Topic: Japan Discussion

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they covered Your Lie in April, a new hit anime of a manga of the same name. It stars a 14 year old student who used to be a prodigy pianist who won many competitions, but after his mother died when he was 11, he no longer hears the music when he plays, and dropped out of the competitive scene. However, he instantly falls in love with a girl in his class who is a prodigy violinist, and together they may just revive his love for music. The manga started serialization in 2011, and in 2013 won the Shokugan best shonen manga award (previously won by Attack on Titan). It now has 9 volumes, and the mangaka has announced it will be reaching it's conclusion next spring. As for the anime, in order to hype up the fanbase for it, they actually held a live orchestral event that showcased the pieces played in the manga (letting fans actually hear them for the first time). They are actually so committed to accuracy (in order to animate the playing to coincide perfectly with the music) that they actually record live performances from multiple angles, and after editing the cut, animate every nuanced movement move for move (they said they need 400 different sketches of a character to show them playing in just one scene, while characters in any anime just usually need 20-30 sketches per scene). All pianos in the anime use full 3D CGI models, since it is impossible to replicate such intricate movements with 2D images. They also said that the anime has been licensed to air in the U.S. & France.

Side Theme: They mentioned Japanese Railway! Your Journey to Kyoto, a 3DS game where an actual 3D video of a train on it's way to Kyoto is played on the top screen, while the player makes all the control nuances on the bottom screen. They also mentioned Happinesscharge Pretty Cure, a new movie in the Pretty Cure anime series.

Side Theme: They talked to a mobile game developer who developed a popular "Runner" style game, in which you controll a courier who is tasked with safely transporting people through the streets of a city devestated by a recent disaster. It has gained attention for it's surprisingly great narrative. He said that his favorite game series is Street Fighter.

Also, they showcased some Naruto & Fullmetal Alchemist fan art sent in by viewers.

I'm not really sure who your question is directed towards, but I'll answer to be safe.

Personally, I really don't know that much Japanese. I tried studying it really hard by myself when I was back in high school, but I just kind of backed off when I got older. I still remember a few phrases (just "hello" or "good night" kind of stuff), and I've retained enough Katakana to make my way through a few Japanese websites, but that's it.

Tokyo Eye was on last night! It was part two of their Tokyo art special, and this week they featured foreign artists living in the city.

1. First up was Rob Kidney, a British sketch artist who moved to Japan in the early 00's. He has a unique style that he calls "Punk Kawaii", that blends art of the "Kawaii" culture with a punkish British style. His signature motif is a Teddy Bear (which he says was a unique creation of British culture). He runs an art gallery in the city called Wish Less, and also does designs for a clothing line which are said to be popular amongst the cool kids. Then they followed him through the quiet neighborhood of Komagome, as he sketched things that piquet his interest.

2. They very briefly mentioned the works of both a U.S. & a Malaysian artist living in Tokyo.

3. Then they talked to Joseph Tame, another artist from Britain who creates "Running Art". He started out practicing for the Tokyo Marathon, and in order to make it more fun, he started wearing a colorful costume as a conversation piece with the people in the neighborhoods, and has his mobile device color in the streets he runs along, doing so in an order to "draw" an image on the GPS map. He actually maps out the course (image) he wants to take beforehand (in red), and it turns blue as he runs it. They followed him as he "drew" the characters for Tokyo, and visited the supply shops he goes to in order to add new pieces to his costume.

Japanology Plus was on last night! This week's theme was the Shinkansen (Bullet Train).

1. A few facts listed were that it is now 50 years old (first run was on Oct. 1st, 1964), it has carried over 10 billion passengers in that time, and has an average delay time of only 54 seconds!

2. They went to the Railway Museum in a city just north of Tokyo, and they talked to the director there. He was influencial in the creation of the Shinkansen, and is now a consultant for railroad companies around the world (currently helping India & South Africa set up similar rail systems). At the museum they have one of the original Shinkansen models, which was fully retired in 2008. It travelled at a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour (compared to the top speed of today's trains that travel up to 320 kilometers per hour), and have reversible seats (the seats all "reverse", that way you can always face in the direction you travel).

