Category Archives: English Language Modern Visual Fandom

May 12, 2011

Brain Dump: 2011-05-12

By omo

Just to capture what’s on my mind today before restless sleep flushes it out, that or just a lot of work:

The Aya Hirano thing happened. If you’ve ever been to Forbidden Planet, you might note that it is arranged not unlike the Strand used bookstore next block down, which, if you have not been to either, is a place with a lot of stuff stacked mighty high, and there’s not a lot of room to move around. It’s kind of like shopping in Akiba, I guess. So even if you want to do an event there, there’s just not much space for it.

The rumored 5pm starting time is grossly exaggerated. Things didn’t really happen until 6:30. The word was Hirano and crew were filming something at the Met, and, well, NYC is the birthplace of gridlock. It’s not a long drive at all from UES down to Union Square, thankfully.

The whole thing went down like an episode of Otaku Versus Zero, except instead of Macias going to the field (or the improved Macias x Asakawa combo in season 2)  for some half-reality, half-reporting programming, it’s Hirano going to the field for some of the same. It is really casual; the crew was about 7 people, including two camera peeps, a boom guy, and a bunch of girls who are, I guess, handlers and interpreters and whoever Hirano needs on location.

The crowd was pretty small; pretty much all kids until later on. A couple business types showed up so I didn’t feel so out of place. I think there were a bunch of kids who had to leave because of classes or something, so the delayed start thinned out a lot of people. That said, it’s Forbidden Planet, so by “a lot” it’s like just a dozen.

What did Hirano do? She did her half-scripted thing with the one clerk there, she asked some questions and 2-3 of the people in on the thing asked her some questions. Before that she was just looking and shopping and pointing at merch. There was this bigass Haruhi dakimakura right by the entrance to the anime/manga section (oh, right, this all took place on the second floor of FP, which is even smaller), I wonder why. Anyways, after the Q&A, we got friendly, took pictures, and she signed a few items before being ushered away. Oh, she also did like 4 different voices. I was holding back my urge to yell “Katja-sama!” but that’s probably the right thing to do. But if anyone cared, one of the four voices was Ms. “Give Me Blood” Pachira! Thar be otaku in our midst.

There’s a line about how it went down in terms of press and media. If there was anyone to blame, it was one of the guys who had the heads up on Hirano’s visit and tweeted about it. The next thing that happens is that the all-seeing tweetbot of Scott Green (of AICN/CR News) picked it up and retweeted it. It happened some time like 3pm on 5/11, but I didn’t notice it until I was reading my feed on 5/12, on my commute in. I think Jtor picked up the story for serious, and ANN got the full scope afterwards. Wonder who wrote it up for them…!

There’s also some back story that I overheard about Hirano’s low-profile visit. But surely, Japanese people read ANN. I guess it’s just the anime industry types…but that stuff cross-breeds on 2ch just the same. Uh. The back story has to do with stuff about the low-profile visit, so you can take a guess what I’m referring to.

===

The other thing I want to just blarb about is Anime Expo’s Hatsune Miku festival. Pound for pound, while Kalafina is pretty cool, Scandal over at Anaheim is probably a little more attractive. I happen to like Kalafina’s music more, but I’ve also seen them already. Now, this Vocaloid show? It’s, what, the third or fourth time we’ll see actual holographic projection for real? We as in, the world? I think this one is just a little more serious business, Toyota’s involvement notwithstanding. Plus, Sega is doing it!

And holograms don’t weight very much I think. Even if you throw in Len, Ren and Luka on top of Miku. [They also don’t take up space in the green room…hrm THE PERFECT AX GUEST LOLOLOL.]

It’s got a production committee behind it fer crying out loud. But with the behind-the-scenes works, it doesn’t surprise me.

As for the last bit on Miku and Toyota (for now), the WSJ blog post on it is as good as it gets to the bottom line. Ricers may not dig Corollas, but their girls and sisters might just have big dreams and compact dreams. (I’m sorry, I can’t help myself.)

Leave a comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture

May 9, 2011

Alternate Theories on Miku + Corolla

By omo

So, yes, it didn’t occur to me because this article was about Fast Five, which came out some time in late April, about a movie that came out over a week ago, which is yet another a few days prior to the Toyota Corolla x Hatsune Miku tie-in.

