Gundam the Origin's Yoshikazu Yasuhiko directed 1983 film, Dirty Pair's Toshifumi Takizawa directed 2-episode OVA series

At the joint press conference for its two trading card game franchises, Cardfight!! Vanguard and Future Card Buddyfight, held in Tokyo yesterday, Bushiroad appointed 29-year-old Japanese wrestler Kazuchika Okada as the official image character for Vanguard, and he costars with Hollywood actress Milla Jovovich in a new CM for the franchise. Okada belongs to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and the 44-year-old company became a subsidiary of Bushiroad in 2012. The CM will be start airing during the next 10th episode of the latest TV anime series Cardfight!! Vanguard G NEXT this Sunday.

  

Milla Jovovich and Kazuchika Okada

 

 

CM

 

 

Behind-the-scenes

 

 

Interview between Milla Jovovich and Bushiroad founder Takaaki Kidani (with English/Japanese subtitles)

 

 

Source: Bushiroad press release

 

©bushiroad All Rights Reserved.

 

Just after Donald Trump's announcement that he's making a pro forma gesture toward avoiding conflicts of interest by turning his businesses over to his children, the Office of Government Ethics sent out this bizarre series of tweets.

.@realDonaldTrump We can't repeat enough how good this total divestiture will be

— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016

.@realDonaldTrump Brilliant! Divestiture is good for you, very good for America!

— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016

.@realDonaldTrump OGE applauds the "total" divestiture decision. Bravo!

— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016

.@realDonalTrump As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts.

read more

Devout Christian married Louisiana state official Mike Yenni (R-naturally), admits that he had a sexting relationship with a 17 year old boy but swears he isn't gay. He is totally fine with being labeled a pervert and pedophile, though, because he doesn't deny that he engaged in the sexting.

Raw Story reports that that parish president (did I mention he was really religious and God-fearing?) admits that he exchanged "sexually charged text messages" and gave the boy a pair of sexy underwear as a "graduation present" but swears to God, Jesus, and any other religious deity you can list that he is NOT gay. Oh, and he also swears no sexual physical contact took place. Just dirty sexting. Words, pictures, gift exchanges. You know, no touching though. Because that would be wrong.

In trying to justify this totally non-homosexual relationship, Yenni says his relationship with the underage student at his alma mater, Jesuit High School, as a “lapse in judgment.” Sure, but totally not homosexual.

He also takes umbrage with the requests for his resignation. Yes, he sexted an underage person, but everyone does that, right?! And he is not a homosexual. So why is the GOP all up in arms? Cheating is ok. Being homosexual is not. And he is adamant that he is NOT a homosexual.

read more

Oh my God this is so hard. I can't believe how empty I feel how cold. I don't know how I'm going to even deal with Christmas.

Mom would have been 78 on the 19th.

No turkey this year, I am going for our default holiday meal- some Honeybaked (tm) ham, I'll use instant mashed potatoes because I don't want to deal with learning potato peeling right now, and some nice fresh baked crescent rolls. But I'm not hungry.

F**K I don't even want to move.

ETA: I don't mean to be a downer. I'm using this as some crude kind of therapy as well as communication. If nothing else this will live on if I were to suddenly die.

GEEZE I am become f*king Debby Downer. :/

Look,OK, learn from me. Take those close to you, family, friends, even pets and just love the fs'king hell out of them. Some of my last memories of my mom are the arguments we had, the things I had to deny her because of the money situation. Cigarettes, lottery scratchoffs, all the little things in my foolish attempt to get a handle on the money income/outflow situation... She said she understood but there was some heat, some resentment because our family, we are a stubborn people. I tried to do everything I could and it wasn't enough. I dropped the ball. I must have. I didn't do enough or I didn't do it right. Obviously my mind swirls with "what-if". Mind, from the sound of things... never mind. there I go again.

Love them. Love your parents, your spouses, your loved ones. Love them like they would be gone tomorrow. Even if you have problems, conflicts, disagreements. Even if they won't love you, you love them. Because when they're gone you will FOREVER cry over the things not said.

I'm making this one public.

