Creator's Fair at GAoh!

Back towards the end of October, I'd mentioned Design Festa as something I had no interest in seeing this year. I'd seen parts of it last year and was unimpressed. Essentially, Design Festa is a multi-location art exhibit that includes interpretive dance, cosplay and painting as part of a whole. I'm not big on modern art, which I consider silly and over-commercialized. But mostly just silly. It's just rehashing the same concepts first explored to greater effect back 40 to 60 years ago.



Anyway, game company Bandai-Namco decided to get involved, and allowed their in-house staff to go crazy. The results were then exhibited at GAoh!, the rental artspace in Shimo-Kitazawa that features the works of Umezz. The exhibit had two parts, with one set of paintings appearing at the beginning of November, and the other set at the end of the month. These photos are for set two.



There were more pictures in the exhibit, but these are the ones that turned out the best. The lighting in the room played havoc with my camera, so the colors may be a little off.

TAC - Ranga Murata Exhibit, Yamato

The Tokyo Anime Center had started up its next big exhibit, this time for illustrator Range Murata. The poster reads "Range Murata Original Works Exhibition". You may recognize his illustrations from the art books "Robot" and "Futurhythm". He also did the game design for the "Spy Fiction" PS2 game, and contributed an anime piece to "The Animatrix" (The Second Renaissance).

You can find the full photo album here.

The exhibit didn't stay up all that long. A couple of days after I took these pictures, it had been replaced by crap from Pixar's various films, with the emphasis on promoting "Up". I guess that Pixar had the deeper pockets. Either way, in terms of the materials available to put on display, the Pixar exhibit is one of the most boring that the TAC has hosted so far (some toys from Toy Story and the other films, and a handful of printed sheets from "Up").



Funny enough, about a week or so after TAC ran the "Up" display, they took that down to make room for the new Space Battleship Yamoto DVD promo display. See photos below. The full album is here.













Yamato.

Katsudi Matsumoto Collection

Katsuji Matsumoto (or, "Katsudi", as it is spelled on the website) (1904-1986) was a very prolific illustrator and artist from the 1930's to the 1950's, creating filler drawings for shojo magazines early on, then illustrating Japanese versions of western fairy tales, developing his own 4-koma manga, drawing children's books and creating characters for Combi company's line of infant products.


(Image from the Katsudi gallery book, used for review purposes only.)

The wiki entry is very detailed and has a lot of the info that I do, so I won't bother duplicating it here. Katsudi's house was located in Setagaya ward, a few miles from the current location of Machiko Hasagawa's ("Sazae-san") art gallery. He was visited by Machiko a few times, but his main influence on shojo artists was in having 3 assistants, including Toshiko Ueda ("Fuichin-san") and Setsuko Tamura, who went on to become well-known manga artists in their own right. I've written about "Fuichin-san" before, which had been animated by Studio Ekura Animal a few years ago.


(Image from the Katsudi gallery book, used for review purposes only.)

After his death, Katsudi's artwork was on display at a gallery space run by one of his sons, but when that son passed away, the artwork was put into storage. Later, the family started receiving questions as to when the art would be put on display again. Currently, some of his drawings and supporting materials can be viewed at the display space run by two of his other children. All of his children have gone on to be successful artists, living in either the U.S. or Japan.


(Cover of the "Matusmoto Katsudi World" gallery book.)

The present gallery is in a connecting room between two main houses. The front house is a gallery and display area for jewelry created by one of his daughters and the back house is used as a design space for sculptures by the eldest son. If you go, knock on the front door to let them know you're there, then go around to the back to enter the gallery space. They're only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays. And, you'll be expected to take your shoes off and leave them outside when you enter. One of the family can speak English fluently, so it's possible that they may be available when you arrive, and they're very willing to tell stories about their father's experiences.


(4-panel strip - "yon-komi", from the gallery book.)

The gallery itself is small, maybe 10'x20', with most of the artwork sealed up in boxes on the shelves. There are a few paintings, pencil drawings and sketches out for display, plus examples of the children's books, shojo manga, and infant products that Katsudi drew for. There's also a selection of cards and trinkets available for sale, along with copies of the gallery book. The book is 2000 yen (about $22 USD at the current exchange rate) and is definitely worth the price. There's a wealth of information on early Shojo magazines, plus a wide range of pictures showing Katsudi's skills as an artist in a variety of genres.


