New York Comic Con 2008: Cosplay
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 19, 2008 in Fandom
New York Comic Con 2008: Video Slideshow
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 18, 2008 in Fandom
If there’s one thing I hate to do it’s to travel to the Javits Center in NYC: There’s no subway near by and even taking a cab can be painful. However I have to say that for the New York Comics Con the trip was well worth it this year. The first thing that impressed me is that most conventions don’t fill up the place, however the Comics Con took up pretty much every inch of floor space. The result is about two city blocks packed with everything a fanboy might want to see – a sort of mega shopping mall turned into a comic book store.
However it’s not just the scale of the evnt that I enjoyed, but the sheer diversity. Yes there was the usual things that you’d expect to see: booths for marvel and DC and rows of tables filled with vintage goodies from days of yore sealed in plastic bags. But the extra zing at the event was the number of toy companies, video distributors, indie artists and even podcasters to be found while roving around the floor. And while I did see the usual promotional material of superheroes running around in their underwear, I also found a wealth of comics from local small presses, and places ranging from France to Korea.
What’s also amazing to me is that given I wasn’t keeping a high profile I managed to run into quite a few friends going back to my art school and early multimedia career in the 90s. In fact I was really pleased to see a good representation of the local scene which featured a table crammed with students from the School of Visual Arts to MoCCA pushing their upcoming show in June. Although as I stolled through the artist’s alley it was fun to meet artists who came from every where from Canada to Tokyo, which made the thought of my cab ride quite a bit less labored.
Star Blazers Chronicles: The Superfans
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 14, 2008 in Fandom
I hate to shamelessly plug myself, but Tim Eldred has an interview with myself and long time partner-in-crime Brian Cirulnick:
The Star Blazers Chronicles: The Superfans
“One sure measure of a great anime series (or any great work for that matter) is the creative energy it imparts to its viewers and the lengths to which they go to express their dedication. Over the last three decades, a great many Star Blazers fans have elevated themselves to the level of Superfan; those who take their creative energy so far that they add new dimensions to the experience, expanding it beyond its original scope. This was certainly the case with two of the show’s earliest superfans: Michael Pinto and Brian Cirulnick.”
Also if you can please Digg the story as well!
King Kong Kitty
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 1, 2008 in Fandom
Shown above is the French fan film King Kong Suede. I hate to admit it, but I was rooting for the kitty!
Found via zaeega.com.
Ninjas Ride for Free!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 26, 2008 in Fandom
I admit it, this story is somewhat lackluster — but that photo above was just sooooo cute that I had to blog it:
Free Train Rides For Ninjas In Mie Prefecture
“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.”
Goth Lolitas to Teach Otaku Nerds
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 26, 2008 in Fandom
They should bring this concept over to America to teach Japanese:
Wanted: Gothic geeks to teach English to otaku nerds
“Geek ghetto Akihabara has become the site of Cosplish, Japan’s first English conversation school featuring cosplaying foreigner teachers dressed in wacky costumes, according to Cyzo (April).
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.”
Photos found via japanvisitor and japanlinked.
Attention Fanboys: Yi So-yeon is Single!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 11, 2008 in Fandom
Oh sure anyone can date an actress who plays an astronaut or space alien on a TV! But how about dating a real life astronaut? Only a small lucky handful of folks from each generation get to travel into the great unknown — and then those few are almost always boring married jocks or semi-retired software geeks.
Well fanboys your dream has come true: It seems that South Korea has picked Yi So-yeon (이소연), 29 to fly to the International Space Station in April! Not only is Ms. Yi single, but she’s also a Ph. D student as well (girls with glasses always get passes in our book!). And as if that weren’t cool enough she’s a martial arts expert too (am I dreaming this?) — in fact she’s an advanced practitioner of taekwondo. And so far this all that we know about her — so one can’t rule out Ms. Yi playing video games in her spare time, being an avid manga reader, going on James Bond type vacations to battle evil secret organizations or having secret powers.
The Rod Serling Conference
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 10, 2008 in Fandom
Rod Serling taught at the Ithaca College from 1967 to 1975, and the school is honoring the Twilight Zone creator with a conference from March 28th through the 29th. The college also hosts the Rod Serling Archives which are worth checking out.
Haruhi Suzumiya Cosplay from Japan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 5, 2008 in Fandom
The above footage is from the 2006 Keio University Mita festival in Tokyo, the cosplay team are performing the Hare Hare Yukai (the Haruhi Dance) of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Gundam Cosplay from Russia
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 19, 2008 in Fandom
Shown above is an amazing Gundam cosplay outfit from an anime fan in St.Petersburg, Russia. Below is some related convention footage worth checking out:
Sailor Moon and Gundam 00 Dance the Dan-Jo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 17, 2008 in Fandom
I just came across this fan made video which features the characters from Sailor Moon dancing to the song Dan-Jo. It seems to be a reply to this video which features the characters from Gundam 00:
Blythe High School
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 27, 2008 in Fandom
There’s some haunted quality that I find when I look into the eyes of a Blythe doll, and yet this series of photos created by Takahito Iguchi of real people with Blythe heads is even more surrealistic:
Cookie Monster Goes Heavy Metal
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 23, 2008 in Fandom
I never knew that Cookie Monster was such an AC/DC fan! This Charlie Brown themed metal video below isn’t quite as clever as the Cookie Monster one, but sill cute:
Nick’s Nippon Notebook: Capsule Hotels
Posted by Guest Author on Dec 9, 2007 in Fandom
Capsule Hotels are often mentioned in overseas media showcasing high-tech Japan. I guess I grew to have the impression after seeing travelogues that they were commonplace and perhaps they were a natural outcome of a society used to living in small spaces. Perhaps they were an answer to travelers on a very low budget. In actuality, while there are a number of them operating, they aren’t exactly commonplace, like for instance Love Hotels as business model. Though they themselves are on the decline.