Film planned to screen in 14 foreign countries

Patlabor the Mobile Police producer Taro Maki announced on Facebook on Wednesday that "a new Patlabor the Mobile Police project is starting." He joked...

We're not done awakening the trailblazers yet as planned, so for this special extra large THANKSGIVING DAY episode, Gerald's put together another exciting trivia episode to expose how little Daryl and Clarissa know, even when the topics pertain to things previously reviewed on this very show! Plus, we're joined by Dawn from the Anime Nostalgia Podcast, who agreed to show up mere hours before the start of recording and mere minutes after waking up. Visit www.animeworldorder.com for full show notes and supplemental links.

After presenting it for limited theatrical screenings last month, the Japan Animator Expo showcase of shorts from Dwango and Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara is now streaming Mobile Police Patlabor - Reboot on its site. The mecha anime is being presented with available English subtitles through February 28, 2017.

 

See it at http://animatorexpo.com/patlabor-reboot/

 

Rebuild of Evangelion's Studio Khara produced this Reboot of Headgear's (Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itō, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yūki) realistic police mecha series Patlabor.

 

Director, storyboards, photography, editing: Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Time of Eve, Patema Inverted)
Script: Kazunori Itō (Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor movies), Yasuhiro Yoshiura
Animation character design & director: Naoyuki Asano (Space Dandy, Samurai Champloo, Michiko & Hatchin)
Mechanical designer: Yutaka Izubuchi (Patlabor, multiple Gundam)
CGI Animation Director: Yusuke Matsui 
CGI Director: Manabu Kobayashi
Color Design: Terumi Nakauichi
Art Director: Yūji Kaneko
Music: Kenji Kawai
Sound Production Yō Yamada (Sound Team Don Juan) 
Animation Production: Khara

 

As with other Animator Expo shorts, cast includes 

• Koichi Yamadera
• Megumi Hayashibara

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

If you're wanting to expand your Satoshi Kon horizons past Paprika and Paranoia Agent, it just got easier. One of his most loved films, Millennium Actress, just became available this month on Tubi TV.

 

 

Launched in 2014 by Adrise, Tubi TV touts itself as a Netflix alternative, foregoing subscription fees in favor of ad revenue. Millennium Actress is one of the more recent additions to their anime library.

 

Millennium Actress was released in 2001, and follows the story of a pair of filmmakers interviewing a legendary actress about her life's work. The film, based loosely on the lives of two real Japanese actresses, blurs the lines between reality and fantasy in traditional Satoshi Kon style. 

 

The film can be found in Tubi TV's anime library.

 

Source: @ChibiUFO

 

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Kara Dennison is responsible for multiple webcomics, runs social media and interviews for (Re)Generation Who, and is half the creative team behind the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. She blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.

Choboraunyopomi's original 4-panel manga follows girls' misadventures in manga club

Sunrise's Gundam.Info YouTube channel has rotated several follow-up entries from the franchise back onto online streaming this month. Back viewable on Youtube this November are 1997 OVA Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and 2004 TV anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. The former is available in both subbed and dubbed formats, while the latter is subbed-only. 

 

 

 

Elsewhere, Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment has announced more release plans

Still liking it. Still mystified about Daryl Surat not talking about it. Animation is a little rocky at times. Not Berserk 2016 rocky, but just that little bit 'off' that makes one think they needed some extra time in the animation process.

I hope the show is doing well. We need more anime like this, just good old fashioned manly melodrama filled with justice and guts and all that stuff.

Seven Seas has announced the license of Nozomu Tamaki's sexy superhero manga series, Don’t Meddle With My Daughter. The series will be released as three single volumes. Each volume will contain at least one full-color illustration and be delivered shrink-wrapped for mature audiences. Volume 1 will be released on August 29, 2017 for $12.99 USA / $14.99 CAN.

 

Seven Seas describes the series

Nozomu Tamaki is best known as the creator of the New York Times' best selling series, Dance in the Vampire Bund. Putting aside fangs for capes, Don't Meddle With My Daughter follows a mother-daughter superhero duo in this titillating superhero adventure that readers won’t want to miss.

