#CATS Yokohama 2009

[white-cat-of-doom]

A cat head shaped (sturdy) zippered pouch, useful as a coin purse or for storage of small items. Complete with a plush fur exterior with cat ears, and embroidered 'CATS' on the front and 'Yokohama' in gold on the back, this item was released during the Yokohama stop that took place in Japan between 2009 and 2012.

Cat head shaped items seemed to be a defining characteristic of most items from the Yokohama run and this is a cute example of that.

[gumbietrio]

the rum tum tugger, yokohama 2009

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

I wished that they cast a black or Asian actors to play munkustrap and rum Tum Tugger. Could that ever happen?

for anyone seeing this: this list is very long, so i'm apologizing in advance if i've missed any actors!! i've gone through the entire cats wiki for both characters and did my best to compile a thorough list, but ofc let me know if there's any mistakes!

Tugger:

Richard Lloyd King (1980s London)

Tee Jay (1980s London)

Yuichiro Yamaguchi (1980s Tokyo Tugger)

Mayo Kawasaki (1980s Tokyo)

Gregory McKinnon (1980s Vienna Tugger - Cover)

Takanori Shimomura (1995 Tokyo)

Eric Clausell (1993 Australia)

Masaru Yamaki (1999 Nagoya, Osaka 2001)

Tsutomu Arakawa (1995 Tokyo, 1999 Nagoya, Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009)

Kiyomichi Shiba (1995 Tokyo, 1999 Nagoya Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009, Fukuoka 2014)

Shoichi Fukui (Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009)

Shinya Tanabe (Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009, Sapporo 2015, Osaka 2016)

Kim Sungrak (Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004)

Yoichiro Akutsu (Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009, Sendai 2013, Shizuoka 2013, Fukuoka 2013)

Toshihide Kaneda (Tokyo 2004)

Kan Muto (Tokyo 2004)

Masaru Kanamori (Yokohama 2009)

Li Tao (Yokohama 2009, Hiroshima 2012, Sapporo 2015)

Tatsuro Iida (Yokohama 2009, Hiroshima 2012, Sendai 2013, Sapporo 2015)

Gino Emnes (Dutch Tour 2006)

Stanley Burleson (Dutch Tour 2006)

Daesung (South Korea 2008/2011)

Kim Jin-woo (South Korea 2008/2011)

Ra Jun (South Korea 2008/2011)

E Nok (South Korea 2008/2011)

Jung Min (South Korea 2008/2011)

Earl Gregory (South Africa 2009, Asia Tour 2014)

Antoine Murray-Straughan (London 2014)

Marcquelle Ward (London 2015, UK Tour 2016)

Jordan Shaw (London 2014)

Ahmad Simmons (Broadway 2016)

Retsu Kanehisa (Shizuoka 2013, Fukuoka 2014)

Takumi Omine (Sapporo 2015, Osaka 2016, Tokyo 2018)

Kenji Nishio (Osaka 2016)

Kazuya Kamikawa (Osaka 2016, Tokyo 2018, Fukuoka 2021)

Mizuki Omori (Tokyo 2018, Fukuoka 2021, Nagoya 2022)

Jin Sakuma (Tokyo 2018, Fukuoka 2021)

Togo Kaminaga (Tokyo 2018, Fukuoka 2021)

Liu Lingfei (China 2012)

DevinRe Lewis Adams (RCCL Cast 12)

Jason Derulo (2019 Movie)

Todrick Hall (US Regional - La Mirada Theatre 2014)

Munkustrap:

Shintaro Sonooka (Tokyo 1983)

Kenkichi Hamahata (Tokyo 1983)

Osami Iino (Tokyo 1995)

Shoichi Fukui (Nagoya 1999, Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009)

Kiyomichi Shiba (Nagoya 1999, Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004, Yokohama 2009)

Yuji Aoyama (Nagoya 1999, Tokyo 2004)

Masuo Nonaka (Osaka 2001, Tokyo 2004)

Takashi Saimon (Tokyo 2004)

Yuichi Tamura (Tokyo 2004)

Tsutomu Arakawa (Tokyo 2004)

Shouma Kanzaki (Tokyo 2004)

Kan Muto (Yokohama 2009)

Takamasa Hagiwara (Yokohama 2009, Hiroshima 2012, Sendai 2013, Shizuoka 2013, Sapporo 2015, Osaka 2016)

Hong Gyeong-su (South Korea 2008/2011)

Jordan Shaw (London Revival - Munkustrap Cover)

Yuki Matsushima (Hiroshima 2012, Fukuoka 2014)

Susumu Kato (Fukuoka 2014, Sapporo 2015, Osaka 2016, Tokyo 2018, Nagoya 2022)

Kei Tokuyama (Sapporo 2015, Osaka 2016, Tokyo 2018)

Kenji Nishio (Osaka 2016)

Masaru Kitamura (Tokyo 2018)

Taijun Kanemoto (Tokyo 2018, Fukuoka 2021)

Shinya Iwasaki (Tokyo 2021)

Junpei Wakebe (Tokyo 2021, Nagoya 2022)

Tarquinn Whitebooi (Asia Tour 2014 - Munkustrap Cover)

Xia Zhenkai (China 2012)

Mao Haifei (China 2012 - Munkustrap Cover)

[kyotakumrau]

2021.02.16 1st talk session of Meguro Rock-May-KanGIG at Zepp Yokohama

Zepp Yokohama is a such a nice venue, I really hope we will get to see dir play there live properly!

