Surfing on the internet a couple of months ago, I was researching Asian pop culture sites. As click upon click sifted through the various and many sites, I stumbled upon T-Ono, a site that focuses on the Japanese media industry. Different from the vast array of popular news and Asian celebrity gossip sites, this site aligned with GTG's goals of exploring Asian pop culture more in-depth. Thus, I contacted Theodore Mak, the Executive Editor of the site, for an interview. As I talked more with Mr. Mak and read through their content, I was certain of one thing: they have the same passion for Asian pop culture as we at GTG do.

With Theodore's help, I managed to snag three of T-Ono's staff:
Theodore Mak - Executive Editor
Davis Fan - Managing Editor
Stephen Bazja - Staff Writer

The questions in bold is Jangta, while the answer to the question is from the T-Ono staff above. With that being said, let's get this interview started.

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1) Jangta:     Tell us a bit about T-Ono. What are your main aims and focus?

T-Ono:       We are a Japanese content industry news site that has a strong emphasis and focus on anime, manga, gaming, music, and pop culture. This includes exclusive interviews with many key members in the Japanese industry such as pop singers, artists, directors, and musicians. We also provide photographic and video event coverages ranging from concerts to conventions. Various companies in the industry work with us and we strive to maintain a degree of professionalism but at the same time to provide fun and engaging content to our readers.

2) What was the motivation behind starting up T-Ono? What was the major turning event in 2007 to turn T-Ono into a full-blown business?

The site originally started as a blog by myself and a few other friends as a hobby. It was a place for us to share news or other events that were happening with each other. For example, instead of having to keep track of what information I haven't told who yet, I just pointed them to a link. We also started attending anime conventions and met many like-minded people who became interested in the site and wanted to help us. Some of us eventually worked and interned at various anime conventions and anime related companies, which probably was the starting point to where we took the site more seriously.

Having tinkered with site for a few years for fun, in early 2007 we decided to experiment with a more professional approach and registered our current domain name, t-ono.net. The objective was to see how much we could accomplish in two years. Surprisingly, after time was up, we had obtained various exclusive content including interviews and, more importantly, a number of affiliates and contacts from within the industry. In 2009, we visited various companies we had contacts with in Japan and I think it was then we decided that we should establish ourselves as a business which we did officially in 2010. The goal wasn't to make money, but to serve as a reminder for ourselves to maintain a level of quality content for our readers.

I don't think any of us expected to be doing what we are today. The main objective from the beginning and still is now that we do this as a hobby and it should be fun! As fans ourselves, we want to get the community involved. Several sections on the website were actually recommended by readers who now work on them as staff. If you got a great idea, let us know!

3) How would you introduce Japanese pop culture to newcomers that want to learn more?

Stephen:        The wrong answer is to blast them with your favorite anime video games and Japanese music in a long boring rant. The right way is to pick titles that would appeal to whoever you're talking to and let them know what they might enjoy and why. As the person becomes more interested and comfortable, gradually introduce them to other genres or titles.

4) Who would you say are the three most influential J-pop singers in 2010?

Davis:        First and foremost is Kana Nishino. She's been making a splash on the scene in this past year, influencing both fashion and J-pop alike. She is the epitome of the new Japanese R&B trend. While she's been around for a couple of years, this year is definitely her year with hit single after another, such as "Aitakute Aitakute" and "Motto…" We can only wait to see how much more she'll grow in the coming years.

Boy bands have an amazingly strong hold on the Japanese market. The most notable one is Arashi. Currently, they have bragging rights to the bestselling album on the Oricon charts for 2010 and four of the top ten singles from 2010. Turn on any Japanese television set and it's almost impossible to miss Arashi making their weekly rounds at variety shows, music shows, and even hosting a show of their own, called Mayonaka no Arashi. Arashi's hold over the Japanese music industry is almost scary.

Kind of hard to think of a third at the moment, considering how many important stars there are. But Kana Nishino and Arashi definitely top the list.

Theodore:        Speaking of boy bands, we can't forget about idol groups like Morning Musume or AKB48. AKB48 recently released a new single titled "Beginner" that sold over 800,000 copies the first week, and their appearance in America earlier this year has definitely turned heads Stateside.

5) Why are more and more people in North American are showing interest in Japanese pop culture (especially anime)?