Meet “The Eighth Wonder”—a mother-daughter team of superheroes! Athena Haruka, the original Eighth Wonder, disappeared twenty years ago after a battle with the villainous organization, Blowjob. Now, Eighth Wonder has reappeared—but it’s Athena’s daughter, Clara, recruited to fill her mother’s superhero shoes. When her daughter makes her debut as a superhero, Athena must leave the comforts of retirement, don her costume once again, and return to fighting crime so she can keep her daughter safe. But are the combined skills of these two super-powered women enough to combat what the world has in store for them?

 

 

 

 

------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

It's a podcast. It's a special podcast. It's got super discussions about Code Geass, Berserk Season 2, Anime Weekend Atlanta 2016, and Gerald's review of a Most Dangerous film from 1986, Ai City. Visit www.animeworldorder.com for full show notes and supplemental links.

If you're familiar with Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock or Galaxy Express 999, you're likely familiar with Emeraldas, the lady cosmo-pirate with the giant space blimp who's prone to surprise appearances whenever plots need advancing or machine planets need blowing up. Here in Kodansha's Queen Emeraldas Vol. 1, space-fantasy manga fans here in the West are finally able to enjoy her solo

Following up on part one, here’s (Dark Horse Comics Manga editor) Carl Horn’s follow-up to yesterday’s discussion. For context, my comments on the films (debatable) connection to Mamoru Oshii are reproduced below in italics.

PATRICK

Shin Godzilla’s plot device of the missing scientist “Goro Maki” leaving clues from beyond the grave reminds me of other off-stage, disembodied characters that periodically appear in anime, like the various puppet masters in the Ghost in the Shell series or the ghostly terrorists in the Patlabor films. They make me think of absentee fathers or distant trickster gods that cannot be understood or defeated by conventional means (in Hollywood movies, these types usually get punched out by the hero at the end of act three). Where does this archetype come from?

The Last Testament of Goro Maki in Shin Godzilla

I’m not saying that anyone is ripping anyone off here, but are enough of these offstage types manipulating plots throughout otaku culture to make me feel like there is an unnamed genre now, and that Mamoru Oshii has been their prime mover (although Shinji's dad in Eva is so remote that he nearly qualifies as "permanently absent" in my book).

Speaking of Patlabor, the 3^rd movie, WXII (not by Oshii) was also very much a revisionist monster on the loose film that might have some parallels to Shin Godzilla...

A difference is that Oshii was bringing politik to what was ostensibly a children’s medium (similar to what Frank Miller and Alan Moore were doing with the graphic novel around the same time) that was already acquainted with sex, death, and war... whereas Godzilla films have openly dealt with the atomic age and military-industrial concerns since the beginning in 1954, only to become kid’s entertainment as they evolved.

CARL GUSTAV HORN

Shin Godzilla Does Tokyo

I realize this is the eternal question in kaiju movies, but I missed something on the first screening that might be connected to your point about Goro Maki--namely, does anyone in the film come up with a theory as to why Godzilla came to Tokyo? Tokyo in particular, since, as gets pointed out in the story, Japan is a big island to defend. Of course, for the sake of tradition (and the audience relating), it has to be Tokyo, but what I mean is, does anyone in Shin Godzilla formulate a rationale for it in the best otaku tradition, the way they speculate on other aspects of the creature? 

I say Godzilla "came to" Tokyo, because it's not evident that Godzilla is attacking Tokyo per se, any more than you're attacking any bugs you might happen to be walking upon. Where exactly was Godzilla headed when the SDF first tried to bring him down? Is he being lured there in some fashion, perhaps according to a scheme set in motion by (missing scientist) Goro Maki? Maybe the abandoned yacht in the bay was the lure--but then why leave the bay and start heading upriver?

In an ironic reflection of the SDF's role, it also wasn't clear to me that Godzilla ever unleashes his weapons to "destroy Tokyo," only to defend himself. In fact, it's not even clear his gouts of flame and laser beams are "weapons." A lot of what happens seems like a response to injury. It's almost like, if you drop a bomb on a nuclear reactor and it starts spewing out superheated steam and radiation, do you then say the reactor is "attacking" you? This raises another irony--maybe there would have been less destruction if the SDF had not resisted and just let Godzilla go wherever it was going in the first place, although if true that's only hindsight--it's not like you could tell any government "just let it stomp--if you provoke it, it will become more dangerous," even if that is actually true. 

