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Perfect Blue
By Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura, Michael McCarty (III)
see related |
Friday, June 27. A Conversation with Satoshi
Kon.
Satoshi Kon is the legendary anime film director.
His films are proof that some anime definitely aren’t for children. Kon’s works
blend dreams and reality, hallucinations and fantasy until you’re lost in a sea
of nightmares. I highly recommend his films to everyone, not just anime fans.
And on Friday night, he made an appearance at Lincoln Center! OMG SATOSHI KON IN
PERSON!!! And he revealed some veeeery interesting tidbits ;)
The night started with a screening of Paprika,
which is an absolute visual treat. Then came an hour and a half of conversation
with Kon, along with some highlights of his works. They first showed a clip
from Perfect Blue (the rape scene), and Kon admitted that looking back now, he
feels really sorry for putting Mima through all of that (“kawaii sou”). He also
talked about perspective, and watching the watchers. For example, in Perfect
Blue and in Millennium Actress, people watch the cameramen film the actors. At
this point, Kon pulled out a camera and took a picture of us. Suddenly, the
audience and the watchers had become the watched. Of course, someone in the
audience just had to take a picture of Kon taking a picture of us..lol.
The conversation shifted over to Tokyo Godfathers.
For those who haven’t seen the film, one of the main characters is a
transvestite named Hana. Kon admitted that when doing the research for the
film, he himself dressed up like Hana! HAHAHA
Kon also admitted that while making Paranoia Agent,
he didn’t know how it would end, because if he did, then the audience might
also get a sense of how it would end. The problem came by episodes ten or
eleven (the entire series is 13 episodes). The scriptwriters didn’t know how to
end the story, so they asked Kon..but he was also befuddled! Now, in the story
of Paranoia Agent, this boy called ‘Shounen Bat’ goes around whacking and killing
people who are stressed out and want to die. Kon said that while trying to
finish Paranoia Agent, he himself was so stressed with all the pressure that he
felt like Shounen Bat was actually going to get him too!
Someone asked Kon about the Akihabara killings, and
he said that apparently, the perpetrator didn’t care about who his victims
were. He just wanted to kill people. If so, then maybe the identity of the
perpetrator doesn’t matter, either. The perpetrator could have been anyone, and
this was highly disturbing.
Kon was asked about the otaku subculture. He said
that he could have been characterized as an otaku in middle school, and he
encouraged being passionate about things in life. Kon did warn us about keeping
balance in our lives though, heh.
Someone asked Kon about being an animator. He
replied that animators in Japan are poorer
than you could possibly think, lol.
To sum up, Kon was really friendly and funny. He
told us that when meeting his fans, most fans tell him ‘I thought you would be
much scarier!’ But he’s actually pretty cool irl. I even got his signature! ^^
(to be precise, he signed my Death Note. I hope he wasn’t thinking of his face
when he signed it…) | | |
| Hi everyone!
So, it's been a month since I moved back to NYC. And it's been one hell of a month. The thing I love about this city is that there's always something to do, whether it's just meeting old friends again (<3), to participating (and winning) street game festivals, to anime conventions! 
_____________________________________________________________________________
During that hellish week of searching and moving into my apartment, I found time for Japan Day in NYC.
http://japandaynyc.org
I went to see Halcali, since I absolutely adore them and especially their song 'Tip Taps Tip,' one of the ending themes to the anime Eureka 7. They were awesome and cute and fun and I love them to death. But the rest of the festival was a lot of fun too. There was a humanoid robot who looked like a regular 19-year-old Japanese girl. You could even talk to her: people asked her questions and she responded just like a real girl. As for the performance by Japanese singer 'Shota Shimizu,' I probably would've enjoyed it more if it weren't for all the rabid fangirls yelling 'SHOTA AISHITERU!!' I really had a blast watching and listening to the performance by 'happyfunsmile,' a band that fuses traditional Japanese folk songs and enka ballads with modern western styles. They even had a girl with a gothic meido costume...
..Well, I thought it was a girl. Until I heard her talk. Yeah my pronouns are all messed up...lol
_____________________________________________________________________________
Next up: http://comeoutandplay.org!!
