AltJapan

Beware the Yokai

An article I wrote about yokai is in the latest issue (#10, June/July) of the Discovery Channel Magazine, an English-language magazine that is (to my knowledge) only available in Asia. Check it out if you have a chance!

Yokai/Damage

I can't believe I forgot to mention this awesome interview that Schultz of Hello Damage conducted with us about Yokai Attack! Check it out when you get a chance.

Real Panic Movie

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT.... The thrilling conclusion to Project Kappa is live on BoingBoing TV right this very dang second. What will happen to the Yokai Squad in the rickshaw-infested back-alleys of Asakusa? Does hiring Kappa instead of normal contractors violate any municipal building codes? Will wishing upon the Kappa's Paw bring Sean Bonner back? And more importantly, didn't anyone ever tell you not to chew with your mouth open, young man?

For those who have been under a rock for the last twenty four hours, or maybe just have a life, part one is here.

Yokai Post

I never expected to ever see the word "yokai" on the front page of the same paper that broke the Watergate scandal, let alone a photo of Hiroko and I. But there they are, in full color no less. Click here for an un-cropped image of the page, and click here for a link to the actual article.

Kappafield

Now LIVE on BoingBoing TV!

"Sean made it to Tokyo, and shot evidence of the Kappa on Japan's urban streets (signs, blow-up Kappa dolls, stickers). But then, suddenly, the raw footage he was FTPing to us nightly just STOPPED. Bam. Just like that. And with it, all evidence we had of Sean's whereabouts and well-being..."

Hiroko, Sean Bonner, and I brave the wilds of Tokyo's fabled kitchenware district, Kappabashi-Dori, in search of a hidden temple -- said to be home to the mummified hand of a supernatural creature. Beset by inflatable monsters and a nagging case of shaky-cam, three of us enter... but only two escape. What happens to Internet's Sean Bonner? You'll have to tune in to episode two tomorrow to find out. 

They Live

"Perfect gifts for foreigners!" proclaims this sign at a Narita Airport gift shop. I couldn't agree more. Who needs the Chrysanthemum and the Sword when you've got Yokai Attack and the infamous Tabloid Tokyo series?

But forget all that: I've got news. Big news. YokaiAttack.com is live! Designed by Andrew Lee, who also laid out the book, it probably the only website with quotes from Steve "30 Days of Night" Niles, Don "Phantasm"  Coscarelli, and Albert "that whole theory of relativity thing" Einstein. So it isn't only the official website for Yokai Attack. It's also fun for the whole damned family. Check it out when you get a chance.

Yoda (& Alt) Attack

The fine folks at SciFi Japan have posted an interview with us about Yokai Attack! Check it out when you get a chance.

Yokai Gaiden

One of the great things about yokai is that they turn up in unexpected places... Occasionally, even in the code for video games. Check out this screen from Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS, which Hiroko and I translated. Denroku is a bookworm who occasionally pops up to assist the hero with information gleaned from dusty old tomes, one of which was described in the original text as an "encylopedia of yokai." That's how we translated it.

But when we saw the final product, we were surprised so see that our pal Andy (who was the game's localization director -- you may remember him from the interview we all did together a few months back) decided to tweak the translation as an homage to our book Yokai Attack! How cool is that? Now you've got another reason to play through the game (which is a lot of fun, incidentally).

Ninja Gaiden DS on Amazon

Yokai Attack on Amazon

Yokai Attack on Facebook

Yokai Shok!!!

"Shok" as in "shock," in that we're shocked and amazed that our new book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide is finally available RIGHT NOW in North America and Europe, a month ahead of schedule! To commemorate, we launched a Facebook group for the book. Feel free to join up!

And "Shok" as in the inimitable SHOKOTAN, who seemed to enjoy the book (or at least didn't run away screaming) when Yokai Attack graphic designer Andrew Lee handed her a copy a few days ago.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

We first meet Hiroko and Matt in Tokyo's touristy Asakusa, where the couple pose with a pair of tanuki statues on the grounds of a shrine...

Thanks to the the Asahi Shimbun for the feature on us in today's issue. Partly a goofy exposé of Hiroko and I, partly a review of Hello, Please!, and mostly a discussion of the creatures that populate the soon-to-be-released-in-America Yokai Attack!, it's got a twist at the end that managed to surprise even us (and will definitely surprise Steve Jobs). Check it out if you get a chance.