(Children's book cover, from the Katsudi gallery book, used for review purposes only.)

In a way, Katsudi's style has a retro feel to it. Granted, he was active from the 1920's to the '60s, with a forced break in between when the Japanese military government cracked down on anything artistic, and his works were influenced by the tastes of the times. There's an inherently "Japanese" feel to the pictures, with the big eyes, reduced noses and short-cropped hair styles, while the clothing is distinctly western. Yet, there's also a whimsical element to the expressions, poses and settings that appealed to the young female readers of the shojo magazines back then.


(Katsudi Matsumoto. Image from the Katsudi gallery book, used for review purposes only.)

Katsudi was also ahead of his time in the way his artwork expressed energy and movement across the page. One of the children's book illustrations on display at the gallery that isn't in the souvenir book shows a parade of people and animals winding through the streets, looking very dynamic and fluid. This was 13 years before Tezuka would create a sensation with his own similar style in "Shin Takara-jima" in 1947. The primary difference is that Katsudi was illustrating someone else's novel, while Tezuka was working solely within his own manga and throwing in more cinematic elements over time. And in fact, there's a good chance that Tezuka had grown up with Katsudi's illustrations as a child. The wikipedia article on Tezuka claims that he'd created the "large eye" style for manga, but Katsudi had been drawing Japanese girls with larger, western-style eyes well before Tezuka showed up. It's just that Tezuka exaggerated the eye sizes even more to bring them into line with what Disney was doing. It's my feeling that Tezuka owes a debt to Katsudi's works.


(Inside the gallery.)


(Inside the gallery.)

Most western fans are probably unfamiliar with Katsudi's name and works, but if you are interested in the history of shojo manga, you've probably seen his paintings in early Shojo no Sekai, Shojo and Shojo no Tomo magazines. It's time for someone to put together a retrospective of his work for a western art museum. Maybe starting off in Copenhagen, since Katsudi felt a great debt to Hans Christian Andersen (a lot of the early work Katsudi received was for illustrating the Japanese translations of Andersen's stories).



To get to the gallery, take the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line out of Shibuya to Futago Tamagawa. Exit the station and walk north under the expressway bridges. You'll pick up a little shop-lined street running east-west just past the expressway bridge. Take this street 5-6 blocks to a small river. There should be a streetlight here. Turn left just before the river, and turn left again at the next intersection. The gallery will be on the right, a little more than halfway down the block. Knock on the front door of the house with the artwork in the window, then go around to the driveway on the left and look for the door right behind that house. It may be about a 10-15 minute walk. (I went there on my bike and it only took me a few minutes from the station.) Open Tuesdays and Saturdays, from 11 AM. Check the website for details. There may be a 500 yen entrance fee, but I wasn't charged anything when I went.


(The actual entrance to the gallery, with Ki, sculptor and Katsudi's eldest son.)

Galaxy Express 999 in Nerima

(The mural is right behind the bus stop, making it impossible to get a good photo of the entire painting.)

Initially, I had planned on combining the section on the Galaxy Express 999 sightseeing spot in with the blog entry on Toei Studios and just leaving it at that, since my battery had died in my camera and I didn't have any plans for coming back out to this part of the city any time soon. However, I'm currently beefing up my Listing of Anime and Manga Galleries and Museums with photos and more complete descriptions, and since I wanted to return to the "Heroes of Tokiwa Manor" exhibit in Ikebukuro to pick up the souvenir book, it was a minor step to take the train farther out to Nerima for a second visit.



Ouizumi Gakuen is the nearest station to Toei Studios, and the people here have embraced the Galaxy Express 999 anime series. To further commemorate Leiji Matsumoto's work, there was a big ceremony on Sept. 9, 2009, as a 2009.9.9 event. This included having 2 of the Seibu line trains painted up with pictures of Maetel and the Conductor, two vending machines dressed up with the same art, a limited print run of tickets for the 2009.9.9 trains, and a big mural painted up on the north wall of the station at the bus stop.