The fun started Friday, June 6. Chris and I showed up for 'Wiffle Hurling MV,' a game similar to lacrosse I think, except everyone carried musical instruments as well. Everyone quickly forgot about the instruments though, as this was a full-contact sport with diving, sliding, and vicious hurling (omg I washed my Hitsugaya t-shirt and there's STILL blood on it). We went down 1-0, when Chris sent the ball across the face of the goal, posing no threat whatsoever to the goal. Inexplicably, the goalie went for it and sent it straight into the back of the net. 1-1! In the second half, the lone goal was from our side. A clean 2-1 victory, and a great start for clan oWn in this street game festival.
In the evening, we played 'Comfort of Strangers.' Well, signups were in a bar, so Chris, being only 20, couldn't get in (why would you hold opening ceremonies in a bar..). The game had around 40 people divided into two teams. In this game, you walk around with special GPS-based headphones; you score a point when you bump into someone on your team, and you lose a point when you come across an enemy. As it turned out, Dan and I were on the same side. Chris was wearing my ipod headphones but he sure tricked a lot of people. I ended up with the maximum score of 20, and our team beat the other team by about 300-200. 2-0 for clan oWn.
Saturday! clan oWn fought long and hard at Fort Amsterdam. We were the British side, so of course I went around yelling 'ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!' (Code Geass reference for those unenlightened of anime :P) We won the first battle gathering supplies and ammo, but disaster struck in the second part, when the evil Dutch stole the coins that rightfully were ours in an epic water balloon fight. Luckily, they grew complacent, assured of their victory; in the middle of their photoshoot, we launched a deadly counter-attack, taking back all of the precious treasure. ALL OURS, BITCHES! FINDERS KEEPERS! clan oWn 3-0.
Evening now, and it was time for Ravenchase Adventures. http://www.ravenchase.com/
These adventures are like the Da Vinci Code, or the Amazing Race--we ran around the Lower East Side finding clues and solving puzzles. Our team consisted of Dan, Chris, Ling, Andrew (someone we met on Friday who followed us around for a lot of the games), and myself. http://www.ravenchase.com/
There were about ten or so clues, and we breezed through most of them. But we couldn't find the answer to the final bonus question. We ran to the ending location (even though Andrew complained that 'it was only a game.' Nah, it's 'only a game' when you lose.) and battled to figure out this last question. We finally got the hang of it, when suddenly, it started pouring. We struggled to keep our papers dry as we scrambled furiously to connect the dots and finish this great chase. Right after we handed in all our solutions, another team handed in their completed solutions as well. We had won--barely. Hey, a win's a win! We were awarded a trophy for our efforts. clan oWn 4-0. A hard-fought win indeed.
From the Ravenchase website,
I give you the Come Out & Play standings:
1st place (1800 points): One Warrior Nation - 9:53pm
2nd place (1800 points): Yes, Please! - 9:54pm
3rd place (1800 points): Tyler Durden's Knitting Circle - 9:55pm
oWned.
And yes, those are matching Microsoft College Puzzle Challenge t-shirts. We came prepared. ;)
Our last game was Sunday afternoon at the Ministry of Silence. There were twelve players, each of them numbered, nine of them with vital information concerning a mysterious man handcuffed to a briefcase, and three of them officers. You were only allowed to talk to the person one digit below or above you. So for example, #2 could only talk to #1 or #3. If #2 talked to #8, and an officer was nearby, that officer could take away #2's card and become the new #2--the ex-officer would learn #2's clue about the mystery man as well. The goal of the game was to find out all 9 clues, free the mystery man, and take the prize in the briefcase. Chris, Dan, and I all had information, so we started off with 1/3 of the information. Through various means, scrupulous and unscrupulous, the 3 of us teamed up to obliterate the opposition into submission. Did we win? Obviously. 5-0, a perfect record for clan oWn at comeoutandplay.org. Our record speaks for itself.
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June 15 - Iron Maiden concert.
