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reflections on Cold Steel [May. 23rd, 2008|08:16 am]
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Let me begin by giving links to my entries on the 2008 Cold Steel tour:

Cold Steel trip report (start) (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/8000.html)
more Cold Steel (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/8338.html)
on vampires and westerns (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/8685.html)
Ghibli (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/8721.html)
Akihabara and art (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/9034.html)
Gonzo, Ikebukuro and Nakano Broadway (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/9398.html)
Gonzo et al., part 2 (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/9506.html)
Roppongi Kingyo (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/9792.html)
Harajuku (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/10001.html)
Kamakura, Enoshima, and beans (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/10327.html)
another floating evening memory (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/10592.html)
from Tokyo to Sapporo, Otaru (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/10788.html)
Sapporo Snow Festival (http://capybaron.livejournal.com/11207.html)

The final day (Wednesday, the 6th of February 2008) was mainly the usual unpleasant bustle of airports, flights and getting to and fro. I did do some late minute shopping, including more Hello Kitty items (on the wish list).

(Peering at my tour book) I congratulate Ben Applegate, Masahiko Matsumoto and Shiori Takezawa on doing excellent jobs as tourist guides; I have been on a number of package tours and, despite that various hiccups, the Cold Steel Tour was well organized and well run; when difficulties arose, our guide provided creative (though sometimes quirky) solutions (I have been on tours where the guides froze in panic and thereby wasted everyone's time). Although I may have had my disagreements, I found my fellow tourists surprisingly extensive sources of information on comics and cartoons (as well as related aspects), both Japanese and otherwise.
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Sapporo Snow Festival [May. 23rd, 2008|07:08 am]
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[mood | anxious]

Tuesday, the 5th of February 2008, was the official opening of the Sapporo Snow Festival. If this had been a conventional tour, the festival would have been the high point of the tour. As it was, our Pop Japan guides did a remarkable job (even though they were not on the clock) herding us cats around the ice and snow sculptures. The sculptures covered a wide variety subjects, ranging from local sports teams to cartoon characters (both Japanese and otherwise) to government edifices and politicians (there was even one of Al Gore). Many sculptures were advertisements for movies (such as Disney's Narnia), alcoholic beverages, food stuffs (I am now curious about the anime produced by Nissin Cup Noodles) and even insurance (Hartford?). I purchased a number of souvenirs, including a tie-clip that ended up going to my father, who had just broken one of his old ones. I finally had one of the famous Mos burgers. While our group disbursed, we maintained contact by cell phone, though the festival crowds did make re-uniting difficult. A small group of us took the subway to an outlying theme park (Satoland), where I slid down the snow-slide and walked the maze.

Side-note -- in most modern mazes, I have noticed that an open corridor cuts through the center, though waist-high boards (as in the Satoland maze) or netting acts as a "wall" of the maze. I assume that this conceit is done for safety reasons, but I cannot find any reference to why maze-builders have this "safety" corridor.

We returned by a special shuttle bus to the center of Sapporo; the bus was cheaper than the subway. After a detour to a department store, conventional except for a section dealing in novelties (include "adult" ones), I put on suit and tie and went by taxicab (even with the grid system, we needed the cab driver's help finding the specific building) with a fellow tourist for a fugu dinner. We ate at the counter (I am embarrassed to confess that my fellow diner understood the waitress much better than I, even though he learned most of his Japanese from anime and manga). I also noticed that most diners ate in private rooms off to the side. My mouth did get numb. In the neighborhood, I saw ads for places of entertainment (usually featuring attractive women, though the names often used odd English, such the place called "Merry Sheep").

another detached memory...
At some point, a group of us went to a sake bar; we sat in a tradition room (we had to remove our footwear). We had some tasty sakes. Given the high quality of drink and service, I was surprise my share of the final bill (which was less than the price of a drink in some Tokyo bars). Also, there was another Kareoke fest at which, in my pixilated condition, I complained about the lack of Cab Calloway songs (though it has been pointed out that many of his songs were written by others).
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from Tokyo to Sapporo, Otaru [May. 23rd, 2008|05:50 am]
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[mood | confused]

On Monday, the 4th of February, I packed one bag off to be picked up later and I had to other for my stay in Sapporo; unfortunately, winter clothing is bulky. Uur group took the trains to Tokyo Haneda Airport during the middle of rush hour. This timing proved to be unfortunate in several ways. First, a few of us managed to get left out of the train at the station; there just was not enough room; since I had a mobile telephone, I elected to stay with the stragglers and, despite prohibit on voice use in the trains, I called our guides (who were on the train) for help (our guides forgot to assign one of themselves as the "sweep" who herds the tail-end stragglers). Eventually, one of the guides returned for us lost tourists. This train rides has to be one of the most crowded one of my life. I got compressed together with several surprisingly tolerant commuters (giving how much unintentional bumping and elbowing occurred). While I found the experience amusing, I wish that I had not been encumbered with luggage. We did make it to Haneda Airport, though the special Sapporo Snow Festival flight (unfortunately, not the Pokemon plane) was delayed.

The Hokkaido leg of the trip was handled by IACE travel (the whole tour was a joint venture of Pop Japan Travel (Digital Manga?) and the travel giant IACE). The Hokkaido handouts from IACE were informative, detailed and quite useful (e.g. the one that explained the numbered north-south east-west grid pattern of Sapporo streets). I assume that IACE was invaluable in arranging the hotel and transport. This said, I found the Hokkaido itinerary provided by rather conventional. To start out, from Chitose Airport, we were driven to the town of Otaru. Otura has a history of being an artist colony with many curiosities; I just wish that I had known about this sidetrip in advance. The IACE staff essential dumped us in the center of town, though I admit that we were provided with useful maps for those of us self-motivated (such as your humble rodent). I stretched out my limbs by strolling along the Otaru Canal. I purchased two sake-tasting cups and two bottles of tasty sake from the shop of the Tanaka Sake Brewery (I had several tastings first). I took pictures of the Steam Clock and visited several shop trying to find postcards (I ended up having to purchase a set from the post office). While I did end up enjoying this visit, it was not the Sapporo tour originally promised.

