Christmas in Japan

Seasons greetings from Tokyo! Well, Christmas is quite different in Japan, as I have discovered whilst living here. Basically the Japanese view Christmas as a time to spend with friends or the more popular option is going out with your girlfriend or boyfriend, as opposed to having a traditional meal together with the family in the west. Anyway, I’ve been able to get some good Christmas photography which I’ll include in this post, strangely enough though most of the Christmas lighting also goes down on Christmas day itself!! Merry Christmas everyone!

Ark Hills

Tokyo Midtown

Roppongi Hills

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, best place for Christmas lighting in Tokyo, there’s actually a Christmas concert happening there also but I think most of the music will be shite.

Getting new glasses…. very randomly

I should start off by saying I actually don’t have that much experience with the opticians in England, so I can only speak based on what I have been through before. Well, I randomly ended up in Muji (yep, I think its the very same Muji which has various stores in England also!). I was looking for a winter jacket but as usual I was pretty damn indecisive and opted to buy it some other time in the end. Anyway, what got my attention was the opticians in Muji (was pretty surprised to see that they made glasses in the first place) – I needed a new pair of glasses, some of my friends might already be aware of the absolute torture my original pair had gone through. I inquired about getting an eye test… there and then I was given a FREE eye test with no waiting or need to make an appointment. In comparison, in England the staff at Boots opticians made me wait friggin 20 minutes even though I arrived on time for my appointment and although I didn’t pay anything for that eye test the standard charge is £18 I believe. The eye test was pretty standard, only this time around I was reading off a hiragana chart instead of the English alphabet lol. After checking out some lenses I decided to find out how much a new pair of glasses would set me back, because ultimately I really needed them. The damage to my wallet was surprisingly light, a mere 10,500 Yen (about £46!!). The store assistant helped me to find a pair that suited my handsome dashing good looks (lol, I can exagerrate a little every now and then! ) In the end though the best thing that I liked about getting glasses made in Japan is there isn’t much need to wait or hassel at all – whilst I had to wait a friggin week in England for my glasses to be made, Muji made them ready to collect in a remarkable 40 minutes!! Talk about incredible service!

Best of Japan – feature length anime edition

Well, here it is, my list of the best feature length anime that Japan has to offer. Be sure to check out any titles you haven’t seen if you’re an anime fan

 

Ghost in the Shell

Well, the list starts off with a rather obvious title, Ghost in the Shell – it’s been hugely influential in the west, the Matrix probably wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for this!! Based on Masamune Shirow’s manga about a cyber punk future in which cyborgs are the norm, the movie was quite different in style to the original manga, partly due to Mamoru Oshii’s involvement in the project. I won’t ramble on, but I am quite an Oshii fan, and it’s also worth checking out Patlabor 1 and 2 because they’re awesome movies too. Anyway, GITS is an essential film to watch!

 

Macross Plus – Movie Edition

Ok, I’ve already explained a little bit about this one earlier. Macross Plus was originally an OVA, but it was supposed to be a movie in the planning stages of the project. After the OVA was released the production team made a movie using significant scenes from the original OVA and also introduced new footage which wasn’t in the OVA. As a result the feel of the movie is slightly different to that of the OVA – it’s really worth watching both in order to see the differences for yourself. Essentially the story revolves around 3 friends who went their seperate ways a long time ago, however their paths in life meet again in a rather bitter way!! 2 of them turn out to be rival test-pilots, each trying to prove that their representative mecha is the best for the military to use, and the last friend turns out to be the true ‘voice’ behind Sharon Apple, a digital ‘Madonna’ of the Macross world!! Shinichiro Watanabe worked on Macross Plus – he would eventually gain more success after working on Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. With one of the best soundtracks to be produced for any anime as well as top quality animation, Macross Plus is definitely worth watching!