Stephen:        I think the full answer is a little complicated. Cartoon Network (a major cable television network that airs cartoons) was a gateway for people to learn about anime and get involved with the community that existed outside the network. Most people got into it either through watching Cartoon Network or some chance exposure like from a comic shop or magazine. Kids today are probably getting involved through watching mainstream titles such as Naruto and Bleach, but internet forums and message boards have been critical in keeping the community strong.

Culturally, anime is different (obviously). What might be considered a tired genre (like magical girls going into the past to save it) seems totally new over here unless you've seen a lot of anime. Also, it's really energetic and stylized which is a nice change from Western fiction, because Westerners tend to need really practical explanations for everything. Anime seems to jump straight into completely over the top characters and plots and action. I think at its core, most anime fans in the U.S. love the feeling of being transported to another world even if it's on a subconscious level. It's different in almost every way from most of our own entertainment, and it seems to specialize in taking the viewer as far away from reality as possible, but still delivers some emotional truth or another.

Theodore:        I would say Pokémon was one of the key series that introduced most Americans to anime. It became a household name that even grandparents were aware of! As viewers got older, they became exposed to more mature series such as Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, or Evangelion from television. Anime studios took a lot of risks in producing these unique and original titles which was unlike anything seen in America. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't, but it was phenomenal when it did. Unfortunately today, many new titles in Japan seem to be catering to tried and true niche genres, especially harems, and I can't imagine the general audiences of Americans finding it appealing.

6) Take us through a typical interview with a J-pop singer or voice actor/actress. What is it like? How long does it take to set up? Are you guys nervous when talking to them?

Interviews are always a major headache as it's usually filled with a lot of surprises. Depending on the format of the interview, email tends to be the easiest to arrange while in person interviews can be a complete mess. Guests are often on a busy schedule and we won't know for sure if we've secured an in person interview until the day of, and even then, they sometimes get rescheduled. After arrangements are made, we start the long process of composing questions by doing research, often done by several people. We also get the fans involved by reaching out to fansites and forums to try and see what questions they may have. We then sort out the questions and compile them together.

If the person you're interviewing is someone you respect or are a fan of, it can be a bit nerve wrecking. There were times where we were so nervous we would forget some of the simplest fundamental basics of an interview such as asking, who, what, where, when, and how. This can be problematic because Japanese guests in particular give relatively terse answers, and it takes a lot of poking and prodding to get decent responses for publishing. It does take a lot of practice and we learn something new each time that we apply to the next interview.

7) What type of music does the staff of T-Ono listen to? Which Japanese movies do you guys watch? How about anime you've guys have seen?

For music, I think it varies across the board in genres, but mostly a mix of everything including American, Japanese, and Korean music. Most of us watch live action movies based on existing manga titles and Japanese dramas. Sometimes after watching a live action film with an actor or actress I like, I would try to watch other movies by them and I think a lot of newcomers to Japanese films tend to end up doing the same.

As for anime, we watch a broad range of titles and genres since it is one of our main focus. there's just too many to name!

8) In creating a successful site like T-Ono, what were the hardest obstacles your team had to overcome?

The general consensus is that communication has been one of our biggest problems. None of us work on the site full time and we all have our own daily obligations to fulfill. Scheduling meetings, assigning articles, and keeping everyone up to date on the latest changes on the site can be challenging. When we do get together to cover events and conventions though, the team really shines.

As mentioned earlier, our contacts and affiliates have grown to such a point that we just don't have enough people or time on our staff to utilize it all. It's unfortunate that just within the last year we've passed on several offers to interview with some popular Japanese artists and musicians. We just didn't have the time to prepare the materials. As for myself, I develop the majority of the site; it becomes very difficult sometimes to work on other things such as writing features or columns.

We haven't actively advertised as much as we should, but we're always recruiting! People who hear what we do and have accomplished in the past may get intimated, but honestly, we're looking for a wide range of people, and more than likely we have a spot for them. If you're looking for a wonderful opportunity to maybe meet some people you may be fans of, gain some valuable experience, or to go beyond just being a fan, let us know!"

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T-Ono came about like many other sites: as a blog dedicated to Japanese media content. Yet, that fateful moment in 2007 to go all-in would be for the best. The world wide web has gotten a quality site covering anything and everything in the Japanese industry.

For more Japan related content, we urge our readers to please visit T-Ono.

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