An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla

Kage no Flim-Flam

Dentsu suits rocking the 2007 Tokyo Anime Fair promoting such classics as Steamboy, Honey & Clover, and Clifford the Big Red Dog

Here is Dentsu CEO’s list of 10 ways to make the world a happier place. They include driving the other guy crazy (before they do it to you), endorsing conflict, and not bothering with the "little people". Taken from an issue of Cyzo from, what, last year?

1.Work is something you should create, not something that someone else shoud give you
2. Work is about aggressively advancing. Don’t become a receiver.
3. Get involved with major projects. Small projects = small people.
4. You can improve yourself by getting involved with difficult tasks.
5. Don’t stop until you have accomplished your work, even if it kills you.
6. Drive other people crazy. Don’t let it happen to you.
7. Have a long-term plan. That way, you can generate creativity with the right effort and the right amount of hope.
8. Have confidence. If you don’t, your work will lack power, presence, and depth.
9. Use your head 24/7, pay attention, miss nothing, always think. That’s what giving service to someone else means.
10. Don’t be afraid of conflict. Conflict is the mother of advancement. Without aggressiveness, you become a person of regret.

Bananas, Hot Dogs

Here's some additional text that was cut due to space restrictions from my recent Japan Times article on Akihabara.

NO FUN

As real-estate developers size up new digs and construction reaches an all-time peak in Akihabara, some real gems have gone the way of the dodo. Here’s a list of some now-absent friends.

Akihabara Department Store
Ok. So one had ever done any shopping in this large-sized department store connected to the JR station for decades, which couldn’t have helped the bottom line much. But the food court on the first floor long served an invaluable purpose as Akihabara’s very own cafeteria. There, a hungry public could dine on donburi, okonomikyaki, sushi, and steak from one of the many mini-restaurants inside. The grub wasn’t gourmet, but neither are most otaku. It was always fast and (most importantly) dirt cheap, so the place was beloved until the doors slammed shut in late 2006.

LAOX The Computer
A symbol of Akihabara’s do-it-yourself computer know-how, and centrally located in the middle of town, this six-story emporium stocked everything you could possibly need to maintain an all-digital lifestyle. Back in the ‘90s salad days, otaku would line up around the block to snap up new operating systems the second they went on sale, but business was sucked away by the bright and shiny Yodobashi Akiba superstore that opened recently nearby. Now, even the maids who ran a cafe on the basement floor are out of work. Tragic really.

Sofmap Store #13
The Yamagiwa chain, which sold DVDs, CDs, PC software and stuff like that, is merging with the Sofmap chain that also sells DVDs, CDs, PC software and stuff like that. Stores on both sides of the fence are closing down, and reopening under new names. One store that isn’t resurfacing is Sofmap Store #13 (an unlucky number?), which was a haven of new and used video games. So it goes…

Otakool - Akihabara's awful truths

Patrick Macias (L) and Patrick W. Galbraith (R) plot the destruction of Akihabara.

My new Otakool column is happening in today's Japan Times.

Akihabara's awful truths

While the Establishment packages Electric Town as a mecca for manga and anime obsessives, and a magnet for camera- toting tourists, the reality differs: 'Akiba' is alienating the geeks who once made it great

Read it (and weep) here...

Ton-Inn gives a long animation film to every good children

Candy Candy has been sold into white slavery and doesn't want to go to Mexico at all....but maybe she'll get to meet the Mexico no hoshi. There's nothing more beautiful than a young girl with a dream!

Unfortunately, once there, she meets the Frito Bandito on yet another one of his benders. ¡Que Loco! At least he remembers to be complimentary!

As a MEXICAN AMERICAN, I can't help but agree with him. It actually is more fun to drink with someone else. However, Candy is...what, about 15 years old? Good booze is wasted on her. No worries about the cliff-hanger ending. The Bandito has his skull split open like a pinata by the Mexico no hoshi in the very next panel. But the legend lives on...

Cruel Angel's Thesis

Exhibit a: Pachinko Parlor

A secret report within B.A.D. (Business and Death)

> >Also, yes, I saw Evangelion movie. The animation and sound was good,
> >but it was *just like* the TV show. I'm not sure why they needed to
> >make this film, except to make tons of money!
>
> New Evangerion movie,that sponsor is PACHINKO maker.
> That maker Preparate Two billion yen! for 4Evengerion Movie.
> So pachinko maker want to make & sell New Evengerion Pachinko.
> They hope to Evangerion movement again.
> Thats it.
> So They don care evengerion story.kind of sucks?

