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As you would probably imagine Anime and Manga was far
more common in Japan than over here, with merchandise and primetime TV
showings commonplace. For us as fans this was obviously no bad
thing, here's some of the best anime and manga related stuff we saw... |
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Ghibli Museum
We are Ghibli fanboys, pure and simple, so the opportunity to go to
the Ghibli Museum was one we could not miss. The museum was packed
with memorabilia and animation exhibits, from a room that demonstrated
various forms of animation through interactive models to a room
containing an exhibition themed around Laputa, Castle in the Sky (Rich
had to be physically dragged away). You were even able to flick
through books of the original production sketches and storyboards and
there were numerous short films showing only in the museum!
However, the museum was designed with children in mind and it succeeded
brilliantly on this count. Spiral staircases, bridges, tiny
doorways and alcoves, a working hand pump, hidden routes and even steps
up to counters and windows so children could see over, the museum was
designed with care and attention given to the young. There was
even a room where kids could play on a giant plush replica of the Catbus
from My Neighbour Totoro!! There was also a restaurant, a hot dog
stall (themed to Porco Rosso, which is poor taste considering the main
character is a pig...) and an impressive shop stocking everything Ghibli
you could possibly imagine. Oh, and did we mention the Laputa
robot on the roof? Laputa Robot
Yep, that's right. On the roof of the museum they had a garden
containing a scale replica of the broken down robot Pazu and Sheeta find
in the gardens of Laputa in the film of the same name. Towering
more than twice the height of a person, this perfectly sculpted replica is
the greatest homage possible to the film and a photo of it is the best
memento of the museum you can get. Seiyuu
Worth a separate mention just for the random greatness of it, was
that we were both interviewed by a hot seiyuu (voice actress) at the
exhibition - Mika Sakenobe! That’s the gal who plays Wendy from
R.O.D (Read Or Die) and she interviewed us both for an internet radio
station. Unfortunately we forget to ask which one (duh!) but we
both got her picture and of course a random interview as soon as we
walked through the door into the exhibition! Sakura Café
The top floor of the Ikebukuro Sega Arcade was given over to a café
themed to Sakura Taisen (aka. Sakura Wars). It was a pig to get to
(you could only get there by using the lift), but what could have been a
cheap and tacky tie-in was in fact quite a nice café. Serving a
decent range of food at ok prices, the Sakura Café was a relatively
upmarket looking place, even though there was a merchandise shop
attached. For fans of Sakura Wars it was a must, with themed
cocktails, memorabilia and even an autograph wall, and for people
looking for a decent lunch it was superb. Anime on TV
There is something indefinably great about seeing an animated show
first thing on the morning or when you just come in from work. It
harks back to your childhood and relaxes you. Being able to see
anime on TV in Japan was excellent, no edited versions of Sailor Moon
here - just classic films like Anne of Green Gables and brand new
anime like Bo-Bobo (see below) and Sonic X. If it
had English subtitles we may not have left the hotel room... Bo-Bobo
We caught this anime whilst dropping off purchases at the hotel room
mid afternoon. It's mad as a spoon. Probably the only anime
we saw in Japan that would have made less sense if it was in
English, Bo-Bobo seemed to revolve around muscle bound coward who
fought by using his prehensile nostril hairs and a hamster who lived in
his afro. We kid you not. He was accompanied by a man made
of water, a sun in a suit and a guy whose head was an ice cream/dog turd
(we're undecided on this) as well as two kids that appeared to have
escaped from Beyblade. It was based on a computer game
apparently, but for sheer randomness it topped even Excel Saga.
We will be buying if and when it gets a US release... Gashapon
Take a Kinder Egg. Remove the chocolate. Increase the
size of the pod to about 2.5 inches (6cm) diameter. Throw away the
toy and replace it with something that is actually worth owning.
That's Gashapon. Basically you got them from vending machines at a
cost of either ¥100 (about 60p), ¥200 (about
£1.20) or ¥500 (about £3), they were themed to various subjects - from
anime and manga to fish, tanks, cars, films, porn stars etc. In
each pod is one of a set of snap together pre painted collectable
figures, the quality was generally excellent and many shops stocked
larger Gashapon style figures that came in sealed boxes as well as
offering trade in and selling second hand ones. Beats a Kinder Egg
any day. Anime Expo Tokyo
One of the main highlights of the holiday was the huge anime
exhibition which was held in the skyscraper adjoining our hotel, which
was apparently one of the most major anime exhibitions in the world. Studio Broccoli
A department store in Akihabara had a cutesy cartoon character called
Di Gi Charat as its mascot. It decided to do goods featuring her.
They became hugely popular and led to the foundation of Studio Broccoli,
who produce the anime series of Di Gi Charat and now numerous other
shows. The studio has been going for ten years and is very
successful. This doesn't explain why it's called Studio Broccoli.
It doesn't even use broccoli in its logo! This being said, being
called Studio Broccoli means it's great by default. Monkey D. Luffy
Firstly a note: One Piece, for those who haven't heard of it, is currently the biggest anime in Japan, and features the adventures of a near invulnerable pirate who can stretch like elastic and his crew of misfits in their search for the legendary treasure 'One Piece'. It's a comedy, and it's very good. Ok, so you may have just walked out of the One Piece shop. But
you still don't expect hugely enthusiastic people to be standing outside
dressed as the main characters from the series. However this is
what happened to us. Of course a cheesy photo opportunity like
this couldn't be missed! Wooden Totoro
Outside the Ghibli shop stood a wooden Totoro. A WOODEN
TOTORO.
Unfortunately it was too small to allow an adult to pose for a picture
next to it with an umbrella but oh well, it still rocked. (note:
the pic above is not ours, our pic came out badly so this is the result
of Google image searches. We don't know who that guy is.) Doujinshi
No matter how knowledgeable you are on Japanese culture it is still a
shock when you are browsing in a animation shop and one side consists of
the usual Dragonball and Evangelion merchandise and the other consists
of doujinshi (fan art) comic porn. It’s a good shock, but a shock
nonetheless. |