Posts Tagged ‘Japan’

Ao from Freedom does a Planet Terror parody outside Sunrise’s entrance. Read : Authorized personnel only.
(more…)

(more…)

Model Ebihara Yuri 蛯原友里 ( known affectionately as Ebi-chan here in Japan ) strikes a pose with the Roasted Sesame Ebi Filet-O Shrimp Burger which went on sale last week.
(more…)

I’m finally back in the studio after a much needed one week break. Its amusing how I am always craving for some personal time when the 18 hour days are killing me but not haven’t the foggiest idea how to spend it well when I do get some. I took lazy afternoon naps, had dinner with some Japanese friends, met up with 2 Singaporean friends who came for the Tokyo Game Show, and watched a couple of films, in between a fair bit of just lounging around doing nothing – an enjoyment nonetheless.

Here are some photos I took while exploring an area near Shimokitazawa.（下北沢）
The first one looks like something straight out of a scene in Akira :

(more…)

It was work as usual yesterday despite the weekend, but in the evening a few of us bugged out for a short breather at the local Matsuri 祭, a traditional Japanese summer night bazaar, or something like that.

(more…)

Ayanami Rei from Evangelion graces the September cover of Rolling Stone Japan.

(more…)

Located just 15 minutes away by bus from Mitaka 三鷹 and Kichijoji 吉祥寺, ( a bustling shopping town that was the visual basis for Takaramachi in Tekkon Kinkreet ) is Jindaiji 深大寺, an age old shrine village dating back to the Nara period 1200 years ago.

(more…)

With the first Rebuilt of Evangelion film hitting theatres in a month’s time the advertising onslaught is on, and what better strategem than to infiltrate the local ubiquitous コンビニ ? ( convenience stalls )

First off we have the Evangelion Doritos chips, followed by the iced milk coffee. Not a bad combination for an afternoon snack. The limited stamp collection was released a little earlier ago. These items were all cursory purchases; in that I didn’t set out specifically hunting for them but simply noticed it by accident, so there must be plenty of other merchandise out there for the EV fan.

Product placement through Anime is commonplace here in Japan, ( Freedom Project is an excellent example ), something which I feel creates considerable vibrancy and dynamism to both parties when executed skilfully. Sometimes “Product Placement” can be an oxymoron, because the very existence of the animation is to sell the product.

Evangelion Stamp Collection available here.

(more…)

I haven’t been following much Japanese music other than Hikkie these days, but during a recent trip to Tsutaya an album playing in the store caught my fancy so much I asked for it after listening to just 2 songs. It turns out the copy they were playing was the only one they had in the store – so its a case of pure serendipity I guess. The album is “School Food is Good Food” by a relatively new band who call themselves School Food Punishment. Please don’t ask me why; Japanese bands have the strangest names.

You can listen to 2 sample tracks from the album here. I’m drawn inexplicably to music which triggers my brain to visually create scenarios, a sort of mental mise en scene – which very often create inspiration for my animation projects. Music by Chicane and Clannad, for example, and most recently School Food. I really like that feeling.

By the way, my 2 year old Ipod is dying on me. There’s rumours abound that the 6th generation Ipod will feature a full touchscreen like the Iphone, so let’s see what Steve Jobs say later this year before I make plans to replace my old one.

Traffic lights at a cross junction in Nishi-Ogikubo, where I cycle past everyday to and fro work. In Tokyo cross junctions allow you to well, cross diagonally (unlike Singapore), which can really be a live saver when one is in a hurry. Speaking of which, the busiest scramble crossing in Tokyo will have to be in Shibuya, made famous by Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation.

I’ve been a big fan of renowned Japanese illustrator Yoko Tanji ever since I saw her work after arriving in Tokyo 3 years ago, so you can imagine how elated I was when she replied an email I wrote to her a few days back. ( considering she must receive fan mail by the hundreds everyday. )

I had learned about her latest works while visiting the blog of her friend Enrico Casarosa, ( an amazing storyboard artist from Pixar with a penchant for Japan, who was super nice to add my blog link on his. ) prompting me to write to her while in a brazen, excited state of fanboy stupor.

In her reply she remarked that she had bought Freedom 1 dvd *Yay!* and had enjoyed watching it, which understandably made this fanboy very, very happy.

Be amazed by her beautiful illustrations at http://www.tanji.jp/