blog.aka.me -
Tags
GPS   keitai   ego   Japan   UI   design   Games   wow   Photos   blogging   web life   mobile   FAIL   Friends   just launched!   social   Video   Honda   news   Art Beat   Robots  
  • anime (6)
    • Cars   Flickr   AQ   Exhibitions   Fun   hitotoki   Lucky   Maps   QR   T-shirts   Typography   Earthquakes   Fashion   Happy!   hooked on   kawaii   Logos   Media Arts   Tokyo   top10   Trips   Apple   Artists   Bikes   Books   Creativity   Eco   Emotion   Flash   Future   Google   holidays   iPhone   kids   Language   Manga   Movies   Music   Ninja   People   Please!   Posters   Print   RSS   software   Superflat   Toyota   WiFi  


    March 14, 2008
    Viewed 9816 times
    | anime | Japan |
    Loading Retweet

    Best anime of 2008

    Without a doubt: Bokurano!! Great story, great character dvpt, no moe BS.

    But careful though, it's gloomy!! gloo-my!! As the series progresses, you discover all the hardships that those kids have already gone through and it's pretty painful to watch, but that makes it all worth it!

    A very unique story. Don't let yourself be intimidated by the couple robot fights happening in the background...
    What matter are the lives of those kids! In more ways that you can imagine...

    of course I also enjoyed:
    - Seirei no moribito
    - Moonlight Mile season 1
    - Toward the Terra

    Currently watching Ghost Hound
    and catching up on Denno Coil

    Check out this preview of 2008's Spring series

    Comments [0]

    March 16, 2007
    Viewed 1603 times
    | anime | Japan | top10 |
    Loading Retweet

    Anime Season 2007

    Updated I miss Jean's Anime columns, but try to keep up with what's going on via other means. This past season, I found myself enjoying the very decent Ergo Proxy and Kemonozume series and Production I.G's mind blowing OAV Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society.

    But when he told us there were about 50 new series starting in April this year, I got very excited! I did a bit of research and below are the 8 series that look like potential keepers:

    Moonlight Mile: Drama + Sci-Fi
    Review of the first episode.
    Anime News Network info

    Koutetsu Sangokushi
    Anime News Network info

    Seirei No Moribito: Adventure, Fantasy
    Anime News Network info

    Claymore: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural
    Anime News Network info

    Bokurano: Drama, Mecha
    Anime News Network info, Wikipedia info

    The Skullman
    Anime News Network info

    Reideen: Mecha, Science Fiction

    Darker Than Black: Drama, Science Fiction
    Anime News Network info, Wikipedia info

    Toward the Terra

    I will try to view the first episodes of each and report on my impressions. By the end of April though, I expect this list to be down to 3-4 max. Anyway, it would be crazy to imagine watching more than 4 series at a time.

    Update:
    The 4 series I ended up watching till the end of season 1 are:
    the very gloomy "Bokurano", "Moonlight Mile", "Seirei No Moribito" & "Toward the Terra".
    And here are Jean's.

    ---

    Oh, and for those curious to know what series I've watched in the past, here is my master list:
    - Gasaraki (1998) unmissable Note: don't be put off by the Mechas, it is minor, and the political intrigue is much more interesting)
    - Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex 1 series (2003) unmissable
    - Samurai Champloo (2004) unmissable
    - Paranoia Agent (2004) unmissable
    - 7 Samurai (2004)
    - Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex 2 series (2004) unmissable
    - Aquarion (2005)
    - Basilisk (2005) unmissable
    - Ergo Proxy (2006)
    - Kemonozume (2006)

    ---

    And here I will list the series that I am currently enjoying:
    - Bokurano
    - Moonlight Mile
    - Seirei No Moribito
    - Toward the Terra

    ---

    And the list of series I am considering watching at some point in the future:
    - Ayakashi Ayashi (2006)
    - Sci-Fi Harry (2000)
    - Jigoku Shōjo I & II (2005)
    - Texhnolyze (2003)
    - Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto (2006) Review
    - Dennou Coil

    Comments [0]

    January 15, 2006
    Viewed 1352 times
    | anime | Japan | kawaii | social |
    Loading Retweet

    Kawaii - Cute references

    Looking to learn and understand a bit more about cuteness (in general) or kawaii (in Japan), here is a list of some of the best articles found on the internet (Updated 2009-11-10 - cleaned up dead links too):

    Biology/evolutionary-related theories:
    - Introduction (.pdf) to Evolutionary Psychology
    - Early Aesthetic Choices (.pdf) Infant Preferences for Attractive Premature Infant Faces
    - The Cute Machine
    - Survival of The Prettiest: The Science of Beauty
     - Cuteness Will Rule

    Socio-cultural/Consumerism side:
    - Cuties in Japan by Sharon Kinsella (best source)
    - Addicted to Cute --NEW
    - Cute formalism
    - A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse
    - Fifteen theses on the cute
    - New York Times: The Cuteness Factor
    - Business Week Online: In Japan, Cute Conquers All
    - Wired: Cute Inc.
    - King of Poku: Takashi Murakami
    - Time.com Asia: She's a Material Girl
    - Time.com Asia: From We to Me
    - Time.com Asia: Export Machine
    - Japanese teenagers
    - Japanese street Chic
    - Enjo kosai: teen prostitution, a reflection of society's ills
    - Kawaii food photos
    - "Enjo-Kosai" Sex, Schoolgirls and Consumerism in Japan
    - imomus - What is Cute?
    - London Review of Books - Cute

    If you have other links, please post them in the comments.

