February is the month of l’amour. And since OTAQUEST is all about feeling lovey dovey over your favorite people, fictional or not, we will be bringing you lots of articles this month that will make your heart go a bit doki-doki. Keep an eye on our social media and front page, but you can start with our brief explanation of how Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Japan. You can find a link to the article right after your weekly news.
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I am Ura, your constantly-in-love tour guide in this amazing journey into Japanese pop, geek, and sub culture.
Thank you for joining us.
1
Shoot for the moon; at least you’ll land among the stars.
It was one of the Girls’ Last Tour main characters Yuuri’s biggest dreams to go to the moon, but she never managed to make it come true. One fanartist is changing all that.
suzsentoo, an artist clearly influenced by the series’ original sketchy art style, has submitted one of their illustrations to Reddit user u/Valphon, who is sending two SD cards to the moon as part of Astrobotic’s ‘Moonbox’ project. 10MB of data on each are being allocated on the r/space subreddit on a first come, first serve basis. As a result, Chito and Yuuri’s dream will come true… in a way.
When asked by OTAQUEST author Jacob Parker-Dalton which illustration they were sending, suzsentoo replied with one depicting the series’ main characters in rather fashionable outfits, as they ‘drew it in a way where it seems like theyre going on a new journey [sic].’ While Chito and Yuuri will only remain on the moon in the form of digital data, this is perhaps the only way we can grant these fictional characters’ their most ardent wish.
And that’s beautiful, honestly.
2
New financial horizons.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has surpassed Pokémon Red and Green to become the best-selling Japanese game of all time, alongside the Switch surpassing the 3DS.
Nintendo recently updated some of the sales figures for their biggest franchises, including Animal Crossing, showing that 31.18 million copies of New Horizons had been sold worldwide since launch. 9.19 million of those were made in Japan, making it now the country’s best-selling game.
What’s more, an investor report for Q4 2020 revealed that the lifetime sales for the Nintendo Switch had surpassed those of the 3DS, Nintendo’s previous best-selling console. This makes it clear that handheld gaming will be a continued priority for the company going forward, as well as spelling rosy financial futures for the Kyoto-based company in an era where many businesses are faced with economic uncertainty.
That’s the power of video games, folks.
3
An adaptation out of time.
The Black Clover anime is coming to an end next month after three and a half years and 170 episodes, but it was always an adaptation out of time.
As Jacob says, ‘Arguably ever since Studio BONES started adapting My Hero Academia on a seasonal basis, the old model of decades-long series that [Studio] Pierrot is known for fell out of fashion. The record-breaking success of both Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Jujutsu Kaisen also then proved that you don’t need to last for decades to have a lasting impact.’
Taken alongside the fact that the anime is dangerously close to overtaking the manga, this is probably the reason why the seemingly popular series is coming to an end. Still, there will be an ‘important announcement’ on the day that it does, which will probably be a movie.
There’s more content to come yet!
4
Pirates go shoujo.
As part of the One Piece 1000 chapters celebration campaign, Eiichiro Oda’s iconic characters have made their way into the legendary shoujo magazine Ribon. And they look pretty good.
Not only has Oda himself contributed an illustration depicting Luffy, Zoro et al. in female form, such established artists as Mayu Maruta (Honey Lemon Soda) are getting in on the fun. The result is a One Piece we’ve never seen before, albeit one from a parallel universe where it was targeted at girls and not young boys.
‘...even if you haven’t heard of the formally titled Ribon Mascot Comics, you probably know Ribon Magazine, provided you’ve ever read a shojo manga once in your whole life,’ writes Chris Cimi. ‘Thanks to their shojo reimagining of anime’s most famous pirates, One Piece now becomes ‘nakama’ with girls comics classics including Full Moon Wo Sagashite, the original Whisper of The Heart manga, and our recommended Kodocha.’ Quite.
5
Goodbye, Nagoshi-san.
Yakuza and Monkey Ball creator Toshihiro Nagoshi is stepping down from the SEGA Board of Directors this April, although he’ll be sticking around as a creator for a while yet.
Nagoshi’s move away from his current role as Chief Creative Officer is apparently part of a general shake-up over at SEGA, as the amusement part of the company (including pachinko, collaboration cafés, etc.) is separated from the video game production side. Nagoshi will continue on as a creative director, including leading the Yakuza-producing Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios.
As James Fujita writes, ‘He has been with SEGA in various capacities since 1989. During that time, he has been involved with a wide range of SEGA games, from Daytona USA to Super Monkey Ball. He has held many titles: chief designer, game director, producer, supervisor, design director, general director, executive director, etc.’ So, this latest role change is arguably just another feather in his cap.
