brog

2006-10-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

Brog Blog is now combined with the Mecha Mecha Media blog.

You still get the same snide comments, but now with in-depth reviews of Japanese media available in English.

Please check it out, and thank you for your support.

japan media arts festival

2006-10-10T23:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know many details about this...but it seems to be a the results of a contest of a variety of japanese medias

here's the link

everything from art to games to manga to the unclassifiable. some fun linkage, if you got a minute.

osaka drift

2006-10-01T02:37:00.000-07:00

I am not really into the whole drift thing. it's funny to me how much these guys spend on tires. that's why they can't afford head lights and tail lights.

bento tv

2006-09-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

from exploding delivery men to slice happy bento moms. what can I say?

ever heard of "bento ijime"? that's when kids make fun of other kids for their bentos! so moms feel pressure to make the most exquisite...well actually, cute bento they can, to make the other kids jealous.

banya: the explosive delivery man

2006-09-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

this new one from dark horse looks cool, and come out real soon. at first I was worried it sounded like kevin costner's "postman". but it sounds like this first jump in to korean comics is pretty stunning. review coming soon.

pitagora switch: algorithm exercise with QRIO

2006-09-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

why is this so soothing and perfect? the answer is in the question, but I still don't know what it is.

robots and people. doing exercise together in perfect harmony. but the robots don't need exercise. and the people are in suits. I like it.

danjiri crash

2006-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

instead of trying to explain what a danjiri, just watch the video. it's the big thing everyone is riding on. it is said this from the most dangerous festival in japan, but a lot of festivals in japan say that. it's funny how that is a selling point. "it will be incredibly crowded with little ability for escape if something goes wrong...come on down! you have a better chance at death or injury at this festival than at any other in the whole country!"

what's a decent price on whale meat

2006-09-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

normally I don't post about whale meat, because, well, it usually doesn't come up.

but today it did.

this link is for 1.2 kilos of mink whale meat (600 grams of meat from each of two distinct areas of the whale) and its approx $90 plus shipping. wild wild stuff...

late night j-tv 2006

2006-09-11T00:27:00.000-07:00

a lot of late night j-tv has found its way to the internet. roba no mimi souji and gilgameshu were some of the best show in their prime. it is too bad they are gone now... the 80s and 90s were sweet! but there still is late night crap out there. this is japanese tv boiled down for a late night weirdo session. thank buddha it still happens...

welcome to the wonderfully retarded world of NH Kei Kyoiku TV

more on miike's yakuza...

2006-09-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

so it seems takeshi miike isn't just doing a cm, but a movie based on the game titled "yakuza" in the u.s. here is a trailer, or teaser, or something...

in general, I find the better the miike trailer, the worse the miike movie. I submit "izo" as evidence of this.

however, aikawa sho could make a movie about reorganizing the dewey decimal system and it would probably be interesting....and the trailer isn't THAT great, so it could be a good movie. miike is due.

check it out here.

hook-ups

2006-08-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

I used to be really into skateboarding...then I moved to japan, and my buddy was watching all my stuff. he put all his stuff and my stuff (skateboards and nintendo stuff) into storage, and moved to california. then he forgot to pay the bill. then all our crap got auctioned off.

this makes me want to get back into skateboarding again...just because it is damn cool.

hooksupfever it's a pretty dynamic site.

online kanji flashcards

2006-08-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

normally I would never even click a link like this, much less present to the masses, but this is a stylistically made, easy to use, keeps a record of your progress, kanji practice on line. the only thing wrong with it is I can't carry it around on my nintendo ds.

speedanki

yakuza...miike's latest work

2006-08-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

who doesn't love miike? gozu! ichi the killer! audition! dead or alive series!

well his latest is a trailer for a video game called, ahem, yakuza.

but it's damn good!

check it out here.

the secret revealed

2006-08-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

want to really get rid of anpanman? then you gotta kill jam ojisan. why didn't I think of that sooner?

s-korean soldiers perform morning musume

2006-07-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure lil kim up in n. korea won't allow his soldiers to film themselves singing j-pop girl band songs to a camera. I am also pretty sure that lil kim doesn't let his soldiers communicate with their families either.