The concert recorded at Meguro RockMayKan was great! The setlist surprised me quite a lot (especially encore!!!)! And I think that was the smallest stage I ever saw dir on!😆 the footage definitely deserves a separate entry and I don't want to spoil anyone if they go to next events.

After the concert film screening staff quickly prepared the stage, bringing two long tables and four chairs, they also placed a water bottle at each seat.

Punctually (thank you for not repeating Nagoya's situation😆), at 3:30 Fujieda came on stage and started with greeting everyone, and asking us to greet the band members with applause.

After a moment of uncertainty (even as my heart was almost set it will be Kyo) Die came on stage with Kyo after him.٩( ˆoˆ  )۶

They both looked super classy. Die had a dark grey suit with a long jacket, his usual award winning hair and wore sunglasses.

Kyo had a black jacket (with a round Chanel pin) and shirt, green hair, he wore glasses (not sunglasses).

When they sat (Kyo stood in front of the chair first until Fujieda gestured them to sit) F asked them to introduce themselves.

D: ども、Dieです

K: 京です

...and then F announced 'today is Kyo's birthday!' and a birthday song melody began to play😆

Kyo turned on his murder face glaring at Fujieda who happily observed 'oh what's this song?'😂

The soft Happy Birthday melody got then a guitar joining in and Takabayashi came on the stage carrying a small strawberry shortcake (with a chocolate message おめでとう京さん) which of course he placed in front of Kyo.

We couldn't sing but we clapped.

Kyo snatched a strawberry and popped it in his mouth. He gestured 'throat slashing' looking at Fujieda😂

And then ate another strawberry🍓😂

F: the song was made by Die.

K: (only interested in the cake) Could I get a fork?

(staff went to get him one)

F: how do you feel? (about your own birthday)

K: I don't care.

The fork arrived and Kyo literally dug in right in the middle, scooping a huge piece he put whole in his mouth.

Fujieda wisely left Kyo to his cake then and started talking about RMK footage. Die said they had hard time deciding on a tour or events like this in COVID situation. They also mentioned the secret show in 2009 was held in RMK.

Next Die talked about how nice it was to rehearse and play together with the band, first time since March, he was happy about the show, creating sound together as 5 people.

F: did you finish eating K?

K: yup

(there was last 🍓 left (out of 4 big ones), he ate about 25~35%?)

F: then tell us about recording the RockMayKan show!

K: the place was very narrow.

F: anything else?

K: Not really.

But then he added more, that as it has been a while it felt like the first day of the tour.

F: was there anything that was difficult? Was a struggle?

K: when recording I can do it at my own pace, I can do one song when I want, but that day it was back to performing over 10 songs all at once, it was tough, hard on my throat, energy/stamina wise.

But at the same time it was exciting, meet with other members, play music together, that was nice.

F: 2019 was filled with shows, it was busy, then things changed. So after a break to see an audience again got me nervous, in a good way.

Next F said had would like to talk about the release of Oboro.

D: what do you want to know?

F: so the song is not out yet, any hints?

D: it's gonna stay a secret for a bit more.

F: the 2nd track is TDFF？

D: (interesting letters ???didn't catch exactly) it's a powerful song.

F: how is Oboro for you Kyo?

K: quite fresh/refreshing

F: really?!

D: especially the video

...but then Kyo just burst with a whole speech how Fujieda always ask something and when he gets an aswer he didn't expect he doesn't react well, just says what he wants, is not listening to what Kyo says and... it went for a while😆

Next F moved to the topic of the merchandise and asked the band members which items they like.

K: the big badge, before the big pick was huge, shouldn't the badge be like this size (showing about 20cm with his hands). It bothered me from when I saw it. Isn't it just normal?

in the end they agreed it's just 'a bit big' 😂

F: how about for you, D?

D: the rubber key chains?

F: they got sold out very quickly, sorry to fans about that.

D: they are cute. And I like the wristbands too. The color combinations are nice.

T: the badge has the old band's logo, it brings me back

D talked about old times when artists made stickers like that, with logos, to put on their equipment, they worked a bit like business cards, he said he still have some at home.

T picked the rechargeable heat pack.

K: so it's to be used instead of heat packs? (ホッカイロ)

F: uh, it's already warm.

D: huh? Show me? (F passed it to him) it's like a phone that gets hot when charging.

Next they moved on to fans questions. ("~~" is a question from fans they read)

K (unusually picks the first question super fast): "what's your favourite cake?"

K: Well, the strawberry shortcake is good, but this one doesn't have strawberries inside, just some jam, it should have strawberries inside too.

(F so dead😂😂😂)

F: "what's your best or bad memory connected to birthdays?"

K: at a concert somewhere, it was quite long time ago, I got a present all wrapped and in a bag from a silver accessories brand I liked, so nicely wrapped, I opened it and it was empty, isn't that really strange? I looked at the attached letter and it said the person is keeping the item for themselves. It annoyed me so much, the worst bd memory ever.

☹️

F: how about you D?

D: it's not exactly bad memory, but many band members have birthdays in February, in the past when we were still giving each other presents Toshiya and I had to think what to get for 3 people, it was always tough. We stopped that at some point.

T: "any memory/story about China Town?"

