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Over at Japanimator there's a great little rant on the "American Anime Awards":

American Anime Awards Award Japanese Anime. Wait. What?

"I’m still trying to riddle this one out. On February 24th, the American Anime Awards were broadcast on The Anime Network and IGN.com. According to the AAA site, “To be eligible for an award, anime or manga must be available in the U.S. during 2006.” Now, please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that just about everything released before 2007? “Available” is a pretty broad term. Regardless, only four of the twelve categories have anything to do with actual animation, with one category for “Best Comedy,” (FLCL…what? Azudai wasn’t even nominated) one for “Best Feature,” (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children…NOT A SINGLE MIYAZAKI FILM WAS NOMINATED) leaving only two, “Best Short Series” (FLCL, again) and “Best Long Series” (Fullmetal Alchemist…nope, Eva wasn’t nominated) to pick up the slack for the roughly 42 billion other titles. There was only a single slot for “Best Manga” (Fruits Basket), with the rest consisting of American voice actor awards, packaging and music."

It's funny but he's saying pretty much what quite a few of my fellow fanboys were thinking. But at the same time I think the local industry here needs some encouragement to produce a higher quality product. So my suggestion would be this:

I think it would be much more interesting if instead of having fifty million catagories you just have one single "Best in Show": one for movie, one for a tv show and just one for a manga. This way the award would mean something instead of being a general pat on the back to everyone in the industry.

Next I would eliminate the "People's Choice Award" factor to the show. In fact to judge the show I'd invite professionals from the Japanese animation industry to judge how their work is being translated. Then to top it off I'd invite some American pros who are known in their own right, like say a well known director like Quentin Tarantino or a well known comic book artist like Frank Miller. Having these high profile folks would raise the credibility of the show and make winning mean something.

Although getting to the core of things, the very concept of the show itself may be flawed. I tend to find that the hardcore fanboys who LOVE anime are tracking what's going on right now in Japan via torrents or YouTube. By the time the shows air on the Cartoon Network for this audience it's already over. And while folks watching the stuff on the Cartoon network are also fanboys, they aren't the hardcore types who'd vote or even care about who won an award.

So in the end it's the hardcore fans who determine what's popular because they're up on things and tell their friends what to check out. In fact I'm now hooked on Bleach because I heard about it on a podcast, but wanted to watch it on my couch instead of downloading it. So in a way that podcast mentioning Bleach is what gave it "an American Anime Award" for my valueable leasure time.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is now within range of Saturn, and the results are some amazing upclose photos of the ringed giant. To see the latest shots go here:

Cassini-Huggens: Mission to Saturn and Titan

When most people think of anime the first thing that comes to mind are giant robots and never ending magical martial arts battles. But what I like about "My Family" (ATASHIn'CHI あたしンち in Japanese) is that it doesn't feature a slick look (instead it feels like a traditional cartoon) and focuses on a humorous look at the everyday daily life of a "normal" family living in Japan.

As with most anime "My Family" got started in June of 1994 as a humble four frame comic that ran in the Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun. In 2002 the manga was turned into an anime tv series, and now over five years later there are well over 100 episodes of the show. The tv show was so popular that in 2003 they also created a full length feature film. "My Family" is also very popular in China where it's know an "Our Family" (我們這一家 in Chinese).

The first thing I liked about the show are that character designs remind me a bit of "Peanuts" with a dash of "Beavis and Butt-head" thrown in. The plot of the show follows the Tachibanis family, consisting of a housewife mom, a salary-man dad, and two teenager daughters Yuzuhiko and Mikan. The mom has a very stubborn personality and is concerned about every little trivial matter. She also follows a nurotic "can do" mantra where she applies a "haste makes waste" mindset to every situation. Even if you dont understand Japanese the humor is easy to follow and entertaining to watch.