I think this is probably pretty embarrassing for the s-korean army. but then look what the american soldiers did to iraqi prisoners and it doesn't seem so bad.

ok, that's enough politics. let's get to the j-pop goodness...

comic-con comments from Azumi director Ryuhei Kitamura

2006-07-27T23:33:00.000-07:00

first off, the coverage for comic-con on G-4 blew. hardly anything about comics. I think it's cool that they went there, but they did like 6 hours coverage a day for E-3 (which is obviously more up their alley) but only 2 crappy hours for comic-con, and then repeated all weekend like it was new shit. I stayed up on saturday just to see the same shit I saw the night before.

anyway, Ryuhei Kitamura isn't the most famous japanese director around now, but I guess he was at comic-con promoting the american theatrical release of his movie, Azumi, which came out like in 1994 in japan (or it feels that way). I found this on fuckedgaijin.com, but will link you to the original post. after watching bai-ling on entourage tonight (season 2 rerun...I am getting caught up), his statements ring even more true. "cute" only takes you so far. where's the ass-kicking?

CS: How did you go about finding a young actress that could do all of the action required of the role?
Kitamura: That was the most difficult part. This producer asked me and I said, "I will do Azumi, but we have two big problems, one is the story. The comic is so big, so long, so how do we make a two-hour story out of the huge comic? The other thing is the actress problem. Who's going to play Azumi?" It's impossible to find an actress who can move in Japan. It's not like Hong Kong or China or Korea. Most of the Japanese actors and actresses, they can't move. That was the problem, I knew that, but "Azumi" was a very big movie so studios were all saying they wanted to use someone famous. Someone famous is easy to find, but it's a different thing if she can move, so I had to find somebody who I can train as Azumi, maybe famous or maybe becoming famous. Me and the producer auditioned 200 beautiful girls. We just called every beautiful girl from 14 to 23, all over Japan, but we couldn't find one. I was so desperate. I'm not the kind of director that can make a movie just as a job, so if I have no confidence in it, I'm not going to do it. On the one hand, we were fighting how to write the script. It took like a year and a half til we finished the script. (from comingsoon.net)

just click it.

2006-07-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

no english required: japanese tv 101

2006-07-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

this is one of the best examples of manzai duo "downtown"'s genius. matsumoto is the ref. no japanese required, just try to figure out the rules of the game. this is from their show "downtown's gottsu 'A' kanji"

kobayashi eats ...

2006-07-07T00:47:00.000-07:00

I don't like fear factor or dumb stuff like that, but this is pretty amazing. I think this is the kid that wins the hot dog contest every year at coney island.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=van2s5hSLSU

gps in bandai phones

2006-07-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

you may know bandai for the tamagochi craze. now they make phones for kids with gps systems. that seems genius to me. now parents can always know where their kid is...or at least know where their kid's phone is. more details here.

jt ad poster-maker

2006-07-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Make your own funky JT smoking ad!

You can't fit that many characters in, and it's hard to make one as insane as the ones you see in the train stations...

eiga hiho

2006-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

eiga hiho (cinema treasure) may be the coolest magazine in the world. if you can get your hands it do it. the top of the magazine reads: "Action, Sci-fi, Horror, Chicks, and Rock and Roll!" what's not to love? well, it would be nice if it was in english... but even if you can't read japanese, eiga hiho is full of cool pictures, mostly of new and classic sci-fi, horror, and chop-socky movies.

lincoln

2006-06-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

this is the most badass show opening I have ever seen. LINCOLN stars comedians, downtown. it's called "LINCOLN" because "by the comedians, of the comedians, for the comedians".

(these anime characters look like dudes on the show, in anime style)

too much time? pururun

2006-06-18T00:48:00.000-07:00

what is the sound of the japanese purin (pudding)? in the usa it doesn't make a sound. that's the problem.

cute business

2006-06-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have heard about all this "cute business" in the media now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnOYNn8GywI

I hear we are supposed to blame yuri ebihara.