D: I like China Town

T: do you go often?

D: sometimes. But only to my favorite restaurants. (?? Talked more about the stadium?)

T: do you usually order the same thing?

D: Mabodofu, the spicy version

(then I think he said something like there's no point in overdoing spicyness, it's not healthy??)

K: I don't know which restaurants are good so I get annoyed. I don't know what decides it's a good one or not.

F: I don't go, but I'd like to.

then they talked about the types of Chinese food and food they tried when in other Asian countries.

K: when we were touring in the US I ordered Chinese abd it was terrible, it was all bad. The egg soup was all clumpy, so bad.

D: "any stories about RockMayKan?"

D: honestly I don't have good memories with this venue, when with a previous band we played together with more senior bands and they took over the dressing room, we couldn't use it, and we also had to greet all senpai musicians.

K: remember when Shinya sat on the lockers? Like on top of the 170cm lockers?

D: was it in Nagoya?

K: he's done his make up there, like a cat or something

D: Shinya climbed a locker and made a space for himself there

K: He's not exactly human. Normally you would not even consider climbing a locker...

D: we usually did our make up on the stairs, didn't use changing room. When we played at RMK as dir for the first time I saw 'this is the changing room!'

He also talked about how the hair spray used by all the bandomen would stink up the whole place 😂

F: "what do you usually wear to sleep?"

K: just underwear. Doesn't matter if it's summer or winter I want to feel the towel like fabric, I use towel cloth for my bedding, I want my whole body to feel it so there's no point in wearing pajamas.

D: at home...wait you mean my home or my family house? At my parents' I always wear the pajama my mum got me, currently the Mickey Mouse one. I only have that one there.

K( with sudden interest): can you draw it?

D: it's about this big, quite big print. The one I wear at home, it wasn't sent by my mum.

K: not Mickey one??

D:  that's Nightmare Before Christmas.

K: Disney theme?

D: this one has a face in the front.

K: do you change characters (for pajamas) every year?

D: this year it's Nightmare.

Next was something they wanted to say to F. K chose to comment on his haircut, because it's asymmetric K is bothered that it will end as an uzumaki in the back. They talked more about F's style.

F: "I'd like you to tell us about your costumes you wore for RMK show".

D: I wanted something motovating so red colour.

K: I had no special reasoning, just what I wanted to wear then.

D: "have you gotten any food delivery?"

He said he only got it once or not much, I think he said he's not fond of shops that don't do it properly, but when recording it's good???

F: Shinya said he orders Uber almost everyday.

K: I only got Uber once.

F: what did you get?

K: Burger King. I quit McDonalds. After eating Burger King I can't go back to McDonalds.

They talked about sizes of burger here?? Whooper versus Junior Whooper?

F: So McD is not good?

K: the meat taste is different. McDonald now tastes like trash.

F: what about the Mc fries, when they get a bit soft.

K: not only a bit. Gross.

D: in the US we usually also have some American staff, when we had some time and we went to eat out, it was funny, American staff went for sushi, Shinya went for McDonalds.

F: was it last time?

D: no, quite some time ago.

F: when did you eat McDonalds the last time?

D: I also don't eat it, it's been some time already.

They talked more about the food, some restaurants D liked in the US (didn't catch the name🙃 but in Sacramento?), then F talked more about event schedule and the time was over.

Last comments from the band members:

Die: From today the new series of film screening starts, thank you for coming to the first day. So well... the band is working on the new album while coming to the events at the same time, we're working on creating a great album. Please come amd enjoy the events.

Kyo: I don't have a special thing to say. Many of you will be coming to few or many events and will end up with many t-shirts, you can do whatever with them, even use them as a doormat, there are many ways to use them, no problem for the whole year.

[skimblyshanks]

Friendship ended with CATS Asia Tour 2020, now all years and locations of Shiki Theatre Company’s CATS, but especially Yokohama 2009 is my best friend

[komagome-soko]

Around October

西村 有　YU NISHIMURA Around October 2020.10.24 (土) - 11.15 (日) 水曜日-土曜日 12:00-18:00 / 日曜日 12:00-17:00 月・火・祝祭日休 ＊オープニングレセプションはございません。また、KAYOKOYUKI���の展示は11/29（日）までとなります。ご来場の際は、マスク着用・アルコール消毒のご協力をお願い致します。 発熱や咳等の症状のある方、体調のすぐれない方はご遠慮ください。また展示室内の密集を避けるため、入場制限を行う場合がございます。 http://www.kayokoyuki.com/index.php Around October October 24 – November 15, 2020 open Wed. to Sat. noon-6pm, Sun. noon-5pm closed on Mon., Tue. and national holidays

*NOTE：The exhibition at KAYOKOYUKI will be continued until  29th November.

