Archives For japan

I wasn’t too enamored by Pixar’s Monsters University even though Monsters Inc. is one of my favorites (or maybe BECAUSE I liked that one so much?), but this clip of the Japanese-dubbed version popped up in my YouTube feed, and it’s just tenfold the cuteness that the original audio track was because- well, because Japan is so damn hardcore about their dubbing [2].

Plus, Disney (and as an extension, Pixar) are the kings of international dubs [1][2].

And they also do worldwide releases pretty okay. Except when Japan has to wait AGES to get some stuff — but serves them right, when they make us wait for everything they do for ages as well.

Or, at least, you got your first steps into the door.

Yes, Shiina Ringo music videos are being uploaded on VEVO accounts, as well as Tokyo Jihen ones, at 360p or 480p- BUT, baby steps. They’re pretty good 360p videos, though. They look better than some HD versions unofficially uploaded and ripped from the net. I’m not picky as long as Japan lets me watch the music videos of the artists I like and stops me from worrying whether the video I’m posting is gonna disappear in the next few days.

Speaking of the devil.

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A dose of Ashida Mana’s cuteness pick-me-up~

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I know she’s growing up so quickly, and she’s got a small role in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim — probably that one small scene for which she got papped in Toronto. I suppose she’s playing a kid version of Rinko Kikuchi… I never though they would look like each other, but I guess it works for Hollywood.

I swear, every time I search for photos of Ashida Mana, I end up cooing and awing. She really melts all my sorrows away. It doesn’t matter if she grows up because we will have Mother, and hopefully (giving much much good vibes for that) she will have a good childhood and grow up to be a sensible adult and not be effed up by this business. Those are my wishes. Will always be.

My mother says that she could stop wars with that smile.

Who grew up watching the Street Fighter II series?

I used to tape this every afternoon because I was never on time from school, they used to show it after Gargoyles on Frecuencia Latina, and then after we got cable for the first time- actually a few years after that, I think — Cartoon Network Latin America got all big on showing anime series, and among the Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin episodes they used to broadcast, they also had some of this.

I remember they also used to show Sakura Card Captor and Corrector Yui [1, with latino audio].

Around that time, it was when I was trying to google this song online but back then it was nearly impossible to find song information if you had very little info, especially if you didn’t speak the language. I did eventually find that this song was called Kaze Fuiteru (aka. The Wind Blows, 風吹いてる – by Yuki Kuroda), and that my friend had a CD with songs that were anime themes that contained the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pOqYuKIGZo

Of course, the Spanish version they did [1] is not as good as the original. But I’m glad that they at least kept the original music, instead of changing it to something “hard rock” like in the American broadcast.

Lookie 1, lookie 2

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I know that except from my 5th Year Anniversary Wiki Update [1], things have been usually pretty quiet on the Yu front. It usually is pretty slow during these months, as Yu’s activities tend to pick up by August all the way into December, January and February.

Though my fandomess (that’s not even a word) has diminished, Yu still has a special place in my fangirly heart. I would totally be giddy with a new movie, and specially with starring on a new jdrama (as a lead, not guest). I’m not as an ardent fan of Yu’s passion for shaved ice, so those books are missing from my collection, as well as her first few photobooks. But as you can see, I’ve kept on supporting her any way I could.

I’m still waiting to catch Vampire. The Shunji Iwai Festival team on Weibo told me it would be “soon” when I get to catch it on a proper online channel, so I’m crossing my fingers.

I do miss that doki doki feeling I used to get when this fandom started. Maybe I’ll re-watch Osen to recapture that feeling. LOL

I’ve been on a Chulpan Khamatova binge for a while, but since Russian is such a foreign language to me, it seems hard to come by with simple googling since Google Translate doesn’t do so well with the language either. This time, though, I was browsing Khamatova.ru and was looking at the Filmography page and noticed that she had a fairly recent short film.

Titled From Tokyo (Из Токио), this short film also serves as a commercial for Chivas Regal. Directed by Aleksei German Jr., the short follows a Russian businessman on a return flight from Tokyo to Moscow (I suppose), where he’s unable to sleep. When approached by the flight attendant, they begin talking about his reasons to be in Tokyo right after the Tohoku Earthquake and the Tsunami, where he’s rescued a survivor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhAbV6Nep4Q

Though I really liked the short by the end, even if that might be my Khamatova bias showing~ there were some things that irked me for no reason. One- the dude is a rescuer flying on Business. Two- he refers to Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City as “a village” because we did not see the Tsunami literally crushing miles and miles of road, bridges, highways, while sweeping tons of cars and other city-related debris.

Having said that~ Yes! Khamatova! I finally learned how to pronounce her name correctly. I was doing it SO wrong. LOL I’m a little embarrassed.

I’ve got some pretty nice recommendations to share.

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It’s a five-year fandom anniversary!

and I’ve just gotten EXTRA lazy now. These are the links to Yu’s previous Wiki entries [1][2].

I know that over the years (especially the last two), I have been lazying around not stalking enough news and being always late. Though some fans have disappeared from the internet, I still appreciate some of you lurkers.

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I haven’t bought anything on a vending machine in a VERY long time, unless you count the times I’ve used machines that dispense train tickets — and that would probably be twice in a little more than a year.

So this video of a vending machine in Japan using a Touch Screen is very interesting to me. Is there a practical reason they would need to switch regular vending machines to these touch screens? I can’t think of any reason at the moment, then again- it’s nearly 5am. This sort of posting always happens at this time of night/morning.

I was watching La Maison de Himiko the other day and my heart was struck once again by how beautiful Odagiri Joe is. I don’t think it translates too well in photographs, but his face on a movie screen while he’s doing his acting magic. It’s so alluring.

Here he is in some photoshoot for Korean 1st Look.

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