I can go for that.

crisp pics

2006-06-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

this is in chinese, but these pics look like yokohama to me, one of the coolest places in japan.

http://myweb.hinet.net/home4/din/night.htm

if I am totally wrong, I will feel like a total phuck, but at least you got to see cool pictures.

remaking perfectly good movies is dumb

2006-05-29T23:46:00.000-07:00

so I just read they are going to remake Seven Samurai, again, with chinese actors

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong action star
Donnie Yen is set to lead in the Hollywood remake of Japanese classic "The Seven Samurai", alongside George Clooney and Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi, a film company said.

Yen met
with Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein during Cannes film festival to
discuss the remake of the 1954 action film directed by Japanese master Akira
Kurosawa.
Weinstein has invited Yen to play one of the seven sword heroes in
the film, according to Mandarin Films, which represents the actor.
"Donnie
has met Harvey Weinstein in Cannes to discuss the project," a spokeswoman for
Mandarin Films told AFP. "We don't know more details as it is still at an early
stage."
She said Weinstein has also invited Clooney and Zhang to lead the
film. It is not clear how much the project will cost.
Yen, 43-year-old actor,
director and action choreographer, has starred in over 40 films, including
"Blade II", "Seven Swords" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero".
The Seven Samurai tells
a story of seven Samurai heroes' who battle with 40 bandits who try to control
and constantly attack a small village.

just by chance, I happened to watch the original this weekend. why someone would think they could remake this movie better than how Kurosawa and Mifune did it is beyond comprehension. that's like saying "I think we should remake the godfather with marky mark and linsay lohan." what the phuck? and will zhang ziyi say "no" to any role? damn.

mixed media in media

2006-05-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

I like how media in japan has gotten more mixed up these days. in america we get an action movie, and then we get a video game to go along with it. or the other way around, in the case of doom or bloodrayne. the results are not always sweet.

even though I understand japanese, I like that now I can see battle royale: the movie, battle royale: the novel, and battle royale: the manga, all in english now. it shows a real dedication to promoting and translating good stories, despite their possibly offensive subject matter.

In july the japanese manga oldboy will come out in english mostly because the original japanese manga was made into a korean movie that was pretty popular internationally. whatever it takes, you know.

ainori is good reality tv

2006-05-17T23:41:00.000-07:00

I do not like reality tv as a rule, basically because it is not reality tv. it's about as real as 24, or friends or any other show, but instead of actors, it's people that want to be actors being on tv being in a show.

maybe it's the backwards nature of the japanese media, but I am much more forgiving of the only japanese reality tv show I know: ainori.

we watch this every week. the premise is simple: get a bunch of young single japanese men and women. take them out of japan to remote places in the world. give them things to do (charity work, site seeing, etc...) then watch them fall in love with each other. well maybe it isn't that simple:

dude falls in love with girl...dude does a "tell": gives her a plane ticket and says "go home to japan with me"...girl gets a night to think on it...1) girl says "sweet!" and they go back together....2) girl says "ph.o." and dude goes home alone.

that's it really, but it's very playful and fun and when one person leaves they find a new person to take their place. so there is no "final episode" or "big finale". (there are at over 300 weekly half hour episodes now).

this chick does a weekly blog on ainori, but take a chance and check it out if you can.

fujii takashi. there is nothing right, but nothing wrong.

2006-05-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

I first saw this guy on j-tv back in the mid-90s. then I thought, "he's kinda gay, but pretty funny". he's like the japanese andy dick, but he actually isn't gay, and he doesn't do thousands of dollars of cocaine every week. you probably remember him best from the movie "lost in translation" as the blond j-guy on "matthew's best hit tv." if you think that is a strange host for a show, a blond guy named matthew, then you haven't seen the quiz show where he is dressed as a monkey like "planet of the apes." I wouldn't phuck with you. anyway, I like this song he put out a few months ago....it seems nice for summer. enjoy.

crazy j- porno titles

2006-05-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

my buddy sent me these from his work. j-porno titles translated to english. I don't have links or anything, you can find those on your own, just enjoy the titles and imagine what they could be about. my dream is to become a sperm viking.

