“First two pages of an 8-page movie-trailer-esque preview of the comic– it’s called DEAD IN THE NOW. I’m making the preview for an online comic site, for possible serialization of the whole shabang. I’ll let you all know when the full teaser is up for the world to enjoy.”
…I love the look of what he has so far, I hope he’ll do more with it!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 17, 2007 in Animation
Before Astro Boy went on the air in 1963 (although it was a well known manga before that), Osamu Tezuka made the above experimental animated film Male in 1962.
The film was made in a hurry to meet the exhibition date and is a Tezuka take on the novel Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (”I am a Cat”) by the Japanese author Natsume Soseki. The novel was written in 1905-1906 (about a hundred years ago!) and is a satire on Japanese society in the time of the Meiji Emperor. In the novel a cat observes his master’s ordinary life, however Tezuka’s twist in the film is that his cat observes an extremely odd situation in which a man kills the woman he loves and then waits for the police to come.
Although Tezuka would go on to experience success with his more commercial work he did continue to make a few more very well done experimental shorts including my favorites Broken Down Film and Jumping.
“When Tasha’s mom brings home an annoying hack novelist boyfriend, Jed, and his deadpan daughter, her dysfunctional family is headed for a complete mental meltdown. But Tasha has her blog, BLABBERMOUTH, as the ultimate weapon — and she’s not afraid to use it. Especially when she starts to suspect that the obnoxious Jed has a guilty secret that goes far beyond his bad prose.”
The artwork is by Aaron Alexovich and the story is by Mike Carey and Louise Carey – and cooler yet is that Louise is Mike’s 15-year-old daughter! I also have to admit the idea of having a blog as central plot device is always a good way to get notice in another blog…
It’s not as good as having your own sushi robot, but this automatic sushi roller from toymaker Bandai Namco is amazing! Here are the instructions thanks to Google translate:
1. The boiled rice tool material is set to the transparent seat part of the substance.
2. The steering wheel is turned round and round.
3. Inserting the paste, when it turns the steering wheel again, the paste keeps being sucked.
4. It is completion! (Size of the kanpyo roled in rice and seaweed is length approximately 9.5cm)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 15, 2007 in Japanese TV
Shown above is Nicholas Cage in a somewhat silly Japanese pachinko TV commercial. I may date myself but I still associate Cage with the 1983 film Valley Girl which had an amazing new wave soundtrack.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 15, 2007 in Star Trek
These classic Star Trek action figures are made for action! Nope you won’t see a wussy Jean-Luc Picard figurine holding a cup of Earl Gray Tea with his pinky sticking out, nah this set features Kirk with a phaser set to kill and a Klingon pal ready to rumble:
“Ah, the 70s. So many things happened which affected Geekdom forever. Perhaps the most important thing to happen was the introduction and proliferation of Mego action figures. There were tons of cool figures to choose from, but the Star Trek figs held a special place in our hearts. And now the great folks at Diamond Select have made wonderful reproductions for a whole new generation of Mego fans.”
“Japanese comic book shops have been the surprise beneficiaries of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s shock exit. Shares in retailers selling the “manga” cartoon strips surged on belief that manga-fan Taro Aso is the leading candidate to replace Mr Abe. Mr Aso, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is a big promoter of manga cartoons abroad.
While the main Tokyo market fell after Mr Abe’s resignation, manga-linked stocks like publisher Broccoli rose. The Nikkei 225 index of the largest Japanese shares fell 0.5% as political uncertainty led investors to drop out of the market until the situation became clearer. But investors pounced on manga publishers and bookshops selling the fantastical cartoon strips.”
I don’t know if the film will be as good as the promotional artwork shown above (sort of reminds me of a cross between King Kong and the Towering Inferno) but Dragon Wars will be hitting theaters today. The trailer below looks cute, although I have to admit that the Korean subtitles may make the film seem more interesting than it may actually be:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 14, 2007 in Japanese TV
Chiaki Kuriyama is best known to me for her role as Gogo Yubari from the film Kill Bill, but shown above is a recent ad she did for Glico Ice Cream in Japan. The commercial is sweet, but as a fanboy I wish it had some martial arts action!