The Boston.com article, titled “Fast Forward: Why a movie about car thieves is the most progressive force in American cinema” details the nature of American mainstream cinema and how somehow The Fast and the Furious franchise is now the #1 progressive franchise in America mainstream cinema which treats race as a fact of life and not some issue or point. It mirrors a less-whitewashed reality experienced by more people in this country than most other films. Perhaps a coincidence, it is no less a force for progress.

The article is a good read, and if that topic interests you, please go ahead. I am just going to grab one thought out of it. I quote:

In a sense, the balkanization of movies would appear to be an example of how much culture has splintered into niches—more proof, if we needed it, that we no longer watch, listen to, or read the same material. But moviegoing is one of our last shared public acts. Hundreds of millions of people continue to watch movies together, and it’s easy to scan the house and see who’s watching with you. Were you to visit the big theaters in Boston—the AMC Boston Common or the Regal Fenway—you’d see that the audiences at both complexes are often diverse. The movies are not.

You wouldn’t draw much of a popular audience, mixed or otherwise, to a movie about race, of course. And that is the accidental genius of the “Fast and Furious” movies. They’re not about race. Race—and casualness about race—is just their hallmark. They’re about something else, a great American unifying principle: sexy cars that everybody wants to drive.

So to me, it comes down to two things:

1. To see Hatsune Miku–a first pop idol of sorts for her race (Japanese meme-oid fictional character)–in a car ad is something truly American. Big dreams! I laughed pretty hard, I confess. But it’s the right car, for the right audience.

2. Some people are complaining because, well, it’s a Toyota Corolla. In fact it’s probably as opposite to “sexy cars that everybody wants to drive” as it can get. Just look at how well the Corolla XRS sold (cancelled for 2011 model year). I mean I suppose there’s a perverse joy in putting racing stripes on your Chrysler Town and Country, and a Miku x Corolla ad is not as bad as that, but one might just question the unifying qualities of such choice on the automobile. Well, at least there is no question to its desirability, considering that despite the failure of 10th gen Corolla versus its competition, its utilitarian appeal ensures a sales figure of over 200,000 vehicles a year in the US alone. Still, it just isn’t a “big dreams” vehicle. It’s the exemplary Asian-conservative econo-car.

Mr. Opportunity should have had his chance with the young idol. Imagine the scandal it would generate back in Japan! At least Civics had way more face time in F&F than the Corolla (which was always just the cameo of the iconic AE86). Thinking about it, I think people would have reacted more positively if it was a Civic or a Mazda 3 (a truly progressive merger of American and Japanese concepts and technologies), if we’re sticking with that class of cars. The production quality nitpicks are always going to be an issue when we’re talking about international copyright and money spent on ads, but it would have soften the jarring migration from one media scene and aesthetics to another.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture

May 8, 2011

Explaining Miku + Corolla

By omo

For the uninitiated, Toyota of North America rolled out an ad/campaign for Hatsune Miku, to sell the 2011 Corolla.

So far the collective reaction among fans are like, “what the?“ I mean Houkago Pleaides at least is a brand-wide tag-a-long. (CR has a nice write-up on how it sold). But Miku? In a Corolla?

Well, let’s not jump to conclusions. If I was an idol I would be pretty happy to join the ranks of Superbowl MVPs and other American local sports heroes, selling, get this, the third best selling sedan in America. It’s not a trivial thing; far from it. Miku is the face of a multi-billion-dollar business. Ok, she may be just one of many faces, but I mean, the revenue of Toyota dwarfs anything that ever came out of Crypton ever, all together, and then by a multiple. Heck, it’s probably a multiple bigger than all the revenue via Miku’s derivative works–all her doujin and non-doujin CDs, books, DVD, video games, whatever. Heck (again), just the Corolla’s revenue in North America may be all of that already. I’m going to assume that the marketing team behind the world’s largest car company (well, maybe back to second largest by end of 2011 due to the quake) are pairing up with Miku for a reason (at least until proven otherwise). But all I’m saying is, this is like, really serious business.

