An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla

Cause when it comes to smokin' chiba You know my sh*t is legit

Man, I almost forgot I had these: photo stills from that Toei golden oldie やくざ刑事　マリファナ密売組織 / YAKUZA COP - MARIJUANA SMUGGLING OPERATION (AKA The Assassin, 1970, Yukio Noda). And there's Sonny Chiba down in front about to toot on a funny smelling cheroot . Crazy, man. I got the complete set at Mandarake Nakano for like 15 bucks or something.

They break out and twirl the color light wheel for the scene itself, although the set of pics only comes in black and white. The rolling paper ready bag they come wrapped in smells like old movie theaters with more than just a smoky hint of the home office itself. Thank god customs never found this in my luggage!

Otaku USA Issue 8 (Sep/Oct)

...and then there was issue 8 of OTAKU USA magazine! Hey, this one is pretty good and should be hitting subscribers and stores near you starting next week. Big features on Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, Overman King Gainer (with a “Kill ‘em all” Tomino sidebar), Paradise Kiss, Toward the Terra, and a huge fold-out poster for GaoGaiGar. And with Shippuden on the horizon, we're actually dropping the Naruto bomb again with Joseph Luster leading the charge of the light brigade. Oh yes.

Things I like about this issue: The Shokotan interview, the Sugizo interview, the Hideyuki Kikuchi interview, the old poster of Odin I dug up, letters demanding the return of Megaman NT Warrior, Mike Toole making his OUSA debut with a review of the New Fist of the North Star / Neo Tokyo Double Pack, the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya manga excerpt, exclusive art from Machine Girl, reviews of Rodan and War of the Gargantuas.

And of course pictures and writing about anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture in general by the likes of Matt Alt, Brian Ashcraft,Yunmao Ayakawa, Emily Balistrieri, Zac Bentz, Casey Brienza, Austell Callwood, J.L. Carrozza, Paul Thomas Chapman, Ed Chavez, Mike Dent, Caleb Dunaway, Tim Eldred, Erin Finnegan, Shaenon Garrity, Clarissa Graffeo, Heidi Kemps. Gilles Poitras, August Ragone, Dave Riley, Daryl Surat, and Darius Washington.

We do it all for you!

Popteen: Making of Popteen

This Bud's For YOU

Indulging a sudden urge to post a bromide photo of Bunta Sugawara...

MARUIONE Shinjuku – The Individual Fashion Expo IV (9/23)

MARUIONE Shinjuku – The Individual Fashion Expo IV (9/23)

8/22/08 Tokyo, Japan

Japanese fashion retailer Maruione Shinjuku will hold their fourth annual Individual Fashion Expo on September 23rd, 2008 at the JCB Hall in Tokyo Dome City.

The Individual Fashion Show IV is an event showcasing Japanese Gothic, Lolita, and Punk style. Over 2000 people are expected to attend the Expo, including visitors from around the globe. The Individual Fashion Expo will be an opportunity to witness first-hand the global expansion of the popularity of Japanese fashion and pop culture from the place where it all started: Tokyo.

21 different cutting edge and iconic clothing brands – including Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, Angelic Pretty, and Peace Now – will participate in a fashion show featuring both professional models and readers of the Japanese fashion magazine KERA.

The Individual Fashion Show IV will also feature musical performances by popular rock bands Plastic Tree and jealkb in addition to cellist and DefSTAR recording artist Kanon Wakeshima.

September 2008 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Maruione Shinjuku store – a major hub for Japanese Gothic, Lolita, and Punk fashion. To celebrate, visual artist feebee has created an original character for the occasion (above) inspired by the unique fashion of Japan.