Here's a segment from the first episode (in Chinese):

I like the fact that this Japanese commercial for Nintendo DS Lite isn't aimed at little kids, but shows grown up people using it as a communications device:

One of my favorite underrated anime shows from the 80s is Super Dimentional Space Century Orguss which came out in 1983. Becuase the show came after Macross and featured transforming mecha the show has been a bit lost to time (also it wasn't rolled into Robotech so most American anime fanboys didn't get to see it).

What made Orguss so special to me was the first episode which set up a pretty unique plot. The show starts off with a global world war going on over the ownership of an all important space elevator. I don't think I've seen a sci fi show before or since (and it's been twenty years now) that has ever featured a space elecvator as part of the plot. Then there is the next plot twist, in additional to the usual atomic, biological and chemical weapons — a "dimentional bomb" has been created to fight the war.

This made for a pretty exciting setup for the series. What follows is the dimentional bomb going off and sending our hero into an anime version of "Land of the Lost". The human character from our world then teams up with an odd assortment of other worldly characters. In addition to the interesting plot and characters the show was very well designed, the characters looked great and the mecha matched. Even the costume designs were interesting, even if they were inspired by the Flashdance fashions of the era.

I recently came across a great website on the show which is well worth checing out, it even features a special toys section (which was half the fun with any show from that era):

Super Dimension Century Orguss Shrine

Here's the opening titles from the show featuring the lyrics "where are you going, when are you coming home?"

There's a great article in the New York Times on John Lasseter's comeback plans for animation at Walt Disney:

He Runs That Mickey Mouse Outfit

"A Hollywood outsider whose independent shop popularized computer animation, Mr. Lasseter, 50, might seem an odd fit for a studio built on old-school cartoons and the mythology of Snow White and Cinderella. But since Pixar was acquired, Mr. Lasseter has been heralded as a latter-day Walt Disney, a cultural arbiter who can rekindle the spirit of Disney’s famous animation at its theme parks, on store shelves and in a theater near you.

Since the days of the 1928 Mickey Mouse classic “Steamboat Willie,” animation was Disney’s undisputed long suit. But after a recent decade-long parade of disappointments, most famously the 2002 bomb “Treasure Planet,” the studio was desperate for a change of fortune. It abandoned its hand-drawn tradition in favor of computer-generated fare. In the process the keepers of the Magic Kingdom lost much of their cultural cachet.

Enter Mr. Lasseter who, along with a close team of handpicked animators had made Pixar this generation’s premier storyteller with an unbroken string of hits including “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles.” The first filmmaker to run Disney’s animation operations since Walt Disney died in 1966, he said he wants to reclaim the studio’s golden era."

...What I like about the article is that Lasseter seems to understand what makes Disney special is traditional 2D animation, so he's not trying to make it Pixar. I also love the fact that John respects the idea of "the story" above all. And if I had to bet, my thinking is that we'll be seeing some nice animation coming from the magic kingdom in the next few months.

Here's a very silly ad for Super Rayman which features disco dancing bunnies:

Here are some silly milk commercials from Japan, I love the lion wrestling in the first one:

Here are translations of the commercials:

Commercial 1:
Boy 1: Wow, you really like milk, don't you?
Boy 2: Milk makes you strong dude.
Boy 1: Makes you strong...[Begins to fantasize]

Commercial 2:
Girl 1: Wow, you sure are drinking a lot of milk.
Girl 2: Milk makes you beautiful
Girl 1: Makes you beautiful...(start]

Commercial 3:
Same, but "milk improves your concentration"
Last line: Why don't we get on with the class?

Found via Adrift In the Happy Hills.

All of my fanbiy friends have been talking about this for weeks: The anime film Paprika is hitting theaters May 25th and is well worth checking out:

Here's an overview of the plot:

"29 year old Dr. Atsuko Chiba is an attractive but modest Japanese research psychotherapist whose work is on the cutting edge of her field. Her alter-ego is a stunning and fearless 18 year old "dream detective," code named PAPRIKA, who can enter into people's dreams and synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the source of their anxiety or neurosis."

