Matt Alt's Pure Invention

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Umami is MSG
The long and winding road of a fantasy-delivery device for our palates
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Matt Alt
2
“Godzilla Minus One” Doesn't Quite Add Up
Takashi Yamazaki delivers an exquisitely rendered postwar Japan. But does his re-envisioning of history go too far?
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Matt Alt
Halloween Special: the Yokai Guy
Manga master Shigeru Mizuki breathed new life into the undead
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Matt Alt
4
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Japan failed at social media
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1
In America, “Barbenheimer” is a success. In Japan, it’s a scandal.
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12
An American Icon, Made in Japan
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11
Did Mario teach Zuckerberg everything he knows?
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Murakami didn’t, but a Norwegian would
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4
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Halloween Spooks Shibuya
A neighborhood’s love-hate for the holiday boils over
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Matt Alt
An interview with Alfred Birnbaum
Translator of Haruki Murakami’s "A Wild Sheep Chase," and many others
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Matt Alt
5
Murakami didn’t, but a Norwegian would
What we talk about when we talk about Haruki Murakami’s elusive Nobel Prize
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Matt Alt
4
Japan's Moonshot
Japan has long reached out to the world through its toys. Now it’s sending them to the stars.
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Matt Alt
2
Tokyo Heat
More thoughts on how climate change is reshaping Japanese culture
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Matt Alt
5
Head in the Clouds
Anime lost a legend this week: art director Nizo Yamamoto. His work transformed the medium from fantasy into an all-enveloping reality for fans.
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Matt Alt
4
An American Icon, Made in Japan
Barbie has a secret: she may have been dreamed up in the US, but she came to life in a Tokyo hotel room.
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Matt Alt
11
Matt Alt's Pure Invention
Matt Alt's Pure Invention
Dispatches from the front lines of Japanese pop culture.
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