6
I’ll come to love Nogizaka46.
Sumito Oowara and idol group Nogizaka46’s partnership continues unabated, with the Eizouken creator recently being recruited to animate one of their latest music videos.
It’s titled ‘Boku wa Boku wo Suki ni Naru’ (I’ll Come to Love Myself) and is a pretty standard idol song, but what stands out is Oowara’s attention to detail and eye for dynamic movement. This is apparently the first time he’s worked on a music video, but it came out surprisingly well.
Tweeting about the production of the video, Oowara said ‘I struggled at first trying to put together the storyboards. But then I loaded up Abode Premier and tried to draw some alongside the music; that ended up going really well.’ As Jacob says, ‘It’ll be interesting to see to what extent Sumito Oowara and Nogizaka46’s collaborative relationship continues to develop in the future.’
7
A Cruel Ex’s Thesis.
Neko Oikawa, the lyricist behind Neon Genesis Evangelion’s iconic OP, recently revealed that most of the royalties she earned from the song went to an ex-boyfriend!
Appearing on the variety TV program Geki-rare, Oikawa said that she ‘fell in love with a man from Turkey who was 18 years her junior.’ When they finally got married, Oikawa paid for most of her husband's expenses and projects, and by the time she asked for a divorce, ‘he'd spent her money on a Porsche, watches for his lady friends, and seven houses for himself.’ (Daryl Harding via Crunchyroll News)
As a result, she’s hardly seen any money from her work on arguably anime’s most important opening sequence. It’s sad that she never got to enjoy her just reward, but her legacy does live on through her lyrics and Yoko Takahashi’s music.
8
No Rebuilds? No problem!
Although Evangelion 3.0+1.0 has been delayed indefinitely, a new Rebuild of Evangelion exhibition should help to tide fans over in the meantime.
Set to kick off in Akihabara this March, it will showcase over 300 pieces of production materials from across the entire franchise, meaning both the original TV series and films. These include genga (key animation) boards, initial production sketches, and completed color art.
Perhaps more exciting, however, is the possibility that a new release date could be announced when this exhibition comes to an end on 9 May. Certainly, this would make a lot of sense in terms of timing, but we may also be going crazy from a lack of Evangelion updates. 3.0+1.0 when???
Alicia Haddick is more composed, reminding readers that ‘While no new date has been announced for 3.0+1.0 at this time, the news of an exhibition of artwork from the film franchise... should tide fans over in the meantime.’ Sure thing.
9
Escaping into Polaroids.
Visually distinctive film and TV director Mika Ninagawa has launched a new exhibition in Tokyo for a limited time, showcasing her street photography shot on Polaroid film.
This isn’t the first time that Ninagawa has shown her work in Polaroid, but this exhibition is a little bit more focused. As Alicia writes, ‘the focus is far heavier on Polaroid and more centered on the idea of “escape” as opposed to heightened reality. This can be seen in some of the promotional images, where imagery of everyday life such as toilets are mixed with photography of ferrets, paintings and shop windows.’
Instant Polaroid film has been chosen to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, as well as ‘togetherness, community and amateur photography.’ The collection aims to retain a street photography style. Many of the pieces can be seen via the official website, where there is also a book for sale bundled alongside special Danish pastries. Seriously!
10
Super Mario Melon Pan.
Everyone’s favorite plumber Mario may have technically had his 35th anniversary back in 2020, but 7-ELEVEN clearly hasn’t gotten the memo.
The giant nationwide convenience store has updated their selection of Mario-themed foodstuffs as part of their ongoing collaboration with Nintendo, including six new items: the Mario Mixed Roll, Yoshi’s Green Melon Bread, Bowser’s Fire Breath Super Karaage Roll, as well as Princess Peach’s Dolche and Shine Star’s Milk Agar for those with a sweet tooth.
Most of those items are fairly self explanatory, except for the ‘Mario Mixed Roll,’ which apparently contains ‘a croquette, some egg salad, and some spaghetti.’ Um, I definitely agree with Corey Prasek when he says ‘save for the Mario Mixed Roll... everything should be exceptionally tasty.’ Ew.
Valentine’s Day
A Guide to Valentine’s Day and White Day in Japan: Obligatory Chocolate and Other Traditions of Love
Video Corner
The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train Movie Was The Most Successful Animated Film in 2020
See you next week!
The OTAQUEST team.
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