#yuki kosugi

[phantasy14]

after practice

[cute-girls-from-vns-anime-manga]

[whosyourfavevoicedby-polls]

[zeph-phyr]

what do you MEAN they de-old-man-ified kadokura in dogsred???????

[marikoyoshida]

Lady's Gong vol. 54 (レディースゴング54) - 2000.09.13

[mrawkweird]

W e l p . That whole episode was a package & a half. Enough to make my own bucket list:

>If Mr. Mikazuki ever shows up outside of a flashback, he NEEDS to get decked at least. Dude is more drenched in hubris than the love child of a pair of Black Clover royals

>Akira, Shizuka, & Kencho all need some serious therapy after all this, good lord 😱

>Speaking of Shizuka... God, that was so hot of her to give Akira that big ol' "take the hint & flip your boss off" speech 😳

>Kosugi may not have died, but at least everyone left telling him to eat shit. And not the standard, solid shit. I'm talking the straight diarrhea you get after your 1st dose of caffeine in a month 😤

>AND ANOTHER THING about Shizuka... but it's just a personally enjoyed Fun Fact™. Turns out her Japanese VA is Tomori Kusunoki, who used to voice my favorite Love Live character, Setsuna Yuki, which single-handedly made me consider rewatching Zom 100 in Japanese and this ask is getting real long so i'll stop now 😅

Shizuka's dad is the sort of dude Asta would have humbled by the end of the episode and then she would have ended up in the illustrious Asta fan club.

After several sessions I want it all to culminate in that therapist bringing a zombie into the room and have everybody try to work out their differences.

"Hot Girl Summer" begins with Shizuka saying "fuck the system".

Kosugi is the type where if anything happens to him, and considering how hard he fell apart when a zombie got in the compound it will, it's all gonna be on him. No assistance or lack thereof will be needed.

Voice actor connections are always fun to discover because it sometimes feels like one big multiversal web. Like, what do you mean the dude that was willing to sacrifice his friends, his family and all of humanity is now running around in a boar's head after picking up gamer girls online?

[princess-viola]

I wanna infodump about Sukeban Deka, specifically I wanna (ultimately) talk about a random bit of Sukeban Deka trivia I found out a few days ago that I find interesting.

OK so first: what is Sukeban Deka? Sukeban Deka is a franchise originally created by mangaka Shinji Wada. It's about a 17 year old incarcerated sukeban (female juvenile delinquent) named Saki Asamiya who basically gets blackmailed by the government and promised her freedom if she works as an undercover cop for them in order to infiltrate high schools and deal with youth and is given a yo-yo, which she uses as a weapon and also contains her badge identifying her as a member of the police.

The franchise began as a manga that was originally serialized in the shoujo magazine Hana to Yume from 1975 until 1982. The series originally concluded in January 1978 but, after the disappointing reception to Wada's new manga Pygmalio, Sukeban Deka resumed serialization in February 1979, which Wada regarded as 'Part 2' and was promoted as a new series in Hana to Yume, where it continued to run until coming to its final conclusion in 1982.

A few years after the conclusion of the manga, Toei and Fuji TV adapted Sukeban Deka into a live-action drama series starring idol singer Yuki Saito as Saki Asamiya. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 1985 and, because of its popularity, a second season of Sukeban Deka was commisioned.

The second season of Sukeban Deka, officially titled Sukeban Deka II: Shoujo Tekkamen Densetsu (Legend of the Iron Mask Girl), can be regarded as an entirely separate series from the first season, as Saito decided against returning to the role in order to focus on her singing career. Instead, Toei cast idol singer Yoko Minamino and, instead of pretending that Minamino (who obviously looks nothing like Saito) was the same character, turned the name of 'Saki Asamiya' from the characters actual name into a codename, with Minamino's character actually being named Yoko Godai and taking the codename of Saki Asamiya and becoming Sukeban Deka II.

Sukeban Deka II was much more popular than the first season and ran for 42 episodes from November 1985 to October 1986.

After Sukeban Deka II, Toei planned on airing a spin-off series entitled 'Sukeban Ninpucho', which would have focused around ninjas and have taken inspiration from the ninja movies of Sho Kosugi, Wada's own manga Ninja Flight, and Star Wars, with a proper Sukeban Deka III series airing after the conclusion of this spin-off.

However, for one reason or another, this didn't happen and Toei instead combined Sukeban Ninpucho and Sukeban Deka III into a single TV series: Sukeban Deka III: Shoujo Ninpojo Densetsu (Legend of the Girl Ninja Scroll). Just like with Sukeban Deka II, Sukeban Deka III featured a new actress as the main character: idol singer Yui Asaka as Yui Kazama (unlike Yoko Godai, Yui Kazama more often than not was referred to by her real name, rather than the Saki Asamiya name). The series also starred idol singers Yuka Onishi and Yuma Nakamura as Yui's sisters, Yuka and Yuma. Considering the origins of Sukeban Deka III, it ultimately had a much more fantasy bent compared to the urban crime themes of the previous two seasons and, because of these changes, while the series did run for its full-run of 42 episodes from October 1986 to October 1987, it ultimately didn't do too well in terms of audience reception (although the 9th episode of the series was the 8th highest rated episode of any Fuji TV drama series broadcast during the 1980s, with a rating of 21.3%). Original creator Shinji Wada was also critical of Sukeban Deka III, stating that they didn't understand why Sukeban Deka was the way that it was and that if they wanted to do a superhero program, they should have done it elsewhere. (It should also be noted that Wada was disappointed in the first series as well, as he thought it was too different from his vision, but he loved Sukeban Deka II and joked that he would've become a fan of it if it had aired when he was a student).

Meanwhile, during the broadcast of Sukeban Deka III, a movie version of the series was released in theatres in February 1987, simply entitled Sukeban Deka. While this film was released during the airing of the third series, it more serves as a sequel to Sukeban Deka II (as its set after the end of that series), although Yui Kazama also appears in the series.

A movie sequel to Sukeban Deka III was released in February 1988, entitled Sukeban Deka: Kazama San Shimai no Gyakushuu (Counterattack of the Kazama Sisters). In contrast to the TV series, Counterattack of the Kazama Sisters abandoned the fantasy elements and returned the series to the realistic drama and action that made it popular (well, as realistic as a series about a teenage detective who fights with a yo-yo can be).

