About Tokyo, Honestly

Hi — I'm Ren.

By day, I'm a software engineer here in Tokyo. By night (and way too many early mornings), I'm doing what I've done since I was a kid: reading manga, watching anime, and lurking on the Japanese internet.

Here's the thing I kept noticing. The English-speaking world loves Japanese pop culture — but you're getting it through a filter. By the time a story reaches Reddit or an English news site, the actual Japanese conversation is gone: what fans on 5ch are really saying, the context behind a "controversy," the joke that doesn't survive translation.

I can read all of it. So I decided to translate it for you.

Tokyo, Honestly is what Japan is really saying about the anime, manga, and culture you love — straight from Japanese sources, with the context only someone who grew up here can give you.

My one promise: I show my receipts. Every "Japan thinks X" comes with the actual Japanese source and a translation. When I'm not sure, I'll say so. When it's just my opinion, I'll label it.

I'm not a media company. I'm one fan who happens to read both sides, writing the thing I always wished existed.

— Ren, in Tokyo