PARTICIPATING BRANDS (in no particular order): Emily Temple cute, ALGONQUINS, PEACE NOW, BLACK PEACE NOW, SEXY DYNAMITE LONDON, Hangry & Angry, Sixh, metamorphose temps de fille, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Alice & the Pirates, Angelic Pretty, OzzCcroce, Super Lovers, Victorian Maiden, Qutie Frash, Hiderock Design, Listen Flavor, Atelier Boz, Hypercore, Princess Doll Nile Perch, KERA Shop Angel/Arena

MARUIONE Shinjuku Presents: The Individual Fashion Expo IV
Date: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Doors Open: 14:30 Show Starts: 15:30 (Scheduled to finish at 17:30)
Venue: JCB HALL (in MEETS PORT at Tokyo Dome City)

Full set of press releases here (.pdf)

For more information:
English
Japanese

Note from PM: If you are, or will be, in the Tokyo area and would like to attend this event, please contact me for information about complimentary tickets.

Secretly Preparing for War

This totally made my day...a new trailer for upcoming TV game Command and Conquer - Red Alert 3. Normally, being a staunch FPS guy, I could care less about a strategy title. But the cast for the full motion video sequences includes Tim Curry, Johnathan Pryce, Jenny McCarthy, Albert Einstein, J.K. Simmons, and George Takei as the Emperor of Japan in a true throwback to the Sega CD era crica 1993. Stick around to the end if you like big SF battleships throwing down for the rising sun...

STUDIO VOICE: Sweet Biology

Mika : 13:00 --> 17:33

Maika : 14:22 --> 18:06

Mirei : 15:28 --> 18: 28

Kanari : 15:55 --> 19:03

Photography by Tomonori Nishigori
Based on the Idea & Coordinated by Yusuke Mizuno
Hair & Make-up (after 17:00) by Kazuki Shinada
With kind assistance of A:ma club

Groovin' High TV - Watch a Life Documentary!

Got some new PM product on the Japan-only tip...

The September issue of STUDIO VOICE is a super-sized special with a cover feature on former YMO and Happy End musician Haruomi Hosono. There's a long interview with Hosono himself, along with testimonials from the likes of Maki Nomiya (P5) and Tadanori Yokoo and a look at his production and soundtrack work which extends into anime like Night on the Galactic Railroad and EX MACHINA. Also included: a conversation between Toei sexploitation king Norifumi Suzuki and Machine Girl helmer Noboru Iguchi...and last but not least, my monthly Paranoid States of America column!

Also, I never be writing fo no Kinema Junpo publications before, but I finally slipped through the cracks to contribute to their Yoshiaki Kawajiri Madhouse Plus 02 book (01 was about Satoshi Kon). My chapter is on the popularity of the Ninja Scroll writer/director in the USA and how he all blew our minds with that shit back in the day. Tomo Machiyama translated while Gilles Poitras and Daryl Surat were interviewed for this piece which I guess I'm sorta proud of!

man-arrested-for-threatening-japan-comike-with-grenade

man-arrested-for-threatening-japan-comike-with-grenade

men's egg: Gyaru-o 2008 Data Bank

Presenting scientifically collated data culled from the consumer spending habits of whoever-was-around-that-day collected by the brains and boffins at men's egg magazine.

FAVORITE BRAND

Vanquish 38%
Buzz Spunky 21%
Peace on Mars 14%

FAVORITE STYLE

American Casual 54%
Rock 24%
Surf 8%

FAVORITE DRINK

Coke 37%
Water 19%
Tea 16%

FAVORITE HAIR STYLING PRODUCT

Nakano Styling Wax 45%
VO5 hair spray 23%
Keep hair spray 19%

FAVORITE CELL PHONE PROVIDER

DoCoMo 62%
au 20%
Soft Bank 10%
Willcom 8%

FAVORITE MUSIC

EXILE 33%
Ayumi Hamasaki 18%
Psychedelic Trance 14%

FAVORITE SNACK

Jagariko potato snack 22%
Chocolate 17%
Chupa Chups 13%

FAVORITE TV GAME

World Soccer – Winning Eleven 34%
Mario Kart 17%
The Three Kingdoms 6%

FAVORITE men's egg MODEL (FEMALE)

Buhichan 34%
Maridanuki 18%
Sachihamu 16%

1978 is 2008 - Symphonic Suite Message From Space

I don't have much more to say about Message From Space, especially since I already devoted like a lot of posts to it already (an entire category, in fact), except to say that its my favourite Japanese anything ever and the sublime Symphonic Suite LP from the Those Guys at Columbia Records is yet another contender for the title of "1978 space war soundtrack-to-beat". I could have scanned the cropped LP cover, but here's the full Toei promo art for the Golden Week release. Vic Morrow was right, you know, "There are more beautiful dreams in space...." And here's all the proof you need.