 

My Neighbour Totoro

This one is a family friendly movie! My Neighbour Totoro was the first Ghibli film I saw and I must have been about 12 years old when I originally saw it… still the charm doesn’t wear off!! These days the cuddly dude has become a mascot for Studio Ghibli and for good reason too, out of all of Ghibli’s creations he’s definitely one of the most memorable! The story revolves around 2 sisters who move to the countryside with their father, whilst their mother is staying in hospital with an illness. Upon moving into the new house they soon discover the world of spirits and the supernatural (for example their primary discovery of ‘dustbunnies’) I love this film because it just goes to show that you don’t need action, violence or sex to sell a movie, ok sure, that stuff helps, but it’s not always necessary! Easily watchable by both adults and kids alike, My Neighbour Totoro, great film!

 

Royal Space Force (Wings of Honneamise)

Known as Wings of Honneamise in the west, this was the first film to be developed by studio Gainax. Unfortunately I think it’s hard to find in the west these days, however in Japan it was recently released on Blue Ray format. The storyline is based entirely in a fictitious world in which a space-force is plagued with slackers and no motivation, ironically no one has been to space before. However the main character Lhadatt gains inspiration after befriending a young religious woman and he decides to participate in the space-force’s new space exploration program. It should also be noted that Hideaki Anno worked on this film; he would eventually go on to bigger and better things when his creation, Evangelion, was released. Those who are expecting an action packed feature will be disappointed, however I found this film thoroughly entertaining. It’s a film about human endurance, about hope and about determination. The soundtrack is also fantastic, however I think it’s sadly harder to find than Macross Plus’s OST. Anyway, it’s a bit of an obscure title, but worth checking out!

 

Tokyo Godfathers

Tokyo Godfathers is one film with some pretty unusual subject matter! The film is about 3 homeless friends in Tokyo, who discover an abandoned baby – although one of them wants to keep the baby they eventually set out to return the baby to it’s parents but run into a lot of trouble on the way. The film does a great job of conveying an insightful message on a very serious problem that exists today; the truth is that there is a significant level of homelessness in Tokyo. Satoshi Kon (of Perfect Blue fame) wrote and directed the film, and I have to say I am a BIG fan of his! The movie has a very different feel to Perfect Blue altogether – whilst Perfect Blue was a disturbing and claustrophobic thriller, Tokyo Godfathers has many lighthearted comedic moments. Without a doubt this is one of the most realistic anime movies you will ever see, it could have been made as a normal film, but I’m glad it was presented in the form of anime.

 

 

Paprika

Yep, that’s right, Paprika is another one of Satoshi Kon’s works! Based on an early 90’s novel, the story focuses on a new invention called the DC Mini which allows the user to actually view another person’s dreams. I saw this film at a cinema in London and I’m glad I was able to have the big screen experience – the animation is quite simply out of this world. Satoshi Kon’s team did a fantastic job in creating vivid and lush dream sequences and luckily the film contains some of Kon’s good sense of humour. Paprika is one of the most refreshing, creative and entertaining anime films I have seen in a long time; it’s left me with a strong urge to read the novel… and I will eventually get myself a copy of it!

 

Project A-ko

Project A-ko was actually one of the first anime I ever saw and it is still one of my all time favourites. The film is an action packed comedy about 3 girls, A-ko, B-ko and C-ko. One of the more wacky animes you’ll encounter, it turns out that A-ko has super strength, B-ko is a spoilt rich bitch and C-ko is actually an alien princess!! The film was originally planned to be a hentai title and some of the adult references stayed within the film, even though the project was changed to make Project A-ko more accessible in the mainstream market. As a result B-ko’s attitude toward C-ko is very… ok ok, I won’t try to explain it, you’ll have to see it for yourself to see what I mean!! The film was also famous for its parodies of other anime and cultural icons (for example there is an awesome parody of Fist of the North Star and the KFC’s Colonel even makes an appearance!) Overall, a very entertaining movie, it’s still hilarious as ever.

