21.11.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Macross Frontier Part 2 movie title is???
Following the end credits of the Macross Frontier The False Diva Movie there was a very short clip of space battle animation and some illustration art of Ranka & Sheryl ending with the title for part two "サヨナラノツバサ “The Wings of farewell".
Tags: Anime 0 Comments
17.11.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Evangelion 1.01 English Dad...... I mean Dub.
I just watched the first 8 minuets of the Evangelion 1.01 English Dub on YouTube and I still think English dubbing still has a long way to go. I'm not against dubbing of anime totally, there's just hasn't been allot of quality dub jobs in the the last 5 years. The Eva clip in English is just far to soft, no edge, no tension in the majority of the voice acting. Shinji's lines about his dad should feel more shaken with a hint of mistrust, the English dialog delivery just feels way out of touch with the charter. I'm not even concerned about it being a perfect translation, my main issue is the lack of emotion and disconnect with the background music.
15.11.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Yoyogi Animation Gakuin and 'Cool Japan'
Just saw this sign and thought it was funny. After the failed Aso Taro administration, I thought there might be a general ban on using this ridiculous "Cool Japan" idea. Honestly, even if soft power does exist and nations can disseminate a positive image, does that mean anything if the nation has no hard power to back it up? Japan just looks like its overcompensating for the rise of China, which will eclipse it's military and economic influence very soon. Besides, doesn't cool become uncool as soon as old politicians and capitalists get their hands on it? And, I might add, Cool Japan takes its name from Cool Britannia, a failed image campaign of another island nation a decade ago...
Tags: Anime Cool Japan CM 6 Comments
13.11.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
2009 BOME Exhibition Psyche & Talk Event Dec. 11-23
"Kaikai Kiki Gallery" will be hosting BOME's upcoming exhibit and talk event in Tokyo. The event will be held from December 11 to the 23rd with a special talk live on Saturday December 12th from 18:00 - 19:00. Talk event will feature Bome and voice actresses "Ikezawa Haruna" and "Ami Koshimizu" with Cospa's Yamaken as MC. This time I'm not going to miss the exhibit like I did the Parco one.
Event will be held at:
Kaikai Kiki Gallery
Tokyo Motoazabu Crest Building B1F
2-3-30Motoazabu
Minato-ku, Tokyo
12.11.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Momoi Halko in Akihabara
I met Momoi Halko, idol, seiyuu and self-described Akiba-kei otaku, in Akihabara to discuss moe. She had some fascinating things to say, including a strong opinion that moe can and will travel around the world. Her evidence was a recent world tour where fans responded to Komugi-chan and Seto no Hanayome. I can't think of a better ambassador for Akiba and moe culture than Momoi Halko, who was doing street lives here back in 1996 and was among the first to not use a pseudonymn when singing eroge songs. Thanks to Momoi-san for her time, and signing my copy of her book, and Fritz Schumann for taking some great pics!
09.11.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
I see Kitty everywhere...
Chalk this one up to an obsessive-compulsive personality, but I can't stop seeing Hello Kitty around town. Damn you, Sanrio! Why did you have to sink your claws into me?! I am having a hard enough time controlling the output from KyoAni and Gonzo, and now this... My life is over...
Tags: Moe 0 Comments
07.11.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
K-Books Akihabara Renewal Ikebukuro Style
K-Books Akiba in the Radio Kaikan recently went under the re-grand opening knife and was closed from Oct. 27th and re-opened on this past Tuesday's National holiday Culture Day Nov. 3rd. I checked out the new K-Books and man was it a major improvement. There is more of an organized Ikebukuro Otome Road shop feel to it, the only thing missing is the BL stuff. The old set up was a mess, now it is well lit and the big cashier island is gone. If you are heading to Akiba this weekend make sure to stop by, just don't buy anything I have my eye on.
Tags: Doujinshi Figure Akihabara 0 Comments
03.11.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Know Akiba, get chicks
Newsflash from "R-25," a free information magazine in Tokyo:
"If you understand Akiba, then you might be popular overseas?"
「アキバがわかれば海外でモテる？」
OK, that is a new one on me. Granted, this is only a slogan written on a stand for the magazine, and I haven't seen any full article, but I just can't imagine that knowing about Akiba is going to help anybody anywhere meet women....
Tags: Akihabara CM Weird 2 Comments
01.11.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Academic article on moe published
My most recent article, "Moe: Exploring Virtual Potential in Post-Millennial Japan" has just been published in the Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. Check it out here! Long be the age of affect!
「萌え」について論文を書かせて頂き、昨日アップされました。申し訳ないですが、英語のみですが、ご興味がありましたらご覧頂ければと思っております。詳しくはこちらへ。
Tags: Moe Academic 0 Comments
31.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Neon-chan in Akihabara
It was just last month that I visited Nippombashi and fell in love with their image character, Neon-chan. Now she is in Akihabara, courtesy of an ad campaign for a notebook computer decorated with her image. It's like I never left Osaka. ^^; Seriously, we need an image character in Akihabara. I vote for a design by Pop.