When I came out the second time, I asked the station personnel where to see the trains, and to buy a set of the tickets for 990 yen. Unfortunately, I was told that the station had sold out of the tickets and they were only available now by mail. That, and the trains don't run on a fixed schedule; you have to call the station dispatch office to find out where the trains are at the moment. If you're a big train fan, the best bet would be to just set up a camera in Nerima station and be prepared to wait for a while.



Ouizumi Gakuen only has the one platform, but there are 2 sets of stairs leading up from it to the station. The vending machine with the Conductor artwork is in the middle of the platform (as of Nov. 13 when I last visited). The three Maetel banners are over the central staircase at the station level. The Conductor statue is in a corner near the ticket gates. The Maetel vending machine is between the Conductor and the gates. When you go through the gates, bear to the right and go down the steps for the north exit. At the street, turn right and follow the sidewalk to the bus stop about 100 feet to get to the mural.





From the bus stop, face north and take the diagonal street northeast 3 blocks to the next major intersection. Turn right and walk east in the direction of Toei Studios. There are a couple of light posts here that have 999 banners, and models of 999 floating over the tops of the posts. The weather was dreary and marked by a light drizzle all day, plus it was getting close to sunset when I reached Ouizumi Gakuen, so the streetlights were on, making it difficult to get good shots of the 999 models. All the more reason for you to visit Ouizumi Gakuen yourself and take your own pictures.


(The mural wasn't positioned with photographers in mind.)

Nerima ward is the home of many of Japan's anime studios, including Sunrise, as well as the Suginami Animation Museum. They're within about 5 miles of each other if you want to make this a day trip. There's no north-south train line in the immediate area, so unless you want to double back to a major hub, it may be faster to just take a bus between stations. Toei Studio is at Ouizumi Gakuen, at the north end of the region. South a couple of miles is Kamiigusa with the Gundam statue at the station and Sunrise a block east. Another couple miles south is Ogikubo station, with the Suginami Museum 1 mile away on the main road running west-northwest from the station.



To get to Ouizumi Gakuen, take the Seibu-Ikebukuro line west from Ikebukuro station about 10 stops (3 stops if you're on the correct express train).









(This is a close-up of the text next to the Conductor statue. It came out blurry because the camera was focusing on the statue. I'll let someone else translate it if they want.)

Anime Town, Kamiigusa

Kamiigusa is 10 stops west of Takadanobaba, on the Seibu-Shinjuku line. (Rather than trying to find the station entrance for the Seibu line in Shinjuku, it may just be easier to take the Yamanote line from Shinjuku and transfer to the Seibu line in Takadanobaba). Because the Sunrise animation studio has an office here, the people of Kamiigusa have declared this to be "anime no machi" (Anime Town).

The real draw here is the 2 meter-tall bronze Gundam statue just outside the station, in front of the police box. It's a small station; so as you go out the one exit, walk around the building to the right. In addition, the city has a series of Gundam banners hanging from the street posts around the station. Apparently, the banner design changes periodically.


(Banners inside the station.)


(More banners.)

When I went, there were a number of posters on one wall inside the station promoting "Kamiigusa, anime no machi", and a 4-panel cartoon entitled "Suginami Kuronyan" (Kuro-chan from Suginami). This is #5 in the series, and was drawn by Shinichi Suzuki, former member of Tokiwa Mansion and currently the curator of the Suginami Animation Museum (SAM is about 1 mile south from here).



After looking at the statue, I went to the nearby kiosk and asked the clerk inside if there were any other items in the area related to the statue. She didn't really seem to understand my question, and I know that my Japanese isn't that great, but when I repeated it, she answered "no". Just to be on the safe side, I wandered in a 1 kilometer radius around the station. What I found:







A 7-11 one block away had a Gundam statue near the window plus an ad for some Gundam goods (there's a Gundam promo campaign going on now in many convenience stores, but this is the only one that has a Gundam statue); a few Gundam posters in shop and bank windows either advertising the latest TV series or the 25th anniversary of the show; and a painting on the shutter grate of a closed shop. Otherwise, I guess that the clerk was right - the main attraction here is the statue, but the painting is really good, too.



The really big find was the Sunrise building, which I described in the previous post. (The painting on the shutters is across the street from Sunrise.)