Fishing for monsters in Patlabor WXIII

You make a good comparison of Shin Godzilla to the third Patlabor movie (WXIII), and I also remember your comment when WXIII came out on how well the film depicted the real, workaday Tokyo (rather than the romantic one of neon and giant screens), just as Shin Godzilla does. Unlike the first two Patlabor films, Oshii did not direct WXIII, of course, but it's worthwhile to compare backgrounds at this point. Oshii and Anno are only nine years apart in age--but when you fit them into post-war Japan, those nine years may be critical in shaping their political perspectives. 

Oshii was of the last generation of Japanese youth to be associated with political activism and even radicalism. He was an eight year-old in Tokyo during the massive ANPO protests of 1960--when he was 20, the Red Army was in full effect; he talks about the atmosphere of those days with Naoki Yamamoto in his recent manga series, Red. When Anno was 20, he was making Ultraman films for class credit. Things in the game done changed. Otaku would one day be linked with the AUM cult, but I submit that kind of homegrown apocalyptic cult (Galapagos terror, if you will) was not connected to the networks of radical world politics the way the Red Army was. 

Coup by kaiju in Shin Godzilla
Shin Godzilla is both more and less a depiction of radical politics in Japan than Oshii's Patlabor 2--and by radical, I mean the use of open violence to achieve political change. Less, because Patlabor 2's antagonist seeks to provoke change by using attacks against roads, communications, and materiel to create every appearance of a coup but the coup itself--i.e., his targets are not the physical persons of Japan's leadership. But more, because Shin Godzilla's narrative actually goes that far. Not to be overlooked in Anno's equation is the script's decapitating strike that kills Japan's senior leadership, leaving a clearer path for the younger people to execute their plan. You couldn't call it a "coup," for the same reason you couldn't call what Godzilla does an "attack." Nevertheless, it has the practical effect of a coup, and perhaps Mr. Abe, whose cabinet members average age 60, should take a closer look at what the film might be saying.

Dark Horse Manga Editor and anime brain bug Carl Gustav Horn saw Shin Godzilla last night and we’ve been emailing each other all day back and forth about it. Here’s some highlights from our correspondence.

Carl wrote a shorter piece about the links between Shin Godzilla and Neon Genesis Evangelion for the Dark Horse blog before seeing the film. Read here.

CARL GUSTAV HORN

I say that my most selfish desire as an otaku is for the artists I like to challenge themselves and grow. Shin Godzilla has indulged that selfishness. An admirable, thrilling, sobering work first of all for a fan of Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, even before one considers it as a Godzilla film or kaiju film. They thrust forward all their knowledge, all their enthusiasm, all their affection as otaku into making this, yet with a sharpened edge of discipline, perspective and judgment as filmmakers. Despite the captions and jargon, the narrative is rapid, assured, without a sense of bloat or contrivance. There are few false notes in it. 

Before the screening was a run of trailers for Hollywood CG-fests made for the American and Chinese markets; more false than their effects was any sense of risk or consequences. Exciting as it often is, Shin Godzilla is nobody's thrill ride of the summer. It's a real film, and in watching you feel the stakes for a real people and a real nation. The best part? Anno and Higuchi's vision paid off, connecting with the Japanese public and box office. Some might say this movie is appealing to nationalism, but I dare say the most patriotic thing of all about the film is that it holds its nation's audiences in higher regard than Japanese studios usually do. 

PATRICK MACIAS

A lot of press is being written about how the film is thinly disguised right-wing “strong Japan” propaganda, especially with regards to how the Self Defense Forces are portrayed in the film. But... the army gets their asses kicked by Godzilla and fails to achieve much of anything on their own.  It’s really the private sector (industry and a bunch of misfit outsiders) who save the day at the end, and the framing enforces this by having the army guys stand in the back during the final operation, reduced to a supporting role.

Still, the SDF hook is too irresistible to not play out in the media, especially when Abe’s quotes like “I think that [Godzilla’s] popularity is rooted in the unwavering support that the public has for the Self-Defense Forces” are being printed in the Washington Post. Some US-writers are now wrongly assuming that Anno-Higuchi are in favor of this illusion, too...

