Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 30, 2008 in Animation
Exhibit A: Manga Entertainment offers only four anime series on iTunes, and it’s $50 for a season pass for 26 episodes of Ghost in the Shell — which you can watch for free on your DVR. I’d prefer the latest offerings from Japan in real time, and yes I don’t mind spelling errors in the subtitles.
The one thing entertainment companies never seem to get is the concept of “not invented here” which is the kiss of death in the tech business. This isn’t limited the ghetto of anime here in the United States, in fact a good example of this boneheaded behavior is when you see Viacom suing YouTube/Google. So while reading this Variety article on Funimation, this quote leaped off the page at me:
“Fukunaga is also confident in the company’s pay-per-download system, which is basically an HTML-based iTunes, but for anime. “There were a lot of rights issues, and we couldn’t monetize it fast enough last year,” he says apologetically — anime sites that don’t bother with copyright laws, like the recently reformed Crunchyroll.com, have become must-visit web destinations for anime fans. Now that Funimation is getting back its piece of that action, Fukunaga predicts that the download sales will soon exceed the company’s second-biggest asset, merchandising.”
Instead of reinventing the wheel why doesn’t Funimation focus on iTunes? If they priced each episode at $1 and put their entire catalog online I’d bet they increase their revenues. Now to be fair Gen Fukunaga has to negotiate each of those series with the Japanese, but I think the Anime studios have to understand that the market is in a bit of a glut and that their target audience has grown up with Napster. Or maybe Funimation and the Japanese studios should cozy up to Crunchyroll a bit more?
I’ve seen the other side and it isn’t pretty — Hulu was just launched by the networks and I have to say that the site just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve visited it only a few times, while I still find myself visiting YouTube and DailyMotion several times a day. Although it’s a different culture showbiz should embrace rather than emulate the techies.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 30, 2008 in Star Trek
Ah yes the “good old days” of primitive 20th Century Earth! Back then before them there internets it was a strange world when Starship Captains were played by real men of grit and action like the Shat and we had quaint customs like buying our New Year’s calendars in December. But now things are much better: We can order our New Year’s calendars before Memorial Day!
Any way I do hope that William Shatner is getting a cut of the above Star Trek: 2009 Wall Calendar (because God knows he won’t be getting any sort of pay check from the upcoming film from J.J. Abrams who claims to not be able to figure out a plot device like a cameo to include Bill — but no I’m not bitter about it). Shown below is the Star Trek: Ships of the Line: 2009 Wall Calendar for you hardware fanboys:
The first volume of Matsuri Hino’s Vampire Knight was released in January, 2007. By the end of 2007 only three volumes were out— but the series made it to ICv2’s top manga properties for 2007. It was #7 on the list, beating out heavy hitters like Fullmetal Alchemist and Loveless. Now the manga has an anime adaptation starting in April in Japan, which is only likely to increase the franchise’s popularity.
The series follows a young girl named Yuki Cross, who attends the Cross Academy. She is one of the school guardians, who ensures that the Day Class and the Night Class don’t have any troublesome interactions. See, Yuki knows the school’s biggest secret: the Night Class consists entirely of vampires. Yuki herself is the victim of a vampire, her parents having been killed by them many years before. Now she fights for peace between the two races…even if she has to fight against the other school guardian, the vampire hunter Zero Kiryu.
Takeji Nakagawa is a Japanese craftsman who makes his futuristic toys out of our types of wood: keyaki (a Japanese tree of the genus Zelkova), teak, walnut and white ash. There’s an interesting article on him at coolhunting.com, and his website is take-g.com.
Takeshi Obata is an odd member of this list: the only one who has never written a hit manga (in fact, he’s only written one manga, period). And yet, he’s also one of the most well-known and well-loved creators in my 10some. Why? Because he is the artist behind the phenomenal hit Death Note, as well as the popular board game shounen series Hikaru no Go and the upcoming shounen action series Blue Dragon, based on a popular game.
Obata is a rare sort of shounen artist: his style is very heavy on the details, whether on facial expressions, in backgrounds, or on clothing. His drawings are also more fashion-conscious than your average Naruto issue, often featuring recent trends in clothing and accessories.
But whether the art is for a go tournament in Hikaru or a shinigami consulting with a human in Death Note, Obata’s art is always extraordinarily attractive and, to put it simply, just plain cool.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 28, 2008 in Videogames
I’m so burned out when it comes to seeing yet another cool gamer themed t-shirt which is why the Pac-Man Maze Hoodie above caught my eye. ‘Cause I’ve got Pac-Man fever…
This twosome has long been a hit amongst hardcore anime fans for their cult series Rozen Maiden, about a collection of living dolls that have to fight to become “Alice.” The series has proven to be extremely viral, and its characters are arguably more popular than the actual series itself.
