T n' T

While searching online for pictures of yokai in regard to a recent post, I kept coming across images like this:


The film was completely unfamiliar to me, so I followed the links and found that I was, in fact, aware of the film, Pom Poko, but I had never realized what it was actually about:


Raccoons!

Well, actually they’re tanukis. The movie just incorrectly (and rather annoyingly) refers to them in both the subtitles and dub as raccoons. Now, I understand why they’ve done this: American families, more likely than not, have no idea what a tanuki is. I do, but that’s only because I had to swerve several times while driving in Miyagi-ken to avoid hitting them.


They aren’t raccoons. They’re a separate species called raccoon-dogs and are more closely related to the canine half of their namesake.

Why am I so up in arms about the fact that the American version of Pom Poko doesn’t take the time out to explain that they’re tanukis? Because the entire movie revolves around the simple fact that tanukis are considered magical creatures in Japan (much like foxes and (older) cats). Tanukis, not raccoons. All over Japan you can find statues of these creatures with their one, rather large, distinguishing feature:


Their huge testicles. This is actually where the tanukis store most of their power. Their testicles can even grow to enormous sizes, big enough for them to play like drums or sit on. And, they are said to be extremely good luck. See, there’s a reason why a Google search for ‘yokai’ kept turning up this movie: Tanukis are considered yokai of a sort.


So, when I first saw the cover for Pom Poko, I actually assumed they were raccoons specifically because A.) they were advertised as such and B.) none of the creatures featured on the cover had visible testicles.


But within the first few minutes of the movie, BAM! There they were and believe me: tanuki testicles played a HUGE (literally at times) part in the story.


All I could think of was 'how?' How did this movie get distributed in America? And by Disney, no less? They play with their balls, they sing about their balls, they fight with their balls. They even form ships out of their balls!

For my first viewing, I watched it with the original Japanese audio. The words ‘balls’ and ‘testicles’ abounded in the English subtitles. I'm certain there's a drinking game somewhere that involves downing a shot every time either pops up. Makes me mighty curious what the Disney dubbing did about all that…

This is a story...

About rabbits and bears. Or at least it will be by the end of the year.

For a while now I've been trying to get myself moving on a new independent project. I have a bunch of ideas floating around in my head, a few of which are music videos to songs I like. Some of those are really just impossible dreams (Simon and Garfunkel's 'Overs'). But some, like American Astronaut's (artists-formally-known-as the Billy Nayer Show) weird little song 'Rabbits and Bears' seem more attainable.

After rattling some ideas around in my head, I tilted it to the left and let a few of them roll right on out to Dave Cowles. Dave and I just finished up a job together for They Might Be Giants and I love his design sense and crazy ideas so it seemed like a good idea. Turns out to have been a great idea thus far... without further adieu, some character designs!


And possible color models!

Stay tuned for more awesome-ness!

Sugoi! Mubi desu!

As well as writing about my two years living abroad, my day-to-day life since being back, my work and anything else that pops into my mind, I’ve decided to throw one more topic in to the mix: films. Specifically, films I’ve seen threw the years that more likely than not, you, dear reader, have not. To begin…

Yokai Daisenso

Or in English: The Great Yokai War. This film, directed by Takashi Miike, is technically a children’s movie which, to anyone out there that knows Miike, might seem surprising. I’m sure I’ll write about a few of his other films in the future.

The Great Yokai War is a remake of an older Japanese film made in 1968 called Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare*. In both films, good yokai (Japanese spirits) band together to overcome the big, bad yokai. It’s that simple. Why do I love them both? Cause I love yokai. They’re bizarre and I promise to elaborate further in future blogs.

But, there are several reasons to love Miike’s remake apart from “Yokai are cool”. For starters, just take in to account that this IS a children’s’ film. Keep this in mind as you scroll through the following images:

Bloody mutant cow fetuses?

Melting monsters in vats of red goo?

Small children being murdered by giant Optimus Primes from Hell on their way to the bathroom?

Kill Bill/Battle Royale's Chiaki Kuriyama’s numerous panty shots?

And my personal favorite:

The message to Japanese children everywhere that if you want the ability to see all these really awesome yokai all you have to do is drink A LOT of Kirin ‘biru’.

Other great things this flick’s got? Well, loads of fun special effects which, although nothing to compare to most of the CGI-extravaganzas out right now, celebrate the typically not-so-great-looking special effects we expect from any over-the-top Japanese monster movie. And for the hippies out there, some feel-good, peace-and-love messages: “Those who discard their past have no future” and “Wars don’t bring any good. They only make you a fool.” Right on, dude…

Oh, yeah… and yokais are just freaking cool.

*Sadly, I can’t remember for the life of me what the title is in Japanese and, even sadder still, the internet has failed me as well.

So much for March...

Well, it’s been a long hard month. For those of you who don’t know I moved to Brooklyn, had no internet for the first three days I was living here, then got it back for one day only to have my computer of 5 years up and die on me the next morning.

In light of those rather weighty and depressing events, I’m going to keep this, my first post since moving, rather, umm… light.

