An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla

Fuzoku machi

Ok. Here I am prancing around Akihabara and babbling on about Figures on episode 8 of Tokyo Eye. Keep in mind though that I take no personal responsiblity for playing with Ultraman toys in front of the station exit and trying to kiss a lifesize Ayanami Rei...

Part One

Part Two

Show notes:

The location footage for the figure segment was shot in a two-day blur in Akihabara. I think we spent about 4 hours in the Radio Kaikan. While the crew was getting coverage, I got to stand around and watch various lost-lonely male otaku customers shuffle in, sit down on some stadium benches, and stare off into nothingness. We tried to approach them occasionally for an interview, but all withered away in terror (although one did tell us his life story and invited us out to karaoke…we just couldn’t film him and his entire collection of Thunderbirds candy toys). The next day saw us stuck on the Moe Figure floor of Asobit Chara for a good three hours. The mood in Akiba was high that day as it was just prior to the launch of the PlayStation 3, and camera crews were crawling all over the place looking for targets. Then we were whisked away to Fujita-san’s house near Sugamo where I did the “gaijin home invasion” thing yet again. Like most Japanese otaku, he was really interested to hear what American fans were into. You could see the confusion on his face when I told him “Naruto and Bleach, mostly.” In response to many (white people’s) complaints about my lack of fashion sense during the Gothloli segment, I am seen modeling an authentic "Center Guy" jacket from 109-2 and some giant silver Adidas. Chris Peppler seemed to like the results, but will you?

Fun fact: Lisle Wilkerson is the voice of Nina Williams from Tekken.

Mama inai

Whoop Whoop. The new issue of Japanese film magazine CUT is about to street. It’s the big anime movie issue and I’m interviewed about blah, blah, blah, and blah. I’m pictured eating a hamburger outside the Milano-za theater in Kabuki-cho wearing a Rotten Cotton T-shirt which is about as accurate a depiction of the last few years of my life as can be imagined.

Anyways, here is CUT’s list of the 30 Greatest Anime Films of all-time, forever, always, never changing, no arguements. And for the record, I agree with about 5 of them.

1. Nausicca
2. Gundam Trilogy
3. End of Evangelion
4. Ghost in the Shell
5. Laputa
6. AKIRA
7. Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro
8. Space Cruiser Yamato 1
9. Princess Mononoke
10. My Neighbor Totoro
11. Spirited Away
12. Grave of the Fireflies
13. Howl’s Boring Castle
14. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer
15. Galaxy Express 999
16. Porco Rosso
17. Kiki’s Boring Delivery Service
18. Patlabor 1
19. Crayon Shin-chan (the "Natsukashi" one)
20. Girl who Leaped Through Time
21. Jin-roh
22. Wings of Honeamise
23. Perfect Blue
24. Mindgame
25. Night on the Galactic Railroad
26. Macross: Do You Remember Love?
27. Ashita no Joe 2
28. Memories
29. Full Metal Alchemist
30. Tekkon Kinreet (Black and White)

Hyakuman powa ga

Interview with yours truly in the new episode of the "Mistakes of Youth" podcast.

Here is how they describe it: "We do a podcast. It's about anime and stuff. It sucks, but whatever." It also opens with the Getter Robo theme, so how bad can it be?

Link here.

Pheromone Hige

Matt Alt and myself managed to invade the Bandai Hobby Center in Shizuoka last week: the factory slash holy ground where Gundam model kits are forged out of tiny plastic pellets by robot drones painted like Mobile Suits while human workers are forced to cosplay in Earth Federation uniforms in order to earn their keep. Nothing can ever be the same again, nor should it be.

Look for a you-are-there “Hot Tears of Shame” podcast of the fun hopefully soonish. In the meantime, Matt has struck first on his AltJapan blog with a detailed write-up accompanied by many sexy photos of our electrifying twin journey into Plamo madness, powered by mysterious Minovsky particles!

Sample quote:

Patrick and I really did it, I think to myself, pressing the shutter for what has to be my first-ever photograph of a urinal. We've penetrated the inner sanctum. This is where the people who design Gun-Pla relieve themselves.

Check it out here.

Hanako-zoku

I’m all interviewed and profiled in the new issue of HANAKO magazine as part of their massive “Let’s go Akiba!!” feature. Basically, more of me yammering on about Akihabara, otaku, and why there are increasing numbers of gaijin in Nightmare Before Christmas gear suddenly strutting down Chuo-dori.

This issue has to be some kind of turning point for the whole mainstreaming of the otaku thing as HANAKO is mainly read by perfectly normal office ladies that crave sweets and skin care treatments and who would probably flee in terror if ever approached by the average cave troll or warlock commonly found in the Akiba area (i.e. me).

The feature includes a list of "Onna no Akiba BEST SPOT 10” - mostly restaurants and confectionaries - which, sadly fails to mention all the really good places (for example, the “adult” section of Yodobashi Akiba). There’s also a rouge's gallery of “Digital Handsome” rich bachelor IT guys, one of them shown riding a totally awesome Segway.

So much for Densha Otoko. Here comes the Hanako-zoku.

Tama Ijime

Coming soon to NHK World Television...

FIGURE WARS!!

Injection Machine

Well lookie-loo. The dreaded "Gothloli Wars" from Episode 4 of Tokyo Eye, the NHK show I work on, have appeared on YouTube...Watch in horror as I shamble about in Harajuku, rummage through a Lolita's luggage case, and invade a Goth girl's bedroom on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Part One

Part Two

日本アニメ映画ベスト１０

I was interviewed last week by the Japanese film magazine CUT about the impact that anime has had on American movie-going audiences. The issue will go on sale in Japan on 12/9.

They just emailed me asking me to compile a “Best 10 Anime” list of my personal faves. So here is what I picked. In kind-of-sort-of-not-really order:

1. Adieu Galaxy Express 999
2. Tie: Farewell, Space Cruiser Yamato / Be Forever Yamato
3. Golgo 13
4. Crusher Joe
5. Angel’s Egg
6. Mazinger Z Vs. The Great General of Darkness
7. The End of Evangelion
8. Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie
9. Macross: Do You Remember Love
10. AKIRA

Coming soon: Figure Wars!

Willie D-san, Tanjobi omedeto!

"November 1, 1966/ A damn fool was born with the mind of a lunatic!"