Manga man does a lot of reading comics and screaming at people.

He rules.

Many a night of partying in and around Shimokitazawa involved smiling at manga man as he “brought the pain.”

DIG IT VIA THE GOOD FOLKS AT 3AM!

Today I stopped by the Cherry Blossom festival in downtown SF to hang out and just relax. It’s been a very busy week and has certainly taken a toll on me. Anyway, on the suggestion of a friend I stopped in to see a live-action singing cosplay troupe called Animyu at the Japan pavilion. I must admit that I dug them. It’s always nice to see people being passionate about something they obviously care about.

Although I know ass-all about Sailor Moon, the crowd dug them heartily. The picture above describes my reaction to their performance.

(I never said that I quit being metal.)

“Moëtorhead.”

Japan’s most ‘EFF YOU’ money manga-ka will be bringing out a new work in Shonen Sunday. Inu Yasha ended last June, and aside from some cool memorial projects she’s been pretty quiet.

Let’s hope that she’s doing well and proceeds to bring the awesome.

Hey all!

Here in SF I spent a quiet and restrained New Year’s day studying some computer stuff and relaxing at home. It was very laid-back and I certainly needed that right before Anime LA. For some reason we get some Japanese TV programs here, so I managed to see some of the 年末年始（NEN-MATSU NEN-SHI) programming available in Japan. New Year’s over there is a massive deal as well, and people send cards months in advance to avoid the embarrasment of not looking thoughtful on New Year’s.

Hell, I can’t even stay up past midnight to see Jan. 1st. On my first New Year’s in Tokyo I was awakened by people ringing the bell at the local shrine. I thought something was on fire or some such shite… turns out people were just covering their bases with God or something. I strolled down and took a swing myself, and it lead to a lovely date the next day at Meiji Jingu in Tokyo with a dear friend.

So yeah, enough of my professional Gaijin-izing. Have a happy new year and take care of yourselves! Oh, and THE SALE IS STILL ON!!!

According to this site, FMA will be launching new show this April. It was confirmed earlier on the wraparound jacket of the manga, but the new site is now up and popping as well.

We still have a lot of GREAT FMA doujin for sale, btw…

Dear science,

First off, let me say that we at TG are big fans of you. Flat-out: you BRING IT. Seriously, good looking out. You’ve stopped polio. You’ve sent men to the moon. You’ve allowed internet porn to reach me in copious amounts at ultra-fast speeds. Good work. Especially on that last one.

Surr-s-ly.

But science, (I hope I’m not getting too ‘girlfriend-y’ on you here) I’m going to say this: lately, things have gotten a bit goofy, and we’re starting to loose sight of goals that we need to move towards. We’re staring at our belly buttons.

A LOT.

And while I love microprocessors, GPS systems, nanotechnology, youtube, and ATM wan protocols as much as the next dude that writes for the blog section of a rarely-updated webstore, I think we need to cut to the damn chase: IT’S TIME TO BUILD A GUNDAM.

Naysayers, whom we shall henceforth refer to as “pussies”, have been noting that Gundams are nothing but large targets on the battlefield. But couldn’t we theoretically use them for construction, rescue, and research operations? Yes, the argument could be made that the VOTOMS design or some of Masamune Shirow’s landmate or ‘insect-based’ designs would be more effective and realistic, and yes if I was splitting hairs here I would say that I could see Patlabor coming to fruition first, but let us not forget a simple equation:

BIG-ASS GUNDAM RUNNING AROUND ≥ THAT SHIT WOULD RULE x120000(squared).

Also note the corollary:

BITCHIN’ ABOUT GUNDAMS EXISTING AS CANNON FODDER ≠ BEING FUN.

So come on science. You’ve brought us SETI. You’ve brought us neuro-surgery. You’ve brought us an excuse to think that douche bag computer programmers who masquerade as engineers can be mistaken for “cool”.

Now let’s get out there and build us a big ass mother-humpin’ robot. GET YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!

Ladies and gents! Forgive us! Forgive us!

In between yaoi-con, intermixi, and various other projects (READ: MONEY AND GIRLS!), we have been very inattentive to our lovely blog readers. How could we have ever neglected you? Oh yeah…

MONEY AND GIRLS.

Regardless, here we are, back in the saddle again like Aerosmith when they weren’t absolute garbage. Our big news is that we are planning some special sales soon, what with the holidays a-comin’ and all… get your wallets and hearts ready, yo.

For you lucky Japan-based cats out there who are reading this because you want to know why a bunch of lunatics with office jobs are still stalking the other side of the world for nerd goods, GET A LOAD OF THIS PREVIEW FOR THE NEW EVA-02!

(Of course, by the time the movies finish coming out the damned events may have happened anyway. But I digest…)

For those of you based in the states, Adult Swim has re-worked their Saturday lineup AGAIN and has actually shown some love for you otaku out there this time. While I think most of us would personally prefer that they just start showing stuff like this at 7 PM on weekdays and go through the night with it, I think you’ll be pleased to know that you now do not need 7 shots of espresso and crystal meth to watch the second season of Code Geass, which is currently airing now.

Oh, hey, who sells Code Geass doujinshi anyway? THAT’D BE US, HOSS!

COMIC MARKET NEWS: Due to the fluctuating dollar and personal commitments, we are yet to decide if we will be attending comic market this year in person, sending a representative, or scouting via distributors after the fact. We plan to let you know as soon as possible. In the interim you WILL see more new doujin appear here soon.

Thanks for bearing with us.

Currently listening: Computer fan, clock
Currently thinking about: How I managed to slice my thumb open so badly that I mucked up my laptop with blood and had to McGyver off my DNA while getting this post ready.
Currently regretting: The overall turgid syntax of that last sentence.

Blatantly borrowed from the folks at Otaku2, this is a documentary on our beloved Fujoshi. Dig part one of six here.

I’m going to refrain from inserting my own thoughts and ideas here considering that there are about nine million blogs written by nine million people who expound about Japanese pop culture all day long with the same kind of flair and panache that I usually reserve for a forceful beer shit. Regardless of my unwillingness to add to the pile, I will state that I find this fascinating from a cultural standpoint.

My favorite explanation for yaoi?

“Moe dakara.” = “Because of moe.”

At least she was honest!

…

New books up soon. Comike tickets being negotiated. Currently in negotiations to write my first book about culture and extremity in Tokyo. Knew you’d be pleased. Bay Area fans should check out the Japanese film retrospective happening at UC Berkeley’s Pacific Film Center… fascinating and gorgeous Japanese classics on the big screen throughout November and December.

Currently reading: Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition 2
Currently watching: Gundam 00 s2, Code Geass s1
Currently listening to: Ignorant-assed talk radio
Currently celebrating: A certain election