In my quest to view what Japan has to offer, I have unwittingly stumbled upon a few monstrosities. One goes by the name Sky Girls.

Ok, so I lied when I said I wasn't going to update again until the 4th Wednesday of the month. I have a mini update to plug in before my next big article.

More then anything, the sakura has always held great symbolic importance in Japan. In fact, they celebrate the blooming sakura every year.

After a bit of an impromptu break, The Owl in the Rafters is back with a convention related update! Anime Central, one of the largest anime conventions in the U.S.'s midwest region was this past end of April weekend so I'd like to go over some brief highlights and address my usual concerns with the state of the convention scene and, to some extent, anime fandom in general.

‘Bejitarizumu,’ a play on the words vegetarian (be-ji-te-ri-an-iz-u-mu) and rhythm (ri-zu-mu), has quickly become one of Japan’s most recent viral videos. This strangely addictive and undeniably cute video features four children in a supermarket, dancing around in leotards and tutus with vegetables on their heads.

Thanks to globalization and enterprising groups of people, it's easier then ever to get all the Japanese music and anime you want! Japanese food; not so much. You can find authentic Japanese food if you know where to look, like at Maido!

Once again, I’m celebrating April as Stuff That Isn’t Anime Month. The topic of interest is Homestuck. What is Homestuck? Let me tell you about Homestuck.

So, last time we took a little crash course in Yoshihiko Umakoshi's roles as animation director and character designer in order to prep for the recent Saint Seiya Omega. This week I've got another hot reboot to cover and another talented animator to touch on: Lupin III - Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

In celebration of Kingdom Hearts’ recent 10-year anniversary (Oh god no, I’m not that old!), I’d like to dissect the decision that left most people scratching their heads: making Alice a Disney Princess.

Admittedly, I'm the type of person who seeks out new and unusual things to explore. It's amazing what you can find simply by going to different places and paying attention to what's around you. You can just luck into stuff you had no idea existed. One such find that I unlurked was a grab bag of some older manga titles.