Exhibit b: Fan Service?

B-each Time Long

...the greatest day of your fucking life, basically.

Podcast: Hot Tears of Shame – Bonus Episode: CITY POP

CITY POP is special and good kind of Japanese music. It began in 1970 with folk band HAPPY END, enjoyed hits during the Bubble Economy, and is still loved today by many music fan. CITY POP has lots of styles. It can be a little bit folk, rock, jazz, and pop or a mix of all of them. It is not political or music with the message. Instead, CITY POP sounds cool and sophisticated and will make you feel relaxed to enjoy your life. Maybe you have heard some CITY POP already in CM or TV drama or in the movie Lost in Translation. Even early Cornelius and Pizzicato Five are also considered CITY POP! The image of CITY POP can be Tokyo nightlife, comfortable coffee shop, tropical vacation, the beach, or nostalgic America from 1950s and 1960s. Please enjoy this special CITY POP omnibus mix wherever you are!

Download here

Side One

Minako Yoshida
Spectrum
Sugar Babe
Pizzicato Five
Takeo Ohnuki
Tatsuro Yamashita
Kenichi Ozawa
Ann Ruiz
Minako Yoshida
Niagara Triangle
Pizzicato Five
Ohtaki Eiichi
Masamichi Sugi
Chu Kosaka

Is Dis Sum Japans?

We all know that Japanese people fucking love noodles, but did you know they also love fucking noodles?

Hajimemashte, Cup Nude! You look very much like instant food favourite Cup Noodle, but cost around seven bucks! Here's why...

Cup Nude is an "adult toy" purchased in a naughty book shop in Akihabara, where apparently prominent and respectable politicians are prone to making speeches these days.

The peel off lid really throws down the gauntlet. The label, in first-person prose, extols the virtues of this "Onna Hole" and challenges the user to last more than 3 minutes when using it (which, by an amazing coincidence, is about the same time it takes to prepare a hot, steaming...oh, forget it). Also, don't put it in the microwave or "use it too much" you wild beast!

The satisfying sensations come from noodle-like tentacles inside the cup. Apparently, it feels "like thousands of worms"! Yum! I mean...gross!

Sweet dreams are made of these: a pink lump with fake shrimp bits...

Don't forget the "flavor packet", full of soothing "Gently Acid lotion."

Now...BUY MY SEXY BOOKS!

Who hasn't enjoyed the instant gratification of a delicious Cup Nude? Just add a little hot water and go from hungry to happy in record time. It's the portable, hot meal that's ideal for camping, a quick lunch at your desk, or serving up as an easy after school snack.

Thanks to Denki Watanabe....

Foolish Baby on Your Mind

For your creepy Super Dollfie hobby life...

All Around the World it's Circus Town

God in Asakusa yakisoba

Gaijin wa ee ne...

Chocolate tabetai...

Podcast: Hot Tears of Shame – Episode Twenty

Podcast: Hot Tears of Shame – The Way to Virgin Space
Episode Twenty
Ex Machina vs Evangelion Reviewed!

Actually doing something useful for once, OTACKERS Patrick Macias and Matt Alt bust into the Toei building for an advance screening of Shinji Aramaki's EX MACHINA, then hightail it to Shinjuku for a rendezvous with EVANGELION SHIN GEKIJOBAN: JO…and fate itself! Non-stop spoilers, dame gaijin action, and potty mouthed talking ensues!

Click here to listen

Bonus Materials

They really rolled out the carpet for us...

The Toei Pork Curry (Ginza's finest) helps keep Japan's film industry strong

The Toei design aesthetic in a nutshell

I was tazered in the face by security seconds after this picture was taken

Golden Tickets!

Someone openly wept when they saw the limited edition theater exclusive telephone cards were already sold out

Matt begged me to buy him another Eva gashapon during an all important lobby beer-run

Approximately 65% of the film looks just like this...

Kabuki-cho Host Dai Sakusen

Who will be "King of Dandy"?

Tonight?

Podcast: Hot Tears of Shame – Episode Nineteen

Podcast: Hot Tears of Shame – The Way to Virgin Space
Episode Nineteen

Francesco Fondi, editor in chief of Hobby Media magazine (3:02-6:03)
Danny Choo (6:04-7:00)
Both interviewed at the Amano Ai idol event at Yamagiwa Soft

Patrick Galbraith (10:00-11:03), Akibanana Tour Guide
Dressed like Son Goku in front of Akihabara station (pictured above)

Alex Kerr (11:40-19:37), author of Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Modern Japan
Interviewed at the @home Maid Cafe

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