3. They talked about the impeccable safety record of the Shinkansen. In it's 50 years of service, there has never been even one fatality. In order to keep the trains on time (and in order to keep them from crashing into each other), a computer calculates the top speed a train may move, and will override any human personnel that try pushing it faster. The conductors still have to be highly involved with operation however, and take capability tests every month. They also must take five thick operations booklets with them wherever they go, but aren't taught to memorize the info. Since humans are flawed, it's only natural to assume one's memory may be flawed at any one moment, so they are taught to take out the books during even the most mundane issues, and follow step by step in a calm manner. Even during the Great Japan Earthquake of 2011, every single Shinkansen safely stopped, thanks in large part to an early warning system that stops all trains before an earthquake.

4. Punctuality is also very important (given it's almost impossibly low 54 second average delay time). The Shinkansen runs on it's own dedicated lines (doesn't share with freight trains, for example), as to not get delayed by the actions of other railways. Also, all maintenance must be done in the few hours between when the trains stop running, and when they start up again in the morning. Even when entire lengths of track need to be replaced, all that work is required to be done within that tiny time frame as to not delay the trains. An entire army of workers will be sent to replace the track, with all welding being done & checked by expert humans, since machines are too inaccurate.

5. Finally, they spent some time with the cleaning crews of the Shinkansen, who must clean the cars within the 15 seconds between boardings. First they greet all passengers as they get off, with a trash bag for passengers to throw things into, then a worker must wipe down all seats (about 200), all trays, put up the blinds, and sweep the floor in one car in 15 seconds. They let the host try, and he wasn't even able to finish wiping down the seats (only got about 70). These workers are true experts.

Imagine-Nation was on today! (I believe it was a repeat, but I never saw it before)

Main Theme: This week they talked about an anime called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, based upon the insanely popular manga from the 90's. It features a group of teenage girls who obtain magical powers and use them to fight evil (they didn't go too deeply into the story details, assuming most were already acquainted with the series). It was a breakthough in Shojo (girls) manga, as one of the first to feature a surprisingly action heavy story (along with the standard Shojo tropes). The new anime uses character designs (and story elements) more closely related to the manga than the 90's anime did, and they also did alot to modernize the series. the transformation sequences (which were 2D animated scenes in the original), are now animated using fully 3D CG models, and the civilian clothing that the characters wear has been updated to accomodate for modern trends.
They went to an early screening event where fans could watch the first episode early, and the place was packed. As for the show's distribution itself? Two new episodes will debut a month, but instead of airing on a TV station, it will be exclusive to streaming services. They say that decision was made to unshackle it from the limits of a television broadcasting timeslot, and in order to save money (that they can use to improve the show itself, or on more elaborate fan events).

Side Theme: They talked about Lost Dimension, a sci-fi RPG releasing on the PS3 & Vita. Your party has a traitor amongst it's ranks, and in order to keep tension strong in additional playthroughs, the traitor is different each time.

Creator's Interview: they talked to the author of many popular absurdist manga, who'se current work is called Kuroru, which centers around the things that happen around a strange creature that is half cat, half plant.

Been awhile since I updated this thread.

Anyhow, Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they talked about the indie game series, Toho. Created by a single developer named Zun, he made the first entry in this "Danmaku Shmup" series back in 1996, while still in college. Since then, it's spawned 22 sequels, many spinoffs, and adaptations in other media (such as music CD's & Manga). While there are many playable characters (all hand created by Zun), the main character is a Miko (Shinto Priestess, translated as Shaman here), who protects modern Japan from the revival of Yokai (Japanese term for Spirit or Demon). While all major Yokai (the bosses) are male, they're depicted as cute women to add a feeling of creepiness. They went to an indie game expo in Akihabara where the Toho booth was by far the most popular one at the event, and they even went behind the scenes with Zun to observe his creative process (He single handedly codes the games, composes the music, writes the dialog, and more). Many of the older entries are being translated in English for official release on PC, and he has struck a deal with Sony to release a Toho compilation (of both main entries & spinoffs) for PS4 & PSV.

Side Theme: They talked about the release of Sonic Toon (Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric) for the Wii U, and how it connects to the 3DS game.

