geri_chan

I just noticed that NHK World has the Kazuo Ishiguro First Class lecture videos up on their website. They're repeats of previous episodes, but he's a great speaker and they were really interesting, and I thought it might be of renewed interest since he recently won the Nobel Prize for literature. I'm embarrassed to say that I still haven't gotten around to reading his books, but seeing the episodes reminded me to bump them up on my "to read" list.

The videos will be up until Dec. 24th.

Excellent news! NHK is producing a live action miniseries based on the My Brother's Husband manga, which I blogged about here. I'm not familar with the guy who's been cast to play Mike, but I've seen Sato Ryuta in a number of dramas and liked him a lot, and I think he'll do a good job with the role of Yaichi, even if he's a bit slimmer physically than the character. Coincidentally, he played a gay character in Shitsuren Chocolatier, and while that character had some gay stereotype traits, he was also a really likable character that was pretty well-rounded for a comedic supporting role. I don't know if I'll ever be able to see it air in the US, but if/when it comes out on dvd, I will definitely pick it up! (Even without subtitles, I should be able to follow what's going on, since I'm familiar with the manga version, even if I miss out on a few details.)

Here's a heads-up for any Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki fans: NHK is re-running their documentary Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki. If you aren't able to catch NHK via your local TV stations, you can stream it live online; see the website for details. I watched it when it aired previously, and it was a fascinating look at Miyazaki, who to no one's surprise, is still working despite having "retired". This documentary depicts his struggle to create a completely CGI short film for the first time, and also the struggles of the young animators who are working themselves to exhaustion trying to achieve his vision.

This was not archived on the "Video on Demand" page the last time it aired, so tomorrow (or today, depending on your time zone) is probably the only chance you'll have to see it unless/until they air it again.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US! I hope you're enjoying a good meal with your loved ones.

Following up on yesteday's post, the actor in the KFC commercial is Kiritani Kenta. (I remembered which show I'd seen him in, and looked up his name that way.) I couldn't find a video of his new commercial, but I found a link to an article and video about being named the "Kenta Claus" ambassador for KFC last year. I have noticed that when a popular actor/singer/celebrity does a commercial in Japan, they make a big deal out of announcing it by doing a press conference, while generally it's not such a big deal in the US.

Speaking of Japan and Western holidays, I noticed in the latest promotional email I got frrom CD Japan, they are having a Black Friday sale!

More NHK World videos, this time Domo World! Domo is the fuzzy brown monster who is NHK's mascot, and NHK created an incredibly detailed stop-capture animation video of a prehistoric Domo World, showing Domo's ancient origins. All of the little Domos and other creatures and objects were all created by hand, as the "Behind the Scenes" video shows. I've seen the video clips air on NHK several times, and I never get tired of watching them--there's so much going on that I keep finding new things to look at.

There are 4 videos, but the 5 minute videos are abbreviated versions of the 15 minute videos, so you won't miss anything by skipping the 5 minute ones.

Awhile back, I posted about photographer Mika Ninagawa, daughter of the late director Yukio Ninagawa, who has sort of appeared as a fictional character in my and Bronze Ribbons' Haru fics. That Direct Talk video is now available for viewing on NHK World's Video on Demand page. These videos are usually only available for a limited time, so check it out while you can! As I noted in the original, it was a brief but fascinating and insightful interview.

ETA: I double-checked, and the website says that the video is available until Nov. 14th.

Only in Japan: a promo video for the Thor: Raganarok movie done anime-style as a Japanese folktale! (Got this via Tokyopop; I never bothered unsubscribing from their mailing list even after they stopped publishing manga in the US. At least i come across some cool Japanese videos from time to time thanks to them.)

In the adorable but frustrating department: lzqsk created this adorable little story with Funko mini figures over on lupin_snape ! Now I really want my own little frowny-face Snape doll and maybe a little thestral (at least, I think that's what the black winged creature is)! But Funko has an evil marketing scheme where they're sold in boxes where you don't know which figure you're getting, so it's totally a crapshoot as to whether you get the one you want or not! They were about $6 at the local Barnes & Noble and I wasn't feeling lucky, so I passed up on it today. *sigh* Oh well, I have too many toys and plushies as it is, I suppose.

Posting some belated short reviews of books I've read over the last several months. I've been reading several about Japan, including a few illustrated travel diaries, listed below. I've also been reading a lot of other non-fiction titles about Japan that I'll round up on a later post.


( Read more... )

I thought we could all do with a little cheering up these days, so I wanted to share this Sesame Street video that really made me smile. It's Elmo and Cookie Monster doing a parody of the PPAP (Pen Pineapple Apple Pen) song that's gone viral. (They've changed it to CBCC, or Cookie-Butter-Choco-Cookie), and they have PPAP singer Pika-Taro helping them with the dance moves. It's really adorable, and it is kind of bizarre but totally cute to hear Elmo and Cookie Monster speaking Japanese but still sounding exactly like the US versions of the characters.

Various versions of the video can also be found on YouTube, but since the Arama version has subtitles, I've linked to that blog post.

One of my favorite NHK World tv shows is J-Trip Plan, a travel show that gives travel advice to overseas visitors. The latest episode features Okinawa and has the reporter visiting a pottery shop where she is able to make her own Shisa, which really tickled me because my fanon version of Onozuka has family in Okinawa, and both he and Yoshizumi bring back Shisa souvenirs for Miyasaka and Kenzaki in Part 5 of my Haru wo Daiteita fic "Family Visit: Okinawa". She also gets to "swim" in the ocean on horseback (technically, the horse does the swimming) which really appeals to the horse-mad little girl I used to be.

On the downside, I should warn the squeamish that the show (briefly) features some Okinawan delicacies like pig face (full of collagen, which is supposed to be good for your skin) and irabu (sea snake) soup. I've seen the latter featured on a couple of Japanese cooking shows, and while it's supposed to be a tasty and healthy dish, I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to try it!

Although it might be fun to write a fic in which Onozuka goads Katou, Miyaska, and Kikuchi into trying sea snake soup--all he'd have to do is to accuse them of being too chicken to try it! Kikuchi would of course have to prove his manliness to the Prince, and then Miyasaka and Katou would have to eat it too, so as not to be outdone by Kikuchi. Perhaps with Yoshizumi standing by watching with amusement, and Iwaki sighing with resignation at how childish they're being. ^_^