For the past few years, the Anime North convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada has hosted a live wrestling show. This show features up-and-comers, local performers, freelance stars, and costumed wrestlers dressed as characters from anime, comics, video games, and so on. It's a fun exposition that makes the convention unique, and the crowd really gets into it. Characters in previous years have included Vegeta, The Guyver, Superman, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Team Rocket, and Power Rangers. Our champion is Elmo!
Anime North 2008 was this past weekend, May 23rd-25th. I was there, and I witnessed something truly remarkable.
I saw Spider-man wrestle against Astro Boy. And Spider-man was the villain!
Well, ok, not really. Astro was really just a wrestler wearing black trunks and red boot covers, and Spider-man was wearing a strange red and black costume. It was just a fun way to get a crowd of anime fans into the match. But the wrestler performing as Astro did run around with his fist out to simulate flying, so props for getting the character down!
I recorded it as best as I could, just using my digital camera's movie feature which couldn't do more than 15 seconds at a time. This is the first time I've ever edited a video like this, but this is so crazy that I just had to put forth the effort. Here it is!
Clearly, this match was not sanctioned by any governing bodies in the world of comics and anime, but it's fun all the same. Hope you enjoyed it.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Astro Boy Wrestles Spider-man!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Is it OK to like Anime?
Stupid question, right? Why wouldn't it be OK to like anime? Well, to certain generation of people, liking anime, or anything else from Japan, is unthinkable. Japan was the enemy of many nations during World War II, and so people alive during that time may not want anything to do with Japan.
Yukan Blog brings up an interesting point. Though the article is targeted specifically towards Australians, it really applies to the people of any nation who opposed Japan during the war. One way or another, pretty much the entirety of what we now know as anime and manga were built upon the foundation that was first laid down by Osamu Tezuka. And, as it is quite obvious from both his body of work and his personal writings, Tezuka was totally opposed to war. As times changed, the anime and manga industries produced more product that was violent and contained mature themes, Tezuka adapted his style of storytelling to keep up with those trends. But even though his work changed with the times, he was completely dedicated to creating stories with anti-war themes.
So, in my opinion, not only is it perfectly fine to watch and enjoy anime, despite being created by a country that was once an enemy, but it's a fantastic way to extend the hand of friendship and unite people in a shared love of animation in spite of history, language, and distance. Nothing can be gained by denying ourselves the potential to be entertained by the creations of a country that many of our ancestors used to fight against. Anime has done, and will continue to do, so much to build positive relationships between cultures. We should continue to learn from our pasts so that we do not repeat it, while working together towards the future. That is what Dr. Tezuka would have wanted.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Papercraft
If meticulously cutting and folding pieces of paper to form intricate shapes sounds like a good time to you, you'll probably love this.
This Japanese website has the plans for a papercraft Astro Boy available for free download in .pdf format. I don't really know much about the art of papercraft, but from what I've gathered, the idea is to print out the plans on a sturdy grade of paper, carefully cut out the shapes with a razor, fold them as indicated, and combine them together to create a 3D object, in this case, a figure of Astro Boy. Everything is in Japanese, but the site has a few pictures of an assembled model in different angles so you can see what the final product should look like. Neat stuff!
Seems like a lot of work, but the result is certainly an interesting and really detailed piece of art. If anyone is brave enough to attempt this, send me a picture and maybe I'll feature it here.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
12th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award Winners
Earlier this week, this year's Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award Winners were announced. Taking the grand prize is Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture by Masayuki Ishikawa, a manga about a guy who can talk to bacteria. Yeah, Tezuka probably would have liked that!
The full list of winners is available on ComiPress.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Speed Racer Spoiler-Free Review
I'm kind of struggling to find the right words to describe the Speed Racer movie. I guess the easiest thing I could say about it is that I have never been so happy to get a headache. Speed Racer is some of the most fun I've ever had at the movies.
With it's bright colors, rich details, and incredibly fast racing sequences, the live action Speed Racer movie is not a film that everyone is going to enjoy, or even be able to handle. Motion sickness did kick in for me towards the end of the film. But I had a smile on my face nearly the entire time, and when I wasn't smiling I was gasping in amazement at the incredible visuals. It really looks and feels like no other movie that has come before it. Perhaps this new visual style is an acquired taste, as it has been criticized since the first images were revealed, but I was blown away by it. Speed Racer succeeds in bringing an animated property to life better than anything else, and you simply can't fault a movie for succeeding in being exactly what it wanted to be. The story is structured uniquely as well, with many flashbacks and events not necessarily unfolding linearly.
The cast was pretty much spot on, with everyone looking and acting exactly like their anime counterparts. John Goodman, in particular, was born to play Pops Racer. And Christina Ricci is totally adorable as Trixie. Speed himself is well played by Emile Hirsch as the ultimate do-gooder. And you gotta love Sprittle and Chim-Chim. They were pretty annoying at times, but they were worth a few laughs and kids really liked them. All of these characters really emphasized the family aspect of the movie, and made it more than just a display in special effects. And of course, you've got the original anime bad-ass in Racer X, who is just as cool, if not more so, than he was on the TV show.
Another thing that warrants some attention is the music. The score weaves in the classic soundtrack from the cartoon in both subtle and dramatic fashion over the course of the film. It was exceptionally well done and will fill fans with great memories of the TV series.
This is a movie that really goes all out in being what it is without trying to make sense of adapting the source material into typical Hollywood context. It's clearly set in it's own alternate reality where cars can look and move the way they do and it's not weird at all for the Racer family to name their son "Speed" and have a pet chimpanzee. It just got everything right without either taking itself too seriously or mocking the original show. You either get it or you don't. Speed Racer fans will love it. Speed Racer is much better as a Speed Racer movie than, say, a movie like Transformers is about Transformers. In my opinion, most of the negative press surrounding Speed Racer centers more around critics attempting to write witty headlines like "Speed Racer Crashes" or "Speed Racer Runs Out of Gas" than actually giving the film a chance. Those who do give it a chance will likely find a movie with a lot of heart, warm nostalgic feelings, amazing visuals, and most of all, tons of fun. I have a lot of pity for anyone who doesn't.
So, yeah, Speed Racer is a wild ride, and the rapid paced, crazy camera angles a did give me a headache. But it was the best headache I ever had. Watching this movie was an absolute blast.
Go see Speed Racer!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Speed Racer is here!
The wait is over! The first major Hollywood adaptation of a classic anime has now been released to North American theaters. Speed Racer is here, and with its release comes a wave of coverage and interest in all things anime, including Astro Boy and other series released in the 60's.
Here are a few articles that have been popping up around the Internet.
'60s Japanese cartoons led to anime, new 'Speed Racer' film - This article explores the origins of anime internationally and lists of a few of the more important and successful Japanese animated imports of the time.
SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / America in Speed's rear-view mirror - An interesting look at how Speed Racer was originally shaped by American culture.
Nostalgia for 'Racer' more than kid stuff - A really beautiful article about how Speed Racer was a deeper and more meaningful cartoon than others of its era.
Introducing anime - The filmmakers talk about their introduction to Speed Racer and anime.
Fast and furious - A fairly detailed article of what the movie is all about.
Speed Racer looks like no other movie that's ever been made. This could be the dawning of a brand new visual genre of film. Make sure you see it and judge for yourself. Expect a review on the movie right here very soon!
More Atoms Baseball
Check out this artwork of Astro Boy all decked out and ready to play ball!
Some more images and info from the Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team's recent appearance in their retro Atoms uniforms can be found on the their Official Webpage (Japanese only).
