Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2012

LOVE THY COUNTRY

Regarding “‘All in This Together?’” (The Last Word, Mar 15): If more cities in the world were like Tokyo, the world would be a much better place. (Australian living in Tokyo…)—Nathan Lancaster

STAGE COACH

Regarding “Gabez” (Stage, Mar 14): What are they talking about “nobody responded” [to comedy act Gabez’ show]? I saw them doing their thing in Yoyogi a year ago and the audience loved them. They had a phenomenal knack for picking the right members of the crowd for their interactive segments. Maybe the next time they do a show, they should watch it instead of performing it. They would get a different perspective.—Metropolis Media

DENY-JIN

Now that the full extent of 3/11 is slowly being released to the Japanese, my Japanese language students tell me that if they were in another country, and the same thing happened, they would, “get the hell out of that country.” Being with their family would be their priority. How does that sit with expats who berated others for, “getting the hell out of the country?” Will they now berate the Japanese for suggesting that they would abandon a country suffering from an historic earthquake and tsunami, and standing on the brink of nuclear meltdown? Any comments?—Maverick

THAT BOMBSHELL

Regarding “The Unforgettable Fire” (Feature, Feb 16): As avid Japanese readers of Metropolis, my wife and l were very impressed to read C. B. Liddell’s article because we are survivors of the 1945 Tokyo bombing by B29 bomber planes. We lived in Kinsicho and Ikebukuro and were four and five years old. In that time the bomb attacks, including the A-bombs, created huge tragedies like 3/11. After C. B. Liddell’s thoughtful article I hope for a similar article about 3/11, including local voices and western journalists. You could expect direct responses from local people like me, and increase the avid readers of Metropolis in Japan.—Yoko and Tatsuro Shinomiya, Saitama

OUTSIDE THE BOX

Regarding “The Battle of the Bento” (The Last Word, Mar 2): Or you could just not care what other people think of the food you eat. I realize [author Gemma Rassmussen] is exaggerating somewhat, but it seems really stupid to me to even care at all what other people think about your lunch. Are we in elementary school here?
—blondeintokyo

BIG BAD DON

I have been meaning to write this for years now. Don Morton is the best movie reviewer out there and I look forward to reading his reviews every issue. Why is he still writing for Metropolis??!! (No offense).—Annie McNamara

Morton thinks Shrek spin-off Puss In Boots is “clever, colorful, kinetic, and cute as hell.” Well Morton’s a nob then—Nedavine

TWITTY-LITTER

Since when did Metropolis go bi-weekly? Hope this is not a sign of decline, have been a supporter for over a decade…—ninja_padrino
@ninja_padrino We went bi-
weekly after 3/11 when our printers couldn’t get ink or paper and ads dropped. We still publish weekly online.
@MetropolisTokyo I wasn’t
aware of that because the print edition is not offered in my area. Still actively check online!!

It’d be nice if the PDF version of Metropolis was bigger in terms of file quality and size for us iPad readers. Thanx!—MGDR