An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla

Tamashii Nations 2010 - The Year We Get Contacts

I'll be writing a full report on today's Bandai's Tamashii Nations 2010 event proper for the Otaku USA website shortly, but I wanted to get a few pics up before I passed out...

 Out of the hundreds of new items that Bandai had on display. I'd have to say that the one that attracted the most press attention was the Gunship from Hayao Miyazaki's  Nausicaä.

 Although my general disinterest in all things Ghibli is well-documented, I have to say this piece -- part of Bandai's new Formania line of super detailed anime mecha -- is really (as Kevn Costner would say) neat. 

There were also some smashing displays to celebrate the VF Hi-metal series of 1/100 scale transforming Macross Valkyries which weigh in around 5775 yen each.

 Call me old-fashioned IF YOU WILL, but I normally associate the Chogokin brand with, you know, giant robots and spaceships. Nevertheless, the B-Club has expanded the line to include new Vocaloid Hatsune Miku  (above) and *ugh* Buzz Lightyear  figures. Look for a larger Hatsune Miku themed post at OUSA shortly...

 The monster kid in me was practically moved to tears by an immense, nearly five foot long diorama featuring super articulated figures from the new Ultra-Act series (act for "Actor" and "Action"). The fun unfolded in a vaguely geographically correct miniature of the Asakusa ward, complete with Sensoji temple and the infamous Asahi beer building.

The big mass-media baiting whammy of the show was the ever-popular Rocket Punch ala Mazinger Z. Much of this madness was filmed for my upcoming web show that I'm hosting set to debut on-line later this year. And yes, I give it my very best Kabuto Koji wall-shaking scream...

Can your heart stand the shocking facts about "Bukkake Rulers"?

Here’s my official submission to “The Grossest Thing You’ve Seen on the Internet…Today” sweepstakes: a pair of handy “bukkake rulers” given away as free omake inside of recent issues of Shonengahosha’s Young Comic magazine. How do they work? Well, a clear and flexible plastic shell houses a naughty illustration inside. Press down on the darned thing and an unwholesome fluid oozes around until hilarity or boredom results. Who thought this was a good idea, and why on Earth does it only measure objects that are 15cm (5.9 inches) long? Even Young Comic contributing manga artist Denki Watanabe, who presented these objects to me with all the solemnity of a Zen tea ceremony, confesses to being baffled. But that didn’t stop him from furiously demonstrating these “For Mature Adults” caliber items in public even as I tried to chow down on chicken with white sauce stew…

UPDATE: YouTube yanked my demonstration video last night, the reason being "nudity in a sexual context". Fun facts: the illustrations on the rulers are not nude. They're not even real people! Also, the girl on the left doesn't even have nipples! Imagine someone *still* being offended by Bukkake Rulers!

Anyway, you can direct download the video here.

Japanese Supermarket Sweep

Hair Seasons - Treatment Cool

Day after the day a white gaijin tourist jumps into the Sumida river from a bridge in Asakusa with no repercussions at all: keep ripping and pulling into the air & you’ll wind up here eventually: Tokyo2 again, at the command of Counter-ESPY. I’m just Xanax, Melatonin, or Coffee now with actual sleep and food so very far away. Jet lag is at its peak now, I feel like 5,724 miles of cloudy skies, but there is no other way to access the overtones without the experimental periodic ESPACE implant which is now priced out of range, just like everything else. This sort of nonsense has been going on for 5+ years now. A Japan destroyed by dreams of empire, certainties of fires and earthquakes, large beings moving underground, and finally the Gerotan invasion and the Goka-na Jyupun Senso. Then there’s my own private panic movie, one in which the composite protagonist tries to live here for months and weeks at a time only to writhe in tiny liquid rooms, bump into walls, and hang laundry like an old woman. Motivated by what? The ending of Be Forever Yamato? The death of Condor Joe? Castover day in Shibuya. Everyone looks like shit, except for increasing numbers of  Gyaru mamas with babies in two at the 109, busily weaning the next generation on Terminal Decline. Everything is too expensive and nothing makes any sense. But really, where else is there to go?

Gland Open

Godzilla: Frankenstein vs Baragon Behind the Scenes Pix

Bad Girls & Wild Women - The After Show Report

 

Hey, last night was TokyoScope Talk Deluxe: Bad Girls & Wild Women. It was our biggest show yet, and it went really well! Thanks to all who came! Before it was over, I got a request from someone to make a list of all the titles that I used for clips. This was a good idea, so here they are:

Female Slave Ship, 1960

Lady yakuza - red peony gambler, 1968

playgirl, 1969

stray cat rock: sex hunter, 1971

terrifying girls' high school: lynch law classroom, 1973 

female yakuza tale: Inquisition & torture, 1973

zero woman - red handcuffs, 1974

Rica THE MIXED-BLOOD GIRL, 1972

SUKEBAN DEKA - THE MOVIE, 1987

WIVES OF THE YAKUZA, 1986

lady's documentary, 1990

majisuka gakuen, 2010

hard revenge milly, 2008

 What else is going on? Well, it seems we still have some fetching limited-edition TokyoScope shirts (seen above) to go around. Remaining stock is now on  sale at the NEW PEOPLE store in San Francisco, and we'll find a way to sell whatever is leftover via the web. Sizes are S-M-L-XL and price is $20.