Funny, since using a monster movie where the army loses as a recruitment tool is, as my friend Yoshiki Takahashi puts it, “like using The Matrix to try and recruit security guards.”

CARL

I think if critics were to think twice about it (and they should, if they're going to bring a political analysis) the film lends no support to Abe's big policy push: amending Article 9 so the SDF can use force abroad (as opposed to the non-combatant support they've done in Iraq, Cambodia, etc.). An example the LDP gives is sending ships of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to support the U.S. Navy in Korea in the event of a crisis there. 

A metaphor for that might have been if Anno and Higuchi had written the script so that Godzilla is first discovered on a distant Pacific island; experts believe the creature will soon head for Japan--should Japan send the SDF to do a pre-emptive strike on the island? This, of course, resembles how America would view the situation, and if I recall, the film cites a 17% chance Godzilla will strike the U.S. West Coast as part of the justification to nuke it beforehand.

But Shin Godzilla is written so the SDF doesn't come into play until Godzilla is literally inside the 23 wards--nobody could say their role in the movie is anything but domestic self-defense. It's even more circumspect than the original 1954 film, where the monster originally appears in the outer islands (albeit Japanese territory) and the government in fact dispatches naval ships to try and kill it with depth charges; only after that does Godzilla strike Tokyo itself. 

This brings up an interesting question, which you'd know better than I--what did the Japanese Left, which was much more militant in the 1950s, think about the original films? Did they have any opinion? In other words, is this not a new controversy? I'm reminded of that book you introduced me to, Licence to Thrill, which covered the history of 007 as seen by the British press, including some of their political perspectives.

There's at least four political frameworks that are addressed in Shin Godzilla:domestic Japanese decision-making, the presentation and role of the SDF as a discrete institution, the U.S.-Japan relationship, and the relationship of Japan to the UN Security Council. This last framework is written as critical to the script, and in my view shows Shin Godzilla to have more to say about Japan's place in the world than just "we're America's Neil Connery." 

PATRICK

Shin Godzilla’s plot device of the missing scientist “Goro Maki” leaving clues from beyond the grave reminds me of other off-stage, disembodied characters that periodically appear in anime, like the various puppet masters in the Ghost in the Shell series or the ghostly terrorists in the Patlabor films. They make me think of absentee fathers or distant trickster gods that cannot be understood or defeated by conventional means (in Hollywood movies, these types usually get punched out by the hero at the end of act three). Where does this archetype come from?

I’m not saying that anyone is ripping anyone off here, but are enough of these offstage types manipulating plots throughout otaku culture to make me feel like there is an unnamed genre now, and that Mamoru Oshii has been their prime mover (although Shinji's dad in Eva is so remote that he nearly qualifies as "permanently absent" in my book).

Speaking of Patlabor, the 3^rd movie, WXII (not by Oshii) was also very much a revisionist monster on the loose film that might have some parallels to Shin Godzilla...

A difference is that Oshii was bringing politik to what was ostensibly a children’s medium (similar to what Frank Miller and Alan Moore were doing with the graphic novel around the same time) that was already acquainted with sex, death, and war... whereas Godzilla films have openly dealt with the atomic age and military-industrial concerns since the beginning in 1954, only to become kid’s entertainment as they evolved.

I watched 1964’s Mothra Vs. Godzilla a few days ago, and there’s an entire sequence showing the US military trying to stop Godzilla on their own Uncle Sam's “Frontier Missile” technology…and failing… that was filmed for the foreign market and not to be shown in Japanese prints. I wonder what would happen if this sort of thing was released today. Oh wait, it just was sorta...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Related: PODCAST: SHIN GODZILLA review with Patrick Macias and Matt Alt 

Hobby Japan has posted a preview of their two-episode Bikini Warriors OVA, a sequel to its 12-episode TV series aired from July to September 2015. Coming December 7th, the 32-minute disc also includes the "Hyper Sexy" edition of six selected episodes from the TV series. All of the main staff and voice cast return for the OVA episodes with previously featured Hunter  (CV: Manami Numakura) - designed by Rei Hiroe, and Valkyrie (Shizuka Ito) - designed by Tony joined by the new Cleric, designed by Takamura Kazuhiro - voiced by Aimi Tanaka (Umaru Doma in Himouto! Umaru-chan) and Kunoichi, designed by Yasuda Suzuhito - voiced by Yumi Hara (Takane Shijo in The Idolm@ster). 