It looks like spending a billion dollars is too much to spend to look for killer asteroids that might wipe out life as we know it:

NASA Can't Pay for Killer Asteroid Hunt

"The cost to find at least 90 percent of the 20,000 potentially hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about $1 billion, according to a report NASA will release later this week. The report was previewed Monday at a Planetary Defense Conference in Washington.

Congress in 2005 asked NASA to come up with a plan to track most killer asteroids and propose how to deflect the potentially catastrophic ones. "We know what to do, we just don't have the money," said Simon "Pete" Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center.

These are asteroids that are bigger than 460 feet in diameter - slightly smaller than the Superdome in New Orleans. They are a threat even if they don't hit Earth because if they explode while close enough - an event caused by heating in both the rock and the atmosphere - the devastation from the shockwaves is still immense. The explosion alone could have with the power of 100 million tons of dynamite, enough to devastate an entire state, such as Maryland, they said.

The agency is already tracking bigger objects, at least 3,300 feet in diameter, that could wipe out most life on Earth, much like what is theorized to have happened to dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But even that search, which has spotted 769 asteroids and comets - none of which is on course to hit Earth - is behind schedule. It's supposed to be complete by the end of next year."

I think the English Jedi should fight this by bringing the issue to the EU as "freedom of religion" issue:

Jedi denounce UK sabre ban plan

"The UK's Jedi community today expressed concerns that government plans to ban Samurai swords could hinder their freedom to wield lightsabres in public. The UK's Home Office today issued a consultation paper ahead of legislation intended to ban Samurai blades by the end of the year. In a bid to "protect the public", replica Samurai swords will become illegal to import, sell and hire in Britain.

Breaching the new rules could mean six months in prison, and a £5,000 fine. Anyone carrying such a weapon in public could faces up to four years in prison, the consultation paper suggests.

The paper notes that genuine Samurai swords would not attract the same penalties, and there are also exemptions for other specific martial arts weapons. "We recognise it is the cheap, easily available Samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial art enthusiasts," Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker. "As such as we are putting forward exemptions for these groups."

The key word here is 'replica'. No one has yet built a working lightsabre, leaving the UK's would-be Obi-Wans inevitably having to wield plastic, flick-of-the-wrist-to-extend weapons in duels with Sith Lords, remotes and, occasionally, each other.

But Jedi fear that the Samurai ban would leave them exposed to future legislation against other forms of imitation weaponry that would, Jedi Temple (Neasden) spokesman Indi-Anna Jones warned today."

Here's a new longer trailer for the new Aqua Team Hunger Force film:

The official website for the film is kingcolon.com.

Maybe the United States should do a joint mission so we can all get back to the moon sooner? It's sad for me to think how old I'll be until I see another person walking on the moon:

China designer: Moonshot possible in 15 years

"China's leading space vehicle expert predicts the nation will be able to send astronauts to the moon within 15 years, state media reported on Tuesday.

Huang Chunping, chief vehicle designer of the country's manned spaceflight program, said that goal was dependent on Beijing providing adequate funding and on holding successful project launches ahead of a moon launch, according to the Xinhua news agency.

"The goal to land an astronaut on the moon can surely be achieved in 15 years," Huang said while attending the annual full session of the country's top political advisory body."

Wipe that smile off your face! This is the ultimate fanboy bathroom accessory:

Manga Toilet Paper Announced
Famous newspaper manga artist and TV Talent Yakumi Tsuru to launch line of manga toilet paper

"TV Commentator and 4-panel manga artist Yakumi Tsuru (real name: Hatakeyama Hideki) announced on Friday that paper goods company Banbix will be selling toilet paper with his manga drawings and 4 panel comics printed on it. The toilet paper, called "Food Toipe", can be purchased in cases of 50 rolls from the Banbix website for 8,500 yen (approximately 80 US Dollars), and will be available as of March 2nd."

If you speak Japanese you can order the toilet paper here.