Active Nurse Ravishment
Grind Lover
Infinitely Depth Charges
Obscene Hand Goddess
For Your Best Masturbation
Super Slow Motion Sex and Gush
Lets Try Anal Sex
Job Change for Semen
Risky Restraint Maniacs
Female Teachers Ravished Anus
Six Costumes and Fuck
How to Love Big Tits
Sperm Viking 3
100cm Titty Massage
Sex with Arrogant Ladies
Magic Mirror Box Car Fan Appreciation
Lets Carry Out Masturbation Together
Public Molester Hell
I Like Abnormal
Relax Time with English Style Maid

kano sisters can no longer afford clothes

2006-05-10T23:44:00.000-07:00

the kano sisters are one of the strangest phenomenon in japanese media I can think of. it's these two chicks that don't really look alike that wear super-expensive clothes and have gigantor boobies and very little personality. apparently they are super-loaded, but like a lot of japanese "talent" there is no clear reason why. they don't actually "do" anything. they just show up on tv shows and show off their 1000000000000 yen handbags and their 10000000000000000000 yen shoes. well, obviously some well went dry, as they dropped the tops....here. the older sister has had so much plastic surgery she looks like a real hag. you'd think she was from hollywood, not japan. some people say she used to be a dude, but I think they are on j-ludes.

laser ramon is hard gay

2006-05-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

I know h.g. has gotten a lot of attention from western japanese media fans, but I like him because he knows that this shtick can only last so long. actually he is amazed he can still get away with just shaking his pelvis and saying "fo~~~". that's it. but he's still on tv. kudos are in order, h.g!

some things that don't suck

2006-05-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

lately I noticed I posted some things that really suck, but since today is saturday, I decided to freshen up with some things that don't suck. that's the idea, right?

do you hear about american and english actors in strange japanese commercials? you can see them here are japander.com.

rob pongi is one of the coolest guys in tokyo.

but I think masamania might be cooler.

don't trust camera phones

2006-05-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

here's two pictures of my friend's friend. this is the same person. I would not phuck with you.

mountain witch suck

2006-05-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

I said I an forgive j-cosplayers because they are usually hot, and don't wear much clothes. remember I said I hate zombies? I also hate clowns. now there are clowns in japan. they're called yamamba...it means "mountain witch".

when you are thinking "oh, what is my fashion statement I want to make?" who is going to say "I know! let's be a mountain witch!" you must actually be a witch from the mountains to think this is a good idea.

my friend sent me this pics.

he said, and I quote: "the only way I would take a bj from any of those chicks is if she gargled with Clorox bleach for 60 seconds prior to the act"
I have to agree.

good movie versus bad movie alive

2006-05-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

want to see a real crappy japanese movie? then watch Alive. actually before you watch it you need to look up "isomer" in the dictionary. then watch the movie. then punch yourself in the penis for looking up "isomer" in the dictionary then watching Alive.

if you have all this time to watch this, you should have watched Versus. that's a good japanese movie. i hate zombies. well, i know everybody hates zombies. why the phuck could you like zombies? they kill your friends and family! I mean I hate zombie movies. but Versus is a damn good movie. no fake matrix shit like Alive. just good bloody katana zombie killing.

jap cosplayers hot. white cosplayers not

2006-05-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

I don't like cosplay. I think it is pretty messed up. if you have time to make cosplay costumes, you have time to kick ass, and I have never seen a cosplayer kick ass. not even one time. I don't care about j-cosplayer, because by design they are hot. I am concerned over a-cosplayer. they are not hot. if they really want to look like the manga character they are making the costume for, why don't they lose weight. "this costume took me 40 hours to make" the a-cosplayer says. imagine if you spent 40 hours in a gym on a treadmill. wow! then you might look a little more like chun-li, and less like e.honda wearing chun-li's clothes!

I would hang out with the guy on the left. he is smart enough to cover his face.

german cosplay! japan and germany should not spend time together!