Scenes from the Tokyo Game Show

Full pictorial article: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/09/gallery-tgs-cosplay/

World Class Cosplayer: Yaya Han

Call Name: Yaya Han

Status: Cosplay superstar

Real Name: Yaya Han

Profession: Costume Designer, Model

Does: Resident Evil, Macross Plus, Clover, Blue Girl, X-Men, Dead or Alive, Final Fantasy, Ranma 1/2, Death Note, Darkstalkers, Urusei Yatsura, Chobits, Parasite Eve, Dirty Pair, Blue Submarine 6 and more

World Class Cosplayer: Omi Gibson

Call Name: Omi Gibson

Status: Cosplay superstar

Real Name: Unknown

Profession: OL in Japan

Most seen as: Metal Gear characters

Also does: Black Lagoon, Justice League, Silent Hill, Transporter, Kill Bill, G.I. Joe, Darkstalkers, Mirrors Edge, Candy Fruit, Mezzo Forte, Death Note, Rumble Roses, Snatcher, Resident Evil, Underworld, Blood+, Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, Tekken, and it goes on and on

Gantz - a walking tour

I'm a huge fan of Gantz - quite possible the most nihilist manga out there that is still running. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's now being published in Tankobon format (collected volumes). One of the big reasons I enjoy it so much is not the ultra-violence, the fan service S&M gear everyone is wearing, the borderline pornography or the lack of a socially-redeeming question - no, the reason I like it is that it's very much based in the real world of Tokyo's city streets. I used to live there, fully integrated into that society as a tax-paying, commuting, white-collar working individual. And after a hard night's heavy drinking (which was quite common), it thrilled me to see some of its neighborhoods rife with demons and blown apart with science fiction weaponry. Some of the neighborhoods and districts of Tokyo were explicitly known, others I've had to guess based on the visuals provided:

Ikebukuro - scene of the battle between the Gantz players and the Oni Aliens, where regular humans could finally see the bad guys and the common masses really started to freak out. Ikebukuro is not much more than a shopping district, sort of a lower class Shinjuku. It has its own red light district and similar to Shinjuku, is pretty much its own self-enclosed city.

Shinjuku West Gate - where Shion Izumi gunned down tons of innocent victims in a fucked-up effort to recruit new Gantz members. West Gate is Shinjuku's main shopping arcade, with connections to gay town 3-chome, the "Little Korea" Okubo and the hardcore red light district/Chinatown of Kabuki-cho. Shinjuku's East Gate is skyscraper-ville so its West Gate where all the action is. I tended to not stay there too long or else the place gave me massive headaches.

Gokuku-ji Temple - I'm *not sure* if this was the actual temple where the Gantz team fought the Kappa aliens and his dinosaur demons. The problem is that as far as massive Buddhist temples are concerned, Tokyo doesn't have that many. And from layout and architecture, Senso-ji in Asakusa, Zenpuku-ji in Azabu and Zojo-ji in Daimon don't match up. I am convinced that Oku Hiroya made this one up but used elements of Gokuku-ji to do it.

Minato-ku - this is another guess. But from every time the Gantz members are in the apartment with the big black ball, they look out the window and see Tokyo Tower pretty closeby. From the distance which looks like 2 or 3 km away, there really can only be a couple of places that make sense - Shimbashi, Kamiyacho, Shirogane, and Takanawa. But for sure it's in the harbor borough, which means that Gantz must have a pretty good income in order to pay for the lease.

Dotonbori River - this is in Osaka (and obviously where the Tokyo Gantz team encounters the Osaka team), which for those that don't know is a day's travel from Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train). The scene where people like to jump off the bridge and into the river whenever the local baseball team wins the pennant (which has not been much) and home to some pretty awesome neon.

Does this sound like a tour-spiel? Yeah maybe, but you know what, check it all out for your Japan pilgrimmage. The place is cool and I miss it tons.

Giant Gundam statue - final day, Odaiba

Thx to Mike C, from Shiokaze Park, Odaiba. 18m tall, full scale. Today is the last day before it will be taken down and most probably, serve as a member of Japan's parliament.

Yet more shots from Comiket

Final batch, and thx to Phil C from Odaiba...

More shots from Comiket

Again, thanks to Phil C

Just snapped at Comiket

thanks to Phil C.

Recession Biting Japanese Anime Industry Hard

"Unlike some big screen animated features from the United States that rely almost completely on computer animation, in Japan, almost all features are drawn by hand -- a labor-intensive craft practiced by thousands of young artists each year."