When we finally reach our hotel in Sapporo, we discovered that we only got one hotel room key (since, for economic reasons, I was sharing a room, I found this one-key policy a problem). When I complained, I was told that the (IACE) staff had assumed that everyone sharing a room did so with friends of long acquaintance; I informed the person that, while my roommate was a worthy and upstanding fellow, I had never met him (nor even known of his existence) before this tour had thrown us together.

In the evening, we gathered for a buffet at the Sapporo Beer Garden; the meal featured beer (as one might expect) and crab; while I dislike both beer and crab, I did find quite enough to eat and drink. The whole place was lively. I did distribute some of the sake that I had purchased earlier (though it was a faint competitor to all the beer that was flowing).

Another detached memory...
A small group of us gathered to finish my two sake bottles (s sweet "Blue Mellow" and an interesting one who name translates to "Small Cask"). I did get very drunk and I forgot my jacket.
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another floating evening memory [May. 22nd, 2008|07:53 am]
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[mood | hyper]

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )
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Kamakura, Enoshima, and beans [May. 22nd, 2008|06:27 am]
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[mood | sleepy]

I should preface this entry by explaining that, despite the classic image of an anime fanboy (and that image used to be of a young male), our group was a remarkably physically fit bunch; indeed, most of our group exercised regularly, even during this tour, as I discovering on the one morning that I managed to crawled down to the hotel's fitness center. All of us ended up doing more walking on this tour than I have done on some so-called hiking tours. Despite what I might write below, I was one of the heaviest and probably the least fit of our bunch.

Snow.

Sunday, the 3rd of February (2008)

Today was a day of traditional tourism, with snow.

As usual, we made our way by the trains; in particular, we took the Enoden Line on one of the historic traincars (we waited for the appropriate one). While waiting and snacking, a middle-aged woman went ballistic for no apparent reason (none of our group could even figure out the object of her fury).

When we reached the appropriate stop, we first slogged our way through the slush to the Great Buddha (Daibutsu). Along with many other tourist, we photograph the snow covered grounds, the gigantic sandals and the odd pussycat staying warm by the stove. I purchased postcards and other momentos both at the temple and a nearby shop. Next we walked to the Hase temple to see the sights there. After snacking at the restaurant (I had another cup of amasake), we got in the queue for the Setsubun festival. While we could not get in to see the main ceremony, much bean throwing was done to scare away those pesky demons (or tourists? - I did end up as a target of what turned out to be soybeans); I have been told that this bean throwing (mamemaki?) is popular activity with children. Part of our group also toured the caves with various religious statues. I must confess that the snow was wet and I (who should have know better) failed to dress properly (although I was better off than most of the group); I did get soaked and, though I was not freezing, I certainly did get cold. Also, the descent down the temple stair was very slippery (I took it very slowly).

We took the Enoden on to the stop nearest to Enoshima; along the way, we gazed at the beaches (popular surfing spot), empty on that wintry day but, I have been told, packed during the summer. At Enoshima, our group separated to explore various parts of the island (many of us, myself included, had mobile telephones, so that we could coordinate our movements even while scattered). I walk quickly to the Hetsunomiya shrine and wandered through the post bean-throwing crowd (judging by the number beans on the ground, it must have been quite popular). I did not see the famous Benten Statues (nor, at the time, did I know of their existence); among other things, Benten is the goddess of entertainment and the arts. Avoiding the (fee) escalators, I took the stairs to and paid the entry fee for the Botanical Gardens, which were covered with snow. I also paid the fee to go to the observation deck of the Enoshima Light House. I next skidded to the Okutsunomiya shrine with the glaring Turtle (somehow, I seemed to have missed Nakatsunomiya shrine); more pussycats were wandering about. From there, I hustled over to the Iwaya caves (another fee). In one of the caves, I was given a traditional candle-lamp by the staff even though the electric lighting was more than adequate; in this cave, there was more religious art. In another cave, a large model of a growling dragon had been set up inside (for the amusement of tourist?). I then walked over the slippery ways to the (Ryuren-no-Kane? Lovers?) bell; I did give the bell a ring. Finally, I hustled back for the return trip, though I did take pictures of interesting manhole covers along the way. At the gathering point, I discovered that most of the group had wandered about the shops and eateries along the main street (I do not recall if anyone had been to the aquarium); a few had tried to ascend the stairs, but found them too slippery for their comfort (I guess that I was more foolish than most as well). We wandered back to the train station, though some made a side trip to get more snacks (if I remember correctly, I had someone pick something for me to eat as well). We were very disappointed to learn that the Odakyu Romance Car had been canceled because of the snow.

In the evening, I made frantically packed, though I somehow squeezed in karaoke as well. We discovered that the tour guide Ben came from a musically family and could sing much better than most of the rest of us, even after all of the adults of the group had quaffed various potent potables.
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Harajuku [May. 20th, 2008|08:21 am]
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[mood | restless]

Up to Saturday, the Second of February (2008)

Technically this day was a free day, but most of the group opted to go on the option Hrajuku tour and several (including your humble rodent) continued on to the Japanese Sword Museum. As usual, travel was by subway (I think that I forgot to mention that on the first leg of the return from Gonzo, our group crowded into one of the buses, thereby converting a relatively empty bus into a very crowded one). Since Harajuku is one of major cosplay (and other fancy dress) areas of Japan, one fellow from our group dress up as the teacher Kakashi (with a copy of Make-Out Paradise) from the series Naruto.