Creator's Interview: They talked to Ken Niimura, a manga artist known for his work in I Kill Giants (a manga about a girl who can see, and battle, magical creatures). The story (which was written by an American) is a blend of Japanese & Western comic book styles (a Manga artstyle, with western story build). His current work is Henshin, a slice of life story of people living in Tokyo.

Also, they showcased fan art of Light Yagami (Death Note) & Sasuke's older brother (Naruto).

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they talked about the Arachnid & Caterpillar mangas. Arachnid stars a girl named Alice, who is sent to live with her abusive uncle after her parents die. Her uncle is soon killed by an assassin, and when he senses that Alice has potential, he takes the now homeless girl under his wing & teaches her everything he knows. The organization he works for wants Alice to be amongst it's ranks, and soon the battle for her freedom begins (the manga has currently ran for 12 volumes). Caterpillar is a spinoff manga, staring a popular character who first appeared in Arachnid. It's lead is out to find the person responsible for her sister's death (it's original artist had unexpectedly passed away in 2013, but the writer chose a new one in 2014 after fans wanted the series to continue, and it is now up to 5 volumes). In both series, assassins train to imitate the battle style of various bugs, and use weapons/mechanical implants that are inspired by them as well (for example Alice the "Arachnid" fights by using wires, and her strategy revolves around luring her opponents into a wire trap, like a spider). Both series are available all across Asia, and will be released in France shortly.

Side Theme: They briefly covered the 8th annual International Manga Award, which aims to build bridges between cultures via manga. This year's winner was a Mongolian manga artist, who's series reflects the tough lives of Mongolian nomads.

Creator's Interview: They talked to a mobile game developer, who was behind the games el & Sonic Bang. el is his most recent game, and is a "runner" of sorts (though it has a conclusion), and features fairy tale like graphics (he says the game has a surprise ending, that you wouldn't expect given the art direction). Sonic Bang is a shooting game, where players compete by who's faster & more accurate.

Also, they showed some fan art, though I'm not sure if the characters were from particular series, or original creations.

The NHK World TV app on my tablet (it's free).

Although, my viewing habits are pretty spotty, I do like Imagine-Nation (Japanese pop culture, mostly video games & manga/anime), Tokyo Eye (which higlights various events & unique locations in Tokyo), Journeys in Japan (highlights various other, often rural, areas of interest in the country), and Japanology Plus (previously Begin Japanology, it covers various aspects of Japanese culture).

Other regular shows include Newsline (a Japan centric newscast that airs every hour), Dining With the Chef (been awhile since I watched it, but it's a cooking show that teaches you to cook Japanese dishes), Japan 7 Days (another news program), Science View (a show about Japanese scientific achievements), Great Gear (a show about Japanese tech), J-Melo (a show about Japanese music), Sports Japan (pretty obvious), Cool Japan (they bring on international guests & have them discuss aspects of Japanese culture), Core Kyoto (like Tokyo Eye, but for Kyoto), Asia Insight (another news program, for Asia in general), J-Flicks (a show about Japanese cinema), and more.

Actually, it's their English language channel, so all their television hosts speak English (it's an offshoot of NHK, Japan's PBS so to speak, that's designed to promote Japan to the world). However, certain guests naturally won't speak English, so are subbed or even dubbed over.

As for J-Flicks, unfortunately I haven't seen it. It's a constant live stream, so you have to go by their schedule, and I think they only show that particular show twice a month (they probably replay the new episode 4 or 5 times the day it comes out, like they do with everything else, but not anytime else).

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they covered the manga montage. It's a fictionalized account of the true story about how a thief dressed up as a police officer stole ¥300,000,000 (about $8.5 million US, in today's money) from a transport vehicle back in 1968. The thief was never caught, and it's considered the greatest heist in Japanese history. Anyhow, the manga starts in 2004, when elementary school kids Yamato & Miku find a mortally wounded police detective who tells Yamato that his father was the famous thief. The kids try to tell the police what happened, but they find that Yamato's father has been killed, and after nothing comes up, they try to resume their normal lives. It's now 2010, and the kids are now in high school. While digging through some of his father's old belongings, Yamato finds a bloodstained old bank note, with a serial number matching the famous missing cash. Soon after, Miku's parents disappear, and the two teens are drawn into the greatest crime conspiracy in Japanese history. They'll try to find the truth behind the matter as they search for Miku's parents while dodging the pursuit of criminal organizations & corrupt officers. The manga has been released in 5 countries, including Taiwan & France. As of the airing of this episode, the manga's final chapter should be hitting store shelves in Japan.

