Melt Banana - Lefty Dog (Run Caper Run)

Melt Banana finish up their UK tour in Brighton on Monday night. And they've released a music video for Lefty Dog (Run Caper Run) from their latest album Fetch which was released earlier in the year. The video is as equally manic as their noisy punk pop grindcore goodness.

Momotaro (Episode 1)

Following on from last month new Pepsi Next Zero Momotaro campaign featuring Shun Oguri (小栗旬) is the second install. Check it out here, Episode 1:

Here is Episode 0 for those that haven't seen it yet.

As I said last time, I would have loved to have seen this as a feature length film.

Oishinbo

I posted recently about Asano Inio's newest comic, Dead Dead Demons D-D-D-D-Destruction, in a recent edition of Big Comic Spirits. In that same issue a chapter long running manga series Oishibo (美味しぼ), written by Kariya Tetsuya (雁屋哲) and drawn by Hanasaki Akira (花咲アキラ), has taken all the head lines. Several characters in the comic experience nosebleeds that are attributed to exposure to nuclear fallout from Fukushima. There was public outrage over the unverified health risks linked to Fukushima by the manga.

There is a good run down of the whole saga at Rocket News 24.

I'll my own 2 cents, and say that I've lived here in Fukushima for 8 years, including the 3 years since the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear accident, and I'm unaware of any such illness or health concerns.

If anyone is looking for further reading on the impact and health effects of the Fukushima incident check out these links:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/05/04/cancer-and-death-by-radiation-not-from-fukushima/
http://deepseanews.com/2014/01/all-the-best-scientifically-verified-information-on-fukushima-impacts/

SA

SA (or a.k.a. Samurai Attack when travelling overseas) are a Japanese punk band that formed in 1984, but it wasn't until 1999 until they released their first full album. They have support Rancid on Japanese tours, and have also done several overseas tours including SXSW. They are currently touring around Japan in support of their 7th studio album, The Show Must Go On.

SA's website: http://sa-web.jp/index.html

Ping Pong

The anime adaptation of Taiyo Matsumoto's (松本太陽) 1996-97 manga series Ping Pong (ピンポン) began airing on Japanese TV last month. Ping Pong was the follow up to Matsumoto's Japanese Academy Award winning Tekkonkinkreet (鉄コン筋クリート), the anime adaptation is being directed by Masaki Yuasa (湯浅正明) famous for his work on family favourite Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん), and more recently The Tatami Galaxy (四畳半神話体系).

There was also a film adaptation in 2002 directed by Fumihiko Sori (曽利文彦) which was nominated for several Japanese Academy Awards, starring Yosuke Kubozuka (窪塚洋介), Arata Iura (井浦新), and Shido Nakamura (中村獅童).

April Manga Round Up

It's been a busy month and I haven't written a post in a while, but here is a review of what I've been reading over the past month.

Space Brothers #23 (宇宙兄弟)

The latest Space Brothers was out late March but it took me a while to get around to picking it up. Chuya Koyama again showing his love of American comedies with a cameo from Jim Carrey in a minor role. Mutta's relationship with Serika comes back into the foreground, but Hibito remains MIA.

Also recently announced is a new Space Brothers movie, Number Zero, which a pun on the family name of Mutta and Hibito, Namba. The animated movie is an original story that takes place before the start of the manga/anime series. The movie is dues in Japanese cinemas on August 9th.

Manga info at Morning Comics: http://morning.moae.jp/lineup/31
Movie website: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/uchukyodai-movie/

Billy Bat #14 (ビリーバット)

I won't spoil any of the mystery of Naoki Urasawa's (浦沢直樹) latest release of Billy Bat, but it's great to finally have some answers in a series that has only shown riddles up until now. Volume 14 wraps up the story of the malevolent Kiyoshi Kurusu (来栖清志) who has spent his life searching for the scroll that contains the answer to the riddle of Billy Bat. And new Kevin, Kevin Goodman, steps into his roll as the next author of the authentic Billy Bat as the empire of Walt Disney doppelganger Chuck Culkin begins to crumble.

Billy Bat at Morning Comics: http://morning.moae.jp/lineup/55

Dead Dead Demons D-D-D-D-Destruction (デッドデッドデーモンズデデデデデストラクション)

A mouth full of a title, and the latest release from Inio Asano (浅野いにお) that's going to play havoc with my tags. It's been 5 months since the release of the final episode of Oyasumi Pun Pun. I've been waiting for news of Asano's next release, and the first episode was released on the Monday the 28th in Big Comic Spirits. Asano excels in telling coming of age stories of characters in emotionally charged situations. In Dead Dead Demons D-D-D-D-Destruction we are introduced to a group of junior high school girls. The twist to the story is the gigantic spaceship suspended above the city Section 9 style.

Follow Asano Inio on Twitter: https://twitter.com/asano_inio
Check out Big Comic Spirits: http://spi-net.jp/

1F (いちえふ)

1F is a reference to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This comic was written by Kazuto Tatsuta (竜田一人) and chronicles his experiences working at the crippled nuclear plant for 6 months, working on clean up and maintenance. I just picked this up today, so I'm looking forward to getting some inside knowledge on what work is currently being done to secure the plant.

Follow Kazuto Tatsuta on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TatsutaKazuto

You can check out more info at Morning Comics: http://morning.moae.jp/lineup/320

Momotaro sponsored by Pepsi Next

A bit of a different post today. Maybe I should be asking Suntory for some free samples, but I love the new Pepsi ad starting Shun Oguri (小栗旬). It is a remake of the Japanese fairy tale Momotaro (桃太郎). For those that don't know the story, Momotaro is found by an elderly couple after floating down the river inside a giant peach. Momotaro grows up and goes on a quest (along with a monkey, dog and pheasant) to save the troubled island Onigashima from a marauding hoard of demons. The commercial is very nicely done, and I'd love to see a full length feature film along the lines of the 2009 film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are. Momotaro is played by Japanese heart throb Shun Oguri. I'm a big fan of his work, I would compare him to a young Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt, in that he doesn't rely on his good looks but also chooses interesting roles. He has played the lead roles in several film adaptations of popular manga including Uchu Kyodai (宇宙兄弟), Gaku (岳), and Crows (クローズ). He also appears frequently on stage productions including the lead in a Japanese production of Clockwork Orange. His next movie is a live action version of Lupin the Third (ルパン三世). Anyway, here is the ad, this looks like the first in a series of ads.