Puff the Magic Firearm?

In that classic anime Otaku no Video there is one of the 'interviews' with a firearm otaku having a war game with friends. Military and gun otaku and maniacs in Japan are part of the larger mix of fan cultures that exist there.

But what of the U.S? Sure you have heard of paintball, but is there more?

Apparently yes, much more, and they have a magazine. The NAM: National Airsoft Magazine is for hard core fans and hobbyists.

Check it out, even if you are like me and not into guns. These guys are putting out a pretty impressive product.

We have lost one of our best

Manga Translation Pioneer Toren Smith Passes Away

Toren was always helpful when I had a question or wanted feedback on something I was writing. He gave me a generous, and he insisted honest, blurb for my first book The Anime Companion.

His name on a translation was enough to make me buy it, he chose what he translated and the choices were excellent.

Toren was also instrumental in showing anime to many San Francisco Bay Area science fiction fans at BayCon.

Yasuhiro Takeda in his The Notenki Memoirs has an amusing tale regarding Toren staying at a Gainax staff residence. One day the other occupants of this all male enclave were started to see something that had never happened before, an attractive young woman leave Toren's room in the morning.

For a list of what he worked on see the entry on him in the Anime News Network Encyclopedia.

There's a swordfight goin' on

This week I add four more movies to my live action recommendations.

Three directed by Kudo Eiichi:

Eleven Samurai (1967)

The Great Killing (1964)

13 Assassins (1963)

One directed by Miike Takashi which is a remake of one of the above movies with references to another.

13 Assassins (2010)

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.