We started at the Meiji Shrine in the Harajuku area. As we walked along, we passed a large wall of sake casks and another with French wine. At the shrine, I did wash my hand at the water area. I purchased one the "Year-of-the-Rat" wooden tablets (normally written with a messages and then burned by the shrine staff -- I elected to take mine as a souvenir). A traditional Japanese wedding was taking place, but when it came time for the wedding group pictures, members of our group joined in (with the permission of the wedding party). As one might gather, our group was much more interactive than the typical gaggle of tourist (fortunately, our three guides were up to the challenge). Our group then split. At this point in time, I am not sure what our intended destination was, but we ended up wandering the streets, though I did make a point of purchasing some wares at Condomania (which is not a realty office). We had lunch at Fujimama's and then proceeded to Takeshita-dori, supposedly "the most fashionable back-alley in the world." Unfortunately part of brain turns off at the sight of clothes (I have great difficulty getting a wardrobe for myself, though I have managed to wear mild costumes for conventions). I did find amusing store names like "Sexpot Revenge" (which t-shirts I have started noticing at animecons in my local area), but I still have the strong urge to flee at sight of a rack of clothes. We were too early for the main cosplay crowd (who tend to appear later in the afternoon), so I missed the better examples. Some of us gathered in front of "Kiddy Land", another toy store at which I purchased a Capybara-san pillow.

Our Kakashi cosplayer did stay in Harajuku and ended up gathering much attention with his outfit.

We then took the subway to the Japanese Sword Museum. Misfortune struck and I lost my train ticket (which one must use to exit the station); the station guard waved me through. The museum had one public display room. While the museum had some of the finest examples of the art, it was still just one room (I guess that I am a bit spoiled by having seen much of whole collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston).

We then went the outlet store for Shonen Jump. There, I purchased some items related to Bleach and D-Gray Man.

I have a quirk that I really, really want a pizza on Saturday; as the day wore on, I became rather crazy, but wandering along the major avenues, I finally satisfied my desire at a chain restaurant with an "American" pizza (pepperoni and green peppers?). As I walked back, I unintentionally walked through East Shinjuku. Along the way, several gentlemen (including one who look like a character from a Yakuza movie) offered to lead me to a strip club (though I was left with the distinct impression that the only stripping that I would see would be of yen from my wallet). I resisted these not very great temptations and return to my hotel room.
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Roppongi Kingyo [May. 19th, 2008|08:33 am]
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[mood | bouncy]

Somehow, the nights have become detached from the days (though much sake may have helped dissolve the bonds). In any event, on the 2nd try, our little subgroup did successfully reach the theater in time for the Roppongi Kingyo performance.

First, the performance consisted of a series of satirical dances (at times, of a political nature). Although the dancers are "non-gender specific", the skits were filled with sexual innuendo and there was a bit of dorsal nudity (thereby maintaining gender ambiguity). Though this troupe did start out as all male with some playing in drag, the current performers are a mix of men and women (while the adam-apple test is not perfect, there seemed to be a mix of men and women playing both the male and female characters).

Enough of the party games... the dances were well choreographed, especially considering that parts of stage would frequently move up/down and side-to-side. Some of the dancers performed acrobatics on trapezes and silk strips; while the moves were standard (for better-or-worse, I am acquainted with a number of amateur acrobats in my area), these interludes were well integrated with rest of the skits. Most of the dances were fast paced and the music matched the mood. The costumes were often quite flashy and colorful.

The food and drink was standard for nightclubs; the prices were high and the portions modest though of acceptable quality. The tour guide remembered a rather different standard from a number of years ago. Most of the rest of the patrons seemed to be couples or small groups enjoying a night out.

The major difficulty going out for an evening in Tokyo is catching the subway back before the systems shuts down for the night (I never thought that I would miss the 24/7 schedule of the New York subways). While crush was not as bad as rush hour (which I will describe in a later post), our little group did get squeezed in rather tightly on these evening trains.
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Gonzo et al., part 2 [May. 17th, 2008|09:44 am]
I forgot to mention that Gonzo was in an outlying part of the Tokyo area. When our group emerged from the subway, we wandered around quite a bit before we finally found Gonzo Digimation (proving that even the locals have problems with confusing address system of Tokyo, even though we had a rather curious hand-drawn map). In any event, I did get some needed exercise and saw a bit more of suburban Tokyo. It was also on this stroll that we picked up the donuts as an offering to the staff.

OK, back to Gonzo itself...
On the tour we did see the final edit machines which lay in what almost seemed to be a clean room; I assume that such precautions were taken protect the expensive computer equipment. Our host pointed out a staff member who was used as the model for the Desert Punk character. Once someone describe Cisco as a shell company that was essentially a framework to coordinate the output of several other companies to make a marketable product. I got the impression that Gonzo was also a framework ("production management"?) that coordinated the work of various artists, engineers, sales people and the like to produce marketable features. Most of the inbetween frames are farmed out to foreign (non-Japanese) artists (Korea?). One of our group was amazed at the detail of weaponry in series like Desert Punk and Hellsing; it turns out that a consultant who specializes in such work is hired by Gonzo (and other firms) to model these weapons; he bases his design on the "airsoft" replicas (gun being were strictly controlled in Japan). In Last Exile, a designer had based the small aircraft on the early (classic) racecars. The various models displayed about the Gonzo offices were usually built on contract by one of the Japanese toy companies.

More notes of animation... A 25-30 minute show would have 300 scenes. Each scene would have 10-15 key frames; between key frames would be 20-30 inbetweens (often of only limited movement animation, such as an arm moving or a toe-tapping).

As expected, Gonzo does do commercial work (an example for Panasonic was discussed) and the videos for musicians. Gonzo will also cooperate with other animation companies that extra help (persumably for suitable financial compensation), but Gonzo prefers to handle its own projects from concept to finish. Gonzo will hire "assistants" at low wages who must prove themselves with a successful series.

Finally, Gonzo was taken from the Italian word for "foolish" (baka). It had not connection with either Hunter S. Thompson or the character on the Muppet Show.

In our mad whirl, we next went to Ikebukuro. We started at the huge mall Sunshine City. In particular, we went to the theme park Namjatown, created by one of the founder of Namco. As far as I could tell, Namjatown was its own thing, with little relation to the Namco games, though I did not see much aside from the entrance and the "Gyoza Stadium" (it was actually called that). I certainly found the gyoza tasty, but I thought the I smelled a faint trace of rancid grease (when I asked, no one else in our group had noticed this odor). I did pick up a few souvenirs before rushing off with a fellow tourist to try to pick up another item on the request list. With my temporary guide, I saw enough yaoi to last me a lifetime. I entered bookstore almost entirely populated with women (who definitely looked unhappy to see me, but too polite to say otherwise). I did not peruse the contents (though my fellow tourist avidly went through many manga before finally selecting the ones to purchase) since the covers were more than enough. I regret to say that I failed in my quest, not because of any lack but rather because I was overwhelm by the, umm, variety. Even with cell phones, our group had some difficulty reassembling, but eventually we did.