I was pretty amazed to see that Captain America was featured on the front page of the New York Times (click on the thumbnail above to see the screenshot at full size). Yes I know it's not the print edition of the Times, but it's still pretty cool from a fanboy point of view! Afterall this is the newspaper that's too snotty to carry daily cartoon strips (except for the editorial ones on Sunday). But sadly for Captian America, he's been shot dead:

Captain America Is Dead; National Hero Since 1941

"Captain America, a Marvel Entertainment superhero, is fatally shot by a sniper in the 25th issue of his eponymous comic, which arrived in stores yesterday. The assassination ends the sentinel of liberty’s fight for right, which began in 1941.

The last episode in Captain America’s life comes after the events of “Civil War,” a seven-issue mini-series that has affected nearly the entire line of Marvel’s library of titles. In “Civil War,” the government began requiring superheroes to register their services, and it outlawed vigilantism after supervillains and superheroes fought during a reality show, accidentally killing hundreds of civilians. The public likened the heroes to weapons of mass destruction that must be controlled.

The registration act polarized the superhero community. Captain America (whose true identity was Steve Rogers) considered the legislation an erosion of civil liberties; Iron Man, on the other side, believed that training heroes as the military, firefighters or the police are trained would only benefit society. When the factions came to blows and caused more destruction, Captain America chose to fight his battle in court."

The Shatner fanboy in me loves the Rocketman reference:

Why just settle for watching Battlestar Galactica when you can star in your own episode? Taking a page from the Star Wars Kid the Battlestar Galactica Videomaker Toolkit allows you to create your own four minute sci fi epic. And a lucky few fanboys (or perhaps fangurls) will have their video broadbast on an upcoming episode of Galactica:

scifi.com/battlestar/videomaker

No word on if Spielberg would make Tintin into animation or live action, but it's a sure thing that he'd do a good job with any film that features a kid and cute doggie:

Spielberg to tackle adventures of Tintin

"Tintin, the heroic young journalist and adventurer created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, is set to take to the silver screen again — this time with the help of Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg and his company DreamWorks have committed to produce at least one Tintin movie and are gearing up for pre-production on the film, Nick Rodwell, head of Hergé's Moulinsart Studios, which holds the rights to Tintin, said Thursday.

"If movie No. 1 works, we will continue," Rodwell said, adding that it is still unclear which of Tintin's adventures — depicted in 24 books — will be filmed. A completed movie could show up in theatres by 2009 or 2010, Rodwell told a press conference.

Since his debut in 1929, Tintin has enthralled comic readers with his ongoing adventures. In 2004, fans around the world celebrated his 75th birthday."

Kuso Kuso is a new comedy tv show from Taiwan. Comedian Zhang Shao Wei is the host who is dressed in drag and he has seven cute girls in the cast that he calls his "daughters". Here's a clip of the show with a pet theme:

I discovered Włatcy Móch via YouTube, the show is an animated comedy series from Poland and reminds me a great deal of South Park. There's very little information on the show in English, but I was lucky enough to find a wikipedia entry for Włatcy Móch, however it's in Polish (and Google has yet to make a Polish to English translation tool). But from what I can see the show went on the air in 2006 in Poland on TV4 and is now in it's second season. About 13 episodes have been made so far (the show is in it;s second season), and the title seems to refer to the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.

Here is part one of the first episode (lesson one):

It's great to see Quentin riding high again, I'm already spotting Grind House posters but this project with Larry Bishop looks like fun:

Tarantino and Bishop Start "Hell Rider"

"Biker-movie veteran Larry Bishop, is set to begin filming this spring on "Hell Ride." The movie will be a blood and sex-soaked tale of motorcycle revenge and retribution under the "Quentin Tarantino Presents" banner.The "chopper opera" has Bishop starring, writing, directing and producing along with Tarantino.

Bishop will play bad-ass biker Pistolero, (named after the original title for Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado") who along with his brother The Gent and Comanche, hit the road to avenge the death of Pistolero's old lady Cherokee Kisum, by the 666ers a rival motorcycle gang. Production is scheduled to start late April in Los Angeles."

