Liz Ohanesian

In our recent posts on bands like Anamanaguchi, The Aprils and The Lady Spade, you might have noticed references to Shibuya-kei, the '90s-centric style of indie, almost always electronic, pop that centered around Tokyo's Shibuya ward. Since we're hearing the influence of artists like Cornelius and Pizzicato 5 creeping up......

We spotted this video on Facebook this morning via Japanese pop culture authority Danny Choo (we recommend following both his Culture Japan website and Twitter updates, both are quite insightful). It's the Transformers dancing to "Thriller." The video was originally uploaded to Japan's hotbed of viral videos, Nico Nico Douga,......

See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's photo gallery, "'Magical Girls: Art Inspired by Shojo Manga' Opens at Meltdown Comics." In "Shibuya Girls Pop: Cute Rebellion," found in this week's print edition of LA Weekly, I wrote about a Japanese art collective who incorporates kawaii, or cute, images in pieces that......

See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshow "Peelander-Z, Anamanaguchi @ The Roxy." Read more about Anamanaguchi in Liz Ohanesian's post, "Anamanaguchi's Peter Berkman Shares His Top 3 Influences: Tim and Eric, Japanese Music and Video Games." Here's a tip, if you want to get noticed by the members of Anamanaguchi......

Tonight, Anamanaguchi plays The Roxy with Peelander-Z and, tomorrow, the 8-bit punk band behind the music for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game will head down to Meltdown Comics, where they will appear inside the Nerdist Theater. Right before the band left for South by Southwest, where they were......