We then took the subway to Nakano Broadway,another large mall devoted mainly to pop-culture items. I did run across more Hentai items here (though I have been told that I failed to find the correct places on my recent visit to Akihabara) and as well as a surprising variety of the older colletibles (at surprisingly high prices, as well). I also found one the "Idol" stores, devoted to memorabilia of the rich-and-famous of all types (I did not find the "Bill Gates" bin, though). I pick up more Gamera, Godzilla and even "Hello, Kitty" items (the "Hello, Kitty" nurse playset? as well as a tacky T-shirt). I even wandered (by accident, really) into one adult bookstore.

Finally, we returned to the hotel.

(My memory seems fuzzy at this point, but I now seem to recall now that the 1st attempt actually occurred on the previous evening)
A small group of us made our first attempt to see the Roppongi Kingyo. Because of a miscommunication, we arrived too late, so we went to the observation deck at Roppongi Hill. Most of the people seemed to be couples wanting a romantic view. After coming back down, we tried to get into a sake bar, but we were denied entry (in Roppongi???). We returned to Shinjuku and had much tasty sake at basement bar on the fringe of east Shinjuku (not far enough in to see all those curious establishments).
(I shall following this post with a description of the Roppongi Kingyo).
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Gonzo, Ikebukuro and Nakano Broadway [May. 16th, 2008|10:52 pm]
We were suppose to the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, but the hours had changed so we ended up walking around Shinjuku Central Park before heading off by subway to Gonzo Digimation.
er
Even with a presentation by a marketing director, I enjoyed the visit to Gonzo Digimation. I had only seen Last Exile and Hellsing (since my trip, I have also seen Gantz); other members of the tour has seen other series, such as Desert Punk.
Gonzo quite deliberately mixed traditional 2D hand-drawn cells with 3D animation to create a certain aesthetic; Blue Submarine No.6 was Gonzo's first such feature. Much of a shows development follows the lines of traditional animation with scripts to storyboards to key frames and then in-betweens; I admit that I was still jet-lagged so the term "key frame" did not click in my brain. However, in parallel, the 3D animation is developed and certain amount of work has to go into the integration and the edit process. As an example, Ganz was adapted from the comic. The animation director (Itano, a key framer for Macross?) was intense and was liken to a 3 ring circus.
The actual tour of the studio (we had to split up into small groups) was quite interesting. Aside from the occasional sleeping animator, the others looked at us tourist like nervous tourists and seemed to scurry out of the way when possible (we did bring donuts). Much of the cubicle decor was related to comics and animation, though not necessary Japanese (I did spot a Muumi figure).

(to be continued)
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Akihabara and art [May. 16th, 2008|07:27 am]
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[mood | geeky]

I should have mentioned that the Ghibli short that I saw was a fantasia using the world of Totoro, Cat busses and the like. Also, for those keeping track of date, I am on the 31st of January.

The tour group wended its way by train to that erstwhile mecca of electronics (and now Otoku stuff), Akihabara. I actually stopped by Akihabara several time during the tour so I am not exactly sure (at this remove) which event occurred when. We started a maid cafe. Our group definitely had to squeeze in this establishment. There we were interviewed and photographed by journalist both local Japanese and members of the english-speaking expat community. The waitresses (dressed as maids, not surprisingly) performed several song and dance routines. The staff was definitely professional and service was good, especially considering how overpacked the place was. However, the physical ambiance was typical of coffeehouses (perhaps intentionally) of modest decor and, though clean, the floors, walls and furniture showed signs of hard use (again, like many coffeehouses).

OUr group then dispersed to the various shop of Akihabara. Though AKihabara is still called Electric Town, I found the electronics to be surprising expensive for those items that I had recently priced in the USA. I mainly concentrated on shopping mall (Radio Kaikan?) that had comics, figures, collectibles and even the "traditional" electronics. In addition to more Capybara-san items, I picked up Godilla and Gamera figures (I do enjoy Godilla, but these were the obligatory gift items on my list of requests from friends and family). While I did spy the occasional hentai figurine, I missed most of erotic (though partially censored) items. Oddly enough, I photographed a store front displaying a wide variety of cosplay clothes, though I did not enter; I later learned that the store catered to adult taste. At a book (media?) store, I picked up a Japanese DVD of the Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

If memory serves me correctly, we rushed back to hotel for the interview with the art directory Nizou Yamamoto and the background artist Izumi Muta. Yamamoto has worked on
Castle in the Sky,
Grave of the Fireflies
Future Boy Conan,
Whisper of the Heart (Sekigawaka),
Slumberland (based on the Little Nemo comics) and others.
Yamamoto directed the recent Miori no Mori (Miori's Forest).

Yamamoto humorously asked everyone to try not to catch cold. He also mentioned a visit to Dreamworks. In discussing Windsor McKay (of Little Nemo and Gertie the Dinosaur), he mention various interests such as the relation of impressionism to realism, Art Nouveau and the European etchings of that era. When Yamamoto was young (in Kyushu?), he had no TV, only the movies. He wanted to be a cameraman. He did draw old style animation. When asked about the hardest task, he listed clouds and waves of water, logos (such as Paramount) and characters in love. To relieve stress, he place tennis as well as drinking alcohol and watching DVDs. In reminiscing about Ghibli, Yamamoto met Miyazaki about 30 years ago (when Yamamoto was 24). Miyasaki studies literature and economics. He learned the animation process by himself and had to develop the techniques of story boards, layout and scripts. With little sleep, Miyazaki would work from 4AM to 10PM. Miyazaki would get mad and throw things, but he had many good points.