Of course, it doesn’t mean people’s reactions are unwarranted. I’m inclined to think a part of this has to do with the corporate sponsorship nature of stars and products. The most random people can get paired with the most random thing. Just ask Hideki Matsui. Or the Ex-Governator. Or watch Lost in Translation. But this is Toyota of America, so none of those cross-cultural things are likely to apply.

To share, my initial reaction to Miku’s new ad was not unlike my reaction from the animated ad for the Nissan Sentra SE-R back in 2001(?) where the whole thing looked kind of like a crappy Avatar (the animated series), but more in tune of the famous Honda Civic Del-Sol ad when they got sued by MGM (okay, famous only for copyright junkies). It was also right about when Initial D was the hottest thing. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

In other words, this Eastern fusion of vehicle and animation is hardly new. When you have an excitable, down to earth and relatively large customer base (ie., young people), who, unlike their Japanese counterparts, actually needs to drive and can afford cars, well, you’re going to pander.

For a girl who’s graced  random variety news segments in America, Miku is a very nice option. She’s definitely a genuine idol in a lot of ways; there’s name recognition to a degree. She’s exotic, for sure. Bizarre even. Eye-catching and regardless if you know her or not, Toyota’s ad probably is worth a double-take. And to that, I think it’s all Toyota is looking for. Someone young, youthful, perhaps cutting-edge in some subculture, and most importantly, attention-catching. The name recognition is just icing IMO.

Or in this case, the anti-icing. Because I really have no excuse in terms of the execution of the ad. The splash page for the Miku ad campaign, the ad, and all those details…kind of rubs some people the wrong way.

But then again, so did that Nissan ad.

The takeaway, thus, is let’s enjoy it. I like Miku as a concept and largely as an entity as well, it’s her little limelight in America, her ticking 15 minutes of fame getting ever more…famous. It may not amount to much, but Toyota linking up with Miku is probably even more awesome for her than it is for the top auto brand. It’s like getting away with a fat advertising contract and then not make the playoffs next season. Let’s again put it in the right perspective: a lot of new and upcoming bands are excited even when their music makes it in one of these large commercial projects. I was kind of stoked when that one Onitsuka Chihiro ad, or hearing Explosions in certain car ads. Miku’s Toyota gig is basically, yet again, a little pop cultural nod in a land tiled by commercial interests.

Now why they didn’t go with Scion, that’s something to think about. Even with their hard rock tie-in.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

May 4, 2011

Sing for Lelangir, Help Japan, Maybe

By omo

So Lelangir has been working with some folks on a vocaloid piece. It’s all more magical and touching when he described it, but the gist is that he is submitting this vocaloid song for charity. The chartiable effort is known as #charity_song, and you can view their site (JP) here. I believe the point is to make these original vocaloid pieces, sell them for monies, and donate the proceeds. I think in the coming weeks there will be some info on that in English on #charity_song’s site.

What we can do to help is not only buy #charity_song’s first album on US iTunes store (Charity Song 404), or any of their Japanese offerings, but also record some voice clips for Lelangir to mix into his piece. You can hear a work-in-progress clip over at his post on this matter, as well as all the information I’m about to parrot now: record what you want, zip it up and toss it on to one of those file locker services like sendspace or megaupload or whatever, and email him a link. You can also just email it as an attachment. He’s looking for people who can speak all sort of stuff, in all sorts of language, I hope you get what he’s going for. [He has stopped taking submissions!]

I’ve done my little line or two, and it may seem kind of weird at first, so here are some probably unnecessary pointers (seriously, how can you screw this up): Figure out what you want to say before hand. What works best are short sentences or phrases. Say it a few times and see if you like the sound of it, record it a few times to see if it comes out right. I used Audacity, but anything that can record and save would probably work. If you have nothing to say, you could just come up with simple things like “doooo your bestttt” or whatever, and it can be in different languages as well. Also, you can submit as many clips as you want, I don’t think it’s a problem as long as you don’t make way too many so it’s logistically difficult to handle. If you want to farm some smart thing to say, twitter tags about Japan’s ordeal is one place to look. Speeches given by people about the topic is another.

Personally, I hope #charity_song would get on the US Amazon music store as well. I’m not a iTunes person and it’s annoying to get around the geoblock for those stores.