And now time for my all time favourite anime movie…

 

 

Hokuto no Ken – Fist of the North Star

Well, this is it… Fist of the North Star is my favourite anime film… hands down! The film is actually a very condensed version of the series and the manga. Whilst certain original characters are non existent, it was supposed to be more violent than the TV series. Based in a post apocalyptic future, humanity has not been wiped from existence, however only the strongest survive and people are hunted down and killed, not for their money, but for their food and water. Kenshiro is the main character, the successor of a martial art known as hokuto shin ken, he is the fist of the north star, however his brothers Jaggie and Raoh desire absolute power and control and wish to be the fist of the north star. The movie is only based on the beginning of the manga, whereby Kenshiro’s girlfriend, Julia, is taken by Shin, once Kenshiro’s best friend. Anyway, yeah, I’m rambling too much but this is one hell of an awesome film. Hokuto no ken does owe a lot to Mad Max, I don’t think it would have the same feel if it wasn’t for Mad Max, however the story and mythology behind Fist of the North Star is so detailed and is truly one of the most engrossing in the world of anime and manga. Fist of the North Star is definitely one of the most famous anime of all time, having been parodied on numerous occassions (already mentioned Project A-ko but there is also a hilarious parody in Excel Saga) and a new project 5 part anime project is underway (2 films and 1 OVA have already been released, an OVA about Toki will be released soon, and the last movie focusing on Kenshiro is due out next year). If you want to see what all the fuss is about, be sure to check out the film for yourself!

 

 

Merry times…

A lively band plays some Christmas themed pieces in Ginza.

Some of my favourite Japanese films

Well, since I had written about some of the best musical talent from the land of the rising sun, I thought why not force my very biased opinion on the world of cinema on to you guys?!! So here it is, the list of films that I consider to be the best achievements in the world of Japanese film-making. If you’re interested in finding out about some seriously awesome films, read on!!

Zatoichi

We start off with Zatoichi, Beat Takeshi’s take on the original story of a blind swordsman. Now I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen the original films so I have no idea how the compare to the new one, but what I do know is that the new one is totally awesome, Takeshi has definitely succeeded in making a very creative and engaging film

Azumi

This fuedal Japan action flick certainly isn’t Ryuhei Kitamura’s finest achievement but it is a pretty damn entertaining film – the storyline is anything but original, involving a group of young assassins who have been trained to kill warlords who plot to plague the land with war however you get to see one very hot Aya Ueto running around killing ninjas and fighting demented psychopaths… thats good enough for me! But I would say avoid the second film, it’s shite compared to the first one!

Nana

Nana has been hugely popular in Japan, originally a manga, which paved the way for an anime and finally 2 films were made. I haven’t seen the second one but the first one was thoroughly entertaining I thought. Essentially, and I do hate to admit it,  it’s a chick flick and I think Nana was originally made for girls but anyway, I thought the movie was awesome. It’s about 2 women, that share the same name Nana, who randomly meet each other but end up becoming good friends, and also about their experiences both past and present when it comes to love life and such like, anyway, if you’re expecting action or stupid humour, this probably isn’t the film for you

Versus

Versus… one of the most stylish action/horror films you will ever set your eyes upon.. fact! This, in my opinion, is Ryuhei Kitamura’s finest achievement so far, and its the movie that sent his career rocketing sky high when it was released. It’s apparently a low budget movie but you wouldn’t believe it if you see it because Kitamura has crafted such a tight and professional piece of work. Expect a lot of blood and gore and a hint of comedy thrown in for good measure! A second film has been rumoured to be in the works, but I doubt it will be able to surpass the awesomeness of the first one, this is one of my all time favourite movies and if you watch it you will see why!!

