AltJapan

The Unkindest Cut

Looks like Hikonyan isn't the only super-cute character to find himself in trouble. Meet the otherwise unassuming Kiritanpo-kun, stalwart mascot of the beloved rice dumpling dish from Akita prefecture. The culprit? Akita-based souvenir manufacturer Fru-Ru, who announced a series of similarly-named merchandise called Kirichimpo-kun.

What a difference a syllable makes: while "Kiritanpo-kun" (pictured above) evokes warm feelings of hot pot dishes served over an open hearth, Kirichimpo-kun sounds suspiciously like "Mr. Cut Penis." Yikes! Alas, after web-magazine Gigazine introduced the gag goods (which included Mr. Cut Penis phone-straps and ear cleaners (!)) several days ago, Fru-Ru found itself receiving "so many angry phone calls that they have decided to cancel the release... It's a real shame."

Tasty "Nuts"

Ever notice how often Japanese auction sellers use packs of cigs for size comparison? This time the robot AND the smokes appear to be mentholated.

Anime... Eigo?

You know what today is? It's the BEST ALL-ENGLISH ANIME THEME SONGS DAY!

3) "Theme From Mazinger Z" (English Version)

A gleefully incomprehensible rendition of the classic anime theme. Listen as Ichiro Suzuki gamely does his best to belt out tortured phrases like "Koji can swim in the sky... In his robot man Mazinger Z" and refreshingly direct sentiments like "He is powerful. He is a GIANT ROBOT." A No-Prize to anyone who can actually decipher the entire intro lyrics.

2) "Hello, Vifam!"

Composed by the mysterious "D. Mann," this song's actual rendition pales to the time Patrick, Roger, and I got to hear Tim Eldred drunkenly serenading the entire Bandai plastic model division's staff with it last year. But with insane lyrics that look like a cross between radio-squawk from Top Gun and the delusional ramblings of a paranoid schizophrenic, how can you go wrong? I'M MOTHER ARM COMPUTER.

1) "Gonna Fly Away Gundam!"

Q: What do hair-metal bands Poison, Mr. Big, and Mobile Suit Gundam have in common? A: Ritchie Kotzen! A bartender in Kabukicho played this mind-blowing, hot-lixx-filled English rendition of the classic theme song for me last year, and my life hasn't been the same since. Who commissioned this? And why? Whatever the case, you can catch even more English versions of Gundam themes on Kotzen's 2006 Ai Senshi Z x R album. "Fly away, Gandamoo!"

Get to Know Your Local Yokai

Name: Namahage
Pronunciation: (NAH-mah HAH-gay)
English Name: Literally, “The Blister-Peeler”
Gender: Male (red) or female (blue)
Height: Approximately 6 ft. (180cm)
Habitat: Alpine regions in Akita Prefecture
Abundance: Prevalent
Offensive Weapons: Wide-bladed farm knife or machete
Photographed by: Hiroko, February 9, 2008 (Namahage Festival)

Machinders

Finally: photos of the Jumbo Machinder display at the Kennedy Center's Japan: Culture + Hyperculture exhibition, which ended last Sunday.

More shots by Hiroko here or by The Rog here. I was asked several times if this represented the first time Jumbos were ever displayed in this sort of gallery setting. It's a good question. I couldn't think of any others -- can you?

Ge Ge Ge no Go

I think the weather in July makes people horny.

Last year, I posted a partial translation of a discussion between legendary manga-ka Go Nagai and Monkey Punch. It was from the online magazine Moura ("Total Coverage"), an online portal of content culled from various Kodansha magazines.

This time, I've translated Moura's discussion between Go Nagai and yokai master Shigeru Mizuki, creator of the "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro" series. Conducted in 2002 when Mizuki was 80, it's a really fascinating look into the "kashi-bon" manga scene -- a now-extinct industry of shops that rented (rather than sold) comic books in the '50s and early '60s, just before weekly and monthly manga magazines debuted. Check it out after the jump.

Saturday Night

The best part is, this is actually the kitchen table in my sister's apartment.

Zero-G Love

An article I wrote on the socio-political implications (!) of that '80s "Japanimation" classic Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (a.k.a. "Robotech" to you kids in American TV-land), is up on the webjournal Neojaponisme. I don't know what percentage of my childhood was spent endlessly rewinding the scenes of Minmei taking a shower in the theatrical version of the series, but I write scholarly treatises on the topic now that I'm all growed up.

Ace in the Hole

I mean SOUL. On display in the South Gallery of the Kennedy Center through the 17th: Jumbo Dangard Ace. (I still can't quite believe it. If only Leiji were here to share the moment.)

Super Saiyajin

It isn't every day one gets to have their hair "produced" by a crack team of Japanese fashion designers. The Japan: Culture + Hyperculture exhibition had just closed for the day. We set off in search of strong drink. And when our crew ran into fashion mogul Junko Koshino's posse at a bar near the Kennedy Center, hair hijinx ensued. "You must never wear this outside! It's too dangerous! Too HYPER!" exclaimed the stylist when he finished. Who but fashion-industry insiders go bar-hopping armed with cans of powerful Japanese hairspray?

Total aside: I'd thought Miuccia Prada's designs for last year's "Appleseed: Ex Machina" were the first time a fashion designer dabbled in anime costume, but it turns out Ms. Koshino beat her to the punch by nearly three decades. Did you know she designed the costumes for the 1978 theatrical adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix? I didn't.