A few months back, I was working at 8 Hats High on a project for some toy designers. Part of the project was to create multiple models (actual models; not 3D renders) of the proposed toy. In order to do this we needed a mold (cue my excitment! No, really. I like making molds). So, Sonha and I began our quest for molding and casting materials.

That quest lead us to a ‘somewhat deceit, but still unsuited for our needs’ art store. The question of whether or not we found what we were looking for is unimportant and was completely overshadowed by this awesome find:


I have no idea what place this has in an art store.


Boxers or briefs?


A few of those necessary outfits.


Our future president who, fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you want to look at it), doesn’t have an ‘undressed’ state.


However, Jeb looks like one sour little bastard; probably cause he knows he won’t ever get a shot at the presidency.

Monsters, no ink...

I was encouraged (a.k.a told) I should post more drawings.

To appease the (sparse) crowd I shall, but with a slight twist since I don't like to always do exactly what I'm told. Besides, sculpture has always been one of my favorite forms of art.


I sculpted this guy while living abroad, teaching English in Japan (he was even exhibited in a big art show in Sendai). To give you some idea of what that involved, this sculpture in particular was completely almost entire during working hours (that's how much they cared about learning English... I kid, I kid).


The experience did garner one of my more interesting altercation with a Japanese co-worker about how an artist's mind works. He didn't understand that the design for this creature came from 'my imagination'. He kept asking me where it was from. When that proved to frustrating, he moved on to ask if it was a whale or a camel. I finally told him it was a kind of kaiju like Godzilla and Gamera. You think he would have understood that.


Good thing he never saw this guy... it would have blown his mind.

Mee-sa love Anni!

Comiket is primarily a comic convention for people who are so obsessed with characters such as Anakin Skywalker, Harry Potter and even that masked chap from V For Vendetta that they create and sell their own fan-fic of said characters.

If I had known Comiket was going to be a fan-fic convention, I probably wouldn't have gone. I was expecting Spiderman, just not in this format. In the end, I'm glad I went for two reasons: One, I didn't spend nearly as much money as I thought I would. Two, apparently when someone is as obsessed with Obiwan Kenobi as these people are, they are mostly concerned with writing about whether or not he's going to get Anakin in bed. That's right. Comiket seems to be filled with nothing but yaoi.


There was a LOT of Harry Potter yaoi. A LOT. This proved a bit of a challenge because I wanted to find one that I wouldn't feel ashamed to show my librarian mother when she inevitably asked to see it. All I could manage to find was this PG-rated one (mostly due to a penis joke involving the Weasel twins).


Spidey was also really big that year. This particular comic is the first half of a two part story involving Peter and Harry's growing and ultimately awkward love for one another. Unfortunately, my friend got his hands on the last copy of the second half in which Peter has Venom's love-child. He actually had a hard time convincing the girl who created it to sell him the copy (boys aren't suppose to like this stuff!).


I did get this sexy postcard, though!


This one is probably one of the nicest. It's got a simple but fun story while keeping the art and characters true to the American cartoon it was obviously based off of. In case you can't read the fine print, the story involves:

Girls-Bash-Night
Harley and Ivy are best pal. Merry making of girls's night. Love and the talk of sex are indispensable at a girlfriend's night!



Basically, Harley and Ivy talk about which hero/villain they'd like to 'do'. There's even a clever, if obvious joke about the Flash. All in all, it's cute and the characters remain true to the originals.


This, however, is perhaps my favorite. I can only guess that the Replicator is malfunctioning or something...

Whatever the case may be, it's certainly upsetting Number One.

Kudos to anyone that knows who this is or can guess what the story might entail...

Gomenasai...

Between some work with They Might Be Giants wrapping up, looking for a new apartment, a wicked cold that seems to come and go every other week and the upcoming move to said new apartment this poor ol' blog has fallen into disrepute. Once the move is complete, I promise interesting and exciting pictures of my new neighborhood and feline roommates.

For now though, I shall hope to amuse you with an exciting two part blog all about my adventures at Comiket back in 2006 (today's post) and some of the strange fan fiction I collected there (later post). Shall we begin?

Comiket is a HUGE comic fair held annually in Odaiba, just south of Tokyo that focuses primarily on fan-fic. The group of us headed down by shinkansen which some how was always more exciting to prepare for than to actually ride.


Bill's REALLY happy about Comiket.


I can't really see why... looks like a bunch of otakus milling about a warehouse.


Oh, now I know why he was excited... I had no idea 'The Boy Who Lived' was such a big fan of yaoi.

In all honesty, I think I spent a grand total of three hours actually at Comiket. The rest of the time, I wondered around Odaiba which had way more to offer.


Like Japan's very own Statue of Liberty!


And the giant ferris wheel... I don't think it's the biggest in the world but I'm sure some local swore to me that it was.


In fact, the best part of the trip down south was the giant mall (yes, mall) nearby. Inside, you can find Sega Joypolis.


It's basically an indoor amusement park complete with rollercoasters, simulation rides and other such goodies that I don't actually know the proper names for.

The coolest floor, though, was one made up to look like a matsuri (festival) straight out of the 1960s with a haunted house, boweling alley (well, really just one lane) and lots of vintage pinball machines and arcade games. Hmm... maybe this will be a three part post...