On August 29, Japanese rock band MAN WITH A MISSION will release their new digital single “ONE.” The track is the first of three consecutive monthly releases the band has …
Ken Watanabe
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FestivalsFilm/TV
JAPAN FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 2026: DATES, FILMS, SCREENINGS AND WHAT TO KNOW
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeLos Angeles audiences will get another opportunity to explore Japanese cinema this September when the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles (JFFLA) returns for its 2026 edition, bringing together Japanese filmmakers, …
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J-popMusic
J-POP IS COMING TO AMERICA: WHY JAPAN’S MUSIC INDUSTRY IS FINALLY GOING GLOBAL
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeFor decades, Japan had one of the strangest advantages in the global music business: it was so successful at home that its artists did not particularly need the rest of …
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Film/TV
ASIAN MOVIE RECOMMENDATION: ‘THE PLAGUE’ TURNED SOCIAL ANXIETY AND BULLYING INTO PURE DREAD
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabePicture this: you’re twelve, awkward, desperate to belong, and stuck at an all-boys water polo camp where the social hierarchy is more vicious than any horror movie monster. One wrong …
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Some stories hit you with spectacle. Others slip in through the side door and rearrange how you see everyday courage. 37 Seconds does the second thing with rare grace. Yuma …
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General
TRUTH: THIS CHINESE FORENSIC DRAMA WILL MAKE YOU OBSESSED WITH CASE FILES
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeTwo young technical investigators walk into a crime scene and the air changes. One is sharp, methodical, and carrying more emotional baggage than he lets on. The other is driven, …
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CulturePop Culture
SANRIO PUROLAND IS BRINGING LABUBU INTO ITS WORLD FOR HALLOWEEN
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeHalloween at Sanrio Puroland is about to get considerably more monstrous. The Tokyo theme park has announced PUROMONSTER SCRAMBLE, its Halloween event scheduled to run from September 11 through November …
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Film/TV
ASIAN DRAMA RECOMMENDATION: ‘DON’T COME HOME’ STARTS AS A GHOST STORY AND ENDS WITH YOUR MIND BLOWN
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeDon’t Come Home (อย่ากลับบ้าน) is the kind of series that lures you in with the promise of a classic haunted-house story and then quietly rewires your brain. A mother and …
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Film/TV
THE ARABIC HORROR FILM EVERYONE AT FANTASTIC FEST WAS TALKING ABOUT
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeImagine your husband coming home one day and announcing that your marriage has changed. There is another wife now. She is moving into your home, entering your family, and occupying …
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J-popMusic
MEET JO1: THE JAPANESE BOY GROUP BRINGING “ANIMAL” ENERGY TO AMERICA
by Ken Watanabeby Ken WatanabeOn October 2, the Japanese boy group drops its first U.S. original project, the six-track EP ANIMAL, the same day it kicks off the 2026 JO1 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR ~ANIMAL~. …