この度KAYOKOYUKIでは、西村 有（にしむら・ゆう）の3年ぶりとなる個展「Around October」を開催いたします。また、パリのCrèvecœurでも個展が同時期開催されます。　日常の何気ない風景やクローズアップした人物、鳥や猫、果物など、西村有は、身の回りの様々なイメージを用いて、記憶の奥底に刻まれた断片を画面上に複雑に重ね合わせることで１枚の絵画を構築します。西村の絵画に対峙するとき、鑑賞者は西村の記憶のイメージと共鳴し、誰もが子供の頃に持っていたはずの自分だけの秘密の風景が呼び覚まされることがあります。繊細な色彩と奔放な筆致によって生み出される、曖昧でありながら率直な純粋さを湛えた画面は、鑑賞者に積極的な解釈を促す豊かな表現を実現しています。　本展覧会では、これまでの透明感のある色彩と幾重にも重ねられた輪郭線による繊細な作品に加え、濃密な色彩とくっきりと区切られた境界線を持つ、より抽象度の高い作品も展開されています。この展開には、西村が制作する際に「人やモノを、外側の形をシルエットのように描き出すことによって、その実体を捉えたい」という態度がより顕著に反映されているといえます。また、本展覧会では「自分が知覚していない時間」「異なる複数の時間」をひとつの空間に表現することも目指されています。作品の中に登場する人物や猫や鳥や虫、車や船やサッカーボールといったモノ���至るまで、どんなモチーフにも、それぞれが主体となる時間が存在し共存している。我々がはっきりと理解できる時間、なんとなく感じることができる時間、さらには、まったく想像もしたことがないような時間が西村の作品の中には曖昧なままに描き出されているのです。　本展覧会「Around October」のタイトルにもなっている10月という季節を、西村は「移ろいやすく不安定な季節」であり、１年の中で自分にとって、もっとも「しっくりくる」季節であると言います。暑くもなく寒くもない季節、あるいは暑くもあり寒くもある季節。そんなどちらともいえない曖昧な「Around October」は、その不完全さゆえ、明確には示されていない何かを我々に想像させるのです。1982年神奈川県生まれ、在住。 個展「Around October」KAYOKOYUKI（東京、2020）、個展「scene of beholder」Galerie Crevecoeur（パリ、2020）、「VOCA 展 2019」上野の森美術館(東京、2019)、「ACT Vol. 1 -霞 はじめて たなびく」トーキョーアーツアンドスペース（TOKAS）本郷(東京、2019)、個展「アペルト09 西村有 -paragraph」金沢21世紀美術館(石川、2018)、「あざみ野コンテンポラリーvol.9 –今もゆれている」横浜市民ギャラリーあざみ野(神奈川、2018)、「CONDO 上海」GALLERY VACANCY(中国、2018)、「21世紀の美術 タグチ・アートコレクション展」平塚市美術館(神奈川、2018)、「MISAKO & ROSEN キュレーション展 -夏の扉」シェーンキャンベルギャラリー(シカゴ、2017)、「絹谷幸二賞2017」受賞、「FACE 2016 損保ジャパン美術賞 絵画のゆくえ（優秀賞）」損保ジャパン日本興亜美術館（東京、2016）、個展「project N 61」東京オペラシティーアートギャラリー(東京、2015)、「シェル美術賞 2013（保坂健二朗審査員奨励賞）」国立新美術館（東京、2013）、「第6回はるひ絵画トリエンナーレ（奨励賞）」清須市はるひ美術館（愛知、2009）など。

KAYOKOYUKI is pleased to present "Around October," Yu Nishimura's first solo exhibition in three years. Nishimura's solo show will also be held at Crèvecoeur in Paris at the same time.

Using various images of everyday life, close-ups of people, birds, cats, fruits, etc., Yu Nishimura constructs a single painting by intricately superimposing fragments carved in the depths of memory on canvas. When confronted with Nishimura's paintings, the viewer resonates with the images from Nishimura's memories and may be awakened to their own unique and secret scenes in their childhood. Nishimura's paintings, with their delicate colors and uninhibited brushstrokes, are ambiguous yet frank and pure, and they are richly expressive in a way that encourages the viewer to actively interpret them.

In this exhibition, as well as the works drawn with Nishimura's previous work style, which consisted of transparent colors and layers of outlines, we will be able to see more abstract works with dense colors and clearly defined boundaries. Nishimura's attitude that "I want to capture the actuality of people and objects by depicting their outer forms by rendering it like silhouettes" is more clearly reflected in this development. He also aims to express "time that is not perceived" and "multiple different times" in a single space in this exhibition. Whatever the motifs that appear in the works, be they people, cats, birds, insects, cars, boats, or soccer balls, each has its own subjective time that exists and coexists with them. Times that we can clearly understand, times that we can vaguely perceive, and even times that we have never imagined are depicted in Nishimura's works while remaining ambiguous.

Nishimura says that October, which is the title of the exhibition "Around October," is "a season of change and instability" and that it is the most "fitting" season for him. It is neither hot nor cold, or it can be hot and cold. "Around October" is such an ambiguous season, and because of its imperfection, it allows us to imagine something that is not explicitly stated.

Yu Nishimura was born in 1982 in Kanagawa, Japan. Recently, he presented his work in his solo show "Around October" at KAYOKOYUKI, Tokyo, 2020, solo show "scene of beholder" at Galerie Crevecoeur, Paris, 2020, "VOCA 2019" at The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 2019, "ACT Vol. 1 –First Lingering Mist of Spring" at Tokyo Arts and Space (TOKAS) Hongo, Tokyo, 2019, solo show "Aperto 09 Nishimura Yu -paragraph" at Kanazawa 21st Century Museum, Kanazawa, 2018, "Azamino Contemporary vol.9" at Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa, 2018, "CONDO Shanghai" at Gallery Vacancy, 2018, "Contemporary Art of The 21st Century, Exhibition of Taguchi Art Collection" at The Hiratsuka museum of art, Kanagawa, 2018, "Natsu no Tobira, Organized by Misako and Jeffrey Rosen" at SHANE CAMPBELL GALLERY, Chicago, US, 2017, "FACE 2016: FACE Award Winners -The Way of Paintings 2016" at Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2016, solo show “project N 61" at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, 2015. Nishimura won "the Koji Kinutani Prize 2017" and "Shell Art Award 2013 -Kenjiro Hosaka’s prize" and "Excellent Work Award, FACE 2014" and "Best Prize, The 6th Kiyosu City Haruhi Painting Triennale 2009".

[bookclub4m]

It’s time for our Best Books of 2017 episode! We’ll talk about our favourite things we read for the podcast, our favourite things we read that weren’t for the podcast, and lots more! Please note, while many of the titles we recommend were published in 2017, this is our list of best of that we read in 2017, so there is some older material on the list as well.

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jessi

Top Book Club Picks

Non-Fiction

Anna

The Argonauts (2015) by Maggie Nelson (Episode 031 - LGBTQ+/QUILTBAG Non-Fiction)

Jessi

The Witches: Salem, 1692 (2016) by Stacy Schiff (Episode 027 - Non-Fiction Audiobooks)

Matthew

Prose: The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches from the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA (2017) by Doug Mack (Episode 039 - Non-Fiction Travel)

Comic: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (2017) by Nagata Kabi (Episode 031 - LGBTQ+/QUILTBAG Non-Fiction)

Meghan

In Cold Blood (1966) by Truman Capote, narrated by Scott Brick (Episode 027 - Non-Fiction Audiobooks)

Fiction

Anna

Death in the Vines (2013) by M.L. Longworth (Episode 025 - Detective Fiction)

The Snowman (2011) by Jo Nesbø (Episode 043 - Page to Screen (Books turned into movies and TV shows))

Jessi

Stardust (1998) by Neil Gaiman (Episode 043 - Page to Screen (Books turned into movies and TV shows))

Matthew

Prose: Autonomous (2017) by Annalee Newitz (Episode 041 - Dystopian Fiction)

Comic: Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind (1982-1994) by Hayao Miyazaki (Episode 043 - Page to Screen (Books turned into movies and TV shows))

Meghan

The City and the City (2009) by China Miéville (Episode 025 - Detective Fiction)

 Top Non-Book Club Picks

Non-Fiction

Anna

American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land (2017) by Monica Hesse

Jessi

Tomboy Survival Guide (2016) by Ivan Coyote (we mention this one in Episode 021 - Coming-of-Age and Episode 031 - LGBTQ+/QUILTBAG Non-Fiction)

Matthew

Prose: Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate (2017) by Zoe Quinn (mentioned in Episode 032.5 - BookExpo America and the American Library Association Annual Conference)

Comic: Lighter than my Shadow (2017) by Katie Green (Episode 040 - Precipitation in Video Games)

Meghan

Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues (2016) in Canada by Chelsea Vowel

Métis in Space podcast with Chelsea Vowel and Molly Swain

Fiction

Anna

The Queen of Blood (2016) by Sarah Beth Durst (Episode 040 - Precipitation in Video Games)

Jessi

The Bear and the Nightingale (2017) by Katherine Arden (mentioned in Episode 034 - Reading Resolutions)

Matthew

Prose: Red Spider White Web (1990) by Misha (mentioned in Episode 034 - Reading Resolutions)

Comic: Giant Days (2015-present) by John Allison and Max Sarin

Meghan

Next Year for Sure (2017) by Zoey Leigh Peterson 

Other recommendations

Anna

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

Lucky Penny (2016) by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota (Episode 021 - Coming-of-Age)

Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us: A Johnny Wander Collection (2017) by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota

Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America (2016) by Patrick Phillips

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race (2016) edited by Jesmyn Ward

The Fire Next Time (1992) by James Baldwin

Clean Sweep (2013) by Ilona Andrews (and the rest of that series)

Spill Zone, vol. 1 (2017) by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland

Volume 2 is being serialized as a webcomic (frustratingly the site seems to be setup so that you cannot link directly to pages, so to get to the beginning of volume two hit the previous chapter link a few times)

HiLo, vol. 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth (2015) by Judd Winick

Here’s the full panel (Read-Alikes: What to Suggest When They've Already Read Smile & The Walking Dead) from the Comics Conference for Educators and Librarians that Anna mentioned

Jessi

Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner (2014) by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell

Queers Were Here: Heroes & Icons of Queer Canada (2016) edited by Robin Ganev and RJ Gilmour (Episode 031 - LGBTQ+/QUILTBAG Non-Fiction)

Green River, Running Red (2007) by Ann Rule (Episode 027 - Non-Fiction Audiobooks)

The Hating Game (2016) by Sally Thorne (Episode 028 - Accidental Romance)

Matthew

Three Parts Dead (2012) by Max Gladstone (Episode 33 - Legal Thrillers)

True Grit (1968) by Charles Portis (Episode 29 - Westerns)

The Sisters Brothers (2011) by Patrick deWitt (Episode 29 - Westerns)

No Mercy, vol. 2 (2016) by Alex de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil, and Jenn Manley Lee (specifically issue #9)

Matthew’s longer list of favorite comics he read in 2017 is below

Meghan

Turning (2017) by Jessica J. Lee (Non-fiction memoir)

See What I Have Done (2017) by Sarah Schmidt (Fictionalized true crime)

Dreams of Shreds and Tatters (2015) by Amanda Downum (New Weird)

Need for the Bike (2011) by Paul Fournel, translated by Allan Stoekl (non-fic BICYCLES)

Blue Light Yokohama (2017) by Nicolás Obregón (Mystery)

Matthew’s List of Top Comics he Read in 2017 that weren’t his top picks (Anna’s recommendations were also good!)