 

 

 

Survive Style 5+

‘Survive Style… what?!!’ is what you’re probably saying to yourself, right? In fact I tire of all the times when I tell people one of my favourite Japanese films is Survive Style 5+ and they have no idea what I’m going on about!! Well, this is one of the most entertaining films I have seen in a long time and I consider this THE most entertaining film of Japan right now. Well, what do you get when you mix a disturbed guy whose girlfriend keeps rising from the grave, a group of juvenile immature young adults, a father who has been hypnotised and eternally fooled into thinking he is a bird, an eccentric advertising director and an even more eccentric British hitman-for-hire who just happens to be played by Vinnie Jones?!!! Well, you get total frantic chaos!! You shouldn’t take this movie so seriously, its wacky, its weird and thats why its so damn good. Highly highly recommended, my top film of Japan!

Last word, also worth checking out are Tsubaki Sanjuro (I think it was originally a Kurosawa film but I haven’t seen that version) and Jigyaku no Uta. I saw these 2 films recently at the cinema and thought they were pretty good, but I guess it’ll be a while before they’re available in English, all films listed above except Nana are available in England

Ok ok, this is the last note, I’ll be writing up a list of the best anime films to check out later, so be sure to check back for that if you’re interested

 

Checking out my first proper Japanese gig

Well yesterday I went to my first ever proper Japanese gig, before that the only shows I had actually seen were free street ‘lives’ as they are known over here (The Japanese don’t really use any word for gig). Anyway, I saw Wrong Scale at Club Quattro, they are pretty much my favourite Japanese band at the moment and luckily they didn’t disappoint at all, their set was tight, very very tight and they put on an awesome performance. One thing that really surprised me about the Japanese audience was how they really go for it during the music, I was expecting a more reserved group of people but there was plenty of intense moshing (which I stayed well away from lol) and crowd surfing throughout the show. Another thing that surprised me about these guys is how much they actually pay attention to the rules (I didn’t see any notice about moshing or crowd surfing but there was a sign saying that taking pictures was prohibited and I didn’t see anyone take any photos, just struck me as bizarre because obviously at gigs back home I take a ton of photos of the band and record some video also.) Anyway, the thing that surprised me the most, but what I really respect about the Japanese crowd, is that when the band members were talking inbetween songs the audience was almost completely silent and providing their undivided attention to what the band had to say – I really liked that because at some shows I’ve been to before in England there are either a load of stupid kids shouting useless shit or stupid drunks also splurting out shit, it was good to see that people respected the band and actually listened to what they had to say. Club Quattro as a venue is bloody awesome, I’d say its about the same size as the Barfly in Birmingham if anyone knows that, or maybe just a bit bigger, but it didn’t really seem about the same as the Academy. Also anyone interested in getting good band merchandise should check out the store on the same floor as Club Quattro, I was very pleasantly surprised to find good shizzle such as Jimmy Eat World and Less Than Jake t-shirts!! But then I almost fainted when I saw the price lol, definitely cheaper back in England. The store also sells Kerrang, but I don’t know how much it is in Japan. Anyway, too much rambling, blah, anyway, thats it I guess, Wrong Scale, fecking awesome band, check out their music!!

Opposite worlds collide, finding elegance where you would least expect it…

Within easy walking distance from my apartment 2 very different worlds exist; one is a world of sleaze and filth, and the other is that of class, sophistication and elegance… I am of course talking about Roppongi! Roppongi itself is a main area of nightlife and entertainment for much of the Tokyo’s foreign population, although Japanese dudes do go there obviously also. I’ll be frank, I’m not a fan of the old Roppongi much, the main area is quite simply put a shit hole. It’s pretty much the sleaze capital of Tokyo. I do, however, like Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown… very much in fact! Here’s a brief breakdown:

Roppongi

The main area of Roppongi is full of bars and strip clubs, as well as a few familiar eateries (think Mc Donalds and Subway) – not really my cup of tea – if you’re a bloke who happens to be passing through be prepared to get approached by hookers and/or big butch guys asking you to go to their strip club.

Roppongi Hills

Roppongi Hills was opened in 2003, and partly because of that it’s a lot cleaner than the older parts of Roppongi. Roppongi Hills is home to various bars, restaurants, stores as well as a cinema (just last week Nicholas Cage and co were in Roppongi Hills for the world premiere of his new movie). TV Asahi and the Grand Hyatt Tokyo are also located over here.