The Hobby Japan and Megahouse multi-media franchise previously spawned a summer 2015 anime. Naoyuki Kuzuya (Saiyuki Gaiden) helmed that feel. (Outbreak Company) x PRA production with Tsuyoshi Tamai (Strike Witches) writing screenplay and composition and Kosuke Murayama (Outbreak Company) as character designer and animation director.

 

 

 

 

ビキニ・ウォリアーズOVAプロモビデオ公開！　本作の破壊力の一端をお楽しみください！ https://t.co/5V2PHzzDgh #ビキニウォリアーズ pic.twitter.com/Q1E8wwfiCV

— アニメ『ビキニ・ウォリアーズ』公式 (@bikiniwarriors) October 13, 2016

「ビキニ・ウォリアーズOVA」予約受付開始！　こちらからどうぞ→[Blu-Ray]　https://t.co/FnPmB4LQyx …、[DVD] https://t.co/UhPQuBFstP … #ビキニウォリアーズ pic.twitter.com/C6PVv78tV7

— アニメ『ビキニ・ウォリアーズ』公式 (@bikiniwarriors) August 31, 2016

「ビキニ・ウォリアーズOVA」キャラクターページ更新！　新キャストも決定。クレリックは田中あいみさん、クノイチは原由実さんです！ https://t.co/5V2PHzzDgh #ビキニウォリアーズ pic.twitter.com/M9o6DBsvMs

— アニメ『ビキニ・ウォリアーズ』公式 (@bikiniwarriors) August 25, 2016

 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

Who’s been watching Thunderbolt Fantasy, the Taiwanese puppet show written by the Japanese writer Gen Urobuchi and streamed around the world on Crunchyroll? Never a day goes past when I don’t marvel at the wonders of modern globalization, but even so, I never expected the day would come when an Australian like me would be watching a Taiwanese puppet show dubbed in Japanese with English subtitles on a North American website. But hey, I’m not complaining!

 

 

Not only is Thunderbolt Fantasy an entertaining show in its own right, it’s the very epitome of something that is “found in translation.” The close collaboration between Taiwanese and Japanese creators has transformed budaixi (or hoteigeki, in Japanese) puppetry in new and exciting directions. Pili International Multimedia has always specialized in a very distinctive form of budaixi that reinterprets the traditional art form for the new age, but this might be their most ambitious project yet.

 

That said, I don’t want to run the risk of hyperbole here. I’ve found little indication so far that Taiwanese budaixi has become a global phenomenon the way Japanese anime did. In fact, Thunderbolt Fantasy has found its biggest success among viewers in Taiwan and mainland China, who are already familiar with the wuxia (heroic martial arts fantasy) genre. For many overseas viewers, Thunderbolt Fantasy might seem more like an interesting novelty rather than a gateway into a genre rich with references to Taiwan’s cultural history.

 

In today’s Found in Translation column, I’ll explore the history and context behind budaixi and ask how Thunderbolt Fantasy fits into the tradition. In what ways is it typical of its genre? In what ways is it different? And why does Thunderbolt Fantasy have the potential to appeal to non-Taiwanese audiences in a way that most budaixi doesn’t?

 

A Brief History of Taiwanese Puppet Theater

 

Throughout its entire history, Taiwanese budaixi (布袋戲, literally “cloth bag theater”) has been influenced by external forces. According to legend, it originated in the Fujian Province during the late Ming Dynasty and came to Taiwan sometime in the early 19th century. Unsurprisingly, the plots of budaixi are often borrowed from classic Chinese fiction, particularly the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West.  

 

Historically, Taiwanese budaixi was performed live as popular entertainment at temple festivals, but after the first Taiwanese television station was established in 1962, budaixi began to hit the airwaves instead. However, it didn’t really take off with a television-watching audience until 1970, when Huang Junxiong produced his first television series, called Yunzhou Da Ru Xia-Shi Yanwen.

