05.05.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Nakano Broadway opening up
I went to check out Nakano Broadway after hearing it has been hopping. And it was. It’s so bright, crowded and open that a lot of the privacy and basement-like atmosphere is gone. One young couple standing next to me in Mandarake said it was like an “otaku zoo.” For better or worse, the place has blossomed this year. A lot of stores are closed on the fourth floor, but as I hear it this is a move by Mandarake to consolidate its many holdings on the second and third floors. The third, the one at the top of the escalator and the first stop for most otaku, has always been a hot spot, but the second floor has really benefitted from the new attention. In addition to favorites such as the Galaxy retro game store, there are also tons of military, cosplay (and fashion) and idol stores. It is worth checking out the several Trio locations, but a different idol store caught my eye: Utahime Doomu [Singing Princess Pure Dream]. It is not one of the new stores, but an old school offering the likes of Marubell in Asakusa. They have lots of rare older bromides, and newer stuff like the Nakano Fujoshi Sisters.
Next door there is a rad old cafe dedicated to auto racing. It has been in the mall since it opened over 30 years ago. Great for theme, not so much for food (though the cinnamon toast is good).
30.04.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Gunnar takes on @home Cafe and @gumi head on!
Gunnar our fellow otaku in denial visits @home Cafe and lives through an Otagei pit to tell about it.
Great to see Hiyochan in the spot lite, she is one of the few original @home maids left.
29.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Jedi bar
A bar named Jedi. Awesome. After investigation, it had nothing to do with "Star Wars," sadly, but check out in Ebisu for a fix.
Tags: Weird 0 Comments
26.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Lupin makes a stop in Tokyo!
The Lupin Station, 10 minutes from Suidobashi Station on the Sobu Line, opened for business yesterday. There are some really great character goods inside, and atomosphere to spare (Lupin leaning on the piano!). If the intrepid explorer has the time, trek on down to Tokyo Dome City to the new Lupin attraction. For a mere 800 yen you can snoop through Lupin's lair on a mission for Inspector Zennigata.
Tags: Anime Travel Shopping 0 Comments
24.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Otaku work out!
My friends tell me I need to lose weight. OK, so I'm a porker, no shame in that baby. But I agree I need to shed some blubber before cosplay and convention season. I was kicked out of my local gym for having tattoos and being generally antisocial. Ejected from public space, I retreated to my room looking for a quick fix. And the spankers on 2channel had it. Behold, "Let's Training!" heralded as the first anime exercise video. Boasting moe characters in compromising positions, viewers can be confident their forearms will be like a freaking gorilla as they “exercise” in the privacy of their own rooms. I considered it, but doubt this will solve my problems. Might actually compound them… Moe…
Tags: Otaku Moe Anime 2 Comments
23.04.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Reading English manga turns heads on Japanese subways.
In the last four years I've hand many friends from overseas stay at my house when they come to visit me in Tokyo. Most buy more stuff than they can possibly fit in their luggage and some how they come up with the "bright idea" of giving me their Tokyo travel books they bought prior to arriving to Japan as If I need a book on Tokyo. I think I have a total of about 6 of these books, but finally somebody left some useful reading material. Recently my friend Egan Loo came to Tokyo for the Macross Launch Event back in February and left me his English translated copy of Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys manga by Vis Media.
I honestly had no interest in reading it and have been trying to ignore the TV commercials for the movie version that are always playing on the TV, but I finally gave it a read. I figured the best place to read it was on the way to work, since everybody seems to read manga and newspapers on the commute to and from the office in order to completely ignore the world around them. I don't know what it was but as soon as I cracked it open and started reading I noticed movement from the people around me. They all would lean forward and peer at the cover of the manga and usually do a double take. Some of them would seem to almost want to say excuse me can i see that, but would quickly retreat only to look again as if it was a car accident on a highway.
An interesting reaction from people that read manga on subways and trains all the time. Volume 1 of 20th Century Boys turned out to be pretty good I would like to continue reading the rest of the volumes but it's just that imported translated manga is a way too expensive here in Tokyo. Besides I've got tons of figures to buy. So the lesson here is, when you come to Japan don't leave your travel books with your host, we don't want them leave something we can use like a box of Fruity Pebbles.
Tags: Manga Comiket 0 Comments
22.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Kikkoman shrine!?
I know people in Japan love their soy sauce, but this is a bit much. I went to a shrine in Yokohama, supposedly one in a set of the most holy in country, and what do I see? Kikkoman, there for the worship. Apparently they are a generous donor to the site... This looks like a shop display!