Unfortunately for Rozen Maiden fans, a dispute between Peach-Pit and the editors at Rozen Maiden‘s magazine, Monthly Comic Birz, led to the series getting a sudden an anticlimactic ending. Fans hope that the dynamic duo will continue the series elsewhere, but there is no news.
“Each Guy Robot is a one-of-a-kind handmade creation. The piece parts that go into each Guy Robot flow from a range of industrial tributaries: aerospace and avionics surplus suppliers, automotive salvage yards, long-haul microwave equipment recyclers, decommissioned plumbing and refrigeration remnants, vintage hand-tool swap-meet winnings. And, yes, truth be told, sometimes the perfect Guy Robot find is that gem that is spotted and rescued from among the flotsam hauled to the curb by the neighbors and otherwise destined for final disposal.”
Shown above are Shock who urges you to spay or neuter your pets, and Euclid who remains shy about discussing his special surveillance capablities.
You may not have heard of Tachibana Higuchi or her manga Gakuen Alice just yet, but TOKYOPOP is guaranteeing that you will. They’re positioning it to be the new shoujo hit, to replace the uber-popular Fruits Basket when it ends in 2009.
The series features Mikan, a young girl whose best friend, the uber-intelligent Hotaru, leaves town to go to an exclusive school. Mikan, desolate without her friend, runs away to attend the same school: Gakuen Alice. At the school, she learns that “Alice” isn’t just a name, it’s a magic power— one that every student at Gakuen Alice has, but its form varies with each student.
Gakuen Alice isn’t Higuchi’s first manga, but it’s her first to be released in English, and is being positioned to be a big hit in the U.S. if TOKYOPOP gets its way. With fun characterizations, an interesting plot surrounding a mysterious school and its student bodies, and Higuchi’s cute art, the odds are certainly in its favor.
Gia Manry is a Portland, OR-based professional writer specializing in pop culture/entertainment writing. Read up on more of her work at giapet.net or hire her at GiaManry.com.
“Passengers dressed in ninja costumes will be given free travel along the Iga Tetsudo line from April 1 to May 6 to mark the city’s popular ninja festival, railroad officials said. Iga Tetsudo, which took over the running of the old Kintetsu Iga Line in October last year, is making the offer as part of the Iga Ueno Ninja Festa, a festival that celebrates the Mie Prefecture city’s links with the ancient stealth art of ninjutsu.”
Cosplaying teachers are told to teach students how to use simple, “broken” English, while the school also plans to give instructions on “Otaku English,” using mostly abbreviations, and “Anime English,” which will focus on English instructions of famous lines from cartoons like Gundam.
Founder Akihiro Suzuki figured opposites would attract and started Cosplish. “Otaku are known for their incredible customer loyalty, while schools are known for their trouble in getting customers to keep on coming back, so I figured a school for cosplayers would achieve the perfect blend,” Suzuki tells Cyzo.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 26, 2008 in Comic Books
Illustrated by Sam Weber, the above cover for House of Mystery #2 looks fantastic — the wonderful sense of surrealism is something that one doesn’t typically associate with a comic book cover. I love Weber’s draftsmanship and muted (yet dramatic) sense of color which reminds me of a cross between a Maurice Sendak book cover and a Peter Paul Rubens painting. House of Mystery #2 will hit the streets on June 4th, and will be published by DC Comics.
Kishimoto has only two manga to his credit to date: his debut, a Shonen Jump contest winner called Karakuri, and a little manga about a ninja named Naruto. What, you’ve heard of it?
Jokes aside, Naruto has become the biggest seller in U.S. anime and manga history. VIZ has been releasing both the manga and anime, and the anime has also been a big hit on Cartoon Network. The series, which follows a young Naruto as he grows up and learns about being a ninja— and faces his greatest fears, foes, and friends.
Like its spiritual sibling Bleach, Naruto features a large cast of popular characters all across the “good”/”bad” spectrum, and the titular Naruto himself— who is also the containment vessel for a fox demon —isn’t always a good guy.
Italian artist Tokidoki has collaborated with Sanrio to create the above Hello Kitty plushie. Right now she’s only available in Japan, but she will be available in the States in select stores. Below is another fashionable Hello Kitty item that Tokidoki also collaborated on:
Coharu Sakuraba is not one of the more well-known mangaka in the U.S., for the simple reason that none of his works has been licensed for release here. Two of them have been adapted into anime, though, which has provided Sakuraba with something of a cult following among fans around the world.
The first of those series is based on Kyou no Go no Ni (“Today in Class 5-2”), which follows a group of fifth graders and their adventures at school as they sit on the cusp of becoming teenagers. In keeping with their age, the stories often feature some level of sexual interest, combined with naivety as the kids have no actual experience. The slightly pervy tone is probably what prevents the manga from making it over to the U.S., although the series is well-liked for its goofy humor and occasional slapstick.