J-pop Summit Week is in full effect now at NEW PEOPLE. Tomorrow, 9/15 at 6pm,  I'll be moderating a discussion with 6%DOKIDOKI  impresario Sebastian Masuda at 6%DOKIDOKI HARAJUKU KAWAII NIGHT. Then, Sat/18 at 5pm, I'll be hosting a "Let's Talk DMC" panel discussion. More information on this madness at the J-POP SUMMIT WEEK + FESTIVAL DAY page.

TokyoScope Talk DX: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN! - T-shirt design

Feast your peepers on the very first TokyoScope T-shirt! Designed by jaPRESS and illustrated by Kazumi Nonaka AKA Batty Cheese, these shirts will initially go on sale at Mon/13's TokyoScope Talk DX: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN event at NEW PEOPLE. I suspect a few may also be made available afterwards, but the future is cloudy. So best to show up in person and demand satisfaction!

TokyoScope Talk DX: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN! Sukeban Guerrilla Music

As I’m busily preparing the clips and images for next Monday’s TokyoScope Talk Deluxe: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN event, a certain compact disc musical playback device has been in heavy rotation around the apartment. I’m talkin’ bout Hotwax Track’s Sukeban Guerrilla BGM collection from 2006. It contains 23 tracks culled from Toei Studios’ tough chicks movies like TERRIFYING GIRL’S HIGH SCHOOL – ANIMAL COURAGE, SUKEBAN BLUES, and QUEEN BEE’S COUNTERATTACK. About half the cuts include smoldering vocal performances such as Noriko Tsuwa’s breathy & hard luck title theme to 1977’s HELL’S ANGEL – RED EXPLOSION. The others are groovy rock-funk instrumental workouts suitable for a knife fight or kicking a policeman in the nuts, ala Miki Sugimoto. Both of these songs are included below in glorious 320kbps for your sonic edification.

Theme from HELL’S ANGEL – RED EXPLOSION

M-4 from GIRL BOSS – DIAMOND SHOWDOWN

TokyoScope Talk Deluxe: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN! Flier art 2.0

The restless wizards at jaPRESS have cooked up a new version of the flier for the TokyoScope Talk Vol. 6 event 9/13 at SF NEW PEOPLE. The main addition is a list of reasons to come on down and rock with the rock. To summarize: free food and drink will be provided at the 6pm V.I.P. reception and after-party and NEW PEOPLE will be giving away free gift bags to all attendees.  Shoju distiller Haamonii has signed on as sponsor and will be mixing up cocktails. And perhaps most dangerously, we'll be selling limited-edition TokyoScope T-shirts based on our fliers with original art by Kazumi Nonaka AKA Batty Cheese. Advance tickets on sale here. End of hard-sell. 

Tokyo Wars 9/22-10/18

- Going back to Tokyo later this month to begin work prancing around front of the camera for...well, I've been told to keep my mouth shut until further notice. But, yeah, it should be fun. Contact me if you're also in town, if something "wacky" is happening, or if you'd simply like to meet up.

- Selling stuff on eBay, like the soundtracks to HOUSE on CD and LP. I never thought it would come to this, but that yen-dollar exchange rate is a killer. Check out my auctions here. I'll probably let go with some anime books and doujinshi soon as well.

- I was a guest on the ANNCast podcast talking about stuff that really matters like Otaku USA and Harmageddon. Link here.

- Speaking of Otaku USA, I've been writing for the official website quite a bit lately, and will continue to do so. Right now, I'm working on a travel diary and another series called 2010 is 1980.

- The big enchilada right now is the TokyoScope Talk Deluxe: BAD GIRLS & WILD WOMEN! show at NEW PEOPLE in San Francisco on 9/13. Please come down if you are in the area! Shochu distiller Haamonii will be one of the sponsors of the V.I.P. pre-show party, and we'll have free food and drinks, so show up at 6pm for full effect. Link to advance tickets page here.  

Bad Girls & Wild Women - Manga poster art for FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION #701

I found these two gorgeous pin-ups for FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION #701 while peeking around on a Japanese movie poster collector's site. The artwork is by Toru Shinohara, author of the original FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION manga. You may now compare and contrast this 1972 ad campaign with the subtitled original trailer.  And of course, come on down and watch FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION #701 in it's entirety at TOKYOSCOPE TALK DELUXE  Mon/13 at NEW PEOPLE in San Francisco. Advance tix on sale here.