"For the last six years, Nobuki Mitani, has been working as an "in-between" animator -- filling in the cells between "key" animations. It is one of the lowest paid positions in the animation hierarchy."

"Many of these entry-level jobs have been outsourced to the Philippines and South Korea in recent years.

Mitani, 27, said the hours are long, and the pay is low -- about $800 a month."

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/07/30/japan.animation.recession/index.html

Blue Submarine No.6 Live Version still underwater

Blue Submarine No.6 was one of my favourite anime from the the late 1990s solely because of the combination of high animation quality and pioneering underwater effects. It literally blew me away with its depiction of an ambient soundtrack, water echo, time delay and aqua-sound usage. The animation itself was one of the first hybrids of CG mixed with traditional cel productions. So-called live movies such as The Hunt for Red October and even the current G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra's conceptualizations of underwater warfare are still a joke in comparison.

As per typical serial OVA, Blue Submarine is a complex narrative with multiple story arcs going in different directions - but at its basis is a war between the naval forces of humanity against marine hybrid offshoot creations of the scientist Zorndyke. In some ways similar to Space Battleship Yamato (or Star Blazers to North Americans), the tale centers around the crew of a submarine (as per the series title) and its battle against Zorndyke's forces. At once a study in underwater/naval warfare but also an ecological study and a philosophical query as to the nature of humanity (is conflict necessary for the advancement of the species?), Blue Submarine No. 6 is one of the standout combat-related anime out there.

So with anything this high concept and high quality, it comes as no surprise that a live version is the in works. However, this one is going to be made in Japan, meaning its penetration overseas will be limited to anime festivals, foreign film festivals, and cult appreciation. The budget will be US$84 million and will be directed by Masahiko Ohkura.

Japan Wins @ World Cosplay Championships

In the "news that surprises no one" category, Japan takes first place the World Cosplay Summit. First there are several things one must consider - namely that Japan is the birthplace of cosplay, the event itself was held in Nagoya, and lastly, this is the first time that Japan actually WON. Yes, that's right, they have never won that event since the event has been held in 2003. Cartoonist Go Nagai was the judge.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photospecials/graph/cosplay/

Ghost in the Shell live version

I was a big fan of Ghost in the Shell for several years and having lived in Tokyo during the Stand Alone Complex years it was a thrill to be on the cutting edge of all the promotional marketing being rammed through my eyes while walking through the backstreets of Shibuya. I felt like that simply because I was a casual fan of the storyline, I was being forced to watch the series to see how it developed.

Being a bigger fan of the manga than I was of the movie (and its sequel, Innocence) I was still taken aback and impressed by its transplantation of the setting to Kowloon, Hong Kong instead of.... well frankly the manga made it looked like a cross between Sapporo's Susukino district and the Minatomirai area of Yokohama with bits of Shinjuku thrown in.

So I wonder what the live version will look like, with Steven Spielberg having optioned the rights to it in 2008. It's obviously not on his next-to-be-made list, what with Tintin slated to arrive soon. But I can only guess what elements of the manga or anime he will take for the film. Will the characters remain Japanese? Will it take place in Japan? Or will the whole thing take place in America? With the global market now bigger than the American market, there may be a chance that it will still be a Japanese story. I remember that there was talk of making a live version of Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira but having it take place in NYC instead of Neo-Tokyo, which would have been complete bullshit.

But nonetheless, if they keep to the ultra-cyber mysticism of the original storylines, they should maintain a compelling story - Minority Report being a good example.

Tiphares

It's pretty well known by now that James Cameron is going to be making his own film version of the manga Battle Angel Alita, and God knows what his cybertronic gladiators and bounty hunters are going to look like. I'll save that for another day, but interestingly enough - I came across this blog regarding the setting:

http://urbanfloop.blogspot.com/2009/06/of-ships-dreams-tiphares.html

... which had this to say about Tiphares when comparing the floating city to the giant landfills and scrap yards of India and Bangladesh...

"these terrains survive on the waste dumped by the floating world that upholds its morals of sustainability and equality by outsourcing the opposites to far off horizons away from its cone of vision."

Gantz, available in English in Tankobon format

Tight black leather + J-Idols = debauched senseless nihilist violence

Gantz is a wonderfully brutal adults-only type of manga (also made into OVA) that revels in its gore and antisocial behavior. Basic story: people who have just died, children and some pets included, are inducted into a sickening game whereas they must defeat demons in public space. No one can see them fight as they are armed with weapons they barely understand for purposes that make no sense. If they kill the demon, they score points towards their release. If they get killed, then they are permanently erased. And with each stage, the odds get worse. I love it.