I wonder if there is anything to learn from that. blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/politics-c...

Politics, Chaos, and Cup Noodles

The eerie parallels between Japan's Sixties and America today

blog.pureinventionbook.com

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 24d

“America plushies” as seen by Japan. I could think of a few others… what about you?

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 24d

And Naruto in turn influenced Hokazono. Cultural cross-overs and homages are what make the world go 'round. Thanks for reading!

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Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 24d

Yes it is.

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · 24d

Podcast drop! Japan's long known toys aren't just for kids. In this episode, @patrickmacias.bsky.social and I explore how adult collectors are transforming global markets! www.tokyoscope.blog/p/pure-tokyo...

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