This latest Pocky commercial features the talents of Aya Matsuura, Yukie Nakama, Ishihara Satomi, and Kou Shibasaki:

Great news for fanboys who like comic book samurai:

Frank Miller's Ronin Finds A New Master

"In spite of the casting uncertainty and production rumors surrounding Sin City 2, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of Frank Miller material headed to the big screen. The opening date of 300 is looming closer, and now IESB has posted the news of the latest Miller graphic novel to be chosen for a film adaptation. 300 producer Gianni Nunnari has confirmed that he is already planning his next project -- an adaptation of Miller's Ronin. Ronin is the story of a dishonored 13th century samurai existing in an apocalyptic New York packed with mutants, cannibals, and a reincarnated demon while on a quest for redemption. The story has a little bit of everything; Miller himself has described it as "a superhero, science fiction, samurai drama, urban nightmare, gothic romance."

On board to direct this delicate balance of a movie is the unlikely choice of Sylvian White, whose most memorable credit so far is the teen dance drama Stomp The Yard. In a recent interview with White about the project, he answered the question foremost in the mind of fans -- are they sticking to the original story? White admits that some cuts will be made, saying, "Ronin is very dense and very long, so of course we are going to have to streamline the story to fit it within a movie time frame. " Sin City definitely raised the bar when it comes to comic book films, so hopefully White can keep up."

Akihabara48 (often shortened to AKB48) is an idol girl group produced by Akimoto Yasushi. Though their name implies they have 48 members, they started in December 2005 with only 20 girls. Currently, AKB48 has 53 members divided into 3 teams: Team A, Team K and Team B.

Right now DoCoMo mobile phone in Japan has an American Idol style commercial which features A48:

This story reminds a great deal of one of my favorite anime shows "The Big O" which features an entire city that has lost it memories. Well it seems that the ability to remove memories might become reality, scientists working on a treatment for Post-traumatic stress disorder have succeeded in erasing a single memory from a lab rat. Selective amnesia drug U0126 has been shown to remove fear from lab rats who were shocked while listening to two different musical pieces. While this treatment may not work in humans it does open up an avenue of research:

Wipe out a single memory

"The brain secures memories by transferring them from short-term to long-term storage, through a process called reconsolidation. It has been shown before that this process can be interrupted with drugs. But Joseph LeDoux of the Center for Neural Science at New York University and his colleagues wanted to know how specific this interference was: could the transfer of one specific memory be meddled with without affecting others? "Our concern was: would you do something really massive to their memory network?" says LeDoux.

To find out, they trained rats to fear two different musical tones, by playing them at the same time as giving the rats an electric shock. Then, they gave half the rats a drug known to cause limited amnesia (U0126, which is not approved for use in people), and reminded all the animals, half of which were still under the influence of the drug, of one of their fearful memories by replaying just one of the tones.

When they tested the rats with both tones a day later, untreated animals were still fearful of both sounds, as if they expected a shock. But those treated with the drug were no longer afraid of the tone they had been reminded of under treatment. The process of re-arousing the rats' memory of being shocked with the one tone while they were drugged had wiped out that memory completely, while leaving their memory of the second tone intact."

In this 1982 commercial William Shatner is selling "the wonder computer of the 80s" which is the Commodore Vic20. I love how the commercial starts with him being beamed in, and better yet he's doing his Captain Kirk voice:

I do have to admit that the $300 price tag was a plus, I had a later version of the computer ( a C64) in the late 80s which was a great computer to start with even if it didn't have lower case letters and lacked a floppy disc!

Tanpopo (タンポポ dandelion) was the first official subgroup of J-Pop girl group Morning Musume. They sang slow and mature songs and, eventually, the style of their songs changed. As with all things J-Pop their lineup changed over the years, and ended with fifth lineup of the group in 2002 before they went on an indefinate hiatus. But looking back to the good old days, here is a super cute commercial for "Koi wo Shichaimashita!" which came out in early 2001:

Some people just have too much time on their hands, but then I see something like this that blows me out of the water! Some fanboy made a Wii out of Lego bricks, but the cool part is what's inside the box:

Found via Joystiq.