(paraphrased) 'You know, we come back to Madison Square Garden, and we see these pictures promoting gymnasts whose names I've forgotten, and wrestlers, and actors, but nothing here about Iron Maiden. [Crowd boos] You wanna know why that is? It's cuz Iron Maiden are not, have never been, and never will be in anyone's fucking establishment! [Massive crowd cheers]'
It's fucking Iron Maiden. They're fucking legends. Awesome concert, of course. \m/
Setlist:
- Intro. Churchill's Speech
- "Aces High" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "2 Minutes to Midnight" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Revelations" (From Piece of Mind, 1983)
- "The Trooper" (From Piece of Mind, 1983)
- "Wasted Years" (From Somewhere in Time, 1986)
- "The Number of The Beast" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
- "Can I Play with Madness" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Powerslave" (From Powerslave, 1984)
- "Heaven Can Wait" (From Somewhere in Time, 1986)
- "Run to the Hills" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
- "Fear of The Dark" (From Fear of The Dark, 1992)
- "Iron Maiden" (From Iron Maiden, 1980)
- "Moonchild" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "The Clairvoyant" (From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1988)
- "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (From The Number of the Beast, 1982)
_____________________________________________________________________________
June 20-22
ANIMENEXT!!
My only con before was the con at Hong Kong, and I don't speak Cantonese, so I didn't really get the full con experience there.
I certainly got the full con experience here. and omg. OH. MY. GOD. SO MUCH FUN!!! It's just amazing to be surrounded by cosplayers, so that you're in an anime world of your own. It's also great to be able to strike up a conversation with your neighbor about Lucky Star or Fate/Stay Night, or to make a joke about how gay Lelouch is, knowing that everyone in the room will laugh and get the reference.
ohgodispent200dollarsintenminutes in the dealer's room but it was SO WORTH IT. I bought a beautiful Shinku figurine (50 dollars), Tohsaka with her Azoth dagger, an Asuka schoolgirl figurine, and an Asuka gladiator figurine, complete with various assorted weapons that you can equip on her. I also got a ton of posters, calendars, and various assorted anime goodies, like a Death Note (so far, nobody's died so far though--is it malfunctioning?!).
As for events, Friday was noteworthy for Anime Parliament, where you can put anime characters on trial! The moderator was absolutely hilarious as well. Some of the decisions we made were:
-replacing Relena Peacecraft with a block of cheese
-convicting Kagome of animal abuse and dogfighting and bestiality (after all, Inuyasha is a beast!)
-making tofu-based brains so that zombies and humans could live in harmony
-and last but not least, making an army of schoolgirls to protect Anime Parliament ^^
For me, Friday finished with the concert by Rentrer en Soi, a visual kei band. Visual Kei isn't really my thing, but it was fun nevertheless.
Saturday--I started up by meeting with Wasabi from my irc channel. It was really nice to finally put a face to the name. It's funny how I know so many people through irc, but if we met on the street, we'd just be strangers. The wonders of the internet..
After watching some hilarious AMVs (including Kyon x Itsuki set to Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend'..LOL), we saw Uncle Yo, the otaku comedian. Here is one of his skits about Naruto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6N1utba-pg
Watch it! It's really funny =P
Another notable event was the 'Anime Dating Game.' The first session had Renge from Ouran trying to pick a bachelor out of a One Piece pirate..and the Ouran twins. hahahaha. GOD, SO GAY. The second session had Luffy trying to pick out of a FF character, Hinata from Naruto, and Orihime from Bleach. Lots of laughs and innuendo everywhere, lotta fun.
In the evening, the Masquerade was made of win and awesome. Here are some of the funniest skits, but they were all so well done:
Avatar. If you haven't seen it, the show is set in 'Fire Nation.' The song is pretty famous, it's 'Night of Fire' by Hinoi Team.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=J-FXJKWQy6g&feature=related
hahaha i just watched it again, so good.
Guilty Gear rendition:
(in the youtube video, the skit starts at around 3:35)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Ak5oCNnO_g
Full Metal Panic: lawlz CARAMELLDANSEN!!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gcIusKkvets&feature=related
here, have some more caramelldansen XD
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tMf6LmZHgZk&feature=related
The best skit was probably the Ouran performance, which was fucking epic. I could only find this youtube video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-LpjqhKnsY
but keep in mind that it was accompanied by video screens--so some of the wild cheers are due to the hilarity of Tamaki's 'inner mind theatre.' I loved the part at the end, when Tamaki touches Haruhi, thinking she's a boy, only to realize..it's a girl! 'WHAT THE F--' before he's dragged off--hahahaha.
