My favorite thing to do on any of my trips to Japan is to check out shows in various parts of the country. Shimokitazawa, Koenji, Shibuya, Shinjuku, even Yokohama and beyond (heck, Teppen was officially launched after a night at Yokohama B.B.STREET). Japan, as a whole, has vibrant and diverse music scene with great music to be heard live every night. Replicating those vibes overseas is difficult. We’ve covered stuff like Japanese wrestling shows in the US and always felt they fell quite short of replicating the Japanese experience, which shows that even with a big budget, it’s hard to get everything right.

Illustration by Ricky Vigil Operation C is a simple game; it’s a run and gun, straightforward and not subtle, like thrash metal (Sodom’s Agent Orange album art looks like a Contra game). Add in the…