Tags: Weird 0 Comments
13.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Who watches 'The Watchmen'? Maybe fujoshi
Went to see "The Watchmen," and despite the blue wang and overly emotional Rorschach (he screams in anger, and also sniffs went he gets capped in the end...), I actually did like it. For one thing, it like the original presents a good view of the possible social and political problems with really having superheroes around. For another, many of the characters match moe elements, especially yaoi. Behold:
Dr. Manhattan / Jon Osterman: Robot, alien, superpowers, tsundere
Ozymandias / Adrian Veidt: Grand king (teiou), intelligent and conciented (gyakugire yuutousei), kichiku (like a BL seme)
Rorschach / Walter Kovacs: Detective, quiet but burning passion, close relationship with Nite Owl II reads like seme/uke
Nite Owl II / Dan Dreiberg: Hetare (loser), glasses, close relationship with Rorschach reads like uke/seme (you know Rorschach punks him)
The Comedian / Edward Blake: Strong man (bara?), rape, secret father
Laurie Jupiter / Silk Spectre II: Bitch (can this be moe? Maybe not...), mated by multiple tentecle-like Dr. Manhattan hands
Those last two characters are suspect, I admit, but the rest stand. Mark my words, their will be yaoi doujinshi based on this film at Comike.
Tags: Movies Comics Yaoi Fujoshi 0 Comments
10.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
'Popotan' Mii at Dempa Song Night 6
Toromi was singing galge dempa hits with a bunch of chika (underground) idols, and was kind enough to squeak hello to me. Moe... Anyway, great event, worth checking out. Every two months, Saturday night in Ikebukuro Live Inn Rosa.
Tags: Seiyuu Galge Dempa Event 0 Comments
07.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Moe meets punk, and it is beautiful
This CD just came out, and being a huge Goto Yuko and Momoi Halko fan I was there to pick it up. The idea is basically seiyuu trying to sing famous punk songs in English. They can hardly speak the language, let alone sing it, and their high pitched voices make the ensuing chaos all the more moe moe. Truly, whoever thought of this deserves the Congressional Metal of Honor for heroism in my world. Highlights:
1) Kadowaki Maii sings "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"
2) Goto Yuko sings "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
3) Shimizu Kaori sings "Blitzkreig Bop"
Worst moment: Momoi Halko sings "Sex and Violence" (it should have been so good...)
As a younger man I hated all the songs on this album, but now they are somehow strangely soothing... Thank you, moe, and thank you Japan.
Tags: Moe J-Pop Seiyuu 0 Comments
03.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
@home notes hours of English-speaking maids
This is pretty cool, and just in time for summer travel. I know that more and more tourists are coming, but I didn't think @home would ever get with the program. I remember translating their drink menu for them in 2007, and now they have finally come to this. May the whole world come and enjoy a maid cafe experience!
Tags: Maids Tourism 0 Comments
03.04.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Murakami Takashi's new work revealed
I was invited to the special sneak preview of Murakami Takashi's new sculpture at the Kaikai Kiki gallery in Hiroo on Thursday night. As seen in the , it is a deformed little robot boy. His name is Inochi. Despite his noted facination with otaku, Murakami says the work this time has nothing to do with otaku, but is rather a "pure expression of Japanese." As always, this follows a very loose definition of "Japanese," based on eclectic US and domestic pop-culture references:
1) The lttle robot boy from "A.I." is the inspiration; apparently Stanley Kubrick wanted to film this with a much uglier character in a Pinnochio-like tale
2) Japan has a deep history with humanoid robots, all the way from Tezuka Osamu's "Astro Boy" (Kubrick was a fan of Tezuka, says Murakami)
3) The bulbous head looks like ET
4) The robotic parts and thin frame evoke an Evangelion
5) Japanese do not like completed things, thus the imbalance
6) There is a violent and grotesque nature to Japanese cute
The list goes on, but you get the idea - various things strung together to imply some sort of meaning, whatever that is supposed to mean. The sculpture took him six years to make, and Bome was not involved. In fact, Murakami said he wants to get past his associations with the master figure maker, whose works are inextricably tied to Kaiyodo and bishojo figures. I find this particualarly amusing, as Bome's only fault is his expertise. Okada Toshio described the difference between what Bome does and "art" as a matter of meaning: Bome means to make figures that make sense to fans of characters, while art tends to make things that don't make sense and thus are "meaningful." That said, it might be that Murakami has to jettison the simple meanings of bishojo to find "meaning."
Instead of Bome, Murakami brought on board the advertising agency that created the CMs for Softbank. It reminds me more of the . In any case, Murakami again says the gags created using the Inochi character are representative of Japanese humor and sense. You be the judge.
Tags: Art Otaku Cool Japan 3 Comments
31.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Shojo save the world
Walking through a slum north of Yokohama - very near to Hatsune-cho - I happened upon a huge photographic image of school girls posted to a wall. Intrigued, I took a closer look, and found it was by a famous Chinese artist who had come to take the photo as part of a renovation effort in the area. Asking around, I found that he used the school girls to symbolize a bright future for the city. That sounds pretty freaking otaku to me, and like every anime I've seen in the last decade, but moving on. Before the image went up five months back, there was a sign in five languages promoting the use of condoms, ostensibly for prostitutes in the area. Hmm... Maybe they ought to have left that old sign up to save these girls from a worser fate... I couldn't help buying the poster in a nearby store (image below).
