An overview of Japanese indie game events

Douglas Schules will discuss how to you participate in major events for games in Tokyo and what to expect. ...

Hareluya II BØY, Hidive’s Secret Streaming Gem

The anime streaming service Hidive has a number of titles that most don’t know much about, & one of them is Hareluya II BØY. This 1997 series was the first Shonen Jump anime to debut in late-night, was the first delinquent anime to debut on TV, & had been nigh-impossible to watch for well over two decades, but is it worth checking out now? Come learn what the show is about with George Horvath, its unique manga origins, & why it's an anime that definitely deserves being rediscovered today, especially by those who enjoy titles like Gintama, SKET Dance, Tokyo Revengers, & Wind Breaker. ...

When CPU became AI

Giuseppe Samo will explain how we moved in video games from having what it has been called CPU to enemies to the "magical" acronym AI and will present the history from more rule-based games to more dynamic games of nowadays. ...

Inside Japanese Baseball

Illusions Deconstructed: A Conversation about Artificial Music Performances

In this panel, Gerardo Lopez and Clair Nguyen will discuss various aspects of musical performance that are brought to life through constructed and digital means. The first presenter will focus on a broader history of robot-like singing personas, better described as artificial people, before focusing on the contemporary rise of A.I. singer-songwriters. The second presenter will then dive deeper into how animated musical performances of digital/virtual personas, such as Vocaloid and media mix characters, are mediated through audiovisual relationships between cinematographic techniques and musical content. ...

Final boss vs Final breath: Pop culture death vs reality

Let's discuss how pop culture skews our idea of death with death doula Hope Wyatt ...

The Fun of Fanfiction

Thessa Jensen focuses on how fans use and organise online events to experiment with storytelling, support each other’s growth, and create fandom as a social community. The talk contrasts AI-generated “fanfiction” with fanworks created by humans who are genuinely attached to the characters and universes they write about. ...

Beyond Taste: How food tells stories of family and friendship in Japanese manga

Takako Kawabata explores how food in Japanese manga communicates emotions, relationships, and social change. Rather than simply satisfying hunger, food often functions as a narrative symbol that expresses family ties, friendship, and personal growth. ...

Larping in Japan: Immersive Experiences finding a Home between Cosplay and Escape Games

Hoshikuzu, representative of the Japanese larp association CLOSS, and Bjorn-Ole Kamm will explore how Japanese larp has found its footing by blending familiar play cultures. It borrows from the puzzle-solving thrill of escape games and the visual expressiveness of cosplay, making it easy for newcomers to join. From horror mysteries to ninja adventures, these immersive experiences invite people to step into other worlds together ...

Godzilla: Atomic Monster, Cultural Mirror

JR Liparito traces the evolution of the Godzilla franchise from 1954 to today, exploring how each era reflects Japan’s shifting cultural anxieties—from nuclear trauma and Cold War tension to environmental fears, economic uncertainty, and the search for national identity. Viewers will see how Godzilla serves as both a destructive force and a cultural mirror, embodying the fears and hopes of the times in which each film was made ...