The 2013 NHK Taiga Drama

In the San Francisco Bay Area starting on March 3.

The first episode of the 2013 NHK Taiga Drama "Yae's Sakura" (English Subtitled) will be broadcast at 8 PM, with reruns on Saturday at 10 PM, on Ch 38.4 Tokyo TV.

For more info see:

http://www.ttvusa.com/yae_eng.php

I highly recommend folks tune in if they can.

Still only available for free over the airwaves.

"We don' need no stinkin' cable!"

http://www.ttvusa.com/setup1.php

47 Ronin Six Times Over

I'm back after taking some time off for other projects and traveling to Tokyo for Comiket and the New Year.

This time I have more recommended films. Six in fact all related to the story of the 47 ronin and their famous attack on Kira's mansion. This story has not only inspired puppet and kabuki plays but also over 80 films. These few below are some of the best and available on English subtitled DVD. In fact I include a DVD release of the kabuki play as well as a silent picture with benshi accompanyment.

Enjoy

47 Ronin

 

See:
Chushingura
Jitsuroku Chushingura
Kana Tehon Chūshingura
Kon Ichikawa’s 47 Ronin
The Loyal 47 Ronin
Samurai Vendetta (a.k.a. Hakuoki)

Slow activity

I've been spending time on other projects so I have not posted much here recently.

However I have added a few titles to the recommended title lists, and I have a large number of titles to add in the future.

What I have added is:

For manga:

A Zoo in Winter by Taniguchi Jiro.

For prose:

ENMA the Immortal by Nakamura Fumi

Maohden by Kikuchi Hideyuki

Boys who love BL

Volume 1 of the new Genshiken Second Season manga has been out for a few weeks. For me this means not only enjoying a fun manga but also learning more about contemporary fandom in Japan.

And I was not disappointed as in the first chapter we have an example of a new word to be added to the Anime Companion Supplement:

fudanshi (rotten man) 腐男子

Are you a straight male BL fan? Where you now have a term to describe yourself.

To view and read

I have added some additional items to the recommended title pages.

For live action:

- Aragami: The Raging God of Battle
- Seven Samurai
- Shiranami Gonin Otoko

For Prose:

Several works by Kikuchi Hideyuki:
- Demon City Shinjuku: The Complete Edition
- Vampire Hunter D
- Wicked City
- Wind Named Amnesia / Invader Summer
- Yashakiden: The Demon Princess

and by Uchida Yasuo:

- The Togakushi Legend Murders

These titles range from sophisticated to pulp. The good stuff is found both in the high and low.

Getting around and destroying stuff

I've added some new entries to the Recommended Prose page.

 This time two practical books for travelers to Japan and two funs books for fans of space opera science fiction.

 The new entries are:

 Bilingual Atlas of KYOTO

 Bilingual Atlas of TOKYO Covering All 23 Wards

 The Great Adventure of the Dirty Pair by Takachiho Haruka

 The Dirty Pair Strikes Again by Takachiho Haruka

Check out their entries on the page for my descriptions. The two atlases are a must for travelers, the novels are fun, I've been re-reading them on my morning commute.

Adding to the recommendations

Just a short note this week.

I've been adding some new manga titles to my recommended lists.
Black Jack by Tezuka Osamu
MW by Tezuka Osamu

These are not new releases, I rarely do new releases for a couple of reasons, I've been slow to add things and I don't go with the latest hot-to-be-soon-forgotten titles.

I am working on new entries for the live action movie and the prose lists. Expect word on those within the week.