[Update] This past weekend #charity_song launched its English-language site, so now you know what’s going on.

[Update #2] Lelangir stopped taking submissions. You can see the final work on Nico here (registration required).

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

May 2, 2011

Animelo Summer Live 2010, Finally

By omo

Ever since Animelo summer lives switched to the 2-day format, it takes some kind of planned approach to even watch the home video release. All is well, it takes a lot of effort to attend these things, so we homebodies are just getting a small taste!

Over 10 hours of anison artists parading themselves up and down Saitama Super Arena is probably noteworthy, I think, regardless of DVD or BD or Nico stream or actually being there or whatever. So here goes.

First off, this is the first time ever that if you pay the bucks to buy the release, you get all the footage. I don’t get why it took like 5 years for this to happen, because it seems kind of retarded. Yeah, maybe sometimes it just can’t be helped, but it’s money for the taking! Anyways, it’s a great thing, and I hope they can continue this next year.

Overall, I think day 1 is just better than day 2 in terms of average quality of acts, but it feels like day 2 acts probably have the larger fan populations. Since this is anison, I don’t think quality is something I’m going to be too concerned about anyways. And did I just insult everyone just now? Even if it’s not what I intended? Oh well.

As for special duets, I think 2010 is definitely on the weak side, although there were two good ones on day two: Get Wild and Unchain World. Day one was severely lacking, plus when Kurinoko stood in for the opening JamPro song on day one, it feels like we shouldn’t count that. I thought Aki Misato’s performance last year was the one to top, when it comes to JamPro collabs.

I’m going to approach this in a non-chronological order. You can get a better breakdown from elsewhere already, and you can always watch it yourself now that it’s well-distributed…

Minami Kuribayashi – I think lately she’s on a hot streak, but this took place right before that broke out. Pro. Regardless of your opinion on her bust size, she always dresses well. It’s a pretty good constant to have for day one. I think she’ll be fun to watch this summer in Anisama 2011.

Yuuka Nanri – Speaking of well-dressed, she was by far the best dressed singer on day one, if not both days. She’s a complete package: the look, the style, the voice, the type of music, plus seiyuu chops. She was slotted in a good spot during day one, when people are still fresh enough and not overly dazzled by all the acts yet, but warmed-up enough to welcome a pretty tight act. It’s perfect.

Jam Project – Their small set was also a tight act. Group karaoke was a good way to naturally “evolve” from their usual 10-minute-SKILL calls. I suppose “evolution” is a theme they thought up after all, so they follow it? I think the choice is good, too. Gong is awesome when taken slowly. Great way to end day 1.

Yukari Tamura – She’s one of those acts that I can’t take seriously, but when inserted into this omnibus format I think her stuff really shine. That cuteness stood out and I think the crowd calling wasn’t impacted by the fact that not all people are into her stuff. Otagei by and large is easy to follow along, right? Right? And I guess the same thousands of people who packs out her shows were obviously in force on day 2.

And, man, You & Me. LOL. Is that white strip on Motsu’s shirt a racing stripe?

Halko Momoi – Another day-2 act, she also stood out in terms of being weird, or cute, depends on how you look at it. I think there’s definitely some cross-pollination and marketing between her and Yukarin, but it’s the same schtik I guess. She played classics, which is probably suitable for this oft-repeated Animelo attendee. I think it’s good she preceded the weirdest visual act….

Ali Project – I think Arika takes the weirdest title again. It’s both classic and  new. I liked the song choices, and the motif is pretty awesome, much less weird than Ishikawa’s on Day 1, which also had samurai folks with swords, I guess. Historic …aristocrat?  just works better with those okama-types. But being the weirdest visual act I think her role in Anisama has always been the same, probably much like her fans. In other words, when you dress up as some kind of fusion geisha type and then wave at people with your katana, while singing something from Katanagatari, it might work.

Fripside – I think these guys may rank number two for weird, mainly for the magician acts. Yeah, throwing ears at the crowd. Yoshino Nanjou is cute in that outfit. Also makes me wonder if Qwaser will have an attach to Fripside… It would work. All in all it was an odd way to begin Day One.