おい！秋葉原なのに。。。なぜか音々ちゃんが。。。
Tags: Akihabara Nippombashi 0 Comments
27.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Taiwan's maid cafe
Just came across this place mat from Fatimaid, a maid cafe in Taiwan. It caused quite a ruckus back in 2006, and seems to still be going strong. Awesome!
台湾のメイド喫茶、Fatimaidからのものです！向こうに行ってきた友達が見せてくれましたので、写真を撮ってみました。
Tags: Maids International 0 Comments
24.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Asobit City is sinking fast
Here's a statement on where Akihabara might be going. The new Aoki suit store on Chuo Dori, with its transparent glassy exterior that reminds one of Shibuya rather than Akiba, is about to open. In its shadow was Asobit City, which is now closing. That leaves only Lammtarra, sandwiched between the site of the former Rocket Center and new Docomo Store on the right, and the soon to be former Asobit City and new Aoki on the left.
Worse still, in the back streets at the site of the former Asobit City Character will be a Jeans Mate. Where the hell are we, Harajuku? And, typically, there is a maid standing in front of this travesty, covering up the changes happening in Akiba with cute costumes and continued media coverage. Let's just hope that Asobit City can regroup at their stronghold behind Radio Kaikan, which is shaping up to be an oasis not unlike Nakano Broadway. Maybe that's the way things are going. But, alas, Patrick Macias has seen where that otaku haven is headed... Yokoso! Japan sponsorship. Sounds mighty familiar to those of us who call Akihabara home.
Tags: Akihabara 3 Comments
24.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
【異議】萌えを擁護します【あり】
今夜文化放送の「アニスパ」に出演し、2009年秋のアニメについてお話しさせて頂きました。大変皆様のお世話になりまして、心より感謝致します。どうもありがとうございました。しかしながら、皆様とお話ししているうちに、番組においてのみならず、全体的に萌え系アニメはどうも批判されすぎではないか、萌えヲタは悪の槍玉に挙げられているのではないかというような気がしてきました。このクールのアニメはこんなに面白いのに、番組のコメンテーターの中では「萌えキャラ」「意味ないパンチラ」「エロス」が多すぎたという意見はかなり強かったです。二次元の美少女が好きで何が悪い、それで良いではないか、ということで、ここから萌えを援護していきたいと思います。
１）美少女だけ出てくればいいんですか。アニメはそれだけだと腐っちゃいます。
アニメには、二つの機能しかいらないと私は思います。すなわち、見て萌えるか、あるいは見て癒されるか、です。このつらい世の中で生きていくためには、アニメを見ることでで良い気持ちになってしかるべきではありませんか。
２）これは美少女イメージの不当な乱用ではないですか。
そういう言説もありますが、個人的にはそう思ってはおりません。ヲタクたちは美少女との力関係を知っている上で楽しむのです。例えば、「そらのおとしもの」の登場人物、イカロスさんは首に鎖がかかっていて、可哀想に見えます。まるで男の願望に縛られているようにも見えます。我々ヲタクは自分の欲望について素直に考えておりますので、「普通」の方より幾分ましです。しかしながら、その鎖はイカロスさんを支配したい気持ちからではなく、いつも一緒に居て裏切らない保証の表現、と考えたらいかがでしょうか。ここでその「鎖」は少女マンガに頻繁に出る「赤い糸」と同じように、絆で結ばれた関係があるという象徴であると主張したいです。まあ、どちらも妄想で現実とは全く関係はありませんが。イカロスさんは典型的な「人外」、つまり人間ではないキャラです。人間でないことは現実と関係ないことです。「人外」という存在（ロボット、猫耳、異星人、ドールや、それらに似ているメイド、ロリ・キャラなど）と一般的な感覚からすると「異常」な関係（百合、BLなど）は現実より純粋なものを指摘していると私は思っております。
３）何にでも萌えられますよね。
お褒めの言葉として受け取ります。さらに、「愚か者よ、エロスは限られてはおらぬ」という言葉をお返し致しましょう。男女を問わず、擬人化された動物や物まで、何でも思い切ってキャラに変えてしまえば萌えることはできます。現実（＝社会規範）から抜け出した自由さえあれば萌えは可能です。二次元の妄想だからもう良いじゃありませんか。
いかがでしょうか。あくまでも個人の意見ですが、萌えアニメについて文句が聞けた今夜の感想です。
ガルバレス・パトリック・ウィリアム、「In Defense of Moe」より
追伸：釘宮理恵さんの声を聞いてしまったら、誰が日本を離れてアメリカに戻れるでしょうか。釘宮病に患ったら「普通」の女性------あるいは、「普通」の社会に------戻れるでしょうか。私が来日した理由はそれと同じだから許して下さいね。田村ゆかりさんはそのうちの一つでした。＾。＾；
Tags: Moe Japanese 3 Comments
23.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Ranka!!!