Sunday: I got up nice and early to see Cosplay Chess. This was just great. There were so many wonderful moments, like Sasuke killing Nia (AWWWW BUT SHE'S SO CUTE T_T), and the announcer saying 'Well, I guess we already knew that Sasuke doesn't like girls!' lol.
or characters with an epic and long buildup only to deal the finishing blow to the opponent with: rickroll >.<
There were a million 'Ed is short' jokes. People usually don't taunt their own pieces..haha
Bandit Keith. 'IN AMERICA!'
Solid Snake and Big Boss. epic crawl ftw
Skull Kid made his presence felt on the board: even after he died, he went around bugging the announcers and camerapeople, even giving his mask away to the lucky few.
The actual game was played between Lelouch and Char Aznable. At the end, when it didn't look so hot for Lelouch, he just used Geass on Char so that Char's pieces would join the revolution. lol, lelouch is the only winner. Just As Planned.
The funniest panel in the con may have been webcomic author Michael 'Mookie' Terracciano's panel on Memorable Heroes and Villains. Did some amazing impressions and received a well-deserved standing ovation.
So that was the con. It's pretty depressing leaving the anime world and going back to work, but there's NYAF to look forward to. Umm, that's about it for now! I'll leave you with the lyrics from Halcali's song Tip Taps Tip, which I was describing about 2000 words earlier heh. Lyrics were pulled from animelyrics.com, and the music video can be found at http://youtube.com/watch?v=5CrosABbERk
| Original / Romaji Lyrics | English Translation |
|---|
Na Na Na
why so why?
Sozoshite mite YO
Just you like
SUKI na KOTO
Hitotsu dake ja nai
Kimi ga hiraku TOBIRA | Na Na Na
why so why?
Try imagining
Just you like
Things you love
There is not only one
Door you can open | Kotae wa soko ni aru no? Nai no?
I don't know. Ima mo wakan nai yo
Itsu datte bokura wa
Maigou wa otou "Just a child..."
Demo toiteku no ga tanoshii NDA
Sugu ni wa tokenai ka moshin nai
Minna hate nai HATENA
Akiramenai tokeru made wa | Is there an answer? Is there not?
I don't know. I'm still not sure
We're lost because
Adults say you're "Just a child..."
But its fun to find the solution
Though it might not be found fast
But don't give up
Until its solved | Shinpai shite mo nee
"All right!!" to itte choudai
Sei ippai IME-JI no umi oyoide...
(AKIRAMENAI DE HATENAI HATENA) | Even if you mess up its okay
"All right!!" Please say it
Swim in the sea you imagined...
(Don't give up until its solved) | Na Na Na
why so why?
Sozoshite mite YO
Just you like
SUKI na KOTO
Hitotsu dake ja nai
Kimi shika shiranai ASHITA | Na Na Na
why so why?
Try imagining
Just you like
Things you love
There is not only one
Tomorrow you will know | Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps
Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps | Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps
Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps | Te atari shinai de "nan demo II" to yuu no wakarun da
Demo II no?
Kitto heart-beat ga HINTO
Te sagarishi tatte randemo hoshii YO
Datte toite kura no ga tanoshiiN DA
Daketara hyakubai na kamoshin nai
Minna hatenai HATENA
Tashika metai dakara makenai | Feeling the circumstances
"Everything" the city wonders
Does it?
Surely the heart-beat hints
Feeling the desire to play
Because with a solution you're at ease
You tried a solution 100 times and still couldn't do it
But don't give up
Because then you can't lose | Shinpai shite mo nee
Koikaishinai de choudai
Mou ikai IME-JI no sora miagete...
(AKIRAMENAI DE HATENAI HATENA) | You're worried right?
Please don't regret it
You already can see the single image in the sky...
(Don't give up until its solved) | Na Na Na
why so why?
Sozoshite mite YO
Just you like
SUKI na KOTO
Hitotsu dake ja nai
Kimi shika mienai NANI KA | Na Na Na
why so why?
Try imagining
Just you like
Things you love
There is not only one
Thing that you can't see | Chiisana mune no KAMERA ga toraeta
Yume no KAKERA chan to uzushite
Hito KOMA hito KOMA ima o kakeru nara
Umareru yo ano DORAMA | Capture it with your small heart's camera
Perfectly coping the fragment of dream
A scene, a scene is gambled
That drama is born | Na Na Na
why so why?
Sozoshite mite YO
Just you like
SUKI na KOTO
Hitotsu dake ja nai
Kimi ga hiraku TOBIRA | Na Na Na
why so why?
Try imagining
Just you like
Things you love
There is not only one
Door you can open | Itsuka
shine your smile
Sozo koeru hodo
(Yes!) You like
SUKI ni naru
Hitotsu dake ja nai
Mata arata na TOBIRA | Someday
Shine your smile
Pass imagination's limit
(Yes!) You like
Changing the things you love
There is not only one
New door again | Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps
Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps | Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps
Tip Taps, Tip Taps, Tip Taps |
| | |
| so I don't forget about any of these awesome events =D
and yell if you want to come along for any of these~
June 1 - http://japandaynyc.org/main/
Halcali performing in Central Park! omg! I absolutely love their song 'Tip Taps Tip,' the third ending of Eureka Seven, and Halcali's other songs are very imaginative and creative too.
June 6-8 - http://comeoutandplay.org/
Street game festival in NYC! From the Amazing Race to Capture the Flag to Mafia, but all with unique twists. and I'll be playing these with my minions in clan oWn. time to pwn irl games
June 15 - Iron Maiden concert \m/
June 20-22 - http://www.animenext.org/
Anime convention in the Meadowlands. Dunno much about it, but conventions are always fun~
June 27 - Paprika screening at Lincoln Center followed by a discussion with Satoshi Kon himself!
I love Satoshi Kon's films. They always blur the line between dreams and waking life, between fantasy and reality, between truth and lies, until you're lost in a sea of lies and deception. and it's oh so well done.
September 26-28 - http://www.nyanimefestival.com/
Not gonna miss it this year!
and 3 great metal concerts coming up:
September 21 - Helloween + Gamma Ray
kai hansen ftw
September 27 - Nightwish
i wanted to go three years ago, but tarja left the band and the concert was canceled.
October 15 - Kamelot + Edguy
i've seen kamelot twice already..and it's always been a blast. | | |
| Yeah sure Will, you can be in my novel. In fact, anyone who wants to be in my novel/help write my novel, give me the following:
3 normal spells + your ult
hero model
melee/ranged
uhh...okay for non-dota characters:
character name
personality/character traits
time/place where your character lives (can be any setting!)
any story/background
or you could be lazy and just write your name, lol.
in other news, i hiked up 'the Peak' with a couple friends on saturday. it was a night of complete contrasts. one moment we were hiking up an uphill mountain trail in almost complete darkness, using the light from cellphones to see ahead. all of a sudden, as we reached the top, the trees on our left gave way to a brilliant panoramic view of all of Hong Kong's lights. we could see all the artificial skyscrapers acting as beacons of modernity and technology, spreading light across the harbor. really a glorious view. afterwards, we arrived at the Peak shopping center, where hordes of tourists and locals swarmed off the Peak Tram to indulge in the hip restaurants and bars (apparently, normal people just take the train up the Peak. lol). we soon left the shopping area to return back to the trail, fading back once again into the night...
| | |
| New York Anime Festival Brings Maid Cafe to US
The New York Anime Festival,
which will be held at New York City's Javits Convention Center on
December 7-9, will be featuring a maid cafe, open for the duration of
the convention. Food at the cafe will be prepared by professional
chefs, but convention attendees who are interested in volunteering to
work in the cafe as greeters dressed in Lolita and maid outfits can
contact the NYAF's programming manager, Peter Tatara, at
ptatara@reedexpo.com for further information. At the close of the
convention, they will get to keep the dresses.
--Anime News Network
omg? maria-san!!!
more seriously..in high school everyone had these organizers. you know, so you could write down homework, tests, etc. they also had motivational quotes for every day. i still remember one of them had this to say about jobs: "find out what you love to do, and get someone to pay you to do it." is it that simple? if i love to write novels..doesn't writing pay practically nothing? hmm...
although, at least i have a purpose in life now, a dream of sorts: to finish this novel and polish it until it shines.
well, i just hit the 20,000 word mark. probably 80 or so double-spaced pages. yay.
Edit:
"But
strength, what is true strength? Please excuse my words..But hiding who you
really are and putting up a front seems like you’re running away to me. To
understand what you truly love, along with coming to terms with it..To live
positively by enjoying yourself..Isn’t that what true strength really is?" from Ouran High School Host Club, the most badass manly anime I know
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