Side Theme: They briefly covered the newest entry in the Higurashi When They Cry visual novel game series. The newest entry is a compilation/remake of all the other games in the series, and is set to release on PS3 & PSV.

Creator's Interview: They talked to an anime director who first got recognition with the anime he made in the early 00's, No. 5, which was lauded for it's blend of animation & CGI. He has since moved on to create a variety of opening animations for various anime series (such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventures), and has released his newest original work, Gasmask (an anime set in an alternate world where gasoline is used to power everything, and everyone has to wear masks to protect themselves from the fumes). He likes to make figurines (with a 3D printer) in his spare time, and he offers them for sale online.

Also, they showcased a photo a fan sent in, of themselves cosplaying as Kiki from Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service.

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: this week they covered the first Yo-Kai Watch movie. It's based off of the TV series, which itself is based upon the game series by Level-5. The premise of the series revolves around a boy who frees a trapped Yo-Kai (monsters based on the concept of Yokai in Japanese folklore), and as a present, receives a watch that allows him to make contact with other Yo-Kai. Throughout the story of the game & TV series, he solves problems with his ever growing cast of Yo-Kai friends. In the movie, his watch vanishes one night and he forgets all about Yo-Kai, until he's attacked by a giant cat Yo-Kai. After that he's thrown into an adventure to find his lost watch, which will require him to travel 60 years into the past to help out his grandfather. They went behind the scenes to show how they make the movie, where they stated they tried to recreate the game's attack animations in the movie to please fans. The creator said that they like to give Yo-Kai human like qualities, so they can all talk & are just as intelligent & have varied personalities as humans, which makes the series different from others of it's kind. He announced that the game & anime will premier in the U.S. & Europe in 2015 (so this year).

Side Theme: They briefly touched upon the sixth entry in a game series where you play as a high school delinquent, and you struggle with rival gangs, keeping your grades up, and more. It's on 3DS.

Creator's Interview - They interviewed the producer of SEGA's Shining series. The newest entry in the series, Shining Resonance is an action RPG for the PS3, where the main character can transform between a human & dragon. It had a simultaneous release in Japan, Taiwan, & Hong-Kong.

Hey!
Thank you very much for all those interesting pieces of Information!
I am planning a journey to Japan in November/December, but am quite hesitant about the Details.
Heard from some sources that it was really hard to get along only being able to speak English rather than Japanese, others said it wasn't that much of a Problem.
Probably me and my boyfriend are going to split the journey in a Kyoto-part and a Tokio-part. We don't want to Change Hotels too much, but still want to get around a Little. Probably it will be like 7 days Tokio and 5 days Kyoto, since the surroundings of Tokio seem to have a Little more to offer, but Kyoto seems to be the nicer place to be over all.
If the language will indeed be that much of a Problem (esp. for reading signs/directions/getting something to eat etc.) we would rather safe a Little more Money and do a guided bus Tour. If not we stick with the Kyoto-Tokio-plan and get one of those Japan rail passes.
Any recommendations and advices?

Its amazing how a small island is able to make lots of advancement. So much to the point that it makes me wonder.....are they ever happy with whatever they do in life? I feel like they feel like they are some tools of life just working extremely hard to make other lives the best.

At the same time, I wish that they swallow their pride when they have to like in the case of Capcom or Konami?

@Tiefseemiez my advice would be to apply for a tourist trip. That way, you can be either independent and spend time with you're boyfriend or you can stay together as couples. Either way, with a tourist trip, it should be easier for you to get some Japanese people speak in English.

I've been all over Asia (except mainland China and Korea) and by far Japan had the least amount of signage in English. The subway is extremely confusing, and none of the maps are in English unless you find a ticket purchasing machine with a touch screen. Japanese people are generally more shy and don't really care about foreigners, so it can be difficult to engage random people in conversation. They are very polite and organized though.

Hotels are expensive and the rooms are EXTREMELY small.

Japan is one of my 5 most wanted places for travelling to.

Thanks! Sounds......promising.

@Tiefseemiez

I didn't even really have that much interest in going to Japan, but I have two good friends from there who wanted me to visit for many years so I finally went last year. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. As I said, people are very nice and polite and the whole country is very organized. Great food, and it wasn't as expensive to travel there as many people believe it is. Lots of cool electronic devices and vending machines all over the place. I hope you get to go there!

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: They talked about the anime, Hello!! KINMOZA. It's a slice-of-life comedy series centered around the lives of a group of high school students, and is based off of a a four panel manga series. The hosts explained the concept of "yuri", which is prevalent in the series (as well as other series published in the same magazine). They then went behind the scenes with the animation studio, to see how they adapt the very short manga chapters into 30 minute long TV episodes (which includes a lot of filler backstory). The anime will be broadcast at the same time in Japan, North America, and the rest of Asia, with English subtitles.

Side Theme/Creator's Interview: They explained that they won't always have a creator's interview from now on, but they will still do one occasionally. They went behind the scenes of the animation process of their new opening (which was made by one of the anime creator's they interviewed in the past), and then they briefly covered the action RPG Bloodborne on PS4.

They also showcased some original artwork and an original manga sent in by fans.

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they talked about Rodea the Sky Soldier for 3DS & Wii U. The game started out as a Wii project to be released in 2011, but was moved to the newer platforms due to the buzz surrounding them at the time. They talked to the main minds behind the project (which includes Sonic creator Yuji Naka). They said that they wanted to create a new breed of Japanese action game, as the genre isn't very popular in their homeland. They also said that using the analogue pad on the 3DS/Wii U was much more dodgy than the pointer controls of the Wii, so they focused most on refining that. If you double jump you initiate flight mode, where you'll very slowly fall in place until you move the cursor where you want to go, and with the press of a button you'll go flying off in that direction (of course, you can target enemies, even more than one, where you'll go flying through all of them). At the end of each stage is an enormous boss of Shadow of the Colossus calibur, where you'll have to fly around it striking it's weak points. There is a sky kingdom in tune with nature, as well as a mechanical empire from the ground. When a girl from the sky unearths Rodea (who has amnesia) the mechanical empire invades, and he decides to fight to protect her land. It's releasing in Japan this month, and in the west in the autumn.

Side Theme: They briefly talked about the Shinjuku Anime Project, where Shinjuku is being renovated to become the new anime center of Tokyo.

They also read some fan letters & showcased some fan art, where they revealed they'll be covering Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F (movie) in a future episode!

Imagine-Nation was on today!

Main Theme: This week they talked about Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (movie). This is the 15th movie set in the Dragon Ball Z series, and the second one to be considered canon to the original story (the first being 2013's Battle of Gods). Both films (unlike the ones that came before) are headed by Akira Toriyama (the author of the original manga), and this one goes a step further by having him be the script writer as well. In the story of this film, Frieza (described as the most popular villain in the series) is revived with the Dragon Balls stronger than ever (achieving a new "Golden Frieza" form), and Goku must once more face off with his old nemesis. Unlike the previous film however (where Goku was the only character who did much of note action wise), some of the side characters (Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Tien, Krillin, & Master Roshi, notably) will be given greater action scenes here, with a lengthy sequence featuring them dispatching Frieza's invasion force. Unlike the last film (and most anime films today) which was completely digitally animated, the majority of the character art was drawn by hand the traditional way (just one action scene consisted of 12,000 pages, for example). The film was released on April 18th in Japan, with plans for a western release in the future.

Side Theme/Creator's Interview: This week they explained the concept of Cosplay, showcased Cosplay World (a website where users from around the world can share their ideas), and spoke to Lechat (a very famous Cosplayer & singer in Japan) about why she loves Cosplay so much, and how she got into it. They also briefly talked about a new horror/suspence visual novel on 3DS.

Also, they showcased some fan art of a character from the Air Gear series.