Tokyo Midtown

Tokyo Midtown is the newest addition to the Roppongi, only actually having been completed in March of this year!! The area is used as office space by various big businesses (gaming giants Konami have their Tokyo office here for example). Midtown is also home to various stores, a radio studio and a garden as well as Design Sight 21_21, a design exhibition gallery created by none other than Issey Miyake! (ok ok, some random architect who I don’t know also helped out! ) I also just found out that the Midtown tower is the tallest building in Tokyo Prefecture.

Anyway, if you visit Roppongi, chances are that you will find something of interest, whatever freaky (or normal ) shit you’re into!!

Special Purchases – awesomeness of Macross Plus

Ok, I guess it’s time for my geeky side to take control again lol, on my last visit to Shimokitazawa I was lucky enough to find a cheap copy (about 500 yen) of the Macross Plus Cream P.U.F CD, it’s a collection of songs by Sharon Apple from the movie. For those who don’t know, any anime fan with any decent taste should watch Macross Plus as it is (in my opinion) one of the best animes ever made. When the original OVA was made it had one of the highest development budgets for any anime of it’s time. The OVA was then used to make the movie, however new scenes were added and the sequence of events in the film are slightly different compared to that of the OVA. Anyway, most of the soundtrack was composed by Yoko Kanno (who I have mentioned before, I love most of her work). I believe the Macross Plus soundtrack is one of the best, I think most new anime pales in comparison. The majority of the orchestral music from Macross Plus can be found on the first soundtrack (which I actually purchased in England). I just have to get OST2 now as that has some tracks which I don’t have. If you haven’t seen Macross Plus yet, you can find out more info on it here: Macross Plus Wiki

Anyway, the second special purchase I made was I.De.a album by Kyosuke Himuro. Himuro’s track Calling was actually used in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, and I loved it so much I wanted to listen to more of his music. I can say that getting his album was the best 100 Yen I have ever spent on a bargain CD!! I’m going to keep on the look out for more of his music because it’s pretty awesome!

Relaxing in Shimokitazawa

Located right next to the Yoyogi area, Shimokitazawa is the perfect place to spend a day chillin’ out, particularly if you’re a young student, like me. Shimokitazawa is full of sweet fashion stores selling alternative and independent fashion (luckily most of it isn’t as ‘far out’ as the stuff you will find in Harajuku lol). Some clothes are more affordable than others, but I don’t really do that much clothes shopping to be honest! The area is also home to a large concentration of independent cafes, which I personally love, because most of central Tokyo is infested with too many chain stores that lack character or charm. On my last recent visit I went to an English book sale, which was pretty good as most English literature in Japan costs a fortune brand new, but unfortunately I didn’t find much of interest, only bought one book. Also Shimokitazawa has its own branch of Dorama which is pretty much the same as Book-Off
I was happy and slightly surprised a bargain bin over there which actually sold some decent music alongside the usual shite that can be found in the bargain section! I happily bought Reel Big Fish, Balzac, Kyosuke Himuro and Seal (retro style!… well I only bought it for Kiss from a rose, the rest of the music was kind of shit lol) CDs for 100 Yen each!! I also found a Macross Plus CD which deserves special mention, so I’ll be writing a special post about it later, also including the Kyosuke Himuro music. Anyway, if you’re interested in checking out some rather interesting and different stores compared to the usual chains that you’ll find in other parts of Tokyo, be sure to head along to Shimokitazawa!

Running into a part of home

One day I found myself walking in the Marunouchi district, whilst it serves as a main business and government district it is also home to some of Tokyo’s most expensive fashion stores, with brands such as Gucci selling their attire there. I stumbled across one store which instantly brought back memories of home…

….Harrods…. in Japan!! I had no idea there was a Harrods over here, a little piece of England in Japan… I decided not to go into the store though, no point I thought as ultimately I wouldn’t be able to afford anything!