2 weeks ago
Project Arbiter
I like the looks of Project Arbiter. The fen are getting a bit stirred up hoping for a live action Gundam movie after seeing the body armor. No such luck. Guess they'll have to be content with Gunhead and Robot Jox until then.
From IO9 via Anime Vice.
From IO9 via Anime Vice.
asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Master animator's legacy crossed borders - English
asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Master animator's legacy crossed borders - English:
"SAGA--The 1964 U.S. puppet animation film 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' that is so beloved by children around the world owes much of its magic to a Japanese animator.
But even in his homeland, Tadahito Mochinaga (1919-1999) is not well known."
"SAGA--The 1964 U.S. puppet animation film 'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer' that is so beloved by children around the world owes much of its magic to a Japanese animator.
But even in his homeland, Tadahito Mochinaga (1919-1999) is not well known."
Get ready sports fans, pole dancers eye Olympics - The Mainichi Daily News
Get ready sports fans, pole dancers eye Olympics - The Mainichi Daily News: "TOKYO (AP) -- For Japan's Mai Sato, watching all those gold medals being handed out in Vancouver is a bittersweet experience.
Sato knows the demands of being the best. In her world, blisters are the rule, bruises a way of life. And the training -- five hours a day, five days a week.
The world champion in her sport, Sato is as athletic, dedicated and competitive as the Olympians representing their nations. And she thinks it's high time her discipline, too, got some real recognition.
Still, pole dancing? In the Olympics?
Absolutely, say thousands of pole dancers and the rapidly growing number of international and national federations transforming what was once the exclusive property of strip clubs and cheap bars into a respectable -- and highly athletic -- event.
'I could definitely see pole dancing in the Olympics,' said Sato, who, a dancer since the age of three, out-twirled a bevy of athletes from 11 countries at the second International Pole Dancing Fitness Championships in Tokyo two months ago. 'I would love to win a gold medal.'
It's admittedly a high bar."
Sato knows the demands of being the best. In her world, blisters are the rule, bruises a way of life. And the training -- five hours a day, five days a week.
The world champion in her sport, Sato is as athletic, dedicated and competitive as the Olympians representing their nations. And she thinks it's high time her discipline, too, got some real recognition.
Still, pole dancing? In the Olympics?
Absolutely, say thousands of pole dancers and the rapidly growing number of international and national federations transforming what was once the exclusive property of strip clubs and cheap bars into a respectable -- and highly athletic -- event.
'I could definitely see pole dancing in the Olympics,' said Sato, who, a dancer since the age of three, out-twirled a bevy of athletes from 11 countries at the second International Pole Dancing Fitness Championships in Tokyo two months ago. 'I would love to win a gold medal.'
It's admittedly a high bar."
Catholics Saints 'Mangaized'
I'd heard of this a while back, but had hoped for higher-quality renderings...
Nick Simmons Bleached
Gene Simmons' son accused of plagiarizing Bleach and other manga/fanartists.
It's a cut and paste state of mind...
Japanese Surf Rock of the 1960s
Thanks to my older brother I gravitated towards surf geetar in my late teens. Thanks to an Italian job (above) in a circa 1990 closeout bin I discovered Japan's surf guitar bands. I was looking to share a specific track by The Launchers, but The Bunnys -also featured on Monster A Go-Go- will do nicely : )
Yes, That's Kirsten Dunst
This is what you get when you combine Dunst, director McG and artist Takashi Murakami. (NSFW = nudity. No, not Kirsten.)
Funimation via ANN.
Here's the original video by The Vapors.
Funimation via ANN.
Here's the original video by The Vapors.
Welcome to the Space Show
I ran across this a couple of days ago and just didn't have time to post. ANN has posted a article with background. Check it out. Coming from the people that made R.O.D. and Kamichu! is enough for me to want to see this.
via ANN
Japanese homepage
via ANN
Japanese homepage
Tokyo Int'l Anime Fair 2010 Awards
TAF doesn't take place until the end of March, but they've announced the winners of this year's animation awards.
Anime of the Year - Summer Wars
TV - (tie) K-ON! and Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East)
OVA - Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve)
Foreign - Wall-E
Domestic Theatrical - Summer Wars
Director - Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars)
Original Work - Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars)
Screenplay - Satoko Okudera (Summer Wars)
Character Design - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Summer Wars)
Seiyu - Hiroshi Kamiya (Bakemonogatari) - He played the male lead, Koyomi Araragi.
Music - Shirou Sagisu (Evangelion 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance)
Anime of the Year - Summer Wars
TV - (tie) K-ON! and Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East)
OVA - Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve)
Foreign - Wall-E
Domestic Theatrical - Summer Wars
Director - Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars)
Original Work - Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars)
Screenplay - Satoko Okudera (Summer Wars)
Character Design - Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Summer Wars)
Seiyu - Hiroshi Kamiya (Bakemonogatari) - He played the male lead, Koyomi Araragi.
Music - Shirou Sagisu (Evangelion 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance)
Working too hard or hardly working?
Matt Alt shares this infographic over at AltJapan. Looks like Otaku in Japan get a hell of a lot of sleep between watching TV. And I like how "Normal" means working 14 hours a day in Japan. (o 0)
Yoshinori Kanada Tribute
Director Yoshinori Kanada, whose approach to effects animation in key scenes and filmic composition was considered by many in the industry as instrumental, passed away on July 21 of 2009. The link below is from a broadcast recently following his passing, in which his technique is broken-down by panelists including Toshio Okada. Hattip to Mari's Tokyo Diary.
Kamen Rider Dragging Nite DVD release
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight gets a DVD series release with Japanese and English audio...on region 2 DVD. Are they just doing this for the bootleggers?