Chiaki Ishikawa – Another improvement from previous year, her dress makes her looks 10 years younger. It’s like she took cues from Chihhi from last year. But her stuff is all about the composition and vocals, and no amounts of fabric can change that. Solid choices  for an otherwise uneventful year for her. Day 1.

Chihiro Yonekura – Also day 1. She looks much more like her age this year, and she sings the stuff you think of when her name gets mentioned anywhere. But the thing is, you know she can sing, and it’s just a matter of her singing something new, in order to have something new to sing? It’s just something she isn’t doing for whatever reason.

Which makes a lot of sense that she gets paired with Naomi Tamura. As much as seeing Naomi Tamura at Otakon was, I guess. The song is epic anison from the 90s, the only thing better would be a 3-way duet with Atsuko or medley into MKR OP3.

Lia – She’s pretty good contrast to Chihhi in that she’s also being mom-ish now, and her excellent English enunciation is like an UO in a dark room of Engrishness of Day One. But unlike Chihhi, she has new songs! And she sings old ones too. I definitely enjoy Lia a lot partly because recently I’ve been looping some of her older CDs, but she’s just another one of those singers that makes day one stand out more than day two IMO.

Perfect con guest, but probably nesting for the near future.

Elisa – Another day one guest, she is more a gag now than anything. Ok, she is also beautiful and sings pretty okay. So the humor thing is just another charm point to an otherwise competent but uninspiring artist. I wonder how they’ll do those Kaminomi songs this year, if they even do them.

Faylan – I think she single-handedly redeemed the first disc on day two. Last year she was pretty shakey, but showed a lot of promise. This year? She’s spot on and she has a pretty winsome smile. Probably the third most winsome on day two, which is no easy feat.

Nana Mizuki – The difference between the reigning Queen of Anison and her cohorts on Day 2 is less than one may imagine. But the overall impression is pretty awesome and very different, it’s like once everyone turns on their UOs, I get teleported back through time and space to some baseball stadium… But in essence, her act is not a huge leap forward compared to even Ayane’s.

The duet with Makkun is pretty awesome, as one would expect. Makkun’s outfit looks like something out of a K-ON music video, lol. Also, stick play is tricky! Minorin needs to learn a couple moves from them!

As far as duets go, Makkun is probably one of the best duet combo you could have since she’s insta-spot on for harmonization. You can tell this was not the case for Minorin x May’n’s on day two for Sousei no Aquarion, and despite the massive nostalgia value of Northern Lights, it was two good vocalists belting out karaoke; there’s not a lot of skills being played between them.

Minori Chihara – Porcelain-skinned Goddess is still white and smooth. At least she knows to pick the one song I actually like on day 2!

Motsu – Not a real act, but the encore is 100% better with him than without. I like how they play on this on day 2 with the lift intro and all.

Crush Tears – Yu’s best singing is during the encore. That says something. Well, apologies to Elisa, because this is a real gag, right? This is a cute addition to day two, but I think everyone was disappointed that Kobayashi wore pants. At least there was screaming.

Lisa & Marina – They’re suppose to be gags, but they’re both solid hitters in day one’s lineup. I think Lisa just sold a lot of CD that day. Too bad her first solo CD came out right at the same time as the BD/DVD for Anisama! Marina was slightly not what I was expecting, being the first time I saw her perform for reals, but she did good. Kind of like the bassist and guitarist that were with them. I really need to watch that live tour video…

The 3-way collab on Aoi Tada’s piece was great, because they probably all are better than she is?

May’n – So young and so pro! Second most winning smile. I think they gave her more face time this year, and she did a good job holding up the show for day two. Universal Bunny was somehow more interesting this time than the one time I saw it live. Interestingly she didn’t mention her US live when the MC turned international, where as Yukarin used that to talk about her Japan Expo live. Citizenship be damned.

KOTOKO – No longer so young but still pro, and it feels a bit out of place. But man, Kotoko slays. Kind of like hearing FJ last year. Totally a full-room-of-UO kind of performance. Except it’s kind of a cold showing. I don’t know why. Also, she wasn’t in on the encore for some reason, probably had to run!

Masaaki Endou – I was expecting him to go all out more and do something outrageous, but I guess this works for day 2. I think the Jam Pro solo stuff is more filler material, but I guess he and Makkun did have some activity outside the group.

