Milk: It Does the 80s Good!

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 26, 2009 in Animation, Television

I could be wrong but I think this amazing 1986 ad for milk may have been done by Colossal Pictures, which was a San Francisco production company that did a great deal of amazing work back in the day (tons of work for MTV and the like which would always feature a collage of live action and animation). Read more…

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Toy Store Commercials of the 80s

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 17, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Television

Both of these spots are from 1986 and solve the unique challenge that while toy ads sell to kids, toy store ads must sell to adults. The Toys R Us ad does a nice job of this as it’s appealing to the kid inside all of us, I especially the oversized robot which comes in about 5 seconds into the spot. The Lionel Playworld spot takes more of a Footlose approach to the problem, but for all the shoulder pads and singing you don’t get the feeling that they’re really having a good time of it: Read more…

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I Love Listening to Noto Arisa’s Chatter!

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 14, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV

This is Noto Arisa (能登有沙) who is nicknamed Nocchi, this video is a regular feature on the DogaDoga7 Anime NewType Channel. I’m somewhat addicted to these videos on YouTube because Nocchi is always hanging out at anime cons and sneaking around animation studios. In the video above she’s announcing her 2nd personal manga, talking about some DVD and mentioning that she will debut as a voice actor in an animated drama titled Deba no Hime Goto. Below is the video of her snooping around Gonzo, the studio responsible for the Strike Witches: Read more…

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SMAP, SoftBank and Grand Funk Railroad: Do the Loco-Motion!

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2009 in Japanese TV

This new commercial in Japan for SoftBank is the coolest thing right now: It features the J-pop group SMAP (Sports Music Assemble People) with the powerful 1974 recording of The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad. I’ve got to say I usually hate when an agency grabs an old hit, but in this case they’ve done a nice of bringing it back to life! Read more…

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Otaku Game Show

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 2, 2009 in Fandom, Japanese TV

This segment from a Japanese game show features quite a bit of silly cosplay. I’m not sure what show this is from, but it was titled “An Idol and a Pair of Geeks”. Two of the idol singers featured in this skit are Seira Sakurai and Matsumoto Wakana. My favorite part of this video come at the 4:21 mark where the singer is beating up the poor otaku while performing her song.

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Karikyuramashin: A 70s Japanese Version of Sesame Street

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 29, 2009 in Japanese TV

From 1974 until 1978 NTV ran a children’s educational show called Karikyuramashin (カリキュラマシーン) which was inspired by Sesame Street in the United States. What I love about this show is that the music is quite catchy: The video above features the songs Twisted Uncle, Kya and the Awry song. Below are other video segments from the show which are now the treasured childhood memories of Gen Xers in Japan: Read more…

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Strange Sgt. Frog Commercials

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 28, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV

To celebrate the latest Sgt. Frog publications Kadokawa has been putting out these very surrealistic commercials on YouTube. Although the frog themed water bottle looks quite cool: Read more…

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J-pop and Pizza! Two Great Tastes That Go Great Together

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 21, 2009 in Japanese TV

This new Japanese ad for Pizza-La features the J-pop act Buono! which is yet another side project associated with Hello! Project Kids and Berryz Kobo. Aside from the musical aspect of this I have to admit that the idea of a Camembert cheese pizza made me want to break my current diet. By the way what’s cool about this ad is that there is a version for each member of Buono!, shown below are the spots for Airi Suzuki, Miyabi Natsuyaki and the ever so cute Momoko Tsugunaga: Read more…

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AKBINGO! Can We Sneak This J-Pop Band Into a High School?

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 12, 2009 in Japanese TV

This latest action packed episode of AKBINGO! starts off with the girls attempting to sneak into a high school — it sort of reminded me of how Josie and the Pussycats might come up with a solution. Later in the episode there’s a museum sketch where the J-pop girls get paint all over their face: Read more…

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Galactica Goes Moe

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 10, 2009 in Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica Little Frakkin Colonials Starbuck

My one main objection to the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series was that it always seemed to take itself a bit too seriously: Well these two ever so cute Galactica figures solve that little problem. Shown above is Little Frakkin Colonials Starbuck and what I love about her cartoony design is that she looks like she might be at home in an anime series! Shown below is Little Frakkin Toasters Cylon Centurion which looks almost like a designer urban toy: Read more…

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Ultraman is the Ultimate USB Ummm?

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 8, 2009 in Hobbies and Collections, Japanese TV

Ultraman USB Computer Companion

The purpose of the Ultraman USB Computer Companion is to, uh — I’m not quite sure in all honesty! The official description is “Ultraman ideal companion for your computer, he’ll will move at random, react at your voice and sound”. So i guess you could describe this as a fanboy themed entertainment peripheral for your computer. Read more…

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Tokyo Disneyland Monsters, Inc. Commercial

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 8, 2009 in Animation, Japanese TV

The Japanese commercial is for the Monsters, Inc. attraction at Tokyo Disneyland which is set to open this Summer. I really love hearing the Pixar characters speak in Japanese, it makes them a bit more anime like for me!