Monstress vols. 1-2 by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda (2016-2017)

This is an insanely epic (and beautiful) fantasy. You should read it!

No Mercy, vol. 2 (2016) by Alex de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil, and Jenn Manley Lee

No, I haven’t read volume 3 yet...

Omega Men: The End is Here (2016) by Tom King, Barnaby Bagenda, Toby Cyprus, and Ig Guara

Invincible vols. 23-24 (2017) by by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, and  Nathan Fairbairn

It’s superheroes meet Dragonball Z, except much bloodier. It’s ending with volume 25, and I’m kind of sad about that.

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2016) by Sonny Liew

Despite really liking this, I don’t think it should have won the Eisner for “Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia”

The Private Eye (2015) by Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente

As much as I enjoyed this, I don’t think the hardcover is worth $50.

4 Kids Walk Into a Bank (2017) by Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss

I was supplied with a review copy by the publishers.

Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea (2017) by Mike Mignola and Gary Gianni

Delicious in Dungeon vol. 1 (2017) by Ryoko Kui

Yowamushi Pedal vols. 3-4 (2016) by Wataru Watanabe

Bicycles!

Demon vols. 1-4 (2016-2017) by Jason Shiga

The first volume is the best and, to be honest, this series is kind of gross, so be warned...

Order of the Stick: How the Paladin Got His Scar (2017) by Rich Burlew

This was a reward only given to backers of the 2012 Kickstarter so you can’t actually buy or read it, but it’s really good!

Questions

What were your favourite reads of 2017?

What would you recommend to us?

Is there a supernatural gardening book you could recommend to Jessi?

What is “Clean Sweep”?

A curling related cozy mystery?

A high school hijinx sports novel?

A romance novel about a chimney sweep who is reforming himself after his criminal past?

Something else?

Check out our Pinterest board and Tumblr posts, follow us on Twitter, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on January 16th for our episode on Family Sagas!

Then come back on February 6th for our episode on our Reading Resolutions for 2018!

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 12/20/17

SEAN: Are you ready? 3-2-1 let’s jam.

MICHELLE: *cracks knuckles in a preparatory fashion*

ASH: Get everybody and the stuff together, because there’s a lot of it!

KATE: There is SO MUCH MANGA that even I had to chime in.

SEAN: We start with Bookwalker, who has the second volume of their light novel The Combat Baker and the Automaton Waitress. I felt it was a good series for them to pick up (certainly better than their other LN series), and will be getting this volume.

J-Novel Club has the 4th volume of Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, which remains the top choice for those who like overpowered isekai and take it Very Seriously Indeed.

Kodansha has many, many things, both digital and print, which I will tackle alphabetically, starting with a 4th All Out!!.

MICHELLE: Woot!

SEAN: Attack on Titan has a big change coming with the 23rd volume, one that (like everything Attack on Titan has ever done) has gotten a mixed reaction.

Cardcaptor Sakura remains one of CLAMP’s most beloved franchise, despite age, appalling Nelvana dubs, and Tsubasa World Chronicle. Now we finally get a sequel with Clear Card, which apparently picks up where the old series left off. I will give it a shot, though I warn you I’m mostly reading for Tomoyo.

MICHELLE: This has been available digitally for a while, and I read it in that format. It’s a cute start, and I loved seeing Kero-chan again.

MELINDA: I’m obviously on board for this.

ANNA: I enjoy early CLAMP, and am leery of recent CLAMP. That being said, due to my love of Cardcaptor Sakura, I will check this out.

ASH: Same! I really do love Cardcaptor Sakura, though.

SEAN: DEATHTOPIA has its 7th and penultimate volume coming out next week.

And there’s also a 4th volume of Elegant Yokai Apartment Life.

If you haven’t yet picked up Ghost in the Shell’s hardcover deluxe editions, why not get them in a handy box set?

We’ve caught up with Japan for Happiness, so it’s nice to see a 6th volume drop.

ASH: I need to catch up with this series, myself!

KATE: The last volume of Happiness had a big time jump and shift in emphasis — something that worked surprisingly well, and and promoted one of the most interesting (and resourceful) supporting characters to a leading role.

SEAN: Inuyashiki comes to an end with its 10th and final volume. It’s always been a bit too weird for me, but then I felt the same way about Gantz.

Kasane has an 8th volume of suspense and horror.

The digital debut next week is The Prince’s Black Poison, a Betsufure romance that honestly sounds like exactly the sort of title I avoid, but what the hey. Recommended for those who like handsome manipulative men. It’s by the author of Gakuen Prince, which was also very much filled with those.

MICHELLE: Oh dear.

ANNA: Feeling sort of meh on this.

SEAN: And Real Girl has a 9th volume of whatever it is Real Girl does, besides remind me how many of these Kodansha digital titles I have yet to sample.

Say “I Love You” has come to its 18th and final volume. Despite the occasional overdose of melodrama, I greatly enjoyed this series, and am happy to see the conclusion after a long wait (we had, again, caught up with Japan).

MICHELLE: I’ve been awaiting this release for a long time!

SEAN: If you haven’t picked up A Silent Voice’s 7 volumes, Kodansha has a box set for you! (Both this and the Ghost in the Shell box are clearly meant for Christmas purchases.)

Speaking of the author of A Silent Voice, we’re getting a 2nd To Your Eternity next week as well.

ASH: Definitely picking this one up. The first volume was very good and surprising in ways that I didn’t expect.

KATE: What Ash said; To Your Eternity is definitely on my short list of Best Sci-Fi manga of 2017.

SEAN: A 6th Tsuredure Children has more 4-koma romance.

And Until Your Bones Rot has a 3rd volume of what is, let’s face it, NOT 4-koma romance.

Seven Seas is next. Arpeggio of Blue Steel is up to its 12th volume, and I’m still really interested in it, which is surprising given it’s about a bunch of cute girls who are really boats.

There’s also a 3rd “not Alice in the Country of Hearts, but the next best thing” series Captive Hearts of Oz.

Unlucky it may be, but the fact that Magical Girl Apocalypse has gotten to Vol. 13 means it’s popular as well.

Seven Seas is starting to pick up light novels that aren’t J-Novel Club print editions, and we begin with Monster Girl Doctor, whose title speaks for itself, though I’m not sure how this falls on the scale between ‘fetishey’ and ‘spooky’ monster girls.

And if that’s too millennial for you, how about a series from the 1980s? We get the first in the Record of Lodoss Wars novels, The Grey Witch, in a fancy hardcover edition.

MELINDA: It’s hard for me to dismiss something from the 80s…

ASH: It really is fancy! I’m looking forward to giving the Lodoss novels a try.

SEAN: Chi’s Sweet Coloring Book is a spinoff from Vertical featuring lots and lots of pictures of Chi to color.

Speaking of cats, Nekomonogatari (Black): Cat Tale is the first of a two-part set in the Monogatari series that finally resolves most of Tsubasa Hanekawa’s ongoing issues.

And there’s also a 4th Flying Witch.

Viz gives us a 3rd Golden Kamuy, which I suspect will have a bit less cooking and a bit more life-threatening violence this time around, but who knows?

ASH: I plan on finding out!

KATE: I seem to be stalking you through this week’s column, Ash! I’m butting in to say GOLDEN KAMUY IS AWESOME. I think Asirpa deserves her own damn series. Heck, it could be a cooking manga and I’d read it.

SEAN: If you want to get someone something terrifying for Christmas, you absolutely can’t go wrong with Shiver, a collection of stories selected by the author, Junji Ito.

ASH: I’m always happy to see more Ito being released! This collection should be great.

KATE: Nothing says “Deck the halls” than a little Junji Ito, I always say.

SEAN: And if you want to give some yuri manga, there’s a 2nd Sweet Blue Flowers omnibus.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ANNA: Behind on this already but I’m gonna read it!

ASH: You absolutely should! I’m so glad this series is finally getting the treatment it deserves in English.

SEAN: Lastly (for Viz only, trust me – we’re not even halfway), we have the 2nd Tokyo Ghoul: re.

And now on to Yen Press, pausing only to scream until our throats are raw and we are coughing up blood. (pause) There we go. Onward.

First off, we have the digital-only titles. Aphorism 13 is the second to last volume, and is for fans of survival manga.

Corpse Princess is up to its 14th volume, but it still has a long way to go. It should appeal to fans of fanservice and zombies.

And Saki 13 means we’re close to catching up, but that’s an ongoing series, so no worries there either. Recommended to those who like mahjong and breasts, not in that order.

On the Yen On side, we finish the digital catch-up for Accel World (9-11) and Irregular at Magic High School (5).

There’s also a new digital release of an older, pre-Yen On title. Kieli was a 2009 series of novels about a girl who can see ghosts, and it had an associated manga as well. Yen now has the digital rights to the novels, so we get the first one next week.

There are also a GIANT number of ongoing and new light novels in print. We get a 12th Accel World, which is in the midst of Haruyuki dealing with another mysterious threat.

The Asterisk War’s 5th volume wraps up its tournament arc, I believe… or should I say, it’s first tournament arc.

Baccano! starts a new 2-volume arc taking place in 1933 and subtitled The Slash. This first volume will show us what happened to that Mexican stereotype of an assassin from the Drug & the Dominoes book.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 9 has far less part-time work than expected, as the devil has returned to his homeland to rescue Emi and Alas Ramus.

Goblin Slayer 4 will feature what sounds like a collection of short stories judging from the description. And probably goblins being slayed. The Irregular at Magic High School’s 6th volume starts a new arc called the Yokohama Disturbance Arc, which I think was the final arc adapted for the anime.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? asks the same question again, only this time it’s Monsters. Bell says no, others think differently. Vol. 10 drops next week.

KonoSuba’s 4th volume has the inevitable Hot Springs arc.

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers has a 3rd volume, and I must admit if the storyline is “who’s the traitor” I may bail.

The first light novel debut is The Saga of Tanya the Evil, which is another isekai. A Japanese HR manager with a cold, ruthless reputation is killed, and then reincarnated by God. Not with the best intentions, though – God dislikes his logical attitude and so puts him in a world where magic exists and there is constant warfare. Oh, and he’s in the body of a little girl.

Sword Art Online has reached a dozen volumes, and we’re still in the midst of the epic Alicization arc. We finally see Alice again, but is she brainwashed? Can Kirito and Eugeo save her?

The other light novel debut this month already has its manga coming out from Kodansha, and is the 2nd of the three ‘ridiculous’ light novels Yen licensed recently. That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime arrives next week.

We’re nearly at the end! Only 28 more titles to go! And they’re all Yen Press. We start with a 6th volume of spinoff Akame Ga KILL! ZERO.

Angels of Death is a survival manga with psychological overtimes, which comes from the oddball Comic Gene. I’m not sure what to think of it.

An 8th Aoharu x Machinegun is shipping next week.

And a 5th Bungo Stray Dogs will give us literary references galore.

Light novel adaptations galore! Starting with a 4th manga of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody.

Dragons Rioting has a 9th volume, which is also its final volume.

If you like the idea of Goblin Slaying but hate prose, I have good news, the first volume of Goblin Slayer is for you.

I know little about Graineliers except it’s from GFantasy, it has two male leads, and it’s not BL but feels like it should be.

MELINDA: Did you say GFantasy? Count me in!

ASH: It’s also by Rihito Takarai (of Ten Count fame) so I’m very curious to see how this series develops. If nothing else, the artwork should be great.

SEAN: Manga based on an unlicensed light novel, part one: the 10th volume of High School DxD.

Manga based on an unlicensed light novel, part two: the 8th and final volume of How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.

After a year’s hiatus, the Kagerou Daze manga picks up again with Vol. 7, and should be arriving more regularly from now on. For light novel fans, the story here is different from the LN (and indeed the Mekakucity Actors anime.)

A 5th Kiniro Mosaic gives you vague yuri galore.

If you liked the idea of Magical Girls dying tragically but hate prose… well, you know. Magical Girl Raising Project, now in manga form.

The 11th Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan is the last, which I’m pretty sure means there are no current ongoing projects for this franchise, be it anime, manga, spinoff manga, spinoff anime, or the original novels. We should take off our hats and mourn the end of an era.

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong as I Expected gets a 7th manga volume, though I’m not sure which novel volume it’s adapting.

No Matter How Much I… sigh. WataMote gives us an 11th volume. Sorry, I’m exhausted.

Of the Red, the Light and the Ayakashi ends with its 9th volume, though I believe there is a Volume 10 with side/after stories.

ASH: Another series that I’ve been enjoying but need to catch up on!

MICHELLE: Aha! I had been thinking it was complete in 9, and then recently noticed there’s actually a tenth. Nice to have an explanation for that!

SEAN: One Week Friends is a Gangan Joker title about a cute friendship and the amnesia that threatens to tear it apart.

Re: Zero finishes its adaptation of the 2nd arc with the 4th A Week at the Mansion volume.

Rose Guns Days has a 2nd volume of its 3rd arc.

School-Live! does not come to an end with this 9th volume per se, but I think the series is on hiatus right now, so this may be the last for some time.

And a 3rd Smokin’ Parade arrives as well.

I enjoyed the first novel of So I’m a Spider, So What?, though am curious as to how a book that’s half internal dialogue will translate to manga. We’ll see with this first manga volume.

Strike the Blood’s manga has a Vol. 9, which, like the light novels, has Yukina and only Yukina on each cover.

Sword Art Online has the manga adaptation of the Calibur arc complete in one volume. It’s a great arc if you like the supporting cast, who all play a role – for the last time to date, in fact.

If you feel that yokai manga have gotten too serious lately, you should enjoy A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School, a GFantasy title that is terminally ridiculous.

ASH: Yokai comedy, you say? Count me in!

Umineko When They Cry begins its 7th arc, Requiem of the Golden Witch. Battler is nowhere to be found. Nor is Beatrice. Instead meet Kinzo’s heir Lion Ushiromiya. Oh, did I mention this first omnibus is 826 pages?

Lastly (yes, I promise, we are at the end), there’s a 7th omnibus of Yowamushi Pedal, which should be SUPER EXCITING.

MICHELLE: Yay!

ASH: I know I’m excited!

SEAN: (falls over) So are you getting everything on this list, or just most of it?

By: Sean Gaffney

[white-cat-of-doom]

A slight variation on an existing merchandise item that I already posted is this white cat head hand mirror, styled with pink accents after a certain fluffy white Cat, as opposed to the standard black with white accents.

The mirror is about 2 1/2 inches wide and actually quite heavy, with the CATS logo engraved on the front case.

I am still not entirely sure when this item was made, as with the other. Cat head shaped items were the specialty of Yokohama between 2009 and 2012, so that is my best guess. It could be older or newer, but it is still fun as an everyday item!

[white-cat-of-doom]

A black cat head shaped hand mirror from Japan, which has paw prints on the mirror surface as a cute touch. They also made a white cat head mirror as well.

The mirror is about 2 1/2 inches wide and actually quite heavy, with the CATS logo engraved on the front case.

I am not entirely sure when this item was made. Cat head shaped items were the specialty of Yokohama between 2009 and 2012, so that is my best guess. It could be older or newer.

[gumbietrio]

sayoko hayami as grizabella, yokohama 2009