Gamera: The Giant Monster SE
The 1965 movie Gamera: The Giant Monster will get a "Special Edition" release from Shout! Factory on May 18th for $19.93. Hope this turns out as well as the Classic Media Gojira releases.
New Player in the US Market
NIS America, a subsidiary of Nippon Ichi Software,Inc., has decided to enter the U.S. anime market. Mostly known for their games such as Disgea, Ar tonelico and Cross Edge, NIS America has licensed and plans a mid-year release for Toradora!, Persona - trinity soul -, Pandora Hearts, and Our Home’s Fox Deity (Japanese title Wagaya no Oinarisama).
1st OP
Pandora Hearts PV
Persona - trinity soul - OP
Wagaya no Oinarisama OP
Now the big question: Why? NIS, Inc, just reported a 97.5% drop in operating profits for the first nine months of the fiscal year. Ouch. Is this a good idea considering the market? I guess time will tell.
(via Anime News Network and Kotaku)
1st OP
Pandora Hearts PV
Persona - trinity soul - OP
Wagaya no Oinarisama OP
Now the big question: Why? NIS, Inc, just reported a 97.5% drop in operating profits for the first nine months of the fiscal year. Ouch. Is this a good idea considering the market? I guess time will tell.
(via Anime News Network and Kotaku)
Airbender Trailer & Akira News
This is based off the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon. I have to admit to not seeing any of the original, but the live action theatrical trailer doesn't look too bad. Heavy on the action and special effects, but it has to be better than Dragonball Evolution.
And a live action Akira isn't off the table. New York Magazine's Vulture Blog reports that the The Hughes Bros. (Menace to Society II, Dead Presidents, Book of Eli) are talking with Warner Bros. about using the script by the same writing duo that brought you Iron Man. Instead of trying to cram six manga worth of story into two hours of movie, two movies would be made.
Plain and simple, I just don't expect great things from Hollywood anymore. This is no different.
And a live action Akira isn't off the table. New York Magazine's Vulture Blog reports that the The Hughes Bros. (Menace to Society II, Dead Presidents, Book of Eli) are talking with Warner Bros. about using the script by the same writing duo that brought you Iron Man. Instead of trying to cram six manga worth of story into two hours of movie, two movies would be made.
Plain and simple, I just don't expect great things from Hollywood anymore. This is no different.
Toy tycoon buys Madoff's $8.9m flat
Alfred Kahn, chief exec for 4Kids Entertainment, just dropped $8.9 mil for Bernie Madoff's old digs.
I have to do this,
KAAAAAAAHHHHHNNNN!!!!
I have to do this,
KAAAAAAAHHHHHNNNN!!!!
Alarm bells come too late for Sony Pictures | The Media Wonk
Alarm bells come too late for Sony Pictures | The Media Wonk
Sony starts layoffs. Blu Ray ain't selling like they expected. DVD sales are down while DVD rentals are up:
And it comes home...
Sony starts layoffs. Blu Ray ain't selling like they expected. DVD sales are down while DVD rentals are up:
# Now one year later, looking at the cold hard facts of 2009, retail spending on sell-through DVDs and Blu-Ray discs dropped by -18% while rental of these products actually increased by 4%. As a result, the sell-through of physical discs declined from 63% of the market to 57%.
# This massive change in behavior continues to have negative implications for studio profitability as every home video executive would rather book the $16 of profit contribution per transaction from selling a disc vs. the $3.50 to $1.40 per disc profit contribution from rental.
And it comes home...
Michiko to Hatchin
Surat had mentioned that this show hadn't been picked up yet. Something about it being viewed as non-commercial or something. I'd watched six or seven fansubs and I had liked it. So I watched them again to see what was so non-commercial about it.
The opening is very Lupin the 3rd. But the main character Michiko is more Fujiko then Lupin. Michiko is not a girl. She's not moe or tsundere. No, she's a woman. Lemme repeat that because it needs to be stressed. She's a woman. Not a fantasy girl, not fan service, and pretty much the exact opposite of every female you find in the current crop of anime.
And I bet that's why it's considered non-commercial.
And the funny thing is, if I could compare it to any other show I say this was a lot like Cowboy Bebop. In fact I will. This is Cowboy Bebop without the science fiction and the bounty hunting. It's damn good. And it says something about how fucked up the anime market is and the fans that market is pandering to. Yeah, no giant robots or high school romances or harems and panty shots or any of that bullshit. And the scene could really use a strong dose of this right now. Something that cuts through the stagnant genre bullshit.
But hey, what do I know?
Go back you your comfort zone.
Other Stuff Pt.2
More internet walkabouts and this is the crap I step in. I will share.
Revoltech Hokuto no Ken figs. New? Old? Not crap, but I didn't know if these were from Wonder Festival 2010 (Winter). Just found them and posted here.
Giant Robo needs you. ??????
Star Wars crap. I laughed.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Star Wars mixed with Bob Ross. I already feel the hangover coming on.
Moe + mecha = K-On!Gundam
via Japanator
It's titled "Close Call Rally Old Man", but I'd call it "Old Man Craps Pants and Runs".
Was there a football game on TV today????
Revoltech Hokuto no Ken figs. New? Old? Not crap, but I didn't know if these were from Wonder Festival 2010 (Winter). Just found them and posted here.
Giant Robo needs you. ??????
Star Wars crap. I laughed.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Star Wars mixed with Bob Ross. I already feel the hangover coming on.
Moe + mecha = K-On!Gundam
via Japanator
It's titled "Close Call Rally Old Man", but I'd call it "Old Man Craps Pants and Runs".
Was there a football game on TV today????
Best Buy stops selling Anime?
I read something about Best Buy closing down the anime section. But now I can't find the link. Can anybody tell me if it's true?