Script for Suginami Kuroyan, #5. Art by Shinichi Suzuki
1) Mom: Good afternoon.
Teru: Ah! I want to draw Kuronyan.
Granddad: You want to draw him, Teru?
2) Granddad: Kuronyan, act like a model now. We're going to get a great picture here.
Kuronyan: It better be good.
3) Teru: Don't move!
Granddad: Hey, Kuronyan, be patient!
Kuronyan: Yawn.
4) Teru: I'm done!
Granddad: Hoh, it's just like him.
Kuronyan: What is that!!


(Poster in a store window advertising the TV series.)


(More views of the statue.)


(Here, he looks like he's hailing the taxi at the right of the photo.)

Kamiigusa: Sunrise Studios

The Sunrise animation studio has a small building just east of the Kamiigusa train station. To get here, take the Seibu-Shinjuku line out 10 stops from Takadanobaba to Kamiigusa. Go out the one exit from the station, and take a short jog to the right. Follow the tracks back east towards Takadanobaba 1 block, past the building with the Gundam painting on the shutters, and Sunrise will be at the corner on the left.



You'll see the posters advertising some of their shows on the front of the building and on the windows to the entrance alcove. There's a plaque with the Gundam profile next to the door.



Inside the alcove is a small collection of figures and items from the different shows (Keroro Gunso, Gundam), two Gundam models about 1.5 meters tall each, and a pair of TVs. Only one TV was on, and it was showing ads for Inuyasha in a loop.



The lobby is unmanned, but there's a camera surveying the space. The door leading into the building itself has a security lock and the building isn't open to casual visitors. Still, if you're here to see the Gundam statue at the station, then you might as well make the short stroll to the Sunrise building. After that, you could either try striking out northwest to Ouizumi Gakuen and Toei Studios (from the west side of the station pick up 444 and go north to 25, west to 8, and then take 8 north to Ouizumi Gakuen). Or take the train one station east to Iogo, then walk south along 311 to 4, and double back west on 4 a ways to get to the Suginami Animation Museum.

Weird foods found only in Japan

This blog entry started when bartman905 ran a blog post on KitKat bars in Japan. Right after that, I discovered his earlier entry on Pepsi's latest flavor. It was right around the time I encountered sweet potato-flavored KitKat bars in the grocery store, so I figured "why not" and I went out and bought everything I could find. Which was kind of a challenge, because none of the stores carried all of the flavors in one place.

First, the sweet potato bars. In fact, these were in a bag of "KitKat minis", where half of the little bars were normal chocolate KitKats, and half "yaki imo" (baked sweet potato). I ate all of them before getting around to taking a photo. They're light yellow colored bars with a strong sweet potato aroma, but mostly they taste like just sugar.

Second, the new Pepsi flavor - Azuki (sweet red bean). The soda is red-tinted (just food coloring) and has a weird "off-taste" that's not really azuki flavor. It's not bad, but it reminds me more of grape soda than Pepsi-flavored anything else. I'm not going to bother getting another bottle at the current full price (140 yen ($1.50) for a 20 ounce bottle). It'll probably show up at the Jason's discount store at some point when Pepsi tries to dump its stocks, like they did with Pepsi Shizo (which is still available in Jason's).

Third, there's the mango pudding-flavored mini KitKat bar. It tastes a little like mango and cream, but mostly it just tastes like sugar again.

Fourth is "Ripe vegetables". The package shows apples and carrots. It tastes like granny smith apples, with a bit of a carrot aftertaste. Surprisingly not as disgusting as you'd expect.

Fifth, Salt and Caramel. This one has a strong caramel flavor that is augmented by the salt, but it tastes almost like malted milk balls.

Sixth we have Ginger Ale. Yes, this tastes like a sweet ginger ale, but without the bubbles. Of the group, this one's my favorite, mainly because I really like ginger. If I had the choice, I'd make it less sweet and make the ginger flavor 2-3 times sharper. Still, it's not that bad.

And finally, there's "kinako ohagi", soybean flour-coated pounded rice balls with paste fillings in the center. This one tastes just like chocolate and peanut butter, but a little "dustier".

None of these products really scream "market killer". None of them are so horrible as to make great practical jokes, either. They're mostly just amusing little oddities that will soon disappear from the shelves to be replaced by something else.

There are other flavors that have only been available locally in different cities in Japan. Apparently, cayenne-flavored KitKats weren't assigned to the Tokyo market. A shame, because I would have liked to try those...