In the Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Yamamoto prepared inspiring sketches for meeting with the producers, but there were some age issues that had to be overcome. According to my scribbled notes, Nakano was used for the background of the Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Nakano has a memorial to the famous author Ayashi Fujiko?). The most difficult scene used 500 cuts, involved 55 background artists (including some expensive well-known ones) over a period of three months; it cost 400,000 yen but lasted 40 seconds (typically animation costs 13000 yen per minute).

As background for Mononoke, the island used was a world heritage site (Yakushima?). Grave of the Fireflies takes place in Kobe at the end of the 1940s (Showa 20?). Yamamoto had to hunt through newspaper articles and other old photographs (he also recalled looking at the American color magazines after the war). He wanted the feel of old films and used much olive green and brown. Such color tones would be done digitally now, but the artists had to do it in the drawing then.

The toy animation of Digimon was also mentioned.

The assistant Izumi Muta briefly talked about her work (starting 4 years ago) as a background artist on the Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

After the interview, I had my copy of Girl Who Leapt Through Time signed by the artist.

Next day: Gonzo
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Ghibli [May. 15th, 2008|06:30 am]
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[mood | busy]

At this late date, I may start confusing days and events, but, as a rough guide, I am using the tour pamphlet and trying to remember the deviations. The visit to the Ghibli Museum set the tone for the day. As with most days, the tour group traveled like a herd of cats mainly by public transit, particularly the subway, whose stations had an "M" sign. A miscalculation (first of many) of fare led to a readjustment at Kichijoji station. We walked through suburban Tokyo and the Inokashira Park to get to the museum. I had been to this place before but I did see a different animated short in the theater, took more pictures outside (photography was forbidden inside) and purchased various items such as post cards and film strips. As I expected, much was similar to my previous trip, but I did enjoy the walks along byways and drainage ditches of the area. After the museum, we walked to Mitaka Station and took the train to Akihabara (oops, I need to continue this on another post...byebye)
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on vampires and westerns [May. 14th, 2008|10:32 pm]
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[mood | crazy]

I was dead tired but the interview with Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki was the focus of the tour. Since I went to my room to change, I ended up very far from Kikuchi and Takaki. The interview switched back and forth between Kikuchi and Takaki. I first present a transcript of my scribbled notes.

Kikuchi:
Vampire Hunter D was the 2nd work, easier to understand than Demon City. Kikuchi wanted the story of a handsome vampire protagonist who would look good in black; he wanted the cool parts from the Hammer version of Dracula. Kikuchi wrote out the story by hand using ideas that came to him in everyday like (e.g. walking on the street). Takaki echoed the sentiment of the coolness of D's character.
While Kikuchi drew upon the Bram Stoker books, he was heavily influenced by American TV series as well as Japanese and American comics and movies. He expressed a fondness for Batman, particularly Tim Burton's version. As for Japanese legends, he based the Midwich Medusa (in 1st VHD) on the Yamanochi(?) snake, but otherwise he did not draw much of this source. Like most people, Kikuchi spends his free time on TV, books, food; about once a year, he visits the caberet clubs in Shinjuku.

Takaki has no assistants (Kikuchi humorously interjected that he did not use any assistants either). She read the books and tried visualize a manga that did not break away even though she was free to do whatever she wanted. Most of the changes were made to meet the page limit. She would not know what to do with assistants.
Takaki have done commercial art. In the VHD manga, she used 3D modeling programs to help visualize some the scenes.
She has two cats (hugs for inspiration) and is happily married. DMP wanted a VHD manga and it was felt that a new artist was needed. At lectures by Kikuchi, Takaki would hand him her business card with a hand-drawn illustration (in blue) on the back.

Kikuchi hopes that the VHD books (published all over the world) sell well. He has traveled to the USA, England, France. He liked New York and visited Providence, Rhode Island, because of H. P. Lovecraft (I forgot to ask if he had visited Lovecraft's grave (I have)). In riding a camel in Egypt, he did get scared when the beast reared up.
Kikuchi works hardest ot meet deadlines to get those manuscript feed.

Takaki traveled to the USA and ate lots of delicious (though fattening) food.

Kikuchi writes the VHD novels for young adults, but is planning an adult story of a dancing vampire (again, I forgot to ask if this had any relation of Polanski's Dance of the Vampires).

For favorite westerns, Kikuchi listed George Stevens's Shane (many elements appeared in the 1st VHD) and John Ford's My Darling Clementine. In the afterword to the english version of Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane, Kikuchi alludes to scene that turns out to be the funeral procession in John Ford's The Sun Shines Bright (based on Cobb's "Judge Priest" stories).

Time was limited and many people had questions. I realize that the VHD works were being advertised but I did wish that Kikuchi has talked a bit more about his other works such as the treasure hunber series and his Lovecraft story.

The interview was held in the hotel lounge; I had the most expensive glass of apple juice that I ever purchase. I did get get several books signed, which was fortunate since I had something (signed copy of the VHD manga) to give a person who greatly aided me in the research for this trip.
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more Cold Steel [May. 13th, 2008|08:37 am]
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[mood | determined]

long hiatus and my memory is getting rather fuzzy...

After the sushi breakfast, our little group took the subway to Asakusa, made a brief tour of the Senso-ji temple (with a bit of fortune telling with sticks) and went back to wait for the rest of our group at the gate of the street mall. A small group ended going to McDonalds because it was the only place serving coffee early in the morning (the regular coffeehouses being closed). Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to revisit Chingodo-ji, the tenuki temple and even to wander into the national drum museum.

Our group ventured forth for a water tour of Tokyo aboard the Himiko water bus designed by Leiji Matsumoto. There were various 999 decorations, but most of the tour information was in Japanese. Our guides tried their best (I did get to see the Tokyo office of YKK zippers), but some things got lost in translation. We passed the water side of Tsukuji fish market and ended up at Odaiba. Several comments were made on the national TV building.