I feel I also need to briefly mention Shoujo Commando Izumi here as well. Shoujo Commando Izumi is the series that replaced Sukeban Deka III in its timeslot and was originally planned as Sukeban Deka IV but was ultimately retooled into its own thing due to the negative reception to Sukeban Deka III. Unfortunately, Shoujo Commando Izumi was ultimately cancelled due to low ratings and only aired for 15 episodes from November 1987 until February 1988. (Shoujo Commando Izumi ultimately had an average audience rating of 7.12%, compared to a 13.98% average for Sukeban Deka III, 14.3% for Sukeban Deka II, and 13.04% for Sukeban Deka). (I can also, much more briefly, mention Hana no Asuka-gumi [The Glorious Asuka Gang], another sukeban series based on a manga that was produced by Toei and Fuji TV and aired for 23 episodes from April to September 1988. I only briefly mention this one as it was Toei and Fuji TV returning to the sukeban genre, but the series itself isn't at-all related to Sukeban Deka, beyond the genre, like Shoujo Commando Izumi was)

While there may be some debate over this, I personally consider the Sukeban Deka TV series and movies (as well as Shoujo Commando Izumi) to fall under the 'tokusatsu' label and I mean, there's also this:

A book about tokusatsu heroes of the 1980s that features the second Saki Asamiya on the very front cover and covers the series within the book:

(Photo shamelessly stolen from this Mercari listing)

So I think it's fair to call it tokusatsu and I will continue to do so.

Anyways, since the conclusion of Sukeban Deka III in November 1987 and the release of Counterattack of the Kazama Sisters in February 1988, the series has had several releases and revivals, although it's nowhere near the level of popularity it was back in the 1980s.

In 1991, a two episode Sukeban Deka OVA was released that adapted the original story arc of the manga, with character designs based on Wada's original manga designs.

Wada also published two one-shot Sukeban Deka chapters set in a parallel universe in the shoujo magazine Melody in 1997 and 1998, two more chapters were published in 2003 in the seinen magazine Monthly Comic Flapper and all four chapters would be published as a tankobon and given the title Sukeban Deka If.

In 2006, Sukeban Deka would return to the big screen with the release of the film Sukeban Deka: Codename = Saki Asamiya, starring Aya Matsuura as K AKA the new Sukeban Deka. The movie also features Hiroyuki Nagato reprising his role as the Dark Director from the 1980s series and Yuki Saito as Saki's mother.

In 2021, ten years after Shinji Wada passed away due to ischaemic heart disease at the age of 61, three new Sukeban Deka series began serialization in the shoujo magazine Monthly Princess: - The Sukeban Deka Who Leapt Through Time - As far as I can tell, this series is about a girl in the modern day who ends up finding a mysterious yo-yo and ends up travelling back in time and having to work with the original Saki. This series began serialization in the February 2021 issue and is written and illustrated by Saori Muronaga - Re: Sukeban Deka - A straight remake of the original Sukeban Deka series with new art. This series began serialization in the March 2021 issue and is written and illustrated by Ashibi Fukui. - Sukeban Deka Pretend: A magical girl/henshin hero based take on the Sukeban Deka concept (and something I am 100% here for) This series began illustration in the September 2021 issue and is written by Sai Ihara and illustrated by Shingi Hosokawa.

If you want to read or watch any Sukeban Deka media, well you are somewhat in luck as several things from this series have been both officially and unofficially translated into English.

As far as official English Sukeban Deka releases go, the two 1980s movies were released by Media Blasters under their Tokyo Shock label in the mid-2000s, ADV released the 1991 OVA on video in 1996 (and later released it on DVD in 2003), and the 2006 film was released on DVD by Magnolia Pictures in 2007 under the title Yo-Yo Girl Cop (which should be noted is the official English name for the 2006 movie. You can easily find copies of all of these on eBay and other online sites (there's also rips of the 80s movies and 90s OVA on Nyaa, but no rip of the 2006 film - so you have to buy a copy of that if you want to see it [unless there's some other site that has a rip or upload of it, I haven't checked admittedly])

As far as unofficial English releases go: the first season of Sukeban Deka has two fansubbed releases: one by Skeweds Translations that is hardsubbed and was released in 2015 and an older softsub release translated by taroroot on D-Addicts in 2009 (unfortunately, I will admit to not having seen the TV series yet, so I can't say which version is better), Sukeban Deka II has been fansubbed by The Skaro Hunting Society, the original Sukeban Deka manga is (currently) being scanlated by HappyScans, with the most recent release being Chapters 23, 24, and 25 back in November. In addition, the two Sukeban Deka video games have also been translated into English.

As of right now, Sukeban Deka III has not been translated into English nor have any of the later spin-off manga been translated.

Now, to finally get to talking about the random bit of Sukeban Deka trivia I learned about recently: let's talk merchandise. During the time of the three Sukeban Deka TV series, the franchise was merchandised. It wasn't as heavily merchandised as other tokusatsu series were, but it still existed.

There were keshigomu figures (I've seen some things online refer to them as SD Sukeban Deka, but I can't find any actual products that label them with that name, so I assume it's just a fan nickname), a Sukeban Deka game (aptly called Sukeban Deka Game) that utilized these figures, a figure of Yoko Godai/Saki Asamiya II was released as part of the Lovely Gals Collection (a line of 1/6 scale figures that also included figures of Kei and Yuri from Dirty Pair and Yu Morisawa/Creamy Mami from Creamy Mami), and figures of Yui, Yuma, and Yuka Kazama from Sukeban Deka III were released part of the Pretty Idol Collection line (another line of 1/6 scale figures that, as far as I can tell from my research [googling the name of the line in Japanese], only consisted of these three figures). There also existed various model and garage kits (the garage kits, as well as the Pretty Idol Collection figures, were all released under Bandai's B-Club line, which was also the name of Bandai's model magazine).

In addition to these physical goods (as well as things like photo cards and albums considering these shows all starred idol singers in the main roles), there was also a Sukeban Deka II video game for the Sega Mark III and a Sukeban Deka III video game for the Famicom.

But there was one piece of merchandise that they didn't make, and it was the merchandise that anyone who even has a vague knowledge of Sukeban Deka would expect that they'd have made because it's the most obvious and would probably be the most popular merch too: they never made merchandise off of Saki's yo-yo.

That's right, despite it being the most iconic element of the entire franchise, there were no Sukeban Deka yo-yo toys released during the 1980s.

Why is that? The answer is simple: Shinji Wada thought that it would be too dangerous because kids would likely try and copy the moves they saw Saki doing with the yo-yo on the TV series and might hurt themselves.

Now, that's not to say there were no officially licensed Sukeban Deka yo-yos at the time, but the two licensed yo-yos were both model kits one by General Products and the other by Bandai.

