Welcome to the TokyoScope blog!

"A chance to begin again..."

Hello! My name is Patrick Macias.

I’m an author and editor living in Tokyo, Japan…

I started out as a writer for Pacific News Service at age 19. Since then, I’ve written and co-written numerous books about Japanese pop culture focusing on topics like anime, cult films, travel, and fashion for publishers such as Hachette and Chronicle Books.

My 2007 book, Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno (Chronicle)

In between, I’ve worked for companies such as Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Viz Media.

I’m currently the editor in chief of Otaku USA magazine, a bi-monthly print publication that I helped to found in 2007.

In 2017, I wrote the original stories for two anime productions, URAHARA and HYPERSONIC music club. I also began writing an experimental science fiction novel called Paranoia Girls.

The 2017 anime URAHARA. I wrote the original story the series was based on.

I’ve also done a ton of blogging and podcasting, including the ongoing Pure TokyoScope podcast with Matt Alt.

In 2018, I relocated to Tokyo. After decades of just dreaming about it. it was finally happening. It was fun for a while. Then the pandemic struck, and everything changed… The tourists were gone. Lots of places closed for good. The mood was bleak. It was a weird time…

But I tried to make the most of it. During the lockdown, I wrote several new books to be published in fall 2023: The Essential Anime Guide (Running Press) and A Kid's Guide to Anime & Manga (Running Press Kids).

My next 2 books, The Essential Anime Guide (Running Press) and A Kid's Guide to Anime & Manga (Running Press Kids).out in fall 2023!

And now, as I sit here typing this?

Over the last few years, the city of Tokyo and Japanese pop culture in general, has been in the process of rebooting or redefining itself. Now that some of the dust has settled, there are lots of new people and places to discover and celebrate.

I wanted to start a new blog to track some of these emerging currents and trends: to single out new voices, and to catalog how Tokyo and the pop culture it contains is changing, and how it has always been in a state of change.

With some encouragement from friends like Noah Smith, Matt Alt, and Tokyo Fashion, I’ve launched this Substack blog under the banner of my personal brand: TokyoScope. There’s been a TokyoScope book, a TokyoScope retail site, and now, the TokyoScope blog!

The plan is to post several times a week with a mix of free and paid content. Expect news and analysis, interviews with Japanese people doing interesting things, guest posts from established names, and my own writing, pictures, and video covering the following categories: anime, manga, movies, audio, gaming, fashion, food, tech, and places to go should you find yourself here in Tokyo.

As they say in Blade Runner, this is “a chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.”

And we start this new adventure into Japanese pop culture together, I encourage you to reach out to me on Twitter, Instagram or via email <projectespy at gmail> if you have suggestions for any topics you'd like to see covered or general suggestions for improving this blog and newsletter.

In the meantime, thanks for reading, and please consider following and subscribing!