Asia Pop Lecture Series: Dr. Thomas Baudinette, March 20 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Dr. Thomas Baudinette for the next installment of its Asia Pop Lecture Series on March 20.

Dr. Thomas Baudinette is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies and International Studies at Macquarie University. A cultural anthropologist, his research primarily explores how popular media and fandom culture inform knowledge about gender and sexuality across East and Southeast Asia. He is the author of Regimes of Desire: Young Gay Men, Media, Masculinity in Tokyo (University of Michigan Press, 2021) and Boys Love Media in Thailand: Celebrity, Fans, and Transnational Asian Queer Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2023). He i currently working on his third book, tentatively titled Queer Fantasies of Asia: Japanese and Korean Media Fandom in the Philippines.

The event starts at 6:00 pm in 202 Frick Fine Arts (map).

"We Learn" Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Korean classes resume at Carnegie Library in Oakland, Saturdays from March 16 through May 18.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branch in Oakland will resume its free "We Learn" Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Korean classes Saturdays from March 16. 

K-pop event | Random Play Dance with FRESA and Yanlai Dance Academy, March 23 at University of Pittsburgh.

Fresh Entertainment by Student Artists (FRESA at Pitt) and Yanlai Dance Academy will team up for the next Random Play Dance at the University of Pittsburgh on March 23. 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the William Pitt Union patio and all are welcome.

Oscar-nominated 2023 Japanese + Wim Wenders film Perfect Days remains in Pittsburgh through March 21.

The 2023 Japanese film Perfect Days, directed by Wim Wenders, which returned to Pittsburgh from February 22, will continue here through at least March 21. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the movie first played in Pittsburgh in November.

Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.

It plays locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill tickets are available online.

2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編) stays in Pittsburgh through March 20.

The 2024 movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training (鬼滅の刃 柱稽古編), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 22, will stay here through at least March 20.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- will feature “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light” (Episode 11) from the Swordsmith Village Arc, featuring the conclusion of the fierce battle between Tanjiro and Upper Four demon Hantengu, as well as Nezuko's triumph over the sun. Seamlessly followed by Episode 1 of the highly anticipated Hashira Training Arc, featuring the start of training conducted by the Hashira in preparation for the forthcoming final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, an episode never before seen by audiences.

It plays at the Waterworks Cinema and the AMC Loews Waterfront. Tickets are available online; please note, some shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.

Japanese animated films Rascal Does Not Dream double feature in Pittsburgh, March 24 and 25.

Two 2023 Japanese animated films, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out (青春ブタ野郎はおでかけシスターの夢を見ない) and Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (青春ブタ野郎はランドセルガールの夢を見ない) will play in Pittsburgh on March 24 and 25 as a double feature. The films adapt volumes eight and nine, respectively, of the manga series. Wikipedia provides a general overview of the manga series:

High school student Sakuta Azusagawa's life takes a turn for the unexpected when he meets teenage actress Mai Sakurajima, dressed as a bunny girl, wandering through a library and not being noticed by anyone else there. Mai is intrigued that Sakuta is the only one who can see her, as other people are unable to see her, even when she is dressing normally or attempting to stay away from celebrity life. Calling this phenomenon "Adolescence Syndrome", Sakuta decides to solve this mystery, while continuing to get closer to Mai and meeting other girls who suffer from "Adolescence Syndrome" as well.

It is scheduled to play locally at many local theaters including: the AMC Loews Waterfront; the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, and Robinson; the Pittsburgh Mills Cinema; and the Phoenix Theaters Chartiers Valley Luxur 14 + PTX, and tickets are available online. The March 24 shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while the March 25 ones are dubbed in English.

After slight delay, Wei Lai set to open March 16 in the North Hills, serving dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes.

Wei Lai has just announced a March 16 grand opening, a slight delay from its originally-announced date of this Tuesday. It's a restaurant serving dim sum, bubble tea, and other Chinese dishes coming to the spot formerly occupied by Ting's Kitchen in McIntyre Square just off McKnight Road (map). Its Instagram page has been active the last month in promoting is upcoming menu items.

1997 Japanese animated film The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君に) in Pittsburgh, March 17 and 20.

The 1997 Japanese animated film The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君に) will play in Pittsburgh on March 17 and 20.

This final movie version was created as an alternative ending to the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION TV series, remaking the final two episodes from the series. SEELE plans an attack on NERV after failing to create a man-made Third Impact. After reaffirming both her own and her mother’s existence in a state of despair, Asuka returns and begins the counterattack. However, new enemies descend from the heavens. Meanwhile, Shinji witnesses the horrifying wreckage of Asuka’s EVA-02 while piloting EVA-01. Mass production models surround EVA-01 and perform a solemn ceremony. What does it mean to complete a human heart?

It is scheduled to play (so far) at the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Conversation with video game director Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro at Pitt, March 25.

The University of Pittsburgh will host Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro on March 25. 

ゲーム🎮はお好きですか？ For video game lovers, there will be an event at the end of the month with game designer Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro. Among his most acclaimed titles are the Deadly Premonition series of games, The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories, and The Good Life.

Please join us on Monday, March 25 at 7PM in CL 232, where SWERY will be in conversation with Teaching Assistant Professor Justing Bortnick (English), discussing SWERY’s development process for The Missing, working in video games, his design philosophy, and what students who aspire to become game designers themselves should consider.

The talk will be in 232 Cathedral of Learning from 7:00 pm.

Chia Kwa and "ASMR & How Strangers On The Internet Discovered It In Common" at Pittsburgh Humanities Festival, April 6.

Chia Kwa and their talk "ASMR & How Strangers On The Internet Discovered It In Common" will be part of the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival on April 6.

Chia Kwa, a specialist in immersive theater and experiential entertainment, leads a interactive demonstration and exploration on ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) with audience participation using silent disco headsets and additional audio technology.

ASMR is best known as a modern, online phenomenon where its fans watch hypnotic videos of brushing, tapping, waving, etc. in order to relax. But long before the term was coined online, people experienced it in their everyday lives... they just didn't know how to talk about it. Join Chia Kwa of Whisperlodge on an exploration of the power of words, and how finding the right ones allowed anonymous internet strangers to unite into a thriving community. This presentation will end with a live ASMR demonstration using binaural audio technology.

Whisperlodge has pioneered the practice and performance of live, in-person ASMR since 2016. They’ve completed 16 sold-out runs of their cult immersive show in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Singapore, and have been featured on Netflix, PBS, the New York Times, and more.

The event starts at 7:30 pm at the Greer Cabaret Theater in the Cultural District (map), and tickets are available online.