29.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
The ultimate work tie!
I got this tie as a gift. I submit it is the ultimate neta tie for the following two reasons:
1) It's Hermes, like the gift in "Densha Otoko."
2) The design reminds me of the the "Rodeo machine" video.
Yes... Finally a tie I can wear instead of my Eva one. And, unlike that one, no normal folk will ever know its true meaning! It's diabolical. Bwahaha!!
Tags: Nico Nico Douga Goods 0 Comments
26.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Dangerous youth? You bet!
The text reads, "Are you a dangerous youth?" That fella second from the left looks awful familiar... Oh, wait, it's everyone I know! Admittedly, this the rest of the advert goes on to explain that kids that don't vote are in danger, but the use of the otaku character in this little "joke" must speak to some deeper cultural apprehension.
Tags: Otaku Advertisement 0 Comments
24.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
'Dragon Ball Evolution' sucks my balls
Went to go see this horrific piece of garbage with Mikami Ryo, part of our Otaku2 team and a "Shonen Jump" reader for 15 years. He loves "Dragon Ball," and asked me to go with him to see this movie because he was too embarrassed to see it alone. We went March 14, White Day, and expected a packed house so near to opening. But what we got was a handful of people in am empty theater in Yurakucho, central Tokyo. Not a good start. I will leave the nitty gritty review to better qualified folks, and just give my three worst moments:
1) Goku is not only in high school, but snuffs back tears when a bully pushes him around. WTF?! This is fucking GOKU!!!
2) Piccolo, who won't confront Goku despite knowing his every move, decides to send monsters to put the boy down. He straps himself into a chair and gets stuck with a needle to get the blood necessary to create these monsters. Piccolo is screaming as his blood is drawn. Um, this is the fucking lord of darkness, and he cries over a little pin prick? Jesus Joseph and Mary, may the saints preserve us!
3) Only get one proper kamehameha in this shitfest (others light candles or revive dead people... give me a break...), and Goku flies up like a little fariy as he shoots it off. Is he getting dragged along by the force of the ki blast? Just kill me now!
Add to that that the story is choppy and incoherent at times, just jumping from one thing to the next, and the fact that NO ONE IN THIS MOVIE CAN FIGHT, and you have the worst movie I have seen in years. It would suck even if it wasn't based on "Dragon Ball," and that just hurts. "Dragon Ball" was the epitome of the shonen manga style, and "Jump" had over five million copies in circulation when it was big. Every young man in Japan has read it. Couldn't they at least consider that before turing out this film under the guise of a legendary story? People were laughing in the theater, but Mikami and I were crying.
"My expectations were not betrayed," said Mikami, 25. "It is just as bad as I imagined it would be."
Tags: Anime Movie 37 Comments
22.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
World's Akiba Festival falls flat
Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. The Akiba-kai organizers have the best of intensions, but they told me that no foreign media outlets responded to their call to revive the spirit of the Otaku Mecca. That, in combination with vicious winds and a cold rain, meant the few Japanese, and maybe five foreigners, attended the innagural event March 22, which consisted of free live performances at the Akiba Live Stage on Chuo-dori. Kushida Akira, a personal favorite, even came, but only a hundred or so came out to see him perform hits from "Sun Vulcan," "Gavan" and "Muscle Man." One of the MCs was Matsuda-san from the Akiba Map booth, who once gave me a tour of Akihabara and has since been my tsundere maid goddess.
In truth, the event wasn't even as good as the 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. otagei fest over at Dear Stage the night before. The gods conspired against us all. Here's hoping the next one is better!
18.03.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Beagle Fuke, Rei Ride Armor and MPC Grimlock.............OH MY!!!!!
The Tokyo International Anime Fair Business Day is back and Beagle Toys was there showing off a very early 1/10 scale prototype Fuke (Rook) Ride Armor. Impressive to say the least. Mospeada fans, we never had it so good.
Mospeada Ride Armors have been coming out of woodwork over the last two years, and next in line is Rei (Rand).
Now it has been years since a Transformer has knocked my socks off. The Masterpiece Transformer line is kind of hit or miss, but the MPC Grimlock goes above and beyond Takara Tomy's previous efforts. Must have!!!!
Tags: Figures Wonder Festival Toys 3 Comments
15.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Otaku2 featured by British journalists
Check out the story here. Thanks to Danny Choo for the introduction, and hope his hay fever is better!
14.03.2009 · by Patrick W. Galbraith
Yes we can coffee!
President Barack Obama likes to say, "Yes we can," a simple message that inspired people the world over. This little phrase has captured hearts in Japan, as well, as in comedian , a wealth of merchandise or McDonald's giving away Obama Tours.
Now, it is a slogan for the Kiosk stands in Tokyo's railway stations. The text reads, "Yes we kan," kan meaning "canned" in Japanese. Yes we can drink canned coffee!
I like the addition of the cheer girl there, too. Very all-American goodness. ... Maybe this "Obama fever" has gone a bit too far after all...
Tags: CM 0 Comments