Sure you can spend thousands of dollars buying sleek urban designer toys, but why do that when you can build your own for free?Cubeecraft Papercraft Toys updates their site every week with a new cute paper toy that you can download and assemble yourself.
No name is more revered in the shoujo scene these days than that of Ai Yazawa, creator of the immense crossover hit Nana. The series features two girls, both named Nana, who meet on a train to Tokyo, where they’re both moving. They run into each other again while apartment-hunting and decide to live together. The two are complete opposites in personality; Nana Osaki is a punk rock singer with a less-than-pleasant past, while Nana Komatsu is a cheerful klutz with no particular life plan.
But Nana isn’t Yazawa’s first hit, or her last. Paradise Kiss, the tale of a high schooler Yukari who chugs along at school as her parents tell her, until the day she is “kidnapped” by Paradise Kiss, a group of fashion designers who want her to model for them. She does so, and finds her life turned upside-down as she learns about life, love, and fashion.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 23, 2008 in Comic Books
Searching for some Easter inspiration I discovered the tale (or tail?) of Hoppy the Marvel Bunny:
“Hoppy is a pink bunny rabbit who lives in the town of Funny Animalville, along with an assortment of other funny animal characters. As revealed in the origin story from Fawcett’s Funny Animals #1, Hoppy is a fan of Captain Marvel. One day he decides to emulate his hero and speaks the magic word “Shazam!” Surprisingly, the magic word transforms Hoppy into Captain Marvel Bunny.”
Hoppy debuted in December 1942 and had a limited run until 1953, but has been spotted in various DC Comics over the years since then. Shazam!
You may have heard of a little manga called Bleach, about a high school guy and a few shinigami (death gods) that fight various evil-doers. Sound familiar? It’s only one of the biggest anime and manga hits in recent years.
Creator Tite Kubo is actually the son of a town council member in Hiroshima. His intense art style earned him an editor’s attention when he entered a manga contest, and although he didn’t win, he was able to do a few short stories. He got his big break with Zombie Powder, an action series that was serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump for a year before it was discontinued.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 22, 2008 in Pulp Fiction
I always associate solar energy and futurism with the 70s, however this magazine ad from 1958 (just think of it — that’s fifty years ago!) shows off a rather stylish solar home of the future. I love the little touches of the indoor swimming pool and the orange jet car parked outside.
Arina Tanemura is a shoujo manga superstar, with hit series such as Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Full Moon wo Sagashite under her belt. Her current ongoing series is Gentleman’s Alliance†, which is being released in English by VIZ.
Tanemura’s debut work was a 1997 series called I-O-N, about a girl named Ion Tsubaragi who develops psychic powers. After that she charged ahead with a collection of shorts called Firecracker is Melancholy, and dove into her first big hit: Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, a magical girl series about a high school girl who transforms to fight demons. Jeanne was followed up by the shorter Time Stranger Kyoko, which is a slightly sci-fi magical girl series set in the 30th century.
And finally comes Full Moon wo Sagashite (published by VIZ as Full Moon), featuring a 12-year-old girl named Mitsuki who wishes to be a pop idol but who has a throat cancer that can only be cured by removing her vocal chords— and a grandmother who is opposed to the idea of her granddaughter auditioning. When Mitsuki overhears two shinigami (death gods) talking about how she has only a year left to live, and she runs away to audition. The shinigami catch up with her and offer her a deal: if she promises to go quietly when her time comes, they will give her the ability to turn into a healthy 16-year-old so that she can audition.
“The Life-size Cylon figure, as seen in the reimagined Sci-Fi series ‘Battlestar Galactica’, is manufactured exclusively by Fred Barton Productions, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, and licensed through Universal Studios. Each Cylon is hand-made using only the finest materials and overseen by the ‘Robot Man’ himself, Fred Barton.”
He first made waves in the U.S. with his series Master Keaton, whose anime adaptation was released in English by Pioneer/Geneon in 2003. But Naoki Urasawa’s best-known works these days are the Fugitive-esque drama Monster and the extremely popular and still-running 20th Century Boys.
In Monster, Kenzo Tenma is a Japanese doctor living in Germany when he makes the decision to operate on a young boy who arrived at the hospital first instead of a prominent politician who arrived later, displeasing his superiors. Shortly thereafter, his superiors— and the boy, along with his twin sister —all disappear. Nine years later, he runs into the boy, Johan, again, now a man and a mass murderer. When Tenma becomes the suspect for Johan’s crimes, the doctor takes matters into his own hands. He saved the monster; he will put him away. The series is widely acclaimed for its slow yet intense pacing, thrilling and suspenseful action, and particularly its phenomenal characterizations. No character is thrown away; each has his or her own back story, and there are many of them.
for you hardware fanboys:
