#ray moriyama

[roydeezed]

Raymond Moriyama died last year and this year they're closing down one of the most important buildings he designed, the Ontario Science Centre, because my provincial conservative government is wasting money on bullshit. They could fix the roof but they have other priorities that are more performative. It's such a fucking pointed metaphor for everything going on that people would accuse it of being too on the nose if you'd written it. But that's what Ontario has been going through for the past few years, a destruction of progress and culture and of science and the arts. Ray Moriyama's buildings were functional and communal and pieces of art. And the Ford government desecrates that memory only a year after his death. To just let it fall into ruin speaks so much about what this government is about. Things that matter continue to exist because people that care put in the work to help it exist. To bar that effort. To encourage disrepair and degradation. That's what my government is about. What pernicious evil.

[henshinwolf89]

Zeiram 1 Retrospective

When it comes to Tokusatsu, it can be somewhat tricky to initially get into. With such a long history and back catalog, and an often 50+ episode long commitment, it can be daunting to newcomers. That’s why I usually say to find what appeals to you and go from there. Maybe find something that’s on the shorter side of things before trying to tackle the bigger ones. Standalone Tokusatsu movies can be a good starting point.

That leads me to suggesting one such movie series as a potential starting point into the larger world of Tokusatsu, the Zeiram series, which consists of two feature-length films and a six episode OVA. Zeiram was created by the insanely talented Keita Amemiya, an absolute legend in the Tokusatsu industry. Having worked on almost every major Tokusatsu franchise in some form at one point before creating his own series, such as the incredible Garo franchise, he quickly established himself as a unique visionary of the business.

Zeiram is Amemiya’s second film after Mirai Ninja, his debut movie in 1988, and began its life as a sequel to it before evolving into its own thing. The first Zeiram movie was released on December 21, 1991, and reportedly had a smaller budget than Mirai Ninja, thirty million yen, which is roughly two hundred thousand dollars. The entire film’s budget is apparently the cost of just a single episode of Garo! However, just because it had a smaller budget doesn’t mean that they skimped on the special effects. The film deploys an impressive array of special effects, ranging from amazing suitmation, puppetry, pyrotechnics, wire work, fight choreography, and even stop-motion animation!

The film stars actress Yuko Moriyama as Iria, a tough as nails intergalactic bounty hunter. Moriyama was a relatively new actress, having her start on a contact lens commercial for Seed Contact Lenses and mostly doing TV work. Moriyama was initially hesitant to play Iria, as she had no prior experience playing action roles, but enjoyed her experience as Iria by the end and came out with a very positive outlook. She wasn’t used to using guns or gun props and was pretty surprised by the impact of the model gun the first time she used it. She got used to it eventually as she knew Iria was a professional and needed to act the part. Soon, she found firing the guns to be really fun. Moriyama also stated having difficulty with the suit Iria wore. It’s bulkyness making her feel like a robot and bruising up her body quite a bit. She got used to it after a month. However, the suit was very squeaky and noisy. You could always tell when she was nearby, much to the amusement of the rest of the cast and crew.

The other two major characters are the two average working Joe electricians, Teppei and Kamiya, played by Kunihiro Ida and Yukijiro Hotaru, respectfully. Ida was in Amemiya’s previous film, Mirai Ninja, and is a varied actor being in the original Japanese version of “Shall We Dance?” Hotaru, on the other hand, is an accomplished stage actor and should be a familiar face to Tokusatsu fans. He played The Evil Emperor Diable in Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine, had a cameo as the suicidal man in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack or GMK for short, and most famously played Tsutomu Osako in the Heisei Gamera trilogy, and Gonza Kurahashi in Garo. Hotaru and Amemiya are good friends, and they both have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.

Moriyama, Ida, and Hotaru all developed a great working chemistry with each other. Ida was very supportive of Moriyama, frequently psyching her up and giving her emotional support, while Hotaru often gave her acting advice. They did line readings together often and read through the script many times before shoots. They did this in advance as often as possible. Hotaru during shoots would hunch over to make himself look smaller in comparison to Moriyama, so Iria had a larger and more imposing presence.

Next up is Bob, Iria’s A.I. partner. Who is voiced by Masakazu Handa. He sadly died at the young age of 47 due to heart failure on August 26, 2014. Handa was a professional voice actor who also did a lot of narration work and announcement work at events like martial arts tournaments and sports games.

Finally, the titular monster, Zeiram, is played by suit actor Mizuho Yoshida, and the suit was made by famous sculptor and artist Takayuki Takeya. Yoshida’s first role was in Mirai Ninja, but he has played many Kaiju characters as well, such as Mother Legion in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, Zedus in Gamera the Brave and Godzilla in GMK. In the Rebirth of Mothra movies, he played Desghidorah and Dagahra in the sequel. He has also provided motion capture work for video games such as the Tyrant from Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, Dylan in Dino Crisis 2, Dead Rising, and Onimusha. Most notably was the mo-cap actor for both Solid Snake and Naked Snake/Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 1-3.

Amemiya drew many designs to find the look of Zeiram, an alien wearing a sedge hat. He settled on the look of a traveler from the Edo period, as he thought it would be scary to see someone like that in the streets in the middle of the night. The Zeiram costume was quite heavy, most of the weight being on the head with tension on the neck. According to Amemiya, Zeiram is female, but in the films, the characters use male pronouns, so I’ll be using gender neutral terms to refer to Zeiram. I mean, it’s a bio-mechanical alien. It probably doesn’t even fall into our human definitions of gender anyway.

But enough about the behind the scenes tidbits for now, let’s get into talking about the actual film!

The movie opens with an intense scene showing how dangerous Zeiram is. A group of armed men are brutally slaughtered by the ruthless alien. A bounty is placed on the capture of Zeiram, and Bob accepts the order and claims no one may interfere with Iria and Bob’s job. Next, we see Iria skulking through the streets of Tokyo, gathering supplies. Then we are introduced to Kamiya, who is elated to finally strike it big gambling on horse races. Kamiya is divorced, most likely due to his gambling habits. Teppei is next, trying to contact Kamiya about their next set of jobs. He wants to quickly get them done as he has a date with the company’s secretary, Yumi, something Kamiya teases him about.

I like Kamiya and Teppei. They’re just two average dudes that are about to find themselves in something extraordinary. They are the source of comic relief and provide a contrast to Iria’s stoic badass demeanor. Their hapless antics don’t distract or ruin Iria’s action scenes, and they even contribute tremendously to helping Iria. Honestly, they remind me of Val McKee and Earl Bassett, played by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward from the movie Tremors.

Anyway, Iria and Bob’s base of operations are siphoning a lot of electricity, and so Kamiya and Teppei are called in to investigate. Iria and Bob are building a device to trap Zeiram in a place called the Zone. They need to use the Zone to capture Zeiram to avoid causing collateral damage to Earth’s environment and population. Bob says that they need this job to pay off debts racked up by Iria. After catching Zeiram in the Zone, the two electricians arrive, and Teppei accidentally stumbles into the Zone’s teleporter. Iria gives chase, and Kamiya invites himself along. This is where the movie primarily takes place in the Zone, where no other life is allowed in outside those permitted or teleported there.

Iria traps Kamiya in a protective barrier and goes off to pursue Teppei and find Zeiram. Unfortunately, Teppei encounters Zeiram first and is attacked. He flees, and Zeiram produces a creature called the Lilliput monster to give chase.

The smoke in the scene where Zeiram attacks Teppei with the Lilliput was created with oil at 2 o’clock in the morning. One of the first locations they shot according to interviews. People who hung their clothes out to dry had them covered in oil the next morning, Amemiya feels guilty for it and was sorry. The Lilliput monster was played by suit actresses Mayumi Aguni. Apparently, an early example of a woman playing a monster in Tokusatsu. It’s unfortunately difficult to find information online about female Kaiju actors. The only others I’m aware of are Yumi Kameyama as Super Gyaos in Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe and, of course, the popular and adorable Rie Ota as Baragon in GMK.

Back to the movie. Iria manages to track down Zeiram and lures it to a warehouse that she previously laid with booby-traps. She ensnares Zeiram in a wire trap and begins to gloat about her victory. Her confidence gets the best of her as Zeiram seizes the opportunity and surprises Iria with the parasite in it’s hat, and cutting itself free. Meanwhile, Teppei stumbles upon Kamiya frozen in the barrier. He attempts to free him. The fight between Iria and Zeiram rages on, as they exchange fire between each other. However, Bob warns that conventional weaponry is useless, so against Bob’s wishes, Iria reveals her battle armor and switches to hand-to-hand combat.

Iria’s armor proves effective as Zeiram’s payload of artillery is reflected. Zeiram chooses to fight with melee as well and begins to overpower Iria with shear might. Iria lures it to another trap, restraining it in place. Zeiram unleashes more Lilliput monsters to buy itself time to escape. Iria defeats the Lilliput monster, but Zeiram escapes its binding. Zeiram presses forward and corners Iria, but just before it can finish her off, she manages to finally trap it in the same confinement barrier she trapped Kamiya in.

With Zeiram in custody, Teppei finds Iria and requests she release Kamiya. Iria complies, and she explains the situation to the two men. Just as Bob is preparing to teleport everyone back, a Lilliput monster attacks the group. Iria defends the two but gets transported along with the monster, leaving the electricians behind with the frozen Zeiram. The scuffle with the monster damages the control panel, cutting off access to the Zone. Bob reveals it has also destabilized the Zone too, and not much time is left before it completely vanishes.

Waiting for Iria, Teppei rifles through Iria’s bags as Kamiya grows impatient. Another Lilliput monster attacks Kamiya, and Teppei uses Iria’s weapons to fight it off. In the struggle, Zeiram’s stasis pod gets damaged and releases it. The two electricians attempt to flee by hot wiring a truck. Unfortunately, Zeiram corners them and bites Kamiya’s arm with it’s parasite. They manage to shake off Zeiram and escape. It’s revealed that by consuming its victims’ DNA, Zeiram creates its clone monsters. It creates an imperfect clone of Kamiya, but it is unable to follow orders. In its rage, Zeiram kills the clone.

The scene where Kamiya gets attacked by Zeiram’s tentacle is one of the final scenes to be shot. The tentacle was controlled by wires, and the prop was quite short. They had to utilize camera tricks to make it look longer. After Zeiram removes its scarf, revealing its face, to make the Kamiya clone, its face seems reminiscent of the Predator. I wouldn’t be surprised if Predator played a role in inspiring Zeiram in some way.

The two electricians flee into a beer storage warehouse and attempt to defend themselves from Zeiram. The fight causes Teppei to get separated from Kamiya. Teppei is unable to locate Kamiya, escapes, and contacts Iria. Iria and Bob debate sending Teppei the Metis Cannon to fight Zeiram after Teppei resolves to make a last stand after he assumes Kamiya might be dead.

Teppei heads to the drop-off point on a motorcycle to retrieve the Metis Cannon, Zeiram intercepts, and corners Teppei. Suddenly, Kamiya returns to save Teppei with a construction crane. However, Zeiram overpowers it and knocks Kamiya out of the vehicle. Then Iria swoops into the rescue, armed with a bazooka. Iria unloads the bazooka’s only shot towards Zeiram, severely damaging its body. Zeiram discards its lower half, revealing its true body is the hat, and mutates into a more skeleton-like creature to continue pursuing our heroes.

The bike scene was shot in a plane hanger in Haneda Airport. Amemiya had no prior experience with shooting a scene with a stunt like this before and was worried about the safety of the actors. The wire connected to the stunt actor on the bike fortunately snapped off, had it not, Yoshida, in the Zeiram suit, would have been hit and seriously injured. The Zeiram skeleton showcases Amemiya and his teams talent at practical effects with an impressive display of both stop-motion animation and puppetry, bringing the creature to life.

The trio, with Zeiram in tow, flee through a maze-like web of rooms in search of the Metis Cannon to kill Zeiram. Iria stays behind to stall Zeiram, leading to her being flung out a window after damaging Zeiram with a grenade. Kamiya and Teppei find the Metis Cannon but struggle to put it together in time, Zeiram tracks them down and corners them. Iria locates them in the nick of time and quickly assembles the Metis Cannon and uses it to destroy Zeiram’s skeleton. She then captures Zeiram’s hat in a barrier.

Bob transports Kamiya and Teppei back to home base outside the Zone. Then, he brings back the captured Zeiram. Next, he attempts to bring back Iria. However, Zeiram breaks free, damages the transport device, and goes on the offensive once again mutating further. Iria is trapped within the Zone as it is collapsing. Bob instructs Kamiya on how to repair the transport device as Teppei attempts to hold Zeiram back with a makeshift wooden barricade. Zeiram breaks free and is poised to kill Teppei when Kamiya fixes the device, and Iria arrives to save the day by lighting Zeiram up with as many shots as it takes, finally killing it.

As the morning comes, the trio catch their breath and thank each other for everything. Iria cuts off two locks of her hair and gives it to Kamiya and Teppei as a way of saying thanks and for them to have something to remember her by. Bob then asks if the three could group up for a commemorative photo. As Bob snaps the picture, everyone smiles and credits roll.

Though Moriyama was inexperienced as an action actress, by the time of filming the final confrontation with Zeiram, she was completely in character. Amemiya found it easier to direct her, as she had become accustomed to fighting, and he had gained more experience as a director. Despite a few bumps in the road, the cast and crew had a pleasant experience with the movie. The only major problems were the weather, which seemed to be against them, according to Amemiya.

As for my thoughts on the film? I absolutely love it! I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone, whether you’re into Tokusatsu or just like monster movies or creature features, like Predator or Alien. I’d even recommend this movie to a Resident Evil fan! I couldn’t shake the feeling of being reminded of my love of the intense rivalry between Jill Valentine and Nemesis. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film played some role in inspiring Resident Evil 3, though I have zero evidence to back that claim. Zeiram even goes through several mutations, like a final boss from Resident Evil.

Even if you’ve never heard of Keita Amemiya’s work prior to this, chances are you’ve encountered his work vicariously through some games you may have played. Games like Hagane: The Final Conflict, Onimusha 2-3, Clock Tower 3, Genji: Days of the Blade, Final Fantasy 14, and Shin Megami Tensei IV. Like I said, he’s a legend of the industry, and he has fans all across the world.

If you’re interested, you can easily pick up a Blu-ray copy for a good price. It recently received a fantastic 30th Anniversary Edition re-release back in 2021 by Media Blasters. Go check it out! You won’t regret it!

[raideo]

So I went to see the US premiers of both Shadow of Fire and Great Absence this week, two movies starring Moriyama Mirai, which, full disclosure is the actor that put them on my radar because he played one of my faves in my current Hyperfixation Show lol (Shishi Jugo, from TSKR). Both movies were absolutely incredible but very tough movies dealing with difficult themes and hardships. I don't know if I recommend them to anyone because they are NOT happy stories and they both portray the worst and/or messiest parts of life but they were very real and very touching and important. The acting in both was incredible. Especially Great Absence. Holy shit.

Moriyama-san is an incredible actor oh my god. 🤯 I am so glad to see him in something else instead of just the same one episode for once 😅

So grateful that I got to see him and Shadow of Fire director Tsukamoto Shinya in person, their Q&A was very enlightening and added a lot to the movie experience. Huge respect for the both of them. I think my experience with one of Tsukamoto-sensei's earlier movies in college put me off of his films because it was extremely disturbing to me at the time, but this new film of his definitely resonated with me, and I am glad I didn't miss it because I was nervous to see another movie by him. It was shocking and hard to watch and gut twisting but had such a powerful anti-war message without fetishizing anything.

I am not previously familiar with Fuji Tatsuya and director of Great Absence Chika-ura Kei like I was with both Moriyama and Tsukamoto, but their Q&A was also engaging and incredible. They were both very entertaining and brought a little comedic relief to the talk following such a ROUGH movie that I was really grateful for. It is playing in NY tomorrow and honestly I would go again if I could even though it was so hard to watch. My heart felt like it was slowly being torn apart throughout the whole time, 11/10 would recommend (or not, seriously it's not easy to handle at all 😭)

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

DC

What Does it Mean When Your Son Comes Home with Plans for a Death Ray? Asking for a Friend by PrinceJakeFireCake

Basically the title.

Excerpt: “What does it mean when a young man comes home with plans to create a death ray so he can frame Luthor for plagiarism?” Bruce asked anyway, because maybe one of them knew.

There was a long silence. Bruce waited patiently.

“What?” Clark and Diana asked, at the exact same time.

“You know what? Never mind,” Bruce sighed, wearily. “He’s probably just at that age."

Clone Wars

: (Is to) :: (As) by TamerLorika

Cody's General was a perfect example for the men. He ate regularly. He was punctual with his medical appointments. Kenobi socialized with his officers, hosted curated office hours for the rank-and-file, walked the field hospitals during engagements, and made time every Centaxday to review escalated grievance reports.

He was there for his men—but always at the exactly appropriate arm’s length away and half step ahead.

.

Cody notices that Kenobi's regard for himself is always clinical and utilitarian. As he ponders a way to break the stalemate, he begins to learn more about the lightsaber that is so often in his hands, and how it relates to the subject of Kenobi's own soul.

The Exception by Threebea O (ThreeBea)

Cody gets a new Jedi assigned to the 212th Attack Battalion after he is forced to execute his last one. He has enough experience to know how this new Jedi will behave.

But the Sith Slayer proves himself to be the exception to all of Cody's expectations.

Cody leads his unit, fights a multi-front war, and tries to figure out JM-031.

All for the Game

No straighter path than to struggle by otatop

Neil is sick and it's fine until it's not.

There's a lot of soup.

if you saw my darkest parts by KweenDay

When you meet your soulmate, you share your dreams. Even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones.

Jeremy knows he's met him—his soulmate—when he starts sharing his dreams. But those aren't just any dreams. They're all dark and violent, nightmares that make Jeremy suffocate. And Riko Moriyama is in all of them. Jeremy narrows it down to one person—Kevin Day. Except, Kevin already knows his soulmates (plural?), and Jeremy isn't one of them. So why is the universe fucking with him? And why is Jean Moreau looking at him like that?

//Soulmate AU in which you share your soulmate's dreams after you meet them in person.

soleil / sans soleil by electric_typewriter

Jean is slowly learning how to live as a Trojan with the support of his teammates friends. There are better days, and worse. A bad day leads to a conversation with Coach Rhemann. Some uncomfortable questions have to be asked.

SVSSS

Luo Binghe's Guide to Winning a Bride by Meriglass

Five years have passed since the events of the Immortal Alliance Conference, and Luo Binghe is nowhere to be seen. Shen Qingqiu is beginning to fear the worst. That his dearly beloved, golden halo protagonist really did die in the Endless Abyss. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have come to enact his revenge by now?

Meanwhile, Luo Binghe is alive and well. He's just sulking in the Demon Realm.

In which Shen Qingqiu is kidnapped and placed as the official bride prize for a demon battle tournament, and it's up to Luo Binghe to enter undercover in order to save him.

[allfortheandreil]

key figures in jean moreau's life as they relate to the cycle of a day

kevin day is sunset. because kevin left. they were each others lifelines, reminders of solace, and then kevin left jean to pick up the pieces of riko's brokenness and anger in the darkness.

riko moriyama is midnight. he offers no light, only a desperation for something better. anything better. he is only empty hope, only a reminder to jean that eventually the sun has to come back... right?

neil josten is dusk. he is the first time jean has considered the sun in years, the first time he remembered the possibility of daylight beyond the fractured darkness of the dungeon under the castle.

renee walker is sunrise. escape from darkness, a light to cling to in a glory of bright colors and promise of warmth to come as she crests over the horizon to save him from himself.

but jeremy knox... jeremy knox is high noon. he casts everything into shadow and shows jean just how meaningless darkness is because how can jean be afraid when he sees everything as it truly is for the first time? when he has jeremy to shed light onto his life and heat the traumatic ache from his bones? he is all light and toothy smiles and loud laughter which brings the walls of castle evermore in jean's mind crumbling to pieces, making way for rays of gentile the likes of which the ravens had never thought possible. all for jean on the sunshine court with jeremy by his side.

[fashionbooksmilano]

Between Art & Fashion

Photographs from the Collection of Carla Sozzani

Edited by Fabrice Hergott , foreword by Azzedine Alaïa

Ass. Azzedine Alaïa and Carla Sozzani Ed., 2016 , 2000 numbered copies, copy n.1160, 401 pages, 215 ill., 24x29cm, ISBN: 979-10-95313-03-8

euro 90,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

The exhibition «Between Art and Fashion» at the Azzedine Alaïa gallery, presents for the first time nearly 200 photos from the Carla Sozzani collection and selected by Fabrice Hergott. Photographs from the 19th century to the present day, from Man Ray to Helmut Newton, from Moholy-Nagy to Francesca Woodman, from Daido Moriyama to Alfred Stiegliz: a vision of the world, of woman, of beauty. With more than 350 pages in uncoated paper, the book features the reproductions of all the pictures, a foreword by Azzedine Alaïa, a conversation led by Fabrice Hergott with Carla Sozzani, and seven essays by some of international contemporary critics and scholars like Barbara Carnevali, Germano Celant, Emanuele Coccia, William A. Erwing, Donatien Grau and Jean Louis Scheffer.

29/03/24

[vrysrsimportanttokushipbracket]

Total Vote Count!

Some final data for a true Eurovision style ending; counting up the votes themselves to see what the final placement is!

So, Who has the most dedicated fanbase?

Junichi Chouno/Tsubaki Shuuichi - 6 Kazuki Komon/Jun Himeya, Matoi Tatsumi/Yuji Kudo, Kouta Fukuda/Makoto Shidou - 14 Kiriya Kujou/Graphite - 19 Daimon Tatsumi/Eiji Nagase - 20 Shinji Kido/Shiro Kanzaki, Hayato Ichimonji/Amazon - 21 Parad/Kuroto Dan, Sougo Tokiwa/Woz - 22 Chihiro/Hiroki Nagase, Yuka Osada/Keitaro Kikuchi, Kuroto Dan/Emu Hojo - 25 Hikari Nonomura/Haru Tokashiki - 26 Right Suzuki/Z, Jun Maehara/Ryuusuke Ootaki - 27 Long/Rio - 29 Sosuke Esumi/Renn Kousaka, Kaoru Kino/Koji Majima - 34 Mirai Hibino/Ryu Aihara - 37 Belial/Kei Fukuide, Miyuki Tezuka/Jun Shibaura - 39 Tatsuya Asami/Ayase - 43 Lucky/Stinger - 49 Shou Tatsumi/Big Douser - 50 Kiriya Kujou/Emu Hojo - 55 Gunpei Ishihara/Hant Jou - 56 Matsuri Tatsumi/Denus, Basco ta Jolokia/Captain Marvelous - 57 Miyuki Tezuka/Ren Akiyama - 59 Haruka Mizusawa/Mamoru - 61 Homare Soya/Hiroyuki Kudo - 62 Sou Yaguruma/Shun Kageyama - 63 Urataros/Kintaros - 64 Sougo Tokiwa/Heure, Domon/Honami Moriyama - 65 Alain/Makoto Fukami - 72 Jin Takayama/Izumi Nanaha - 78 Kagura Izumi/Mio Natsumi - 81 Hayato Ichimonji/Kazuya Taki - 84 Hideyuki Kagawa/Satoru Tojo - 91 Sid Bamick/Joe Gibken - 93 Ryouga Hakua/Mikoto Nakadai - 96 Asahi Minato/Saki Mitsurugi - 97 Enter/Hiromu Sakurada - 106 Momotaros/Ryoutarou Nogami - 110 Joji Yuki/Shiro Kazami - 137 Balance/Naga Ray - 145 Ikkou Kasumi/Yousuke Shiina - 152 Yuji Kiba/Takumi Inui - 156 Ren Akiyama/Shinji Kido - 170 Miu Sutou/Saki Rouyama - 183 Shoutarou Hidari/Philip - 187 Hanaya Taiga/Hiiro Kagami - 192 Ruriko Midorikawa/Hiromi - 197 King OOO/Ankh - 202 Tsukasa Kadoya/Daiki Kaito - 203 Teddy/Kotaro Nogami - 232 Takeshi Kuroki/Masato Jin - 256 Jugglus Juggler/Gai Kurenai - 273 Shuichi Kitaoka/Goro Yura - 369 Akira Date/Shintaro Goto - 469 Yusuke Godai/Kaoru Ichijou - 485 Momoi Tarou/Sonoi - 534

Congratulations to winner of most dedicated fanbase; Momoi Tarou/Sonoi!

[rookie-critic]

Inu-Oh (2022, dir. Masaaki Yuasa) - review by Rookie-Critic

Inu-Oh is the newest (and possibly last) project from acclaimed anime director Masaaki Yuasa. The story revolves around two cursed children (one blind, one incredibly disfigured) who meet and decide to start recanting the stories of the lost souls of soldiers that one of them (the titular Inu-Oh) can see. Since the blind child can play the biwa (a traditional Japanese string instrument) and the other can dance, and they both can sing, they decide to do this through song... in a crazy mix of traditional Japanese biwa music and rock & roll! That's right, this is a rock opera.

We see them grow up and become more popular as they fight pushback from the oppressive regime of the time. Oh yeah, the wildest part? It's all taking place in 14th Century Feudal-Era Japan, and is (very loosely) based on the lives of 2 (I think) real Japanese historical figures. In true Yuasa fashion, this is an absolutely buckwild cinematic experience: with jaw-droppingly wonderful animation and kick-ass 10-minute-long musical numbers, as well as stellar performances from both real-life Japanese dancer Mirai Moriyama and real-life Japanese rockstar Avu-chan as the dual leads (fun fact: the dancer voices the biwa player and the rockstar voices the dancer). The beginning had me wondering where it would go, but somewhere around the 2nd big concert scene something clicked in my brain and I became fully bought in. I feel this is a movie that will heavily benefit from a rewatch. I can't say much more without giving too much away, so just go see it for yourself. This movie is a marvel of modern anime filmmaking and I think anyone who is a fan of the artform owes it to themselves to seek this one out.

Score: 9/10

Currently available to rent or purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on DVD & Blu-ray through GKIDS.

[mylittlesecrethaven]

Fuck It, We Ball: Misfit Class VAs; Part 1

Except for Iruma, Asmodeus, Clara, Sullivan, and Kalego since I've already done those.

So let's go.

(I'm doing this cause I swear I recognize some of the voices, and I didn't do most of the misfit class in the last post.)

Ray Chase

Who voices Sabnock Sabro and Oswaal Orias in Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun, Tengen Uzui and Rokuro in Demon Slayer, Howzer and Zalpa in Seven Deadly Sins, Weisz Steiner in EDENS ZERO, Shogo Haizaki in Kuroko's Basketball, Ryomen Sukuna and Choso in Jujutsu Kaisen, Neuvillette in Genshin Impact, Metori Saiko in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Reawakened, Wildhorn and Puri-Puri Prisoner in One Punch Man, Helper T Cell in Cells At Work, Willard in Sirius the Jaeger, David Shield in My Hero Academia, Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Bungo Stray Dogs, Keith Kazama Flick in B: The Beginning, Warlord Lahn in Voltron: Legendary Defender, Hanzo and Geretta and Squala in Hunter X Hunter, Eren Kruger in Attack on Titan, and so so so so soooooooo many more. (it's freaking Ray Chase! *happy squeals*)

Biran Anderson

Who voices Agares Picero and Opera in Welcome to Demon School Iruma Kun, Aizetsu in Demon Slayer, and a few others.

Landon McDonald

Who voices Allocer Schneider in Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun, Kazuki Kurusu in Buddy Daddies, Seishiro Nagi and Ikko Niko in BLUELOCK, Isozaki in Bubble, Koki Suido in Tokyo 24th Ward, Enmu in Demon Slayer, Satoshi Tsuchida and Yoshitaka Moriyama in Kuroko's Basketball, Noritoshi Kamo and Eso in Jujutsu Kaisen, Streptococcus Pyogenes in Cells At Work, Rampo Edogawa in Bungo Stray Dogs, Jiro Akimoto in Sirius the Jaeger, and a ton more.

Ryan Colt Levy

Who voices Jazz M. Andro in Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun, Makoto Oda and Ryuya in Romantic Killer, Denji in Chainsaw Man, Shisuto Naruse in Komi Can't Communicate, Rody Soul in My Hero Academia, Loki and Kagehisa Ittosai Ito in Record of Ragnarok, Yu Haibara in Jujutsu Kaisen, and a few others.

Natalie Hoover

Who plays Ix Elizabetta and Nagi in Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun, Rune in My Dress-Up Darling, Clarisse Layer in EDENS ZERO, Minami Kinoshita in Fruits Basket, and a ton of others.

Also also also.

ALEJANDRO SAAB PLAYS A MINOR CHARACTER!

NAMED ANDROALPHUS ICHIRO!

CAUSE CYYU IS ONE OF MY FAVE VTUBERS!

[jonboudposts]

Cafe Life #5: Gail’s, Wardour Street

Tea = £2.70 (in a paper cup)

We have just walked into Gail’s in Wardour Street for the first time is ages and they have redesigned the place. It is actually smaller, with less places to sit; specifically, they have taken out the counter seating area, so you can no longer sit at the end, watching the Baristas do their thing; nor stare out the large windows into Soho, daydreaming of your latest piece of unfulfilled artistic genius, as London bustles by. Now that dream is also gone. I never did this in my late teens, but always wanted to. Such abandon is for the cool people who worry about nothing.

This is a classic day off at it’s best. We just saw the Daido Moriyama exhibition at The Photographers Gallery, a great Japanese photographer whose best work shows a grainy black and white cityscape full of the people not normally paid much attention to, even though they build the world and kept it moving. We then went to Reckless Records and Sister Ray in Berwick St; got some CDs as ever and did not damage the bank too much, before poncing about in the streets taking my own random photos. Such activity calls for a nice cup of tea to make the day perfect as the light draws in and the horror of Christmas is just around the corner.

Gail’s tea selection is shit now. Just the basics, insanely overpriced (of course) and if you want some food to go with it, better bring your bank loan. Plus I remain hungry afterwards; never filling enough. This is what comes of not standing up to gentrification. First they take the street and homes of the poorest residents; then they take everything else. The affordable cafes disappear quicker than pubs close around here, although we hear less objection. Rent goes higher than the sun and poverty increases to unimaginable levels. If only the Baristas were raking it in, that would at least give us something to hold on to.

These small joys are just the moments between fights now. There is no calm that lasts longer than a few moments – like the joy of a nice tea and cake in the middle of this beautiful city. Between our endless working class battles at home, the fate of Gaza miles away, this is a time of bearing up at best. Anxiety and horror on every channel; genocide on the evening news, all enabled by our political leaders. Evil is so banal. From a dementia-ridden cunt in the US to our very own moral-less banker who talks like a children's TV presenter.

Yet the worldwide response, not least here in London, has been amazing. Rejecting the apartheid state of Israel; land-stealing psychopathic child killers in government trying to tell us our response is unjust, not their actions. We can shut them down and bring justice, even from this far away.

There is only the class war. Maybe I always wanted it this way, so now it is.

Upon leaving I ask to use the toilet, as I have done so many times before in Gail’s but now there is a rope over the staircase. ‘We only have one for staff’ she says. Fuck this place; I just spent the better part of a tenner on two cups of tea (in takeaway cups because they somehow have no china) and a Croissant between two and I cannot even use the toilet? Never coming here again.

[frogwhomp]

moriyama in his hakama slay

[kenro199x]

Zeiram 2 (1994)

Blu-ray Bandai Visual 2017

[sabo-pon]

𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮

Tokyo,2021

Photo by @sabo-pon

[rzerox21xx]

selling my entire first season Blue Exorcist, like new been watched once, expensive aniplex item. please spread this i could use the money for the vet. first 17 episodes are canon i respond quickly to all messages and offers. 

[zeitism]

Character tag drop (1/?)

[myfreespirit23]

The Megalobox 2: Nomad special edition Japanese Blu Ray cover has been released, featuring a drawing by Moriyama!