New Japanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア) stays in Pittsburgh through December 15.

The 2021 Japanese animated movie apanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 3, will stay here through at least December 15. A synopsis of the film that, based on a manga series:

Return to the death game where it all began—Sword Art Online. In this new Aincrad Arc by original creator Reki Kawahara, the story is seen through Asuna’s eyes. What at first seems like a dream come true quickly becomes a nightmare when newbie gamer Asuna Yuuki learns the only way to escape the virtual world of Aincrad is to beat all 100 levels—but “Game Over” means you die in the real world.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online. Please note, some shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

Wild Ninja Asian Grill opening in Oakland, December 9.

Wild Ninja Asian Grill will hold its grand opening on December 9. It's located at located at 210 Oakland Ave. (map) in what was formerly Uncle Sam's Gourmet Subs. Work has been been underway at the space since December 2019.

2003 Korean film Memories of Murder (살인의 추억) at Row House Cinema, from December 26.

Row House Cinema will present the 2003 Korean film Memories of Murder (살인의 추억) from December 26 through January 6 as part of its Staff Picks series.

Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) wrote and directed this fantastic crime thriller based on the real story of Korea’s first known serial killer. It’s widely considered one of the best films to ever come out of Korea and has been a longtime fav of our staff!

Tickets and showtime information is available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville (map).

Macross Plus Movie Edition (マクロスプラス MOVIE EDITION) in Pittsburgh, December 14.

The Japanese animated film Macross Plus Movie Edition (マクロスプラス MOVIE EDITION), a threatrical cut of a 1994-1995 four-volume series, will play in Pittsburgh on December 14. From the distributor:

From the minds of vision creator Shoji Kawamori and co-director Shinichiro Watanabe, and featuring renowned composer Yoko Kanno, MACROSS PLUS MOVIE EDITION is an action-packed animated masterpiece made for the big screen!

In the year 2040, on the distant planet Eden, former childhood friends Isamu Dyson and Guld Bowman find themselves pitted against each other as test pilots of rival teams in a competition to decide the next generation of variable mecha fighters. The two must also deal with their own unresolved history with mutual love interest, Myung Fang Lone, who has returned as the manager of Sharon Apple, the AI pop star (virturoid) and the galaxy’s biggest singing sensation. When Sharon’s advanced artificial intelligence gains consciousness, Isamu, Myung, and Guld must face their turbulent past and come together as Sharon Apple becomes self-aware and takes control of the Macross battlefortress itself!

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark Theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

Pittsburgh Opera presents world premiere of In A Grove, based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, from February 19.

Pittsburgh Opera will present In A Grove, based on short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, from February 19.

Music by Christopher Cerrone, libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann, based on the short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A silent, expectant grove. A violent encounter between a man, a woman, and a notorious brigand.

Seven testimonies, each proposing a different perspective on the crime. Akutagawa’s classic short story “In a Grove,” which inspired the plot of Kurosawa’s renowned film Rashomon, offers a searing investigation into the impossibility and elusiveness of truth.

Epic and intimate, timeless and devastatingly timely, the story’s structure lends itself powerfully to music’s ability to conjure—via repetition and variation—how human perception, memory, and desire are fallible, imprecise, and subject to interference.

Join us for this unique world-premiere experience in a place where the ground shifts beneath your feet—a space of ambiguity and clarity, of beauty and menace, and of fragility and strength.

Performances are on February 19, 22, 25, and 27, and March 1 and 3, 2022. Tickets are now available. The theater is located at 2425 Liberty Ave. in the Strip District (map).

"The Chinese Laundrymen of Squirrel Hill" presentation by Squirrel Hill Historical Society, February 8.

Tom Yee Laundry in Homestead, circa 1925.

The Squirrel Hill Historical Society will present Tammy Hepps and her discussion on "The Chinese Laundrymen of Squirrel Hill" on February 8.

Homestead Jewish historian Tammy Hepps, homesteadhebrews.com, will discuss the traumatic dispersion of Chinese laborers after the transcontinental railroad was built, examining their lives as laundrymen in context the microcosm of Squirrel Hill and Homestead.

For much more information on early Chinese residents in the area, and the context, see this well-researched article from the Homestead Hebrews website, whence the photograph of Tom Yee Laundry in Homestead comes.

The talk begins at 7:30 pm and is tentatively planned for the Church of the Redeemer at 5700 Forbes Ave. (map), though recent discussions have just been held over Zoom.

Concert film Monsta X: The Dreaming in Pittsburgh, December 9 and 11.

The concert film Monsta X: The Dreaming will play in Pittsburgh on December 9 and 11.

Is it the knowingIs it the seeingOr Is It The DreamingBest known for their powerful, iconic, and superb performances, K-pop and pop band MONSTA X is loved by -and devoted to -their countless fans around the world.As a gift to their fandom, this brand-new film gives an intimate look at their rigorous journey over the past six years including exclusive one-on-one interviews with each individual member, personal stories from their time in America, and a special concert clip exclusively for MONBEBE. This unmissable cinema event also includes high-energy musical performances of their chart-topping hits along with an exclusive first-look at their upcoming album. Challenge, evolve, and dream. Celebrate the magnificent achievements and the stunning tomorrow of MONSTA X.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Robinson, and tickets are avaiable online.

1988 film My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) in Pittsburgh, December 5, 6, 9.

The 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) will play in Pittsburgh on December 5, 6, and 9, as part of Ghibli Fest 2021. From the distributor:

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes a classic tale of magic and adventure for the whole family.

When Satsuki and her sister Mei move with their father to a new home in the countryside, they find country life is not as simple as it seems. They soon discover that the house and nearby woods are full of strange and delightful creatures, including a gigantic but gentle forest spirit called Totoro, who can only be seen by children. Totoro and his friends introduce the girls to a series of adventures, including a ride aboard the extraordinary Cat Bus, in this all-ages animated masterpiece featuring the voices of Tim Daly, Lea Salonga, and real-life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning, in early roles.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville, North Hills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online, but please note that the December 5 and 9 shows are in English while the December 6 show is in Japanese with English subtitles.

Chinese, Korean, Japanese language kits available for check-out at Hampton Community Library.

Hampton Community Library has unveiled media and language kits for families, with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean packs among those offered.

Kits are designed to spark engagement between children & families. Use your library card to investigate, create, sing, dance, listen, speak & read!

“The Unmaking of the Chinese Working Class: A Brief History of Inequality in the PRC," December 6 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Teemu Ruskola and his talk “The Unmaking of the Chinese Working Class: A Brief History of Inequality in the PRC" on December 6.

China’s ongoing economic reforms have produced new types of legal, political, economic, social, and familial subjects. The revolutionary political subject of Maoism—“the People”—has been atomized into independent economic subjects responsible for their own welfare outside of work. This has been marked by the abolition of the so-called “iron rice bowl,” or a system of cradle to grave welfare for privileged urban workers, in contrast to exploited rural citizenry who have historically subsidized China’s urban industry. With the contractualization of all labor, even urban workers no longer enjoy a guaranteed share of the benefits of economic development. An earlier politically enforced inequality between city and country is increasingly eclipsed by a society-wide gulf between the rich and the poor, without any necessary geographical correlate. Collectively, China’s rural and urban reforms have resulted in tectonic shifts in the boundaries among the state, the market, and the family. For example, the state has been turning increasingly to the family to re-assume its traditional welfare functions, even as the very reforms that motivate this turn undermine the traditional family itself.

It runs from 4:30 to 5:45 pm in 211 Lawrence Hall or on Zoom; registration is required.