Apparently the primary use of Capsule Hotels for quite a while has been a safe place to deposit an un-sober workmate after a bit too much evening socializing. After seeing an occasional passed out salary-men sprawled on the sidewalk I can definitely see how they solve a dilemma.
In Japan public transportation makes it’s last run on each line at midnight or thereabouts and stops for maintenance until 5AM. While taxis are available all night they are incredibly expensive can easily run up a hotel sized bill for someone a reasonable commuter distance away. So there is a danger of no return when staying out.
56 Geeks Poster
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 6, 2007 in Fandom
Shown above are just eight of the 56 Geeks Poster by illustrator Scott Johnson. You can order the poster here.
Found via MetaFilter.
Tokyo Metro-chan
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 4, 2007 in Fandom
Yeah! Beat up those no good otaku fanboys! Shown above is a street performance from the Tokyo Metro-chan which was held a few months ago. This cosplay act is based on the show Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan:
Nick’s Nippon Notebook: Santa Buddha
Posted by Guest Author on Nov 27, 2007 in Fandom
I saw this giant decoration in a Sendai shopping arcade. Presumably having no Thanksgiving holiday as a start date means a couple extra weeks of Xmas decorations. Now to me this looks a lot like Buddha dressed up as Santa Claus but I don’t know.
A friend who happened to be carrying her own Chinese knockoff toy with half the features of Mickey Mouse and Astro Boy in combined into one hybrid character disagreed as to the Buddha I.D. but couldn’t explain what was going on here. So at the very least, he’s a very meditative Asian department store Santa.
Nick Kent is a New York based artist who works with electronic media and is an occasional pop culture pundit.
Nick’s Nippon Notebook: Shopping Spree in Osaka
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 14, 2007 in Fandom
Editor’s Notes: Here are some unedited notes from my friend Nicholas D. Kent from his recent trip to Japan:
I was at Yodobashi Camera again. Their Osaka store is 9 stories and fills the complete full size city block. They pipe different versions of the stores jingle non-stop on the store sound system in different arrangements with announcements in various languages, even German as to the great values and selections found at their store. Sometimes the song has Japanese lyrics sometimes it’s instrumental, but it’s the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (this commercial dates back to 1984):
So I keep wondering if anyone from the ever South goes there then gets disgusted and storms out, because it is pretty non-stop.
‘American Otaking’ Steve Pearl Passes Away
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 13, 2007 in Fandom
Before the web there were a few folks on the early internet and dial-up bulletin board services (BBSs) who pioneered spreading the word on anime, and quite a few of those folks owe their introduction to Steve Pearl who just passed away. Steve was the author of the FAQ (frequently asked questions) for the usenet group rec.arts.anime.misc. For those of you who don’t remember usenet it contained tons of email lists. The better ones would maintain a FAQ, in a way these sometimes large documents were Wikipedia before Wikipedia. And over the years Steve’s FAQ became the definitive pocket guide to anime during the 90s when quite a few folks were become anime fanboys and fangurls. My heart goes out to his family and friends:
Ganguro + Goth = Sweet Lolita
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 3, 2007 in Fandom
Tokyo sub-culture fashions are oh so fickle! I guess this means that Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook
Ganguro, Goth gals come together to close dark past with ‘Sweet Lolita’ trend
“Ganguro gyaru, young women known for their deep tans, panda-like make-up and bright fashions are fusing with once bitter enemy “Gothic Lolitas” in their Goth garb and little girl look to create a new fashion mode in trendier parts of Tokyo, according to Weekly Playboy (11/5). “There were three rules that made up the definition of a gyaru: a tanned face, flamboyant make-up and hair dyed in the lightest color possible,” Kyoko, the girl once dubbed the Empress of (gyaru haven) Shibuya, tells Weekly Playboy. “Anyway, you’ve got to look as flashy as possible. Scary if need be, which gives you the mental strength that’s part of being a gyaru.”
Gothic Lolitas, however, have deeper, darker roots. “What defines a Gothic Lolita is the color black. Black can’t be dyed any darker than it already is,” author and self-professed Gothic Lolita Karin Amemiya tells the weekly. “The Goth look comes from Europe in the Middle Ages and its supposed to give its proponents a regal air.”Ada, a journalist who specializes in Tokyo teen girls’ culture, notes that the gyaru and Goths haven’t always been as receptive to each other as they appear to be now.
Sailor Moon Cosplay Tragedy!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 1, 2007 in Fandom
This video is like a car accident, you know you shouldn’t but you can’t help but stare into the horror! Although it looks like those Sailor Moon fanboys put quite a bit of work into it…
Found via Zaeega.
Go! Godman vs. Gundam 00
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 9, 2007 in Fandom
The above fan video kitbashes a scene from Ike! Godman (Go! Godman in North America) with Gundam 00. Ike! Godman was produced by Toho in the early 70s and featured a different rubber monster each episode.
Miku Hatsune Destroys Tokyo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2007 in Fandom
At first I thought the use of VOCALOID2 (an anime themed voice synthesizer software) to make videos on YouTube was just some sort overnight fad I could ignore, but much to my shock the voice of Hatsune Miku the cute robot girl keeps popping up in my browser. My official fanboy.com prediction is that at the rate things are going we’ll see a Hatsune Miku anime show, manga and video game within a year.