But if you wanted a full-size Sukeban Deka yo-yo back in the 80s? Well, other companies obviously knew about the series' popularity and wanted to capitalize on the trend, so bootlegs galore:

(I just shamelessly stole these pics off various Japanese auction site listings and there's obviously tons more bootleg Sukeban Deka yo-yos from the 1980s than just these four)

Eventually, after years of fans clamoring for an official Sukeban Deka yo-yo (even with the end of the TV dramas and the sukeban genre boom), Bandai finally gave fans what they'd been asking for for years.

In 2006, with Shinji Wada's approval, Bandai released two official Sukeban Deka yo-yos, in time for the release of the Codename = Saki Asamiya film.

The first yo-yo, released in October 2006, was this one:

Sukeban Deka Codename = Saki Asamiya 1/1 Yo-Yo, which was obviously modeled after the yo-yo used in the 2006 movie.

The second yo-yo, released in November 2006, was this one:

Sukeban Deka 80's Yo-Yo + Iron Mask Deluxe Set, which included two yo-yos (a metal yo-yo meant as a display piece [the yo-yo in the series is made of metal] and a plastic yo-yo that can be used as an actual yo-yo) and a 1/6 size replica of the iron mask worn by Yoko Godai in Sukeban Deka II.

Unfortunately, if you want to buy these on the aftermarket, well you're in luck if you want the 2006 yo-yo! I've seen that sell online for anywhere from the equivalent of $20-30 (for the record, it retailed for ¥2090).

But if you want the 80s yo-yo set? Yeah that set easily goes for $150+ dollars nowadays (and on US eBay, people want $300 for it) (for context, it retailed for ¥5500).

And so that's it, that's the random Sukeban Deka fact that I learned recently that I found interesting: they didn't release a full-size Sukeban Deka yo-yo, despite it being the most iconic element of the series, during the 1980s when the franchise was at its most popular because original creator didn't want kids to get hurt, but they then finally released one over 20 years later in 2006 because of the new live-action movie.

(Maybe in the future if they ever do something with the Sukeban Deka franchise beyond those spin-off manga, Bandai [or some other company] will release new Sukeban Deka yo-yos)

[cultofbullnakano]

A Jd' program from 1996.

[scenesandscreens]

Appleseed (2004)

Director - Shinji Aramaki

"What a creature is man, he would choose to cage himself so willingly?"

[kanjukucompany]

【A3! Translation】 Sky Gallery (2/11)

previous chapter / next chapter

spoiler warning for act 12!

(translation under the cut)

(glitch text ignore)

Chapter 2

Izumi: Woah, quite a big turnout.

Yuki: A lot of them look like students.

Tsuzuru: Probably friends and stuff.

Kumon: It's a group exhibition, so there's a lot of other artwork besides Kazu-san's being displayed.

Muku: Where's Kazu-kun's painting?

Izumi: It should be around here, but...

Kazunari: Ah, guys~!

Yuki: That's him over there.

Kazunari's Father: ?

Kazunari: Papi, these are my friends from the troupe.

Misumi: Oh, it's Kazu's dad!

Muku: Kazu-kun's?

Kazunari's Father: I'm grateful for all of your help.

Izumi: Hello, it's been a while.

Kumon: We're thankful for Kazu-san's help too!

Kazunari: Everyone, check it out. This is my painting!

Muku: Wahh~.... It's beautiful.

Kazunari's Father: You've added even more depth to your work.

Kumon: It's Kazu-san after all, he's amazing!

Kazunari: Thanksies~! Keep it coming! I'm the type of guy who improves with praise!

Yuki: You're getting carried away.

Tsuzuru: Miyoshi-san's paintings are amazing, but the other artwork are all unique too.

Kazunari: Student's who don't think they're ready for solo exhibitions get together and hold events like this.

Kazunari: It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's that mixture of different personalities that gives it such a unique, interesting power, don't ya think?

Tsuzuru: Definitely...

???: ....Miyoshi-san?

Kazunari's Father: Ah, Kosugi-san. I didn't expect to see you here.

Kosugi: I could say the same. Are you here for business?

Kazunari's Father: No, this time I'm here to see my son's painting.

Kazunari's Father: I'd like to introduce you to my son, Kazunari. Along with everyone in his theater troupe.

Kazunari: Hey there.

Kosugi: This painting was done by your son, Miyoshi-san? I'm surprised, it's a very impressive piece.

Kazunari's Father: Thank you very much.

Kosugi: Kazunari-san, do you have any experience with open-call exhibitons?

Kazunari: I haven't done anything like that yet.

Kosugi: Actually, our company is hosting a public exhibition...

Kosugi: Every year we receive tons of applications from the next generation of artists, including both students and graduates. Why don't you apply?

Kazunari's Father: It's called the 'Future Painters National Award Exhibition'. Our company is also a co-sponsor.*

Kazunari: Heh~. Sounds interesting!

Kosugi: It's a great opportunity to catch the attention of many people, and lots of young talents break out into the industry on their own afterwards.

Kosugi: Well then, I'll be going.

Kumon: I just looked up 'Future Painters National Award Exhibition' and it says that first place wins 500,000 yen!

Muku: And if you win, your work is displayed in the National Museum of Art.

Kumon: That's so awesome--!!

Yuki: Winning would be quite an accomplishment.

Kazunari: .....

Staff: Alright, I'll go check-in everything. You can wait here, Sumeragi-kun.

Tenma: I'll be in your care.

Tenma: ....Phew.

Tenma: (Today's filming went smoothly, so tomorrow should also be on schedule--.)

(phone dings)

Tenma: Hm?

Tenma: It's from Igawa...

Tenma: (The location we were filming at was completely off-the-grid, so I couldn't check my phone.)

Tenma: (I wasn't expecting the connection to be so weak, but I guess it helped me be able to concentrate on the shoot.)

Tenma: (I've got some unread messages in the Summer Troupe LIME, too.)

Kumon: Your painting was amazing!

Muku: It was even more amazing than in the pictures! Tenma-kun, you should ask him to show it to you sometime.

Tenma: Heh...

Tenma: (Seems like the exhibition went well.)

Kazunari: GL with your filming, Tenten--!

Yuki: Don't forget our souvenirs~.

Misumi: I'll be waiting for my triangle souvenir~!

Tenma: What's with them.

Director: Sumeragi-kun, good work today.

Tenma: Same to you.

Actor: Are you messaging someone?

Tenma: Ah, well...

Director: It must've been quite inconvenient to not have any signal. Sorry about that.

Tenma: No, it's fine.

Actor: Well, nowadays, it's seem people are intentionally creating that kind of environment by cutting themselves off from social media. A 'digital detox' so to speak.

Director: Come to think of it, I know a screenwriter who did one while he was in a slump.

Director: I've heard it helps people feel more refreshed and inspired.

Actor: Though, Sumeragi-kun is young. I'm sure it would be unbearable for him.

Tenma: I'm fine when it's just a few days like this.

Director: Do you have anyone you message every day? Like a girlfriend, for example.

Tenma: Nothing like that. Ah, but if I had to pick someone, I'd say my the members from my theater troupe. I got a lot of LIME messages earlier--.

Actor: Let me guess, from everyone in Summer Troupe?

Tenma: Huh?

Actor: My wife is actually a fan of Summer Troupe's Hyodo Kumon-kun, I went with her to see 'WONDER RUSH'.

Actor: It was so enjoyable, that I became Summer Troupe's fan too. I also went see the play that Ikaruga-kun is currently performing in as a guest.

Tenma: Really now.

Actor: Director, you also went to see it the other day, 'Bird Island'.

Actor: The boy who played the lark, Ikaruga-kun, belongs to the same troupe as Sumeragi-kun.

Director: Ah, him. He was a good performer, his unique presence really caught my eye.

Actor: Right!

Actor: MANKAI Company also won the Fleur Special Award, so I'm sure that the young actors there, besides Sumeragi-kun, will also gain some fame for themselves in the future.

Actor: Though, for those with no interest in theater, Sumeragi-kun's presence definitely outshines the others.

Tenma: ......

Director: While we’re on the subject, please give my regards to Ikaruga-kun, I'd love to meet him one day.

Director: As a matter of fact, I'm planning on setting up an office. I want to focus on training actors alongside my current work.

Director: I'd like to invite Sumeragi-kun's troupe members to the establishment party.

Tenma: .....I'll definitely look forward to it.

*the name is lit: "national future painting award exhibition" but i found this translation read a lot smoother

bonus no-sprite background because the art is pretty

[kiejin]

Marked by King B's is a really nice otome game. To get the gold was a pain, the translation full of curse words and they have slang and honestly I don't think they should change the name to an English name. But if you overlook all these, it is quite nice honestly. The pretty illustration, cute MC, cliche but sweet plot. I would recommend ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[toku-explained]

The Darkest Swordsman

Z: GAFJ have developed D4 from Barabas' horn, a dimension destroying weapon, and have ordered it's installation in King Joe STORAGE Custom, the installation overseen by Yuki Mai. The Maintenance team make clear from the start they are against this, and the main squad are clearly against it as well, and the Director makes clear he is against using D4 as well, but orders have come down, he's not well, and Celebro encounters him. When Kelbim arrives, drawn by the energy at the initial test site, it quickly heads to where the next D4 weapon is, and the Director brings down the orders from on high to use only King Joe STORAGE Custom and make use of D4, even as more Kelbim descend from the sky and hatch. It's pretty obvious what has happened to the Director, but it's not outright shown. In defiance of orders, Hebikura dispatched Haruki in Windom, but even as they take out one another spawns, and Z is forced to come out. As they continue more appear and Yuka detects the Mother Kelbim in space. Z Delta Rise Claw goes to face it, but even as it wins the numbers become to much and Yoko is forced, out of desperation, to use D4. The attack does take out the Kelbim, but the dimensional collapse keeps spreading, only being stopped by Z. Hebikura makes clear he is angry about all of this, and Yuki Mai seems to have ideas about Ultraman's power. But the big this this time is, as every single member of STORAGE, the entire maintenance team lead by Bako, Yuka, Yoko, Haruki and Hebikura defies GAFJ orders, and the entire unit is being dissolved.

Ultra 6 Brothers The Live: I laid actual money to watch this, since it seems to tie into The Absolute Conspiracy. After Nice warms the crowd up, the story introduces us to Baltan Seijin Baruru, a child alone on a world save for his robot friend. Baruru seems to remember his grandfather, but that's it. One day Red King, Hellberus, Astromons and Giestron rampage, and Man, Seven, Zoffy, Hikari and 80 arrive to stop them. Afterwards the brother discuss why the Kaiju are acting out before all but Ultraman leave. He meets Baruru and befriends him before leaving, asking the robot to look out for him, and after it's gone Baruru and the robot plan to plant a flower, when a gang of Valkie Seijin, Magma Seijin and Zarab Seijin arrive, and start beating up Baruru, calling Hellberus back to assist. The Robot, inspired by Ultraman's words, fights back and does a decent job until losing power, but as more Kaiju come the day is saved by the arrival of the Ultra 6 Brothers. Zoffy fights Zarab, Man fights Red King, Seven fights Valkie, Jack takes Giestron, Ace battles Hellberus, Taro deals with Magma. After the brothers win, they save the Robot and leave, Baruru and his companion continue their journey, but in the end Baruru walks away from the robot, which continues the other way with the flower. Absolute Tartarus appears, commenting on a power. After an intermission the plot moves forward, and to an earth in 2020, where Bemstar and Telesdon come down from the sky, and the narrator explains the Devil Splinters, this is followed by Z Alpha Edge's stock footage, the Rise accompanied with a new one for Zero. Zero and Z Alpha Edge face the two Kaiju, then discuss about the Devil Splinters when an effect devices the Kaiju. Zero defeats Bemstar only for Tartarus, who Zero is aware of, to appear and revive Bemstar, and reveal his servant, the adult Baruru, who created the system reviving the Kaiju. Zero and Z are overpowered until Ultraman and Seven arrive and help defeat them. Ultraman recognises Baruru, and Baruru remembers him, Tartarus arrives and explains their plans. Ultraman asks him to stop but he lashes out, and uses the system to revive Zetton and EX Zetton, which overpower the Ultras, before taking them aside and fusing their genes with himself to become a Zetton Baltan Seijin (variants previously appeared in Orb stages, one being a Dark Ring fusion), and join the Zettons in their battle. While the other Zettons take Seven and Zero offstage, Man and Z fight Baruru. Nice comes onstage to guide some audience interaction to power up the heroes here, which brings Seven and Zero back, and the rest of the Ultra 6 Brothers. After a moment where Man and Baruru wordlessly reflect on their past, Nice somehow finds himself faced with Tartarus, who trounces him before the Brothers minus Man pull him away, they then defeat the Zettons. Zero and Z face Tartarus until he decides to leave, but Z pursues. Ultraman and Baruru fight, although really it's just Man trying to remind Baruru of his true self, Baruru wakes up and returns to normal, but Zetton Baltan Seijin still exists on its own, now mindless and Ultraman is injured taking a hit. Zoffy, Ace and Seven take care if it long enough for Baruru to revive Man using his device, and he destroys Zetton Baltan Seijin. Tartarus murders Baruru and calls on Tyrant, which already mostly defeated Jack and Taro, and Man, Zero and Z struggle with, until Nice leads the audience again. Together the Brothers Zero and Z defeat Tyrant. The dying Baruru is shocked by the robots return. Ultraman informs him they're on earth. The robot uses the system to save Baruru, and presents the healthy plant. After sharing some parting words Baruru and his friend leave. The assembled Ultras thank the audience and leave some last words. All in all good, but about as important as those Ultraman Festival Stages or the Final Stages. Also this is pretty clearly pre-Z so I don't know why they didn't just have Z in his initial state.

The Absolute Conspiracy: The highly anticipated event begins. New Generation Heroes was a prequel to Taiga, and featured the first live action appearance of a character previously only seen in a Pachinko machine. Similarly, The Absolute Conspiracy is a prequel to Z and features several characters previously only seen in the Ultraman Festival Stages. There are differences too though. The central villain here is, to my knowledge, wholly original, and while New Generation Heroes was a a single narrative from start to finish, this is a story in 3 "parts", and while New Generation Heroes focused on only the New Generation Heroes, as well as the two most direct mentors to that group, and an Ultra who debuted in the era but is not considered part of the group, here we have quite a diverse group. So we start here in Part 1, starting Ultraman Ribut. In the M78 timeline this would appear to be set sometime in the 1000s of years gap between Mebius and Ultra Galaxy. Cool to see there's a proper OP this time, evidently going to switch up for each part. After our brief appearance by Absolute Tartarus our focus moves to young recruit Ribut, who is working alongside Civilisation Guard Max (original VA), who is one of a number of M78 Ultras who was originally believed to be from his series' universe version of the Land of Light, but since the Zero movies we now know them to be from the main M78 universe, and traveled from there to the timeline of his series. The planet is having it's energy drained by a Maga-Orochi egg, the existence of which is concerning due to the Maga-Orochi being sealed on Orb's earth....by a group of Ultras that included Zero....this might be later in the timeline than I thought. Hellberus might be an indicator Tregear is behind what's going on, he has interfered with several other New Generation Kaiju, but Sran Seijin is the only mastermind we have at the moment. Gudis Cells are infecting Max now, and I presume they want the Maga-Orochi to evolve into something more. We go to Planet Kanon. This is before the event of The Origin Saga, as the Tree of Life is still standing. The present War God, Queen Izana, is also part of the Galaxy Rescue Force, which seems to draw from an old idea from the 70s of a Galactic Federation that Tsuburaya's heroes were all part of, in this instance though the alliance is multiversal. Anyway here we have Sora, making her first appearance outside of stages, she started out as one of the generic Ultras, but now have that armour to stand out. She's accompanying Yullian (new VA) princess of the Land of Light, who is wearing a mantle here for the first time. Leucocyte attacks, which may further point to Tregear, and 80 (original actor) appears to help, until Leucocyte flees. The 80 sequence heavily reminds me of the Ace and Leo Brothers sequences in Ultra Fight Victory, giving the classic Ultra a strong showing before the newer hero takes centre stage. Ribut reports what happened to Zoffy, Taro and Hikari (all have their longstanding VAs) when the other 3 arrive with their own report, giving them a lot to deal with, and establishes the history of Ribut and Sora. They have to create an antibody to Gudis' cells in 3 days or Max is lost, and Ribut is sent to train on K76, where he meets for some intense training Great (New VA) and Powered (Kai's actor Kane Kosugi in English, Kai's dub VA in Japanese).

Saber: Tassel on the phone to somebody, interesting. I've gotten over my issue with Touma's memory from last time, knowing he was friends with Kento and finding Kento was in the memories that seemed to be dreams are different things. It's only natural that Kento is confused, and he decides getting Kamijo to tell him everything is the only option. Apparently the 6 swordsmen being present is reason for Legeiel to step up Megiddo plans using Goblins. Kento and Rintaro argue before the activity starts, Sophia gives Mei a key and heads out, leaving Northern Base to her. Kenzan goes to face one Megiddo, while Buster's mission to face another is interrupted by Desast. Rintaro and Kento argue about duty to Sword of Logos when Kento is called by Reika to where Sophia is confronting Caliber. Saber arrives at another Goblin. Sophia is trying to get explanations from Kamijo when Kento and Rintaro appears. Kento asks if the worst possible scenario is true before confronting Kamijo, Espada and Kamijo clash, Slash joins Saber and lends Bremen no Rock Band, when Zooous arrives to face Slash. Caliber claims he cut down Hayato for being a traitor, while calling himself a seeker of truth, Espada uses Golden Alangina and pushes Blades out the way. Kento gets a good hit in, and Caliber decides to use Jaou Dragon, becoming Caliber Jaou Dragon. While they fight Sophia suddenly vanishes. Mei uses the key an unlocks the screen, and Saber uses Dragon Bremen to defeat his Goblin as Kenzan does the same. Unfortunately, this is exactly what Legeiel, Zooous and Desast wanted, opening gates of Fire and Wind. Caliber overpowers Espada on the end, and tries to make the killing blow, but Blades takes it, and Rintaro is in critical condition. I think Kento's probably going to act less rashly now. Tassel has a guest, and I have an idea who. I might be wrong.

Kenshin Retsuden: This time we have an episode of Kenzan, listed as being "another side" of episode 9. Ogami and Ren are both looking for Caliber when Ogami realises Sophia is about to do something reckless. Desast, who is looking for Caliber to reclaim his book, confronts Ren and mocks him on the nature of ultimate power, Ren showing some serious might makes right thoughts, before leaving, thinking something about him afterwards about Ren's nature. Ogami saves Sophia as in the episode, but afterwards Sophia comments that Kento will be hurt regardless of who Caliber is, opening Ogami's eyes to the possibility of someone else behind the mask.

Kiramager: Whatever it is the guy wants to say to Sayo, he's clearly nervous. Sayo has gone into the dinner with certain expectations, but isn't sure how she feels quite yet. The team tries to let her keep the evening for her date. While the team is busy, she really wants to hear it at least. Garza's plan is to unleash multiple Jamenju, which Riddle Kamen is making plenty of energy for. As for Sayo, it's not like she doesn't like the dude, but she won't know until he says it, but I like how everyone is just desperate to know more. Sayo solves the riddle but doesn't tell the others what it is. Garza is bending Hakobu to his will. While it appears what Kusaka had in mind was something different, Sayo gets straight in to helping him. I am a little disappointed that we're having a marriage would mean quitting being a ranger plot for a female in fucking 2020, but that doesn't matter because turns out, surprise, Kusaka was working with Yodonna. Garza is off to eliminate Oradin. Sayo still protects him, but any chance of anything more is done for, but she still entrusts him with warning CARAT. To be fair about the marriage plot, Sayo herself had every intention of making it work, and there is the whole surgeon thing giving it more justification here than in other plots. I like how we have this goofy scene of Juru making Riddle Jamen answer a riddle of his own interspersed with the fairly serious drama of the Sayo plot. Garza has arrived in Atamald, the plant is sprouting, and 3 Jamenju arrive.

[sayseiyuu]

Supreme Ikebo Voice Actor Ranking

1. Miyano Mamoru 2. Suwabe Junichi 3. Ishida Aikira 4. Ikeda Shuichi 5. Yamadera Koichi 6. Nakamura Yuichi 7. Sakurai Takahiro 8. Kaji Yuki 9. Hayami Sho 10. Otsuka Akio 11. Midorikawa Hikaru 12. Kamiya Akira 13. Koyasu Takehito 14. Ono Daisuke 15. Fukuyama Jun 16. Tsuda Kenjiro 17. Hosoya Yoshimasa 18. Nakai Kazuya 19. Kobayashi Kiyoshi 20. Seki Toshihiko 21. Umehara Yuichiro 22. Hirata Hiroaki 23. Yamada Yasuo 24. Nozawa Nachi 25. Okamoto Nobuhiko 26. Tomiyama Kei 27. Otsuka Hochu 28. Genda Tessho 29. Wakamoto Norio 30. Fujiwara Keiji 31. Seki Tomokazu, Kosugi Jurota 33. Saito Soma, Namikawa Daisuke 34. KENN 35. Nakata Joji 36. Suzumura Kenichi 37. Ginga Banjo 39. Koyama Rikiya 40. Suzuki Tatsuhisa 41. Aoi Shota 42. Furukawa Toshio 43. Morikubo Showtaro 44. Sato Takuya 45. Shimazaki Nobunaga, Masuda Toshiki 47. Eguchi Takuya 48. Nojima Kenji 49. Kakihara Tetsuya 50. Hatano Wataru 51. Shimono Hiro, Ono Kensho 53. Takahashi Hiroki, Tachiki Fumihiko 55. Nishiyama Kotaro 56. Masuda Yuki, Yoshino Hiroyuki 58. Kajiwara Gakuto 59. Yashiro Taku 60. Suganuma Hisayoshi

[mateushonrado]

Status Post #8045: Super Sentai 1-100

Row 1 - Goranger [Akaranger (Red): Tsuyoshi Kaijo (Naoya Makoto), Aoranger (Blue): Akira Shimnei (Hiroshi Miyauchi), Kiranger (Yellow): Daita Oiwa (Baku Hatakeyama), Momoranger (Pink): Peggy Matsuyama (Lisa Komaki) and Midoranger (Green): Kenji Asuka (Yukio Itou)] and JAKQ [Spade Ace (Red): Goro Sakurai (Yoshitaka Tanba), Dia Jack (Blue): Ryu Higashi (Tairayama Itou), Heart Queen (Pink): Karen Mizuki (Mitchi Love), Clover King (Green): Bunta Daichi (Yuusuke Kazato) and Big One (White): Sokichi Banba (Hiroshi Miyauchi)]

Row 2 - Battle Fever J [Battle Japan (Red): Masao Den (Hironori Tanioka), Battle France (Blue): Kyousuke Shida (Yuuhei Kurachi), Battle Cossack (Orange): Makoto Jin (Naoya Ban), Battle Kenya (Black): Shirou Akebono (Kenji Ohba) and Miss America (Pink): Maria Nagisa (Naomi Hagi)] and Denjiman [Denji Red: Ippei Akagi (Shinichi Yuuki), Denji Blue: Daigoro Oume (Kenji Ohba), Denji Yellow: Jun Kiyama (Eiichi Tsuyama), Denji Green: Tatsuya Midorikawa (Naoya Uchida) and Denji Pink: Akira Momoi (Akira Koizumi)]

Row 3 - Sun Vulcan [Vul Eagle (Red): Takayuki Hiba (Takayuki Godai), Vul Shark (Blue): Kin'ya Samejima (Kin'ya Sugi) and Vul Panther (Yellow): Asao Hyou (Asao Kobayashi)], Goggle-V [Goggle Red: Kenichi Akama (Ryouji Akagi), Goggle Black: Kanpei Kuroda (Jyunichi Haruta), Goggle Blue: Saburo Aoyama (Shigeki Ishii), Goggle Yellow: Futoshi Kijima (Sanpei Godai) and Goggle Pink: Miki Momozono (Megumi Ogawa)] and Dynaman (Red and Black) [Dyna Red: Hokuto Dan (Satoshi Okita) and Dyna Black: Ryuu Hoshikawa (Jyunchi Haruta)]

Row 4 - Dynaman (Blue, Yellow and Pink) [Dyna Blue: Yousuke Shima (Kouji Unogi), Dyna Yellow: Kousaku Nangou (Yuu Tokita) and Dyna Pink: Rei Tachibana (Sayoko Hagiwara)], Bioman [Red One: Shirou Gou (Ryosuke Sakamoto), Green Two: Shingo Takasugi (Naoto Ota), Blue Three: Ryuuta Nanbara (Akita Osuga), Yellow Four: Jun Yabuki (Sumiko Tanaka) and Pink Five: Hikaru Katsuragi (Michiko Makino)] and Changeman (Red and Black) [Change Dragon (Red): Hiryu Tsurugi (Haruki Hamada) and Change Griffin (Black): Shou Hayate (Kazuoki Takahashi)]

Row 5 - Changeman (Blue, White and Pink) [Change Pegasus (Blue): Yuma Ozora (Shiro Izumi), Change Mermaid (White): Sayaka Nagisa (Hiroko Nishimoto) and Change Phoenix (Pink): Mai Tsubasa (Mai Ooishi)], Flashman [Red Flash: Jin (Touta Tarumi), Green Flash: Dai (Kihachiro Uemura), Blue Flash: Bun (Yasuhiro Ishiwata), Yellow Flash: Sara Tokimura (Youko Nakamura) and Pink Flash: Lou (Mayumi Yoshida)] and Maskman (Red and Black) [Red Mask: Takeru (Ryousuke Kaizu) and Black Mask: Kenta (Koichi Kusakari)]

Row 6 - Maskman (Blue, Yellow and Pink) [Blue Mask: Akira (Issei Hirota), Yellow Mask: Haruka (Yuki Nagata) and Pink Mask: Momoko (Kanako Maeda)], Liveman [Red Falcon: Yuusuke Amamiya (Daisuke Shima), Yellow Lion: Joh Ohara (Kazuhiko Nishimura), Blue Dolphin: Megumi Misaki (Megumi Mori), Black Bison: Tetsuya Yano (Seirou Yamaguchi) and Green Sai: Jun'ichi Aikawa (Jin Kawamoto)] and Turboranger (Red and Black) [Red Turbo: Riki Honoo (Kenta Satou) and Black Turbo: Daichi Yamagata (Fumiaki Ganaha)]

Row 7 - Turboranger (Blue, Yellow and Pink) [Blue Turbo: Youhei Hama (Keiya Asakura), Yellow Turbo: Shunsuke Hino (Junichiro Katagiri) and Pink Turbo: Haruna Morikawa (Yoshiko Iwaya)], Fiveman [Five Red: Gaku Hoshikawa (Toshiya Fuji), Five Blue: Ken Hoshikawa (Kei Sindachiya), Five Black: Fumiya Hoshikawa (Ryohei Kobayashi), Five Pink: Kazumi Hoshikawa (Kazuko Miyata) and Five Yellow: Remi Hoshikawa (Ryo Narushima)] and Jetman (Red and Black) [Red Hawk: Ryu Tendo (Kotaro Tanaka) and Black Condor: Gai Yuki (Toshihide Wakamatsu)]

Row 8 - Jetman (Yellow, White and Blue) [Yellow Owl: Raita Ooishi (Tomihisa Naruse), White Swan: Kaori Rokumeikan (Rika Kishida) and Blue Swallow: Ako Hayasaka (Sayuri Uchida)], Zyuranger [Tyranno Ranger (Red): Geki (Yuta Mochizuki), Mammoth Ranger (Black): Goushi (Seiju Umon), Tricera Ranger (Blue): Dan (Hideki Fujiwara), Tiger Ranger (Yellow): Boi (Takumi Hashimoto), Ptera Ranger (Pink): Mei (Reiko Chiba) and Dragon Ranger (Green): Burai (Shiro Izumi)] and Dairanger (Red) [Ryuu Ranger (Red): Ryo (Keiichi Wada)]

Row 9 - Dairanger (Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink and White) [Shishi Ranger (Green): Daigo (Tatsuya Nomi), Tenma Ranger (Blue): Shoji (Ei Hamura), Kirin Ranger (Yellow): Kazu (Keisuke Tsuchiya), Houou Ranger (Pink): Lin (Natsuki Takahashi) and Kiba Ranger (White): Kou (Hisashi Sakai)] and Kakuranger [Ninja Red: Sasuke (Teruaki Ogawa), Ninja White: Tsuruhime (Satomi Hirose), Ninja Blue: Saizou (Hiroshi Tsuchida), Ninja Yellow: Seikai (Shu Kawai) and Ninja Black: Jiraiya (Kane Kosugi)]

Row 10 - Kakuranger (Navy) [Extra Hero (Navy): Ninjaman (Hideaki Kusaka, voiced by Kazuki Yao)], Ohranger [Oh Red: Goro Hoshino (Masaru Shishido), Oh Green: Shouhei Yokkaichi (Kunio Masaoka), Oh Blue: Yuji Mita (Masashi Goda), Oh Yellow: Juri Nijou (Ayumi Aso), Oh Pink: Momo Maruo (Tamao Sato) and King Ranger (Black): Riki (Shoji Yamaguchi)] and Carranger (Red, Blue and Green) [Red Racer: Kyosuke Jinnai (Yuji Kishi), Blue Racer: Naoki Domon (Yoshihiro Masujima) and Green Racer: Minoru Uesugi (Yoshihiro Fukuda)]

[byneddiedingo]

Koji Nanbara and Takashi Fujiki in A Flame at the Pier (Masahiro Shinoda, 1962)

Cast: Takashi Fujiki, Mariko Kaga, Koji Nanbara, Tamotsu Hayakawa, Kyoko Kishida, Shinji Tanaka, So Yamamura. Screenplay: Ichiro Mizunuma, Masahiro Shinoda, Shuji Terayama. Cinematography: Masao Kosugi. Film editing: Yoshi Sugihara. Music: Toru Takemitsu.

Imagine that instead of Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley had been cast as Terry Malloy in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) and that Budd Schulberg's screenplay had been rewritten to give him a couple of songs to sing. Then you'd have a pretty good sense of what Masahiro Shinoda's A Flame at the Pier* is like. That's not meant to belittle Takashi Fujiki's performance in the film, which is closer to Brando (or really James Dean) than to Presley. Clearly, Fujiki's singing ability -- he had a side career as a pop singer -- inspired the filmmakers to arrange for these fairly well-integrated musical moments. The standout is a command performance put on by Fujiki's character, Sabu, who has been roped into doing an a capella rock number at a party for some rich people, friends of the owner of the shipping company for which Sabu works. The song is about a tour of hell, which is pretty much where Sabu finds himself. He works as an enforcer on the Yokohama docks, where the workers are trying to unionize. His loyalties are to his boss, Kitani (Koji Nanbara), who is the company man in charge of keeping the dockworkers from organizing. Sabu believes that when he was a toddler during the war, Kitani rescued him from a fire and was crippled during the rescue. When he's not pushing the dockworkers around, trying to get them to go back to work after a sitdown strike, Sabu is wooing a pretty waitress, Yuki (Mariko Kaga). But after his performance at the party, he's seduced by Reiko (Kyoko Kishida), who is married to the owner of the shipping company and is also having an affair with Kitani. Eventually, all of these plot threads tangle when Sabu is asked to rough up one of the men trying to organize the union but accidentally kills him. The murdered man turns out to be Yuki's father. Sabu also learns from Reiko the truth about what crippled Kitani. A Flame at the Pier rises above this overplotted narrative because of the performances, especially by Fujiki and Mariko Kaga as the young lovers, as well as Masao Kosugi's eloquent black-and-white cinematography, and a score by Toru Takemitsu.

*The retitling and/or translation of Japanese film titles for English-speaking countries is always mysterious. A Flame at the Pier has also been titled Tears on the Lion's Mane, which seems to be, if Google Translate is to be trusted, a little closer to the Japanese title, Namida o shishi no tategami ni. There are certainly a pier, a lion, and considerable tears in the film, but the attempt at poetry in both titles rings false as a label for what is essentially a gritty dockside melodrama.

[suehpro]

Favorite Albums of 2018

My favorite album of the year: Five Dramas of Swollen Emotion for Music and Voice - Isak Sundstrom (Black Sweat)

And the other 99, in random order...

Migration of the Snails - Melodic Energy Commission (Telephone Explosion)

Libra Rising - Okkyung Lee, Ches Smith, Chris Corsano (Hot Cars Warp Records)

Disambiguation - Cruel Diagonals (Drawing Room)

Camizole/Lard Free - self-titled (Souffle Continu)

I Need to Start a Garden - Haley Heynderickx (Mama Bird)

AAMM - “A” Trio & AMM (Al Maslakh)

Captiva - Zeena Parkins (Good Child)

Consuelo - Chesterfield (Mikroton)

Chez Helene - Joelle Leandre & Marc Ducret (Ayler Records)

Disturbio - Angelica Castello (Mikroton)

I’ll Be Here In the Morning - Postcards (Ruptured)

Electronic Music from the Eighties and Nineties - Carl Stone (Unseen Worlds)

Ectotrophia - Happy Rhodes (Numero Group)

Hippo Lite - Drinks (Drag City)

The Air Around Her - Ellen Fullman & Okkyung Lee (1703 Skivbolaget)

Piano Interpretations - Kukuruz Quartet/Julius Eastman (Intakt)

A Day Hanging Dead Between Heaven and Earth - Fred Frith & Hardy Fox (Klanggalerie)

Attica / Coming Together / Les Moutons de Panurge - Frederic Rzewski (Black Sweat)

Runt Vigor - Audrey Chen (Karlrecords)

Raw Silk Uncut Wood - Laurel Halo (Latency)

Cheol-Kkot-Sae - Okkyung Lee (Tzadik)

Ductus Pneumaticus - Phil Minton & Torsten Muller (WhirrbooM)

Ours - Thumbscrew (Cuneiform)

Samara Lubelski / Bill Nace - self-titled (Relative Pitch)

Sun Embassy - Sun Ra Arkestra (Roaratorio)

Raise the River - Robert Dick & Tiffany Chang (RogueArt)

The Faust Tapes - Faust (Superior Viaduct)

Levitate (expanded, remastered) - The Fall (Cherry Red)

Lantskap Logic - Evelyn Davis, Fred Frith, Phillip Greenleaf (Clean Feed)

Improvisations - G.I. Gurdjieff (Fantome Phonographique)

Without - Clara de Asis (Elsewhere)

Thought Gang - self-titled (Sacred Bones)

Fades - Cheer-Accident (Skin Graft)

Uncharted Territories - Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, Ches Smith (Dare2 Records)

Earlier Music - Officer! (Klanggalerie)

Big Hug/Ocean Fruit - Coffee (Cooling Pie Records)

Nosongs - Marianne Schuppe (Edition Wandelweiser)

An Unintended Legacy - AMM (Matchless)

Everyone Needs a Plan - Matthew Revert & Vanessa Rossetto (Erstwhile)

Imbrication - Jeph Jarman (Unfathomless)

Music of Southern and Northern Laos - Various (Akuphone)

Lightworks - Stop Motion Orchestra (Knock’em Dead)

Studio 105, Paris 1967 - Don Cherry (Hi Hat)

Se (in) De Bos - Book of Air (Granvat)

Traversing Orbits - Mary Halvorson & Joe Morris (RogueArt)

The Smoke - Lolina (self-released)

A l’Abri des Micro-Climats - Guigou Chevenier & Sophie Jausserand (Knock’em Dead/Megaphone)

Rats Don’t Eat Synthesizers - Dwarfs of East Agouza (Akuphone)

A Philosophy Warping, Little By Little That Way Lies a Quagmire - Konstrukt & Keiji Haino (Karlrecords)

Last Man in Europe - Remote Viewers (ReR)

Lot 74 - Solo Improvisations - Derek Bailey (Honest Jon’s)

Totale’s Turns (It’s Now or Never) - The Fall (Superior Viaduct)

Divine Ekstasys - Delphine Dora & Sophie Cooper (Feeding Tube)

In a Convex Mirror - John Zorn (w/Ches Smith & Ikue Mori) (Tzadik)

Pressing Clouds Passing Crowds - Kim Myhr (Hubro)

The Machinic Unconscious - Wendy Eisenberg (Tzadik)

Sisters Sarah Hennies and Lenka Novosedlikova (mappa)

Aviary - Julia Holter

Crystal Spears - Sun Ra (Modern Harmonic)

Recordings 1969-1988 - Ursula Bogner (Faitiche)

God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be - Sun Ra (Cosmic Myth)

Coyotes - Felicia Atkinson (Geographic North)

The Vanity of Trees - Padma Newsome (New Amsterdam)

Utter - Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey (Relative Pitch)

Joy’s Reflection Is Sorrow - Sharron Kraus (Sunstone)

Seed Triangular - Mary Halvorson & Robbie Lee (New Amsterdam)

Distant Voices - Steve Lacy, Yuki Takahashi, Takehisa Kosugi (Aguirre)

Chordis et Machina - Ikue Mori & Christian Ronn (Resipiscent)

Maroon Cloud - Nicole Mitchell (FPE Records)

The Peter Blegvad Bandbox - Peter Blegvad (ReR)

Ghost Forests - Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore (Three Lobed Recordings)

ガラ刑GALAKEI - Tori Kudo (bruit direct disques)

Contemporary Chaos Practices - Ingrid Laubrock (Intakt)

Failed Celestial Creatures - David Grubbs & Taku Unami (Empty Editions)

Lost in Shadows - Ashley Paul (Slip)

The Bray Harp - Jeph Jerman (White Centipede Noise)

The Expanding Universe - Laurie Spiegel (Unseen Worlds)

Uncompahgre - Kirk Knuffke & Ben Goldberg (Relative Pitch)

All the Roots - Hollow Deck (Feeding Tube Records)

Mangelen Min - Building Instrument (Hubro)

Ki-Motion - Mkwaju Ensemble (WRWTFWW)

Kashawa: Early Singles - Stella Chiweshe (Glitterbeat)

Brace for Impact - Joe McPhee & Mats Gustafsson (Corbett vs Dempsey)

Something More - Mikayel Abazyan (self-released)

Code Girl - Mary Halvorson (Firehouse 12)

A Complete and Tonal Disaster - Congs for Brums (self-released)

Persepolis - Iannis Xenakis (Karlrecords)

Beholder - Julia Reidy (A Guide to Saints)

Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album - John Coltrane (Impulse!)

Asperger - Caterina Palazzi | Sudoku Killer (Clean Feed)

Waved Out - Robert Pollard (GBV, Inc)

The Cymbals/Symbols Sessions: NYC 1973 - Sun Ra (Modern Harmonic)

Letters to the Friends of the Late Darcy O’Meara - Matthew Revert (Round Bale)

Canaxis - Holger Czukay (P-Vine Records)

X/Ten - Peter Hammill (Fie!)

Struggle Artist - Meyers (Shelter Press)

Stadium - Eli Keszler (Shelter Press)

Meltdown - Live in Mexico - King Crimson (Panegyric)

Bimini Twist - Alison Statton & Spike (Tiny Global Productions)