Tag: Helen McCarthy

July 23, 2021 · 1 comment

By Helen McCarthy. The mascot characters of the Tokyo Olympics are Miraitowa and Someity, selected from over 2000 entries in an open competition over four years ago, and spattered over every conceivable surface, screen and item of merchandise. They even had an animated appearance, showing up in two online shorts, participating in every planned Olympic […]

January 6, 2021 · 0 comments

By Helen McCarthy. Les Recettes des Films du Studio Ghibli by cook Minh-tri Vo, with photos by Apolline Cartier and film research by Claire-France Thevenon, is out now from Ynnis Editions in France, just in time for your New Year’s Resolution to…. cook a bunch of dishes inspired by Studio Ghibli films, while practising French. […]

May 22, 2020 · 0 comments

By Helen McCarthy. From the first episodes of the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime series, director Kunihiko Ikuhara delivers a format packed with new ideas and a number of classic riffs. As a girl, we are told, Utena lost her parents, but remembers being comforted by a gallant prince on a white horse. The impressionable child […]

March 1, 2020 · 0 comments

By Helen McCarthy. The Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk exhibition is impressive – so impressive that since I left the Victoria and Albert Museum I’ve worn nothing but kimono. I’m writing about it, right now, dressed entirely in kimono. Of course that’s nothing new. My crew-neck knit kimono and my straight leg Levi’s stonewash kimono are […]

November 23, 2018 · 0 comments

By Helen McCarthy. When you think of Tokyo, you probably think of the Tokyo of the Sunday supplement ads, with a geisha gazing wistfully over a sea of cherry blossom towards distant Fuji. If you’re of a fannish persuasion, you may envision a neon metropolis packed with frenetic activity and shopping opportunities. You’re unlikely to […]