Masaaki Yuasa animated film Lu Over The Wall (夜明け告げるルーのうた) in Pittsburgh, May 11.

The 2017 Japanese animated movie Lu Over The Wall (夜明け告げるルーのうた) will open across the US on May 11, and will play locally throughout the week at the AMC Loews Waterfront. The distributor provides a summary of the Masaaaki Yuasa film:

From visionary anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa comes a joyously hallucinogenic but family-friendly take on the classic fairy tale about a little mermaid who comes ashore to join a middle-school rock band and propel them to fame. Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. His only joy is uploading songs he writes to the internet. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not.

As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form. But since ancient times, the people in the village have believed that mermaids bring disaster and soon there is trouble between Lu and the townspeople, putting the town in grave danger. Winner of the Grand Prize at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival and an official selection of Sundance 2018, Lu Over the Wall is a toe-tapping, feel-good demonstration of Yuasa’s genre-mixing mastery that will leave you humming long after you leave the theater.

The film opened in Japan on May 19, 2017. Tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

English dub of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」) in Pittsburgh, June 5 and 7.

Tickets went on sale today for the English dub of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel 1. presage flower (劇場版 Fate / stay night [Heaven's Feel] 第一章「presage flower」), which will play locally at the Cinemark theater in Robinson on June 5 and 7.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring finance tutors for Chinese students in US.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced openings for finance tutors (金融类辅导老师) to Chinese students in the US.

The academic support department of Wholeren Education is looking for talented, experienced tutors in FINANCE for high school and college level Chinese international students in the US. We help both struggling and gifted students reach their full potential by supplementing the instruction they receive in class and guiding them toward study practices and aides that can help them excel. Tutors work with individual students one-on-one, though we occasionally organize group activities for students who are studying the same material. Most of the time, we provide our students with online tutoring unless the tutor is located in the same area with the student. Our team offers compassionate, motivating assistance to students, and we expect our new hires to do the same. If you have experience tutoring students, please submit an application.

Chinese Calligraphy Workshop for All Ages, downtown on May 17.

"Chinese calligrapher," by David Boté Estrada (Creative Commons).

The downtown branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host a Chinese Calligraphy Workshop on May 17.

A Chinese calligraphy expert will show us pictures of her home in China, give background on the art of calligraphy, and lead a Chinese calligraphy workshop for all ages!

The event runs from 4:00 to 5:30 pm and is free and open to the public. The library is located at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

"A Taste of Taiwan" cooking demo, May 24.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans will present another "A Taste of Taiwan" cooking demonstration on May 24.

Watch award-winning master chefs Huang Ching Long and Li Chi Chao as they showcase the ancient techniques of Taiwanese cooking. Learn and WATCH the chefs focus on light, natural flavors and simple preparations including innovative ways to meet the demands of healthy vegetarian cooking. Then sit down to enjoy this special cuisine with your old friends and maybe meet some new ones!

Tickets are $35 a person and are available online. The event will be held at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Oakland (map).

Tarentum dermatology office with Japanese garden among "Pittsburgh's Coolest Offices."

Via Pittsburgh Business Times.

The Pittsburgh Business Times features Tarentum's Rabkin Dermatopathology Laboratory PC in this week's "Pittsburgh's Coolest Offices" section.

The lab is surrounded by a rose garden, a traditional Japanese garden with a tea house and koi ponds, and a Zen Dry Garden. The windows overlook these gardens and the green hills of the Allegheny River Valley.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring physics (高阶物理辅导老师), GRE/GMAT tutors.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced two openings for tutors to work with Chinese international students in the US: physics and GMAT/GRE.

Whither, Lucky Nine?

Lucky Nine (好運來), a Taiwanese restaurant that sort-of opened in Squirrel Hill in mid-January, remains closed after being shut down by the Allegheny County Health Department on February 5 for food safety violations and for operating without a permit.

The subject facility was ordered and posted closed for the following: Open and operating without a valid ACHD Health Permit, Failure to obtain final plumbing approval. Plans not submitted for approval prior to equipment installation; Inadequate refrigeration; Lack of mop/utility and food preparation sinks; Food stored outdoors; and Equipment in disrepair.

Initially a sign on the door pointed to reopening, but now only an orange closed sign remains.

Japanese-American film Oh Lucy! in Pittsburgh, from June 15.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers announced today that the 2017 Japanese-American film Oh Lucy! will play in Pittsburgh from June 15 through July 5. A Variety review summarizes the film, starring Shinobu Terajima and Josh Hartnett.

Set in some of the least picturesque corners of Tokyo, “Oh Lucy!” is a character study about a character rarely seen on film: a quietly miserable, single, middle-aged Japanese wage-slave. Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima) is a woman with few obvious qualities, and even fewer opportunities, friends, lovers, or interests. A withdrawn, chain-smoking loner in an office culture built on forced displays of camaraderie, her workday begins when she witnesses a suicide on the subway, and continues as she watches an aging employee on the verge of retirement soak up the condescending affection of her coworkers, all of whom are quick to make fun of her once she leaves the room. The subway jumper, the lonely old pensioner – it’s clear that Setsuko sees these as her two most likely options.

Masaaki Yuasa animated film Lu Over The Wall (夜明け告げるルーのうた) in Pittsburgh, May 11.

The 2017 Japanese animated movie Lu Over The Wall (夜明け告げるルーのうた) will open across the US on May 11, and will play locally throughout the week at the AMC Loews Waterfront. The distributor provides a summary of the Masaaaki Yuasa film:

From visionary anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa comes a joyously hallucinogenic but family-friendly take on the classic fairy tale about a little mermaid who comes ashore to join a middle-school rock band and propel them to fame. Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. His only joy is uploading songs he writes to the internet. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not.

As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form. But since ancient times, the people in the village have believed that mermaids bring disaster and soon there is trouble between Lu and the townspeople, putting the town in grave danger. Winner of the Grand Prize at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival and an official selection of Sundance 2018, Lu Over the Wall is a toe-tapping, feel-good demonstration of Yuasa’s genre-mixing mastery that will leave you humming long after you leave the theater.

The film opened in Japan on May 19, 2017. Tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.