AltJapan

Sofubi Thriller

Marusan Michael Jackson. Three words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence together. Then again, he WAS sort of a 怪人 ("kaijin") in the most literal sense of the word. Molded in soft vinyl, just the like the ultra-monster toys the company once churned out by the thousands. The removable mask is a feature straight out of classic Seventies Japanese toymaking. There's a zombie version too. 5,250 yen each, due out in January 2010.

Christmas 198X

 

Otaku-tachi in Christmas 2009

Christmas (and particular Christmas Eve) is one of the most romantic nights of the Japanese year, with young couples booking "love hotel" rooms months in advance to (ahem) take advantage of the holiday season.

So why should lovelorn otaku be any different? Here's a 2ch thread of otaku celebrating Christmas the only way they know how: singlehandedly.

Anime Decade

Anime Decade: From 'Japan Cool' to 'Cooling Off'  (CNNGo)

It hit me while I was writing this article: the story really reads like the plot to some post-apocalyptic anime flick.

A ragtag group of heroes rises from the ashes of war in search of a better life, only to find themselves facing an entirely new threat of destruction. Only this story isn't fiction. Our heroes are the postwar craftsmen and women who turned Japan's anime industry from a wannabe into a world contender. And the threat of destruction is, alas, largely self-created.

The early 2000s have been a roller coaster ride for Japan's anime industry. Read all about it on CNNGo.

Get On Your Robot

Grendizer Go... in Austria, of all places, according to the description on flickr.

Compare and contrast to this one discovered in New Hampshire and this one found in Pittsuburgh. Also observe this and this Gundam ride and discuss "which would win in a fight." Pencils up, people.

Get Your Robot On

It's like Christmas in December over at CNNgo.com -- check out my guide to Tokyo's top vintage toy stores right here! Below, some unused behind-the-scenes shots of the insanity.

 

 

 

Japanimation --> Chinamation?

Yahoo Japan News "Chinese Animation" as Seen By the Japanese Anime Industry (Japanese language)

Kazuo Obara, CFO of anime firm Madhouse Studios' Peking office, spoke to Chinanet about the difficulties facing the his industry. "The Japanese anime industry is stagnating. It's facing a harsh reality. Television station revenues are falling, the number of shows airing and the amount of money available for production in serious decline. DVD sales are dropping precipitously, a lethal development for production companies, which depend on DVD sales for some 40% of their revenues. The time has come for the Japanese animation industry to revise its thinking and devise a better business model for a new age."

Obara continued that if properly trained, Chinese animators could well usher in a new era of animation history, but said hurdles remain -- the main one being that of time. "China doesn't have the luxury of taking as long of a time as Japan did to become good at animation. They need to push onto the world stage immediately."

Reactions from the always-reliably-reactive 2ch crowd varied. "The anime industry is already saturated, so it's going to be extremely difficult to break through no matter how much technology you have," remarked one poster. "Given the political stance there, can anyone really create something truly free-thinking or thematically complex?" commented another. Others took a less thoughtful approach: "So the Japanese anime industry is going to sell itself out to the Chinese." And: "This is like an article from a North Korean paper! What is it really saying? 'Japan is out of the game, and China's giving its best?'"

Game Centered

Much ink has been spilled over the decline of the Japanese video game arcade, a.k.a. "game center." So what are Japanese gamers playing when they go to the arcades? This 2ch post actually asks, and finds out:

-"Games that even beginners can easily start playing have really been on the decline recently."

-"Tetris or PuyoPuyo."

-"I was super into Time Crisis for a while."

-"UFO Catchers."

-"Music games."

-"Medal games."

-"QMA with a friend." (Quiz Magic Academy)

-"Damn you otakki bastards who play QMA alone while taking notes! It's a game for couples!"

-"Fighting games or QMA."

-"Ones where you kill zombies."

-"The Bonds of the Battlefield."

-(Absurdly detailed thesis about PuyoPuyo)

And for the win:

-"Whenever my friends and I go to the game center we basically stand around for a while and leave because there isn't anything a beginner can just start playing."

Mighty Battle Skin Panic (And Other 8-Bit Fantasies)

Figments from an era when videogames were nothing more than a mildly retarded upstart to that oh-so-established genre of entertainment known as "anime".... All from a long-dead gaming platform called the MSX.

Some company called "Gainax" made this super-realistic high school simulation that incorporates both submarine warfare and a case of the old "battle skin panic." Wonder what they're up to now. The bikini-clad schoolteachers, I mean.

"Starship Rendezvous" defies easy explanation -- Oh, who am I kidding. It's a proto-porno game featuring a weirdly vibrating digitized photo of a female. HOT!!! (...If throbbing pixels are your "thing.")

Most realistic Gundam simulator EVER. Remember that scene where Amuro had to dodge falling pot-roasts in the anime?

He's a bat, man! This super-deformed, explosion-prone portrayal of the caped crusader is the best thing since Christian Bale, or Adam West.

Forget the penchant for wine, women, and breaking and entering. What REALLY gets Lupin III going is bubblegum.