Creature comforts: monsters and art toys
Charmy-chan dolls have a cult status in Japan. From 24 May and 15 June 2025, the manufacturer The Kodama Sangyo Toy Company was at A4 Art Gallery, GMBB in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to exhibit a showcase of Charm-chan interpretations by 30 Malaysian artists.
Our creative director found Charmy-chan up there at the same level as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. The character may not be as old as the former, being established in the 1960s, but the manufacturer Kodama Toy has been around since the 1930s.
In Southeast Asia, there’s been a renaissance of Japanese pop culture – though anime always have a strong foothold in the region. Art toys that were once eclipsed by Disney, Hasbro and Mattel are returning, thanks partly to the Gen-Xers who remember them, and partly because they resonate with the younger generations, as evident in the visitors we saw at the Akari SuperToy Fest Kuala Lumpur 2025.
The event, in its second year, ran from 27 and 29 June 2025 at GMBB. The main highlight was the MARUSAN Japan Vintage Godzilla, Ultraman and Kaiju exhibition at the A4 Art Gallery, GMBB, which ran in parallel with the fest. Marusan president and character designer, Eiji Kaminaga, officiated the event and was present for the autograph session. The exhibition runs until 20 July 2025. We found plenty of monsters to reflect on – just the perfect show after our book talk on Monsters and Metaphors back in May 2025.
You’ll learn more on the art toys and the art behind the monsters in our upcoming feature on Charmy-Chan and Akari SuperToy events. Watch this space.
Here comes the New Romantiks
At Ipoh Alternative Book Fest (IABF) 2025, we observed the rise of a new poetry movement in Perak, in parallel with the rise of indie music in that state. Rabak Lit, the publisher who organised IABF, organised the Experimental Musical Poetry Session at KL International Book Fair (KLIBF) 2025. The event featured bands and poets including Jack Malik, who recently launched his anthology It Takes So Much To Be Nothing at KALAM Creative KL 2024 (read the interview). Apparently, the bands asked poets to write their lyrics – a connection we rarely see in the UK book scene unless you’re in the musical scene.
It’s as if this new wave of new romantics is a protest against the ‘progress’ that comes hurtling in Southeast Asia. We dubbed it “the New Romantik” (with a k) because although it’s not quite British, it’s similar in the sense that it’s a reactionary subculture that will become mainstream.
The Romantic movement, also known as Romanticism, happened in Europe at end of the 18th Century as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and scientific rationalisation of Nature brought by the Enlightenment movement. Interestingly, the New Romantik movement that we see rising in Southeast Asia at the moment is spearheaded by environmentalists and technologists.
Romance is still taboo for some
Funnily enough, the latest batch of books banned by the Malaysian authorities this year were largely romance novels. A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime by Monica Murphy; Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown; Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell; When Everything Feels Like The Movie by Raziel Reid, and What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silverra were banned under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (Act 301).
You wouldn’t have thought that romance is subversive.
Still, we had a whale of a time at KLIBF 2025. Our imprint Story Of Books was there on 24 May 2025 to promote The Keeper Of My Kin and A Request For Betrayal. We had the opportunity to meet our readers, thanks to our book distributor Gerakbudaya. The book fair, held from 23 May to 1 June 2025, attracted two million visitors, up +11% from 2024. It also saw author Yuda Areni showcasing his fantasy novel Orakel Dewata at the show.
But romance is a successful crossover in the UK
Meanwhile in the UK, romance is having a revival via the romantasy subgenre. Throughout summer there’ll be dedicated events for romance authors and fans such as:
- Romance Author & Reader Events presents RARE25London
4 July 2025. An event involving 400+ authors, narrators, and vendors. - Love Stories etc Festival
4-26 July 2025. Organised by the Manchester Library, which makes this a UK government-supported project. A weekend of an impressive mix of bestselling brand authors, emerging stars, and debuts writing in the romance space. For all ages. - For the Love of Fantasy 2025
16-17 August 2025. An event for supernatural fans such as The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Twilight, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Once Upon A Time.
There are also events for romance authors almost every month of the year in the US.
The Sandman returns on Netflix… for the last time
We are so excited at the prospect of watching Season 2 of The Sandman on Netflix but sad that it’s concluding after two seasons because of the controversies surrounding Neil Gaiman. Season 1 was well done and fans loved it. We don’t know Gaiman except what we saw at his book events. He looked like a nice guy and he was the darling of the woke movement, and an ardent spokesperson of LGBTQ rights. We don’t have any opinions on anyone’s personal life or preferences as long as they are on the right side of the law. We love The Sandman graphic novels and other books by Gaiman – and we leave it at that.
More on The Sandman on Story Of Books
- Dreamers assemble to see The Endless at MCM Comic Con
- “The Sandman” adaptation: how the Audible series pulls it off
- The Sandman” fever begins
Goodbye and hello Kaiju No.8
Cult anime Kaiju No. 8 returns with Season 2 but exclusively on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime for fans outside Asia. Asian fans will be able to enjoy the anime on Netflix.
The release will coincide with the end of the Kaiju No. 8 manga series, written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. The manga will end with Chapter 129, published by Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ digital platform.
Demon Slayer: the long goodbye
The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime will bow out beginning 18 July 2025 with a three-part movie. The finale will begin with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns.
There are many who haven’t read the manga series, so kindly don’t spoil the fun by discussing the ending on social media. Having said that, resist the temptation to read Wikipedia until the series ends.
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