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Ray Charles for Suntory White

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 7, 2009 in Japanese TV

In 1989 Ray Charles recorded a cover version of the song “Itoshi no Ellie” by the Japanese band Southern All Stars for this TV ad. Of course he made it his own and renamed it “Ellie My Love”, the ad did so well that it sent the song to be #3 in Japan selling more than 400,000 copies. Here’s the full length song performed in concert: Read more…

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Cylon Centurian: Evil Warrior from a 70s Space Saga

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 6, 2009 in Battlestar Galactica

Battlestar Galactica Cylon Centurian three and three quarter inch action figure  from 1978

I for one didn’t mind the original Battlestar Galactica series, there was s little sci fi on television (and so few choices in retrospect) that a fanboy had to be grateful for what he got. In fact looking back at it there was a high level of craftsmanship given that Galactica was a TV show and not a film. The Cylons are a good example of this: They’re clearly lifted from the Star Wars stormtroopers, but there’s been enough added to make it different. Even the red light swaying back and forth is a nice little touch, they could have just have easily skipped that given the budget. Read more…

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Madonna Praying for a Japanese Pepsi

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 4, 2009 in Japanese TV

Unlike most of those infamous spots where American stars only do a Japanese commercial that never gets seen back home this 1989 Japanese spot for Pepsi was part of a global advertising campaign. However in the States the spot was pulled off the air once Madonna’s “controversial” music video came out, but lucky for us (and the Pepsi New Generation) the Japanese commercial aired. In this advert I like the added touch of Madonna hanging out on her couch watching her own video.

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Anna Van! Know the Future

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 30, 2009 in Japanese TV

Announcer Bang アナ★バン! on Fuji TV

Anna van! (Announcer Bang アナ★バン!) is broadcast on Sundays at midnight on the Fuji Television Network. The show is a bit odd because while it’s aimed at adults the studio setting looks like a kids show with the host talking to a sun puppet. This episode below is titled “Know the Future” and features palm reader who informs the well dressed ladies if they will be lucky at love, work or money: Read more…

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It’s THE Ultimate Coffee for Japanese Salarymen: UCC THE Coffee

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 29, 2009 in Japanese TV

This late 80s greed-is-good coffee advert exerts a wonderful bravado for UCC THE Coffee. Doing some research I found that THE Coffee (with sugar!) is still being marketed to the public, in fact here’s the full line on the Japanese UCC website. Here’s another slightly less dramatic spot for THE Coffee from the 80s that I found: Read more…

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Imori Miyuki Looking Picture Perfect

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 28, 2009 in Japanese TV

My guess is that commercial for Fujicolor Super HG has to be from either the late 80s or maybe the early 90s. The spot features the picture perfect looks of Imori Miyuki who started her career in 1986 in the TBS series It’s not fun, this is love (遊びじゃないのよ、この恋は) and is still active today. She has focused on comedy and her latest role was in the series Road to Remarriage (再婚一直線!) where she plays a struggling cartoonist trying to balance life with her proper looking husband and cute child: Read more…

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Michael Jackson: The Master of the Music Videos Passes Away

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 26, 2009 in Television

Michael Jackson: A record player from the 80s

Above: A vintage Michael Jackson record player from the 80s, photographed by Dan Jones.

With the passing of Michael Jackson everyone is focused on title “the king of pop” but to me his contribution was much more important in another area: The fine art of making music videos. This is important to me as I came of age in the 80s and while my taste in music was more on the new wave side than pop or R&B I was (and still am) bery much a hardcore fan of music videos. Yet even if you weren’t a Michael Jackson fan during that era if you were into music videos you couldn’t avoid his domination of the medium. In fact I think it would be fair to say that Jackson was one of the artists that made a network like MTV possible. Read more…

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Farrah Fawcett: Tribute to an Angel

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 25, 2009 in Television

My Farrah Fawcett Poster

The above photo My Farrah Fawcett Poster (from Shaggy Duck on Flickr) perfectly captures how an entire generation discovered Farrah Fawcett in the 70s. The fanboy in the photo above wrote “It was the 70’s and this was the moment I received MY Farrah Fawcett poster! I covered an entire wall in my room with Farrah and Charlies Angels pictures”. Read more…

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Ed McMahon and the Bygone Era of Network Television

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 24, 2009 in Television

Ed McMahon represents the passing of the age of broadcast television which his career mirrored, and of course he’s best known for his long lasting gig at the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson from 1962 until 1992. But over the years he worked on a number of side projects: And from a fanboy point of view the most amusing to me is Legends of the Superheroes. This 1979 show was a sort of live action version of the Super Friends cartoon which was produced by Hanna-Barbera at the time. Read more…

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Manga Themed Nissan Commercial

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 23, 2009 in Comic Books, Japanese TV

I came across this recent manga themed advert for the Nissan Cube and was blown away — I really love how the design of this spot picks up on the conventions of Japanese comics from the black and white characters to the use of zip-a-tone patterns.

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Holy Cow! It’s Phil Rizzuto for the Money Store

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 22, 2009 in Television

The Phil Rizzuto I didn't know: An A+ ball player!

Phil Rizzuto: An ace ball player.

My father was a hardcore New York Yankees fan his entire life — and being of a younger generation THE voice of every Yankees broadcast was Philip Francis Rizzuto loving known as “The Scooter”. Phil’s trademark expression during a game was “Holy Cow — I think he got it!” Now not being a sports fanatic I had no idea growing up that Rizzuto was in fact an ace ball player from 1941 until 1956, you see to me Phil always a gentlemanly sports announcer whose personality filled the air. It should be noted that this in itself is a real talent, and looking back at it my ignorance of his first career is a tribute to just how good a presenter Rizzuto was on the air. Read more…

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An Early Japanese Cell Phone Advert

Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 19, 2009 in Japanese TV, Tech

I don’t know the exact date of this advert but looking at a primitive cell phone my guess is that it’s from the late 80s. The spot is for KDDI who entered the cel phone business in in 1987 and are still going strong today. The music in the advert is by Yuming (Yumi Matsutoya) who hit her career high point from the late 80s until the early 90s which is why her music seems to dominate the spot.

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