I opted to bathe with the hot-spring group. Men and women were strictly segregated, so effectively we split into two groups. We men obtained our bathrobes (obi?) and cleaned ourselves throughly trying the hot baths (and one very cold one). We also conversed with some of the Japanese bathers. While I found the experience interesting, I was still suffering from jetlag and had difficulty with the temperature changes. After emerging, we had some snacks in the common room and emerged to settle accounts. We were shocked to learned that several of the women were denied entry because of tattoos. In addition, one of the others seemed to suffer culture shock and, unfortunately, the one tour guide with us was male (and could not barge into the locker room to resolve the issue); in the end, our whole group gathered back in front of the mall, but the denial of entry did affect my mood.

We returned by monorail to one of the shopping districts of Tokyo. I purchased many Capybara-san toys (though most ended up with my sister). The group fragmented and I wandered the Sony store (which no longer had any of the video games for trying out) and drank at a tea ceremony. To reach the room, I had to climb a narrow staircase (which, unfortunately, reminded me of Inland Empire) to a room sparsely decorated with abstract pieces. The ritual, bowls and beverage recalled previous teas (the green tea was very thick, almost a paste) but the ambiance set this one apart.

Finally, our group reunited and hustled back for the interview with Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki (in the next posting).
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Cold Steel trip report [Mar. 19th, 2008|09:23 am]
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[mood | embarrassed]

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )
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Opera, robots and Japan [Feb. 11th, 2008|08:38 am]
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[Current Location |Capybaronial Estate]
[mood | moody]

I am still readjusting my sleep pattern because of my recent tour of the popular culture of Japan. Instead of a relaxing weekend, I attended an estate sale Saturday (where I purchased a truly hideous painting of a prom queen surrounded by rubber chickens) and on Sunday helped out with the preparations for the club's science fiction convention (Boskone) next weekend (15-17 February 2008). I also banged away last night at the local (to me) drum circle (Drumfish); unfortunately the roads were really slick on my return because slush fell and then the temperature dropped to 21F so that there was black ice all over the place.

I will get to the bulk of the Japan tour later. For now, I flew out Sunday, 27 Jan 2008, spent the night at a one of the airport hotels and joined the tour on Monday, 28 Jan 2008; I lost my name badge even before I got on the airplane. Otherwise, the start was the usual unpleasantness that modern air travel has become.

I should note a few other past events. A few weeks ago, I attended Verdi's version of Macbeth at the Met. Like earlier staging of Strauss's Salome, the setting and costuming came from a relatively modern period (Edwardian?); the mixture of firearms and edged weapons was a bit odd. I also found curious the large chorus of witches (as opposed to the traditional three).

I should also mention the December talk on karakuri ningyo, the Japanese mechanized puppets; Shobei Tamaya IX discussed the history , the construction and cultural significance of these "proto-robots". I found it interesting to learn that these puppets were made almost entirely of wood and were inspired by clockwork mechanisms imported from Europe. The puppet archer provided much amusement both in operation and examination of the mechanism.
A professor from Japan (who name, alas, escapes me at present) discussed current developments on robotics, including the flute player (whose airstream needed to be modulated) and the therapeutic baby seal robots (shades of Aldiss's Supertoys?).
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Madness at Mokuba and other curiosities [Nov. 30th, 2007|06:52 pm]
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[mood | exhausted]

Last night (Thursday), I saw Madness at Mokuba performed by the MIT Dance Theater Ensemble. Since the play was based largely upon anime themes, the whole did have the flavor of an extended masquerade sketch. Since dance was a major part, the costumes were necessarily less detailed than some of the elaborate cosplay efforts; it is difficult to make a highly ornate outfit that holds together during vigorous movement. Costumes included the obligatory giant (well, very big) robots, corporate suits (women cross-dressing as men?), sailor-type schoolgirl (though all of these seems to be women as far as I could tell), a wandering Sam Rye (what would Groo do?), a hiphop queen, the hyperkinetic student, a skeletal mother and cheongsam lady (probably forget a few). The music was more-or-less techno dance created by an instructor and students.
A very brief history of anime covered Tezuka's Astro Boy (with a gender-reverse onstage re-enactment giving counterpoint to the video clip), Gundum, Neon Genesis Evangalion and the interaction between the fans and the production companies (a segment from one of the Daicon videos slipped in).
The dance tended toward the stylized modern with a few choreographed fight scenes. The projected background came from several anime cartoon, all of whose names I have forgotten.
The director gave an introduction and also led a discussion of the work afterwards.

A little over a month ago, at a Willoughby&Baltic Gallery just of Davis Square (Somerville), I saw a collection of Holloween-themed techno-art projects:

- Blob green (grew with vibration)
Evidently water and starch (with a bit of food coloring) growing Chiller Theater like pseudopods when subjected to low frequency vibrations.
- bloody furby
a gory fountain
- fish tank piezo
the fish were programmed to cluster at the point of contact. Touch sensors tend to be finicky things.
- jello brain with AC proximity sensor
when cut, nearby speakers would play a variety of comments with the occasional scream
- little jumping monster in the candy box
all loving displayed on a black&white monitor
- photoreactive flower
problems made this project a rather static one
- large scale operation
interesting attempt
- puppet stage
- owl (motion sensitive)
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a walk across Tokyo (4 Sept 2007) part two [Oct. 7th, 2007|08:33 am]
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[Current Location |Capybaronial Manor]
[mood | crazy]

