From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Upcoming Presentation: Anime and Japan’s Popular Culture

Austin Otaku

by Austin Otaku on September 29, 2009

I’ve recently been honored by the Japan-America Society of Greater Austin, who have asked me to do a presentation at their October Japanese Culture Salon on the subject of “Anime and Japanese Popular Culture.” So, if you’re in Austin and interested in catching my slide show and presentation, I’ve included the details below.

Since the Austin community learned that I would be doing this presentation, I’ve been asked several times, “What will you be presenting on that you can do in such a short time (45 minutes)?” And I have to admit that it has been a daunting task to whittle down anime and Japanese popular culture into a short presentation. It’s something akin to being told to do a short presentation on Western Literature or Psychology, which are subjects that can take entire semesters in college to discuss at the very least.

All I can say is, show up. I’m hoping you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

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Event Details

Keith Goode

Keith Goode

Date: Monday, October 5th, 2009
Time:
7:00pm CST
Location:
Casa de Luz, Cielo Room
Address:
1701 Toomey Road, Austin, TX
Description:
JASGA mothly culture salon in October 2009 presents Japanese pop culture “Anime” lecture and slideshow presentation.

Japanese popular culture is a highly interwoven industry, showing a level of interdependence and cooperation Hollywood would be jealous of. Local Otaku Keith Goode of AustinOtaku.com will discuss one aspect of this culture, namely Anime; providing a brief history, reviewing of some of the stylizations and niches, and showing how it fits into the grand design of Japanese popular culture. What have been some of the most popular animes? What’s popular now? Join us for this unique discussion to find out.

RSVP: Here, here, or here.

If you can make it out, I’d love to meet you.

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Event: San Jose Taiko at the Long Center

Austin Otaku

by Austin Otaku on September 27, 2009

Tonight San Jose Taiko performed at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Austin, Texas. It was a high energy display of some incredible rhythm and coordination. If you ever get a chance to see this group perform, jump at the offer. You will be as impressed as I was, I’m sure.

I’ve included some shots I took tonight. Sorry, but there are no shots of the performance itself as photography was prohibited during the show. But the troupe gathered out in the lobby afterwords and allowed the audience to meet and greet them.

Long Center for the Performing Arts Exterior Long Center Dell Hall Interior
Lone Taiko Drum San Jose Taiko Setting Up For 2nd Set
San Jose Taiko Peformers Taking a Bow Keith Goode with Wisa Uemura and Adam Weiner
Franco Imperial and Keith Goode San Jose Taiko Yurika Chiba

I also picked up a copy of their new 35th Anniversary Concert DVD. If you’re interested in seeing them perform, but can’t see them live, pick up a copy of your own.

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Toshie Suzuki at Kick Butt Coffee

Austin Otaku

by Austin Otaku on September 26, 2009

On Monday of this past week, Tsugaru shamisen player Toshie Suzuki performed at Kick Butt Coffee’s World Music Night at The Triangle in Austin. Suzuki-san alternated performances on stage with local jazz band Manteca Beat. (Be sure to swing by their site and listen to some of their music.)

Toshie Suzuki at Kick Butt Coffee Manteca Beat at Kick Butt Coffee

Here’s the video of her performance. I apologize in advance for the fact that my video camera doesn’t perform well in low-light. Otherwise, enjoy the video.

Toshie Suzuki at Kick Butt Coffee in Austin from Austin Otