What people think they know vs what really happened.

And a dose of snark.

http://www.shortpacked.com/McNaughton%20Fine%20Art.htm

(via threepanelsoul.com)

Dandelion

Tsutomu Yamazaki IS JAPANESE JOHN WAYNE.

Goddess, I want a bowl of ramen.

At least, for Tampopo, a movie about life, love, and food. Also, a ramen shop.

Credit: http://www.onmyplate.org/2008/01/izakaya-matsu.html

Mixing a love of food, a “noodle” western storyline, a pythonesque sense of editing, and JAPANESE JOHN WAYNE, Tampopo’s pretty funny. I won’t give anything away beyond that, so try to enjoy it. :p

—–

Our subsequent after-showing showing consists of:

Eat-man ‘98

Eat metal, extrude guns.

and

Nodame Cantabile.

Picture vaguely related to subject matter.

They’re both pretty good.

Eat-Man’s good because it basically gave us the modern animated wandering quiet bad-ass.

Nodame Cantabile’s about musicians. Since they’re musicians, they’re already quirky and require no hyperbolic exaggeration of character. Makes an easy transition to live-action.

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Tatsunoko vs Capcom

In commemoration of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, we’re showing some Tatsunoko shows tonight.

Too bad I have no idea we’re showing. Probably

SoulTaker

Actually, as I was watching, I kept thinking, "Devilman".

and Nurse Witch Komugi.

I have no comments. All I can tell from image search is that there will be fanservice.

There is the off chance we will show

Casshern Sins,

No, he's not actually as large as a galaxy.

if someone found that.

On a slightly related note, we will probably set up a Wii and play some TvC.

…

Yeah, this first week feels under-prepared-for.

———

Final decisions on the after-showing showings are being made.

I’m pretty sure the live action drama will be

“Nodame Cantabile“.

Nodame!

Learning Your Alphabet the Megaman Way

You find strangely adorable things on the internet.

I would put the video itself here, but… Don’t feel like installing a Firefox add-on and reloading 20+ tabs.

Instead, you get an address, enjoy. :p

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/60433.html

———-

Also, what do people want to read? Sure, I could update with random stuff, but it would be nice to know what people want to read, so that relevant information can get posted here.

For example, we could have “Omoide wa Okkusenman”. the original recording (which grates on the ears, by the way), sung by JAM Project (doing a Niconico Douga tribute), and (utilizing Wily’s Theme) a hilarious (and a bit disturbing) version about a casual lesbian encounter, as videos you might be interested in.

(Don’t look up the male version. For one, it’s sung pretty badly)

Or perhaps news about various series?

Kimi ni Todoke has been green-lit for a live action film (as reported by ANN).

Dunno how many people would be interested, but Manga is releasing Summer Wars, a movie about a girl bringing a club junior to a family reunion in an attempt to seem like she has a significant other, in the UK in September. Of course, there’s the usual hijinks, but then you include the war in cyberspace being fought in a 3D virtual environment over the most ubiquitous network in that world, OZ. The visit home proves to be an interesting framing device for this war, which then serves as a framing device for the message of how people want to connect with others (from ANN).

The shrine that serves as the backdrop in the opening as well as residence for the miko twins in Lucky Star had a record 450 000 visitors this New Year’s (everything I get, I get from ANN).

エアーマンが倒せない

Here’s my attempt at making the translated lyrics sound more natural:

Can’t Beat Airman

-Team Nekokan

-Sourced from: http://www.gugalyrics.com/AIR-MAN-GA-TAOSENAI-LYRICS/328452/

I just realized that I’ve been playing through the same screen
and dying in the same spot.
Doggedly challenging the disappearing tiles, but soon falling.

If I only had Item #2, I could make it to the other side, but…
Though I keep trying, though I keep trying… I can’t beat Airman.
I can’t dodge that whirlwind, though I keep trying.
Jumping into flank and firing repeatedly, I still get blown off.
Even using rapid fire is meaningless versus the whirlwind.
So that I can definitely win the next, I save the E-tank until the last moment.

I just realized that I only have a bit of life left
and I end up using the E tank in the same spot.
Doggedly barely reaching Airman but I don’t have any lives left

If I only had the Leaf Shield I could beat Airman, but…
Though I keep trying, though I keep trying… I can’t beat Woodman.
I can’t dodge the falling leaves, though I keep trying.
Taking his six and staying far, the space between us still disappears.
Even using rapid fire is meaningless versus his agility.
So that I can definitely win the next, I save the E-tank until the last moment.

If I only had Item #2, I could make it to the other side, but…
Though I keep trying, though I keep trying… I can’t beat Airman.
I can’t dodge that whirlwind, though I keep trying.
Jumping into flank and firing repeatedly, I still get blown off.
Even using rapid fire is meaningless versus the whirlwind.
So that I can definitely win the next, I save the E-tank until the last moment.

—–

気がついたら同じ面ばかりプレイ
そしていつも同じ場所で死ぬ
諦めずに消える足場に挑戦するけど、すぐに下に落ちるよ

アイテム２号があれば楽に向こうの岸まで着くけど
何回やっても　何回やっても　エアーマンが倒せないよ
あの竜巻何回やっても避けれない
うしろに回って撃ち続けてもいずれは風に飛ばされる
タイム連打も試してみたけど竜巻相手じゃ意味が無い
だから次は絶対勝つために僕はE缶だけは最後までとっておく

気がついたらライフももう少ししかない
そしていつもそこでE缶使う
諦めずにエアーマンまでたどり着くけれど、すぐに残機なくなる

リーフシールドがあれば楽にエアーマンを倒せるけど
何回やっても　何回やっても　ウッドマンが倒せないよ
落ちる木の葉は何回やっても避けれない
後に下がって距離をとってもいずれは距離を詰められる
タイム連打も試してみたけどあいつのジャンプはくぐれない
だから次は絶対勝つために僕はE缶だけは最後までとっておく

アイテム２号があれば楽に向こうの岸まで着くけど
何回やっても　何回やっても　エアーマンが倒せないよ
あの竜巻何回やっても避けれない
うしろに回って撃ち続けてもいずれは風に飛ばされる
タイム連打も試してみたけど竜巻相手じゃ意味が無い
だから次は絶対勝つために僕はE缶だけは最後までとっておく

Because I Tend to Go Over Previously Covered Topics Again; We All Do, I Just Admit to It.