I should note that the weather was hot and humid, so I felt like I was supporting the entire Tokyo economy for a day by the amount of beverages that I purchased at various vending machines along the way. I have been told that I was probably considered very rude because I quaffed my Pocari Sweat whilst pounding the pavement, but I plead that a powerful thirst possessed me.
I meandered around the Bookshop neighborhood but I did not run across any vendors of works in the English language. Continuing on, I skirted the northern boundary of Kitaonmaru-Koen (of the Imperial Gardens) and proceeded down Yasukuni-dori.
I got lost. I should really have obtained a full map of Tokyo (I did have one of Kyoto, which I never reached). I fell between the LP (Lonely Planet) detailed maps and came across a very confusing set of intersections. To make matters worse, it took me a while to realize that most of the map-signs on the streets of Tokyo had north at rather arbitrary (to me) directions (it was rare that I found a map where north was up). I think that I finally stumbled to Yotsuya and following the route of Marunouchi subway to Shinjuku.
I did eventually reach Shinjuku. Curious about the red-light district, I followed the LP walking tour. Near the start, in the regular shopping district part of the tour, I tried to find wifi access; while I did find several internet cafes of sorts, none had wifi (802.11). I was surprised when the various clerks informed me of this lack (these clerks did not know where I could find such access). I walked past Mitsukoshi; I must have also been in front of the Kinokuniya bookshop, but visual clutter overloaded my brain. I turned the corner at the Isetan building and made my way the shrine Hanazono-jinji. I then proceeded down the Golden Gai and then reached Kabukicho where road construction made walking a little tricky (perhaps some Tokyo officials were trying to discourage the idle LP-toting tourist). While the places of entertaining has alluring names as Hanky-Panky and Wild West, the fronts were far more staid than photos I have seen in the past. At one point, I had to bite my tongue to stop laughing because an attractive lady was apparently trying to entice a male customer into one of the cabarets; the scene was so archetypical that it looked like it had been lifted straight out of some movie or comic. While a few strong burly well-dress men glared at me, I did not run into any trouble. Being alone, I did not venture into any side streets. I turned the corner at the Koma Theater and walked to the Shinjuku station.
The area looked quite confusing, I walked north to Higashi-Shinjuku station. I spent roughly six hours walk, though at a rather sedate pace. I returned to the hostel and helped a fellow foreigner locate the place. I showered and ended sleeping till next morning. I spent most of the next few days traveling back home.
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a walk across Tokyo (4 Sept 2007) part one [Oct. 3rd, 2007|07:17 am]
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[mood | rushed]

After a night in the dorm of the Tokyo International Hostel, I proceeded by subway to the Tsukiji Fish Market. I missed my planned connection, so I quickly consulted my Lonely Planet (LP) guide for an alternate route and ended up on a venerable, though well maintained, train (unlike the modern cars, this one had no English displays, so I had an interesting time listening for the station announcements). After I emerged from the underground (noting that most stations had a very curvy stylized "M" sign), I wandering in the direction of the fish market. I teamed up with another confused tourist from California and the two of us managed finally to work our way to Tsukiji, after consulting many fellow tourists along the way and dodging many truck, motorized cart and other curious fish movers. Tsukiji was a roofed-over L-shaped area roughly several city blocks on a size; one should keep in mind that this place is the main seafood market for the hungry Tokyo area. The variety of seafood was impressive. I saw large tuna, many types of midsize fish, crustaceans, clams, snail, cephalopod, urchins, seaweed and things which I am still not sure about. All the while, motorized carts wizzed by and customers haggled with the vendors. As everyone told me, this is one of the must-see places in Tokyo (in the early morning). The fellow from California had to catch his flight back, so I took the subway to Akihabara.
Since not much was happening in the early morning, I took another Subway to Asakusa for the LP Shitamachi walk. I wandered through a shopping mall till I got to Senjo-ji. I walk around the temple and looked at the ornate roof, painted ceilings and statuary such as the cluster of monkeys. I then searched for Chingodo-ji, a temple in honor of those mischievous tanukis; something must remain of those critters, since I had to go around the block twice before I found the entrance; I am happy that I did, since I was delighted by this little temple. I then proceeded along a streets dense with shops, though all were closed at that early hour. I also look at the entrance to Hanayashiki Amusement Park (also closed). I continued on to the street starting at Rokku, formerly the red light district of which the only vestige seemed to be an adult movie theater. As I strolled the street, I met a pair of French tourist in front of an array of five vending machines. Comparing Michelin against LP, we discovered that both recommended similar points of interest. At the rakugo theater, tourists (even at the early hour) were stopping by to see if the box office was open. I finished this street of arcades and walked to the national drum museum; I was disappointed to find it closed on Tuesday.
Imagine a street devoted to restaurant supplies, ranging from chopsticks to walk-in refrigerators, table linens to red lanterns, plastic food replicas (yes, this is the place where you can buy fake sushi and real rubber chicken) to multicolor LED signs (I even saw a dragon pillar that puffed out smoke). Kappabashi-dori is such a place. I should note that kappa are mythical turtle-like creatures who retain their power by keeping water in a depression atop their head; these creatures have a fondness for cucumbers (hence the kappa-maki or cucumber roll). Kappabashi-dori had many figures of kappas decorating street signs, lampposts store fronts and the like; there was even a shrine-like area with a golden statue of a kappa. Several buildings had interesting murals and someone had put a huge beetle sculpture on an apartment balcony (I has later told that a staghorn beetle festival was taking place at that time).
Note having any fixed plans, I strolled along Asakusa-dori, sidled over to Kasuga-dori and turned on Chuo-dori. Most would have gone to Ueno, but I turned south to revisit Akihabara (Akiba?). Though the stores were open this time, I was too overwelmed by the hustle and bustle. I continued on to the sporting goods area. While I found many winter sports shops, I was unable to locate any place with regular hiking gear.
hmmm, I will have to continue this later.
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the Noble Rodent at Worldcon, part four [Sep. 9th, 2007|10:20 pm]
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[Current Location |Massachusetts]
[mood | accomplished]

The previous three parts can be found at the following URLs:

http://capybaron.livejournal.com/5907.html
http://capybaron.livejournal.com/6239.html
http://capybaron.livejournal.com/6605.html

side note about walking
While most of my walks were to the nearby malls for food, I did manage one morning to stroll along the promenade. While the route made some odd twists and turns, as long as I followed the route marked on the map (there were also disks on the pavement showing blazing the way), I did not have to cross vehicular traffic. I wish that I have remembered my camera since part of the route wound through a sculpture garden; there was a arch made of metal shipping containers, another set of concrete circles (reminding of Time Tunnel), a gently sloping waterfall filled with aquatic creatures. I also enjoying the walk up French(?) Hill.