    Related books:
    - Women, Media and Consumption in Japan
    by Lise Skov (Editor), Brian Moeran (Editor) and Sharon Kinsella, "Cuties in Japan"
    - Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society (Consumasian Book Series)
    by Sharon Kinsella
    - Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture
    by Timothy J. Craig (Editor)
    - Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan
    by Anne Allison
    - Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture
    by John Whittier Treat (Editor)
    - The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture : Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures
    by Dolores Martinez (Editor)
    - Japan Edge: The Insider's Guide to Japanese Pop Subculture
    by Satoru Fujii (Editor)
    - The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture
    by Mark Schilling
    - Takashi Murakami: The Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning
    by Dana Amanda/Friis-Hansen Cruz (Author)
    - Women on the Verge: Japanese Women, Western Dreams (Asia-Pacific)
    by Karen Kelsky
    - So Crazy Japanese Toys!
    by Jimbo Matison, Rodney Alan Greenblat (Photographer)
    - Fruits
    by Shoichi Aoki (Author)
    - Understanding Japanese Society (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies)
    by Joy Hendry
    - Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club
    by Anne Allison
    - Gambling With Virtue: Japanese Women and the Search for Self in a Changing Nation
    by Nancy Ross Rosenberger
    - The Image Factory: Fads and Fashions in Japan
    by Donald Richie, Roy Garner (Photographer)
    - The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America
    by Merry White
    - Japanese Mirror: Heroes and Villains of Japanese Culture
    by Ian Buruma
    - Japan-Think, Ameri-Think: An Irreverent Guide to Understanding the Cultural Difference Between Us
    by Robert J. Collins, Jane Walmsley
    - Hello Kitty : The Remarkable Story of Sanrio and the Billion Dollar Feline Phenomenon
    by Ken Belson (Author), Brian Bremner (Author)

    First published 2003-09-30

    Comments [0]

    December 13, 2004
    Viewed 636 times
    | anime | social |
    Loading Retweet

    Donate to fansubs

    Not to studios who underpay their animators, release very pricey DVDs of their anime series month after they were broadcasted on TV for free and go after anime portals that cater, alone, for the ever expanding non-Japanese anime fan community that they, themselves, don't seem to support.

    What is wrong!
    Fansub groups do an amazing work, often going the extra mile to provide you with extra background historical information or reference to obscure words used in certain series and are fantastic broadcasters of Japanese anime around the world.
    Threatening to sue the groups or the portals doesn't seem to be the right attitude to adopt when money seems so hard to come.
    Why don't they actually hire the fansub groups to provide them with translations and give more material to portals to share with the fans and provide cheap individual releases through systems similar to iTunes and become well respected all over the planet?!

    I have been following some series for months (Stand Alone Complex, Samurai Champloo, Samurai 7, Otogizoushi, Paranoia Agent) thanks to those fansub groups and donated to them (I have just finished donating $100 dollars to a few of them). I will not buy DVDs released by the studios as long as they keep that antagonist attitude.

    So, I will repeat my inducement tactic of last June by providing you with links to some portals RSS feeds to stay updated on each new fansub release.
    Have fun, enjoy anime, and donate.

    Animesuki
    Baka Updates
    SuprNova.org: Anime
    Box Torrents
    know others??

    Donate to:
    www.anime-kraze.org (Samurai Champloo)
    Bram Cohen (Author of BitTorrent)
    Lunar Anime (Samurai 7)

    Comments [0]

    November 15, 2004
    Viewed 1121 times
    | anime | Exhibitions | Friends | Video | wow |
    Loading Retweet

    ResFest 2004

    My good friend Gaku is quoted in this article on ResFest 2004 over at The Japan Times Online.

    This time, look for Tokyo-born Gaku Kinoshita's entry, "For Your Blossom..." The six-minute animated film tells the story of a little boy soldiering through a big, indifferent world and an encounter that will free him from his destiny. The spare drawing and subdued pastel color scheme work perfectly for this touching little tale. "I guess the biggest inspiration was coming from the conformist and conservative idea of Japanese society," 27-year-old Kinoshita said in an e-mail from London, where he works for an independent film-production company. It is stunning to realize that the filmmaker made "For Your Blossom..." on a laptop computer, and indeed, many ResFest films prove how much is possible with just a few thousand dollars worth of equipment -- plus plenty of talent, of course.

    This theme is recurrent in his animation work. And it has given him plenty of food for thought which he has until now always managed to beautifully interpret for our viewing and reflecting pleasure. Check out A Clown on his website. Congrats Gaku, I'll make sure to catch the show!

    Comments [0]

    January 27, 2004
    Viewed 460 times
    | anime | Manga |
    Loading Retweet

    The beginnings of Anime and Manga

    [Anime Project General Information] The term manga was created by the artist Hokusai, a prolific artist who lived from 1760-1849 and left over 30,000 works. He was the creator of the woodblock The Great Wave, his most famous picture and the one most closely identified with traditional Japanese art. His new term for some of his artwork was made of the words "man," meaning "in spite of oneself," "lax" or "whimsical," and "ga," meaning "picture."

    The history of manga and Anime and a lot more on the subject in well documented essays over at the University of Michigan Japanese Animation Group's website.

    Comments [0]