The two clips are from the same part of “Mimi wo Sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart)“, one of those Ghibli films that doesn’t feel cutoff, like those adapted from longer series of novels (I’m looking at you, “Howl no Ugoku Shiro” and “Gedo Senki“). The source material is short enough so that the movie covers it all without feeling disjointed from the myriad plotlines going in many directions (“Majo no Takkyubin“, you, too.).

Yes!

No!

For the second video, why couldn’t they just use the original lyrics of the song? Does the Denver estate have that tight control over that song?

Original song:

Never mind that I barely remember my year in Virginia, still makes me feel nostalgic.

———-

On a tangent:

Don’t know if this is going to show, but apparently, Dwight sang a German version of the lyrics at one point. Bwhahaha.

While I’m at it, Romanian version:

and French:

Reggae:

Aaaand the approximate year it got popular in Japan: 1976

Apparently, “Country Roads” was so popular, they made domestic lyrics for it. Which got used in above movie.

Gah.

It’s kinda sad to start the new year with such depressing news, but:

For Some in Japan, Home Is a Tiny Plastic Bunk

Yeah, those cheap capsule hostels? The housing of choice for an increasingly hard up population.

And the worst of it is, it’s only the predecessor to the cubicle living we always said we’ll have in the future.

In dystopic futures.

お正月おめでとう!

Happy New Year, everyone!

謹賀新年!

새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Bonne Année!

And lots of other languages I don’t remember it for.

Ripping off SE.

So, back in 2007, Korean singer Ivy partook in a music video for her classical music remix song, “Sonata of Temptation” (I don’t care what those youtubers say, it translates idiomatically to this, not “Temptation of Sonata”). Anyway, there was some controversy because it was, frame-for-frame, a recreation of the church fight scene between Loz and Tifa in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

As I was watching this, my thoughts ran to, “RIPOFF”, like many of you. However, that was my initial thought; as I continued to watch, my thoughts ran to, “Ok, if someone ripping off a video game can create a believable fantastical fight scene, why can’t directors with a better budget and allegedly better staff, not working on a music video, do the same or better quality of a fantasy fight scene? Think about it. Think about how fake it feels to see some choreographed fights. You can tell that punches don’t land, yet the “victim” reacts as if hit with a railgun. You can tell how fake it is, and it ruins the suspension of disbelief. So, how come a music video for a singer gets a believable fantasy fighting scene?

In the end, my thoughts are that of: DAMMIT DIRECTORS I WANT MORE BELIEVABLE UNBELIEVABLE FIGHT SCENES, filmed live-action-ish.

Wrapping it up.

I’m not referring to presents.

Anyway, 2009 is coming to an end, everyone! I hope you’ve got your Christmas shopping done if you’re Christian or like to celebrate it like the cultish worshippers of a Middle-Eastern based deity, feasting and singing around a totem of renewal and fertility, placed conspicuously in their homes. If you’re Jewish… I’ve got nothing. I don’t even know when Chanukah is. I don’t know what the Muslims do at this time of year, except maybe giving thanks that the Christians are stupid enough to give non-believers a free, mandated holiday. I’m pretty sure there aren’t that many winter holidays for Buddhists… hell any holiday, really. I’m also running out of religions that I’m even vaguely familiar with.

This week(read: today)’s showing is all about wrapping up what we’ve been watching, if you hung around long enough to watch the episodes of Abenobashi with us, every week. However, before we do that, we’re gonna show you some other stuff, mainly to fill the time.

This week is:

とある科学の超電磁砲 / A Certain Scientific Railgun

Hey, look! Characters that you won't see, because this is a side-story! Also, the loli with double ponytails is completely stalkeriffic/pervy for the main heroine. (Also, I'm not convinced this was the best picture, but there really aren't that many good group images out there. For example, the only other group image I could find that was sizable and looked good:)

The four main characters for Railgun.

and

アベノ橋 魔法☆商店街 / Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi

Main Cast! Except for Arumi's mom. She gets, like, no screen time.

Railgun is a side-story, a spin-off, of another series, called A Certain Magical Index. No prior knowledge is really required, as Railgun is fairly stand-alone and covers its own story. Knowledge of the main series does give you some in-show nods, but they’re not a huge part of the show. I guess I can spoil you by telling you that there’s one guy with the ability to block or negate other abilities, called Imagine Breaker, and that our heroine is can be an aggressive person with a need to compete. Thing is, that’s not really important for the first three episodes, other than as a nod. Also, the show is hilarious. Especially if you like crazed pervo lolis ambushing/jumping their target, the “cool” high school girl. “Cool” because other than being incredibly powerful, she’s about as normal a high school girl as they come.

Abenobashi has nearly come to a head! We’re showing the last three episodes in a row, because we really should finish the show before we break for the winter. Anyway, the synopsis is: WWII, introspection, happy ending. That’s about it. I’m not going to extensively spoil it, because it’s worth watching on its own merit.

アキハバラ@DEEP(Akihabara@DEEP)’s last episode is immensely hilarious and I’m not gonna talk about it any more, because it’s frickin’ awesomely hilarious.