 

Not only did Huang’s serial achieve a whopping 97 percent television rating, his troupe was the precursor of the company that would later create Thunderbolt Fantasy. Huang Junxiong, who had inherited his skills from the famous puppeteer Huang Haidai, would hand over the troupe to his own sons in 1994, who in turned established the Pili International Multimedia company. Since then, the company has remained firmly in the hands of the family even while it innovates constantly in order to attract newer, younger audiences. Thunderbolt Fantasy is merely the latest offering from a company that has spent years perfecting its craft.

 

 

Why Hasn’t Budaixi Caught On With English-Speaking Audiences?

 

Much like Japanese anime, Taiwanese budaixi is often described as a unique cultural product that blends many familiar influences, yet it has failed to catch on with English-speaking audiences. That’s not for lack of trying, however. Thunderbolt Fantasy isn’t the first time Pili has tried to bring its work to an English-speaking audience. In 2000, they released their first feature-length movie, called Legend of the Sacred Stone. The film found a niche audience among English speakers but otherwise remains obscure.

 

Then there’s the ill-fated Wulin Warriors, which aired in the US on Cartoon Network in 2006. It ran for a grand total of two episodes before it was brutally canceled, due to a combination of low ratings and an English dub that was so abysmal it apparently drew complaints from the audience. It was the kind of dub that completely changed the characters’ personalities in an effort to remove any hint of “Tawainese-ness” from the material, but not only was the dub itself terrible, there was no way it could remove the foreign flavor from the puppets themselves.

 

As you might be able to guess from the above paragraph, there are some aspects of budaixi that make it relatively inaccessible compared to something like anime. While anime stories cover just about every genre you can think of, budaixi stories are mainly restricted to the wuxia genre—which is a niche genre in itself. For those who haven’t heard of it, wuxia is genre of Chinese fiction that usually focuses on a knight-errant character who is really skilled at martial arts. Wuxia stories are usually set in a fantasy version of Imperial China and draw from folklore tales, which makes it harder for those unfamiliar with Chinese history to appreciate them.

 

On top of that, the puppetry itself might be an acquired taste. The digital animation and special effects in Pili’s serials serve to emphasize how “unreal” the puppets are. The effect is completely intended on the part of the creators, and is part of what makes their shows so unique. But that doesn’t mean that everyone will appreciate it from that angle.

 

What About Thunderbolt Fantasy?

 

 

On the surface, Thunderbolt Fantasy is a typical example of a budaixi story. The tale follows a wandering swordsman and a mysterious pipe-smoking man as they protect a girl from an evil, power-mongering clan. The plot is pretty simple and mostly functions in service of some cool action set pieces, which are brought to life with all the flashy special effects that are so characteristic of Pili productions.

 

In some ways, it’s too typical. One of the most appealing aspects of Pili serials for Taiwanese audiences is that they incorporate elements of social commentary; despite being set in Fantasy China, they say a lot about the issues and concerns of contemporary Taiwan. Pili serials often draw upon familiar wuxia tropes and then subvert them, which can be interpreted as an allegory for Taiwan’s relationship with its pre-colonial past and the changing world around it. It’s hard to write a truly satisfying Pili story without deep knowledge of the wuxia genre and how it has been used for social commentary in Taiwan.

 

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Thunderbolt Fantasy was conceived with a Japanese audience in mind, and some of its changes reflect an attempt to make it more accessible to a non-Taiwanese audience. The episode lengths are shorter, each character has a different voice actor, and the character designs are more “anime-like” than usual. The end product is like some sort of budaixi-anime crossbreed, appealing to both Taiwanese and Japanese tastes.

 

 

 

And what about Westerners? Well, the jury’s still out on that one. Nick Creamer recently wrote a recommendation for Thunderbolt Fantasy, describing it as “more anime than anime.” One of the main points of appeal for him was the campy charm. Thunderbolt Fantasy is certainly a fun show with a witty script, but I do wonder if there is something lost in translation here. While I’m glad that it has its overseas fans, the budaixi form has the potential to become much more than an entertaining oddity.