If you want to learn animation from one the best, here's your chance! Shown in this series of videos is animation legend Glen Keane, the animation director of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Tarzan holding a lecture at Cal Arts in the early 90s (found via Erlend Dal Sakshuag):

Also check out the updated Transformers website for other goodies...

Alex Toth passed away last year at the age of 77. Along with Will Eisner and Jack Kirby, Toth is considered one of the giants of adventure comics. ASIFA-Hollywood's website AnimationArchive.org has a great collection of high resolution scans of his model sheets for shows like Birdman and Sampson.

They should have done this years ago! John Musker and Ron Clements are co-directing this new film, so it looks like Disney is starting to go into a much better direction at long last:

Disney introduces its first black princess

"The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called "The Frog Princess," which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio's first black princess. The company unveiled the plans at its annual shareholders' meeting in New Orleans.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard. He called the film "an American fairy tale."

"The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture," Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said. Disney said its new animated princess -- Maddy -- will be added to its collection of animated princesses used at the company's theme parks and on consumer products. The film is set for release in 2009."

Teresa is one of the best creature makers I've ever met! One of her latest creations is Frankenbunny (seen above). What I love about Therea's work is that the dolls always have this great expression on their faces, they're also always very well dressed - it makes you want to hang out with them! Check out her Flickr account and fun website:

Sewingstars.com

"Color Me Kubrick" is a new film that stars John Malkovich, Kubrick fans are going to love all the inside jokes in this film:

"For months Alan Conway, a perfect stranger, passed himself off as one of the greatest film directors of all time, Stanley Kubrick. Conway knew nothing of the filmmaker or his films, but this didn’t prevent him from using and abusing the credulity of those who thought they had come in contact with the mythical and equally discreet director."

Check out the trailer here and the official website here.

Looks pretty sweet, no? I guess we'll have to wait until May to see the film...

Found via FirstShowing.net

This looks like it might be a fun film:

Jackie vs Jet in Kings of Kung Fu

"The much anticipated movie “J & J Project” or “双Ｊ计划” starring kung fu star Jackie Chan (成龙) and Jet Li (李连杰) has changed the title into “Kings of Kung Fu” or “功夫之王”. The movie will start shooting in late April or early May.

The movie tells a story about an American boy Jason who travels back into ancient China with special mission. Jason meets with action master Lu Yan (鲁彦) played by Jackie Chan and Jin Yanzi (金燕子), plus a silent monk played by Jet Li. They overcome many difficulties and defeat the evil power. In the end, they finish the redemption of saving the Monkey King. It is the first time that the two action superstars cross swords and is worthy of attention.

Renowned American director Rob Minkoff of “Lion King” will helm the movie and the screenplay is written by John Fusco. The Chinese kung fu, legends and myths from Western angel must be fresh and interesting to Chinese audience. It is still not dicided yet who will play the two key female roles in the movie – Jin Yanzi and Bai Fa Mo Nv (白发魔女 or White Devil)."

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Gumby, all 200+ Gumby episodes will soon be available in full length on YouTube and other video sites. Each episode includes the original soundtrack and has been digitally remastered by Art Clokey, the son of Gumby creator Joe Clokey. The first Gumby episode, Gumby on the Moon, is here:

Poor Mospeng-kun! In anime films robots get to blow up things and explore outer space, but Mospeng-kun is stuck handing out tissues:

Mospeng-kun is designed by InterRobot Inc., a robot development and rental company based in western Japan.

This is fantastic! Someone has gone ahead and done a side-by-show showing panels of the comic book 300 next to to stills. The funny thing is that they're pretty darn close, check out this great Flickr slideshow:

Comic to Screen Comparison of '300'

Found via Solace in Cinema.