Monday
I spend much of the morning frantically packing to leave since I had to cut my vacation short. When I finally checked out, I wandered to the a bit of the Mars panel and then to the Closing Ceremonies. While much was typical (discounting the dual languages), I was amused that Brin received the final of the dark or "anti" Seiun award; at least part of this years anti-Seiun award seemed to be a Daruma doll; I wonder how Brin managed to fit it in his luggage. Brin said that he would have to take care not to bring this anti-Seiun too near the two Seiuns that he won in years past lest he endanger the safety of the world; one wag commented that unhappy event might lead to an American sequel to Komatsu's 日本沈没, Nihon Chinbotsu, call California Sinks. Michael Whelan also bid his farewells since both Brin and Whelan had to leave to catch their flights. The ceremony continued with the other GOHs who were present and the congradulations were given to the ConStaff who made the convention possible. Thanks were given to those fans who help out with the person who had been hospitalized. I needed to leave early to meet with some fan about next years convention in Denver.

The remainder of the day I spend mostly volunteering. I started as part of the human chain to prevent people from leaving through the wrong exit (which, unfortunately was next to the lockers and the cold drinks machine). I next help with the cleanup of the exhibit hall whiile trying not to get run over by the various trucks and vans loading the packed displays. I ended my volunteer work by helping out the Japanese fans at the loading dock. I tried to help out where I could, but even my fellow NESFAns (past and present) did a prodigious amounts of work; I cannot help but feel the slacker.

The Dead-Dog party had surprisingly tasty food. I did discuss the differences between fandom in Japan and in the USA while sampling the snacks. Regretablly, I had to leave for the Tokyo International Hostel; even there, I received excellent directions on which trains/subways to take (many thanks).

Note on Stickers
Throughout the convention, I exchanged stickers with various fans and organization (such as the Heinlein Society and the various bidders for future Worldcon sites). I should mention that a few people stamped their design in ink and one person made an ink drawing. Many of the stickers were photographs, often of themselves in some science fictional situation though there were also pets, trains, rockets, musical instruments, fireworks and even an X-ray of a seashell . A number were drawings, calligraphy or computer-generated images. While most stickers were rectangular, a few were round and one was "X" shaped. While most people had just one sort of sticker, a few had several types and one fellow had a different sticker for each day of the convention.

In conclusion, I am glad that I went to Nippon07. The Japanese fans did put in a lot of hard work and, though none may ever end up reading this blog, I do wish to thank them for their efforts. I must bid my few readers goodbye since I still seem to be in this perpetual jetlag.
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the Noble Rodent at Worldcon, part three [Sep. 8th, 2007|09:08 pm]
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[Current Location |away from home, again]
[mood | working]

Side note about parties
Given the amount of potent potables flowing at the parties, I should have kept notes since much of what I encountered has faded into the alcoholic haze; there was a brand of shochu call Torikai(?) that I found a most tasty memory solvent. At this point, I am not sure which party occurred when and what I had discussed at which party, so I will present a mishmash of topics. Many of the party room had tatami mat floors, so everyone had to take off their shoes and go about in socks, barefoot, or, in a few rare cases, in acceptable sandals (definitely not those of the streetwear variety). I snuck back up to my room to deposit my shoes and returned with my feet in socks. With the aid of my trusty phrasebook, I think that I managed to add to internation confusion in fandom, though I hope that I did not offend anyone too terribly. At the "Space Force" party, a rousing celebration honored a (BNF?) fan of long standing; toasts were given by Hiroaki Inoue himself. At another party, I met a number of folks involved with the comics convention Comiket (does it really have over 500,000 attendees?); while I do remember talking at length with these worthy folk, I regret that I cannot recall the topics discussed. Surprisingly, the Norwegians and Swedes plied thirsty fans with strong Scandinavian drink (where do they get the energy?). The costumed figures with oversized (Mardi-Gras like?) heads hosted a tea party, at which I sipped a bit of green tea. At the bid parties, I sampled the offered delicacies, though the Montréal bidders did not bring that curious spearminty-like soda. I spotted Smiley, the Psychotic button (from Evil Ernie?). Several English fans related the difficulties of running anime conventions (Minamicon?); they also mentioned that Disney Japan briefly marketed a version of Winnie the Pooh dressed up like the comic Hard Gay; when Disney HQ found out this, they evidently were not amused. Somewhere in all this, I sampled rice balls, various sausages, chili and sweets of various odd sorts. Saturday night, the Hugo awards (and the winners) made the rounds of the parties, though in the case of Frank Wu, party goers had to make due the photo of Wu's head. I thank everyone who took the time, expense and effort to hold these parties (when a tip jar/box was obvious, I did try to throw in some yen to offset the costs).

Sunday
This day brought the Seiun awards and the Masquerade.

The Seiun (Nebula?) award ceremony proceed in much the same fashion as the Hugo ceremonies that I have attended. I was surprised that I have actually seen the media winner The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I would be interested to learn if there are any English language translations of the winners for Japanese Fiction. Regrettably time did not allow a fuller translation of the special fan awards presented during this ceremony by a venerable fan. The award seem to consist of a certificate and some sort of metal object that I should look up sometime. I am happy that a translator was provided for this slice of Japanese fandom.

Evidently, science fiction conventions in do not usually have a masquerade, though older fans remember some in days of old. Cosplay seems to be a separate phenomenon, sometimes associated with the comic book conventions. There were only twelve entries, though many were amusing nonetheless. I enjoyed the lively performance of "Welcome to Japan" (recreation from Galaxy Angel) and playful "Gremlin" skit. I was a bit taken aback by the "Australian Hitchhiker" in the sailor schoolgirl outfit, particularly when said aussie pulled a beer bottle from his undies. Also satisfactory were the brief walkons of "Cosmic Corsair Captain Harlock", "Battle Robot" (original), "No Face" (recreation from Spirited Away) and "Ming the Merciless" (Flash beware ;). While the judges were judging, the audience was treated to sword fighting of Kengishu Kamui (I certainly did not expect it) as well as the Ankoku-Seiun Award ceremony (a humorous riposte to the earlier one;); the master of ceremonies wore an imposing black cape and his lady assistant had on a black (vinyl?) cheongsam fringed with red. An announcement was also made call for financial support of a fan sent to the hospital.

I am almost finished, but I need to take another break before concluding with the closing ceremonies and my final bit of gophering.
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