Opening Song

MARUI X KERA / August 08

Tokyo Fashion Now at LIVEJ

Bringing you KERA Magazine's popular "Street Snap" corner, with snapshots of fashion from the streets of Harajuku.

Hatumi (From Fukuoka, Living in Saitama)
"Like I said, love and peace is real important"

MARUIONE.JP

Buffalo Bobs Rich Cracker Shirt

New print shirts from Buffalo Bobs. Crackers and rhinestones with the BB logo printed on the back in foil. Around $72.00. Now that's Rich & Luxury!

"Ultimate, perfect bodies"

Only known photo, so far, of the Kano sisters at Otakon (taken from the ANN blog, go figure...).

men's egg - The 2008 GALLYMPIC

Pile1 - Spade

Betty Blue Love - The Angel of the Sngle Wng

(Left: Cool and Beauty! Gothic Set-up! Right: Trance-kei Fashion)

1978 is 2008: Symphonic Suite Arrivederci Yamato

Oh wow. 2008 really IS 1978…According to Variety and numerous Japanese new sources, producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki has just announced a brand new Yamato project in the works for all good boys and girls. But don’t break out the Dessler Wine just yet…lifers know that “The Nish” has a habit of announcing rad things that don’t always materialize (like his master plan to buy an actual US battleship and refurbish it for a live action Yamato movie in the '80s) but we wish him the best in reassembling the old gang for One Last Job and hope that he remembers to throw down some proper LPs should he manage to cross the finish line. After all, Uncle Nish helped to popularize the Symphonic Suite; the highest form of art in the history of creation (still big today with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest kids).

Consider, if you will, the final track from the Symphonic Suite Arrivederci Yamato, “From Yamato With Love”, which straddles classical, kayokyoku, Muzak, and genuine human emotion in a way that's suitable for a weepy walk home from a soul shaking experience in a movie theater circa ‘78 or simply as a musical accompaniment for eating a real nice tempura somewhere in Nikko.

From Yamato With Love - Symphonic Suite version

Meanwhile, over at Starblazers.com, Tim Eldred the Great and superfan Steve Harrison have just finished up an “Uchu Roman” epic of their own: an obsessive book-length look at the history of Yamato music featuring…well, just about everything! Behold weird covers, the concerts, the disco album, the Yamato / Raideen piano concerto, and best of all, translations of Nish’s immortal liner notes which continually wax rhapsodic about the power of LOVE, LOVE, and LOVE as only he can (and shall once more, hopefully).

The fun starts at the link below, but be sure to click around to make the most of it.

Smashing All Barriers - The History of Yamato Music

PS - This week marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Arrivederci Yamato. It opened on August 5, 1978...

Shinto Purification Ceremony - King Kong Vs. Godzilla, 1962

With Tomoyuki Tanaka and Eiji Tsuburaya...

Fight! The Rikidozan!

J is in a fury, cleaning up the place, telling me to throw away all my copies of men's egg and dusty VHS tapes. Sort of a drag, but in the middle of the ruckus, I managed to reconnect with this lovely "bromide" photo of professional "wrasslah" The Destroyer in his early '60s prime I bought at Marubell-do in Asakusa a while back.

Turns out the former Dick Beyer has put together a pretty amazing website chronicling his tenure as wrestler, author, and recording artist as Masked Gaijin du jour in Japan. Like, remember that time when...

Copies of the Destroyer's book, his Christmas LP, and of course, bobbleheads and replica masks are available at Destroyer.com