Category: Ask John

Question: What’s the deal with the term “idol” in Japan? In the last 6 or 7 years I’ve notice in anime and just Japanese culture that instead of

Question: I have noticed in many anime and manga that when the characters are traveling somewhere they come across many huts or other small roofed buildings and there

Question: Gaara seems to be a love-him-or-hate-him character in the Naruto fan community. His fans seem to like his cold, almost inhuman attitude, his perfect defense, and his

Question: Recently I’ve heard of the term “wotaku” (‘wo’ being pronounced as ‘o’) being used in Japan as the “new” otaku, without the negative connotations. Can you shed

Question: Why do the Japanese seem to love destroying Tokyo so much?

Question: Do you think ImaginAsian’s strategy for releasing classic anime on DVD will be successful?

Question: Other than the obligatory samurai period dramas, have there ever been anime based on real life historical characters, a la Production I.G.’s interesting–and entertaining–take on France’s crossdressing

Question: Do you think there’s a relationship between an anime series’ length at its quality? I’ve often encountered many fans who say that some very, very long series

Question: Some long-time fans complain about the number of young people into the fandom, and their usually faddish interest in anime. Some felt that bringing anime into the

Question: In Japanese culture, what is the meaning of holding up one’s pinky to another person? For instance, in Fist of the North Star Part 2, Ain holds

Question: I was wondering what would make grotesque manga unlicensible since U.S. have the movies Cannibal Holocaust & Guinea Pig released uncut, so isn’t that a double standard?

Question: Lately there seems to be trend among characters – especially female ones – in anime. Specifically, the correlation between their percieved age and actual age. In the

Question: I am grown African American man who is big anime fan. My question is, is there any anime films based on African Culture? Maybe a movie with

Question: Is Pretty Cure the next Sailor Moon series?

Question: Can you import anime straight from Japan? If so, how?