 

Still, it’s impossible to deny that Thunderbolt Fantasy has reached a wider international audience through Crunchyroll than previous Pili serials have. Arguably, the most important factor for attracting international audiences in the first place was the Gen Urobuchi brand, so we have a lot to thank Mr. Urobuchi for. If you want to get into the fascinating world of budaixi, Thunderbolt Fantasy isn’t a bad place to start!

 

In the end, while I doubt that Taiwanese budaixi will become as popular worldwide as anime or K-pop, the success of Thunderbolt Fantasy certainly did not come out of nowhere. Pili International Multimedia has been carving out a respectable niche for itself in East Asia for years. The fact that a second season has already been greenlit is great news. For now, let’s cross our fingers and hope that more budaixi finds its way overseas.

 

If you watched Thunderbolt Fantasy, what did you think of it? Was it your first exposure to budaixi? Has it made you more interested in checking out other works of its kind? Share your thoughts in the comments!

 

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Frog-kun is a freelance writer and translator. He writes about anime, light novels, and Japanese culture on his blog Fantastic Memes. You can also follow him on Twitter at @frog_kun.

Another reboot coming up for the fall season is Time Bokan 24, which breathes new life into Tatsunoko Production's classic 70s series with some help from Level-5 (Professor Layton, Yo-Kai Watch). Crunchyroll announced plans to stream the series, with the first episode set to debut on October 1 at 4:00am Pacific Time (Saturday).

 

Time Bokan 24 will be available to Crunchyroll members in USA, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Central and South America including the Caribbean.

 

Synopsis:

The history in our textbooks are all wrong?! In the 24th century, humankind accomplished the invention of a time machine, “Time Bokan”. As they discover the truth about history, they realize that the history written in their textbooks are all wrong! To correct their knowledge of history, the government developed an organization called JKK (Space-time Administrative Bureau). Our hero Tokio is recruited by Karen, a girl from the future to join the JKK. Together they travel through time to discover the true history, along with fighting the “Akudarma” a villainous group whose goal is to prevent the discovery of the truth!

 

Promo:

 

The line-up for Time Bokan 24 includes:

 

 

Akihiro Wakayama as Tokio.

 

 

Akari Kitou as Calen.

 

 

Eri Kitamura as Bimajo.

 

 

Hiroaki Hirata as Tsubuyakky.

 

 

And Kenta Miyake as Suzukky.

 

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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS, every week at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

Wrestling anime premieres on Saturday

Now that anime viewers have seen Yoshikage Kira in action, Bandai has decided that it's a good time to offer JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable fans a chance to emulate that snazzy dresser. You can now live your quiet life and go about your business with a Deadly Queen motif silk tie or Italian leather wallet with a selection from Bandai Premium. 

 

Pre-orders open today, and you'll be able to get your hands on the luxury goods in December.

 

 

#ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 吉良吉影のドクロ柄ネクタイが登場！その他、ネクタイ＆靴下のセットや財布など普段使いアイテムを発売ィッ!!! https://t.co/dWUGzslmwk #jojo_anime pic.twitter.com/G7aRXugXKn

— バンダイファッションネット (@BANDAIFN) September 26, 2016

 

Socks and ties set - 7,560 yen

 

 

100% silk ties, available in five colors and suitable for weddings, work, work or everday use -  9,720yen

 

 

bowtie - 4,104yen

leather belt - 15,120yen

 

wallet - 19440yen

 

leather book cover 6912yen

 

leather purse - 21,600 yen

leather key holder - 8,100 yen 

Transit pass case - 6,912 yen 

leather business card holder -  6,912 yen 

Leather bill-fold - 19,440 yen 

Leather coin holder - 6,264 yen 

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

SOME PRODUCT! The new R1 Message From Space Blu-ray comes out next week (9/27) from Shout! Factory Exclusives. Limited to 1000 copies. I co-wrote the liner notes with August Ragone and I personally scanned pretty much everything in my voluminous Message From Space archives for the photo gallery. Essentially, this is an HD port of the previous Shout! Factory DVD, but it’s nice to have on Blu-ray, especially as no R2 counterpart exists in Japan. Plus, that Engligh dub tho. Order via Shout! Factory’s website.