Julian Rizzo-SmithRina Sawayama On Carly Rae Jepsen, Pop Activism & Her “XS” YearRina Sawayama has been making music and performing long before the release of her debut EP, SAWAYAMA. But, in 2020, her career has…10 min read·Mar 23, 2021----
Julian Rizzo-SmithCarly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated to Being “Too Much”As Pitchfork contributor Hanif Abdurraqib wrote in his collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Till They Kill Us, Carly Rae Jepsen is a…5 min read·Dec 3, 2019----
Julian Rizzo-SmithBishounen Boys in Love and Fighting Anime Girls: The Politics of Gender in Anime and MangaDisclaimer: Here is an essay I wrote for my Asian Pop Culture class last semester, which I aim to eventually turn into a video essay. I’m…15 min read·Feb 9, 2019----
Julian Rizzo-SmithThat Time I Reincarnated as Someone Who Gives a Damn about Light Novels“What is a light novel?”, asked a bemused forty year old man, showing me his daughter’s texts requesting the next volume of That Time I…2 min read·Feb 9, 2019----
Julian Rizzo-SmithOh, Lucy!: A Japanese-American Comedy-Drama about Suicide, Idealised Love and Exploring New…Oh, Lucy! is a film about a middle-aged Japanese woman who, after falling for her English language tutor, travels to LA to find him…3 min read·Jan 1, 2019----
Julian Rizzo-SmithSMASH 2018: Nietzche, the end of days & science fiction, according to Nier Automata director Yoko…The unpublished part of an interview with game director Yoko Taro at SMASH 2018 for IGN. You can find the rest of this interview…3 min read·Nov 9, 2018----
Julian Rizzo-SmithEnabling the Disabled GamerWith the growing popularity of video game discourse in mainstream media, a new Microsoft accessory is raising awareness for players with…5 min read·Jul 23, 2018----
Julian Rizzo-SmithHow Japanese pop culture represents a fantasy image of homosexualityHere is an essay I wrote for a sexuality course at uni, answering the following question:10 min read·Jul 23, 2018----
Julian Rizzo-SmithThe Atomic Boom of Japanese Animation Sci-FiWhat makes Japanese animation so special, second to its imaginative and creative visuals, is its ability to predict the future of science…2 min read·Jul 23, 2018----
Julian Rizzo-SmithFrom Black Panther to Black Widow: The Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is DiverseIn the decade since Iron Man, its very first release, the Marvel franchise has produced another 17 movies. Those movies have starred…9 min read·May 15, 2018----