Masami Okui – Well, you know how I feel about her. Which is to say, she is always awesome despite rapidly aging out of this segment, and maybe she should have a real act with the Anisama band, since that’s kind of how it works. Also noted how they even have the rights to show the Koihime Mousou clips during her song, lol.

Ayane – I was impressed, she reminded me of that generic, high-energy Elements Garden type sort of act. It’s nice. The duet was a lot of fun, but nothing really memorable for me, a non-fan of sorts. Good job with the dance choreography. It may feel jaded, but I rather liked her act. In a way it reminds me of Yui Sakakibara’s thing from last year.

Milky Holmes – Fun group, but probably better live than on video. They’re the deers-in-headlights group for day two.

SPHERE – These girls are the deers-in-headlights group for day one. I’m not sure how they feel, but I was happy that they got 3 songs. NowSka is always a pleasant experience. Too bad behind the scenes cut out all their stuff :( On the other hand, Milky Holmes puts these girls to utter shame in terms of their dancing abilities.

Milktub – Nice hat, I like the songs from 2011 more than 2010, so looking forward to that. An unremarkable day two guest, but one on the rise.

The duet, as I mentioned before, was a great choice and matches YUFFY very well. Milktub was just hitting it straight though.

Psychic Lover – Wow, that Shinkenger song is pretty awesome. Too bad I feel sorry for him on video, sweating and exhausted after that! Day 2 jammers gonna jam, I guess.

Angela – I always liked them, and I probably could chart how I feel about them over the years and it would come out like a sine wave. That said, 2010 was a good year for their songs, and it helped that I trucked through the anime attached to them. Aoi Haru is awesome, and it’s actually not as hard to sing as you’d imagine. But doing it at anisama? Priceless. I enjoyed Alternative too, with the weird outfit Atsuko’s got on.

Naozomi Takahashi – I was doing the dishes. It’s not bad though. Good day one choice, because I think the cool dudes were largely on day 2.

Kanako Itou – She still looks freaky, but somehow she looks freaky even among a cast of weirdly-decked-out performers. Thankfully she’s pretty good at singing. Certainly upping the weird quotient for day one. Or is it upping the number of female performers that hunches over and swayed a lot? I think that’s what’s freaky about her more than her outfit or hair. She gets really intense-looking and it’s like o.O

nomico & Masayoshi Minoshima – Bad Apple is bad ass, I think the whole “NND meme” thing is in play. But it sure is interesting to see some internet person sing the thing in the flesh. She’s not bad at it either. Another little perk to make day 1 over day 2… Plus, nomico’s line during the encore was cute.

GOMBAND – Definitely the worst act for day one. Or may be they are the second set of deers-in-headlight for the day? Musically they’re okay I guess, but they feel too much like someone popped out of some cohesive marketing scheme to make a bunch of journeymen do silly stuff.

Granrodeo – Rose-hip Bullet is pretty catchy, but I want my Psychic Lover plz. These guys are not bad, just not my thing. I guess it had to do for day one.

Some final thoughts.

I think Anisama lives are hitting a turning point. The 3 spin-off events–Shanghai and the two Girls Night shows–are clearly where they want to go next in terms of moving things onward and growing the fan base. I think it’s the right direction, but I don’t know if it will be able to overcome some of the obvious logistical and financial difficulties to hoist this ever-larger festival onward to an even larger future. From what I can tell the GN and oversea shows are pretty successful, so at least to the larger market in East Asia and around the Pacific Rim, there’s hope for more cool stuff like this.

But there are other ways for Animelo evolve. It was always a premium stage for new and smaller acts. I think it’s doing that even better this year, among the likes of Faylan, LiSA, and even May’n and others. That’s good. What I want to see even more is the meme-farming that has been happening every year, where somehow, one of Nico’s largest act show up one time a year. I think we can expand that. We can also expand the line-up to have more fresh blood. I think that % is the lowest this year versus prior years.

Also, it needs more seiyuu ensembles. I thought the Zetsubo Sensei act was one of the best things to roll around Animelo since forever, and more of them would be welcomed.

Totally looking forward to Anisama 2011!

1 comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop