AltJapan

Photographic Memory

She's my wife, my business partner, and my co-author. And whenever her photos appear in a post here, I'm inevitably asked if she has any kind of online gallery. I'm talkin' 'bout Hiroko Yoda! In fact, if you'll direct your eyes to the left-hand sidebar, you'll notice that I've just added a permanent set of links to a site featuring Hiroko's distinctive imagery. (They're right underneath the "Books I've Written" section, or you can just click right here!) 

Traditional Japan focuses on traditional imagery such as shrines and temples; Natural Japan focuses on flora and fauna; and Worldwide contains photos taken from our trips abroad. And don't forget to check out the left-hand sub galleries featuring Hiroko's furry friends and more.

My Name's Newt

A candid shot from behind the scenes on a short documentary Hiroko and I are filming on the topic of Japanese amphibians. Stay tuned for more details. The tarento taking a (literal) breather between shots is a common Japanese firebelly newt (アカハライモリ). Found in a stream in suburban Tokyo, photographed by Hiroko.

Shellshock

I love "Ghost in the Shell." I've always loved "Ghost in the Shell." It hit theaters right as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life after graduating from school. I caught it during its original American arthouse run, and when I did a month-long, unpaid stint as an intern at Manga Entertainment in 1996, spirits were high from it having hit number one on the Billboard video charts -- unheard of for an anime at the time. It was seen as the next big thing and represents the first time an anime designed for adults really went mainstream in the 'States. Memories of the film are deeply entwined with My Youth in Suburbia, so it was with bated breath that I awaited a polished and tweaked re-release: "Ghost in the Shell 2.0," which opened in Tokyo last Saturday.

You know the story, so I'll cut to the chase. Described by Production I.G. as a "complete cut and total renewal," the tone is set right in the iconic opening scene: now Kusanagi's trademark nude backflip assassination routine has been totally replaced by 3D CG animation. Any scene that featured computer graphics in the original has been totally redone as well. The sound design is new, with a crisply remastered soundtrack and completely new sound effects, both courtesy of Skywalker Studios. And there's a host of other tiny visual and audio tweaks here and there. The sights on the end of the snipers' rifles no longer blink with artificial eyelids, but feature winking laser beams; the aircraft have been replaced with CG rendered vehicles; and the Puppet Master is now, somewhat inexplicably, voiced by a young woman (if you recall, it was a guy in the original version). The last in particular I really don't get: the shock of hearing a middle aged man's voice come from a young female body highlighted one of the main themes of the film -- that the body is essentially a throwaway receptacle for consciousness -- and you kind of lose that whole angle with a female voice. I would be really, really curious to hear the official reasoning behind this change.

Here's the deal: I've never been a big fan of revising old films. I can understand a remake, or a "director's cut," but not the drive to try and make a ten year old film look like it rolled out of the studio last week. It seems like an endless, uphill sort of battle; any CG effects you replace are going to look equally dated ten years down the line. (Even now, the visual gap between twenty-first century CG and early Nineties cel art is readily apparent -- the transitions, particularly at first, are more than a little jarring.) And speaking as someone who actually enjoys experiencing older films as products of the times in which they were created, the new soundtrack/special effects don't really appreciably improve the experience for me.

Still, I can't bring myself to dislike the film. Even if you don't like the changes, there's plenty to enjoy, and seeing it on the big screen again was a trip. I just wish they'd gone for the subtle approach...!

Art Imitates Life

On a recent trip to Minneapolis, Hiroko and I visited the city's (excellent) Walker Art Center. On exhibition were a large selection of works from "image cannibal" Richard Prince, who made a name for himself by re-photographing iconic images from the pages of the New York Times and famous print advertisements. His sole artistic contribution to these repurposed works is enlarging them and getting them hung in art galleries. (As you might imagine, there's a lot of debate over whether this actually constitutes "art" or "outright thievery.")

Hiroko and I are standing before one of his (?) signature works, an enlargement of the image from a Marlboro advertisement. In the midst of our discussion, we're approached by the museum docent. In a polite voice, the white-haired woman inquires:

"Excuse me, sir, but is that a camera bag?"

I acknowledge that yes, that the bag zipped shut and hanging at my side is indeed a camera bag.

"Are you aware of the policy regarding photographs?" she continues.

"Richard Prince's?" I ask, slightly confused.

"The museum's. You can't take photographs here."

"Uh... Sure. I wasn't planning on it."

"I just wanted you to know." The irony of being asked not to re-photograph an image that Prince himself re-photographed out of the pages of a magazine doesn't seem to register with her. I start grinning. 

Perhaps she thinks I'm not taking her seriously. "Please don't take any photographs in here," she repeats once more before turning and walking away.

Left to ourselves (and the Marlboro Man) once again, Hiroko and I look around slowly, unsure if we're part of some elaborate piece of performance art. Was she worried that we were planning to sell a photograph of Prince's photograph of a photograph to another gallery? Somehow, I think the artist would be amused.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

We first meet Hiroko and Matt in Tokyo's touristy Asakusa, where the couple pose with a pair of tanuki statues on the grounds of a shrine...

Thanks to the the Asahi Shimbun for the feature on us in today's issue. Partly a goofy exposé of Hiroko and I, partly a review of Hello, Please!, and mostly a discussion of the creatures that populate the soon-to-be-released-in-America Yokai Attack!, it's got a twist at the end that managed to surprise even us (and will definitely surprise Steve Jobs). Check it out if you get a chance.

So Crazy Japanese Food

Spotted on a recent trip to Minneapolis: a fake Ultraman (not to be confused with THE Fake Ultraman) plugs a local Japanese restaurant chain. We also saw a similar one featuring Godzilla a few blocks downtown. Given the relatively upscale reputation sushi enjoys in Japan (I recall being surprised to discover as a kid that it wasn't really an everyday sort of food over here), it's jarring to see pop characters used to pitch the stuff. But I suppose that's America for ya, where a little Wacky Japan goes a long way!

Do the Yura Yura

The "Yuru-Kyara" (揺るキャラ), a subset of the "working characters" that we profiled in Hello, Please!, are regional mascots created in a semi-desperate effort to boost the visibility of far-flung areas of Japan. Nearly every prefecture boasts its own super kawaii mascot character, and more than a few towns and villages have created their own as well. Most are anthropomorphic versions of the area's specialty (such as a certain crop or a local dish), and costume versions of them are trotted out at festivals and such to keep the kids (and adults) occupied. 

The term "Yuru-Kyara," a contraction that roughly translates into "weak character," was coined by artist Jun Miura. It refers to the fact that the actual marketing potential of most of these guys is limited at best. Here Miura has created an animated music video featuring local mascots from all over Japan. Watch as they bust a move to that festival drum beat! For the truly obsessed, here's a link to all of the videos tagged "Yuru-Kyara" on Youtube.jp.

Kappa Attack

 

 

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the Kappa Ten party last Saturday night at the Artist Garden Gallery in Ikebukuro. Amazing turn-out, one of the best in the three years since I've been going. It was great to see so many new faces... even if some were scary. Even if you missed the opening shindig, the show runs through August 22nd. Entry is totally free, and here's a map, so check it out if you get a chance! I promise the kappa won't bite. Most of them, anyway.

Shown above, clockwise: a bottle of kappa shochu, the Yokai Attack display, an illustration by Yutaka Kondo, and a sculpture by Nobuhiro Arai.

Are you Ninjy?

Kotaku just interviewed Hiroko, Andrew Szymanski, and I about our localization and scriptwriting work for the Xbox 360 game Ninja Gaiden 2. Over the last few years, the three of us have been working as a team to produce the English versions of several of Tecmo's titles, including the volleyball and bikini extravaganza Dead or Alive 2 Xtreme and the DS game Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. It's a rare look into the often arcane world of video game translation. It's also the public debut of a word we coined during the process to refer to any line of dialog that sounded sufficiently over the top and ninja-like: "ninjy." Check it out!

How to Find Pussy on the Chuo Line

Step one: happen to be standing there when a strange but kindly ojisan decides to let his cats out of their carrier. Absolutely against the rules and one of the stranger things I've encountered on the trains here, but I'll take it over vomiting salarymen any day of the week. Awww!