Saw this in the convenience store. Not so sure about mixing Lolita fashion with the sexy swimsuit motif, but if that helps ticket sales then more power to them. Looking forward to the movie!
Tags: Anime Macross 0 Comments
19.10.2009 · by Mikami Ryo
Nintendo is still number one
"Business Week" elected Nintendo as World's Best Company over Google and Apple. I thought of the company as "Hiroshi Yamauchi Co., Ltd, with Shigeru Miyamoto," so thought it would lose power following the retirement of Yamauchi in 2005. In fact, Nintendo stock plummeted when he declared his retirement in 2002.
He is such a weenie, but also a genius and pioneer of the videogame industry. Nolan Bushnell, CEO of Atari, made the first step, but it was Yamauchi who made gaming a global culture. This began with the success of the NES in 1983. Satoru Iwata from HAL followed him. Nevertheless the son of Yamauchi was working at Nintendo. In addition, Hiroshi Arakawa, CEO of NOA (Nintendo Of America), known as the person who made "Donkey Kong" a success in America, retired in 2002. He married Yamauchi's daughter.
Nintendo was established in the nineteenth century (Nintendo Co., Ltd was established after the World War 2) and Yamauchi was its third CEO. In half a century he took one small toy shop in Kyoto and made it into the "World's Best Company."
The following are some saying attributed to him:
"Nintendo will only sell games for the Disk System."
"I shall retire if such a shit device [Playstation] will sell over a million."
[On making a copy of Space Invader] "There is no patent in the way of play."
Yamauchi retired, but Nintendo had not ended. What will this amazing company bring us in the next half century?
Tags: Games 0 Comments
18.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Dating sims are the source of maids
I have argued in my discussion of maids and maid cafes that dating simulator games (or bishoujo games, if you prefer) are the source. Specifically,
The game was so popular that Tokyo Character Show in August 1998 featured "Pia Carrot Restaurant." It was a hit, and on July 22, 1999, Gamer's opened a more permanent establishment on the 6th floor of their store in Akihabara. When it closed, fans were so upset that the shop reopened it, then closed and reopened it again. In May 2000, Cafe du Cospa opened, which later was replaced by Cure Maid Cafe in February 2001. The influence of "Welcome to Pia Carrot" on all this cannot be underestimated.
On a visit to a fellow maid cafe enthusiast's house, I was once again reminded of the vaulted place of "Pia Carrot." First, on his shelf just happened to be three maid figures: Pia Carrot, Cos-cha and Pinafore. The resemblance is remarkable. Elements of the original Pia Carrot design appear in both these iconic maid outfits.
Next, he had two cans of coffee lined up - Pia Carrot Coffee and @home cafe Coffee. The way both maids are standing, the design of their uniforms - all almost a perfect match. Maybe no one else is interested in this, but for me it was a flash of lightning, a eureka moment. Thank you, Pia Carrot, for bringing the world such joy!
Tags: Moe Dating Simulators Maids 0 Comments
16.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
A panda named moe
In the zoo in Osaka. The staff were all chuckling about this name, too. Poor little panda bear!
12.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Akihabara Audio Tour
Our Akihabara tour, founded in 2007 as the first regular English-language tour of the area, has now been made into an audio tour by White Rabbit Press. I am doing the narration, and guest commentary is given by experts such as Patrick Macias, Danny Choo and Morikawa Kaichiro. The tour is currently available for download on the White Rabbit Press website, with the physical product (tour on audio CD, photobook and map) will be out in November. The tour costs $12 in digital form, and those who purchase it now will receive credit against the price of the physical product. Details available here.
09.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
My new favorite shirt (3)
First it was thumbing my nose at the police, then the obnoxious Eva "3D shirt" , but nothing can top this one. The front of the shirt says, in English: "Excluded the Reaju." I take this to mean, "Exclude the riaju." Riaju is slang for "satisfied in reality," and it refers to those cheeky bastards who have it all in the real world of home, school and work. Those sassy pants cads, the fiends, look down on otaku searching for something more in the two-dimensional world. Out with them, my shirt says! Keep the world of otaku for the otaku, and my seat open at the maid cafe!!!
06.10.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Honda Toru in Akihabara
I met the man, the myth, the legend, Honda Toru, a light novel writer who married a two-dimensional character and advocates other join in the moe revolution. One of his stories is going to be made into a live-action film, and we commiserated that it wouldn't be anime, but had to be better than "Dragon Ball Evolution." He signed my book, and asked that I never show his face to anyone so that he could continue to live his footloose and fancy-free otaku lifestyle. Long live moe, and long live the moe man who gave the movement a face (well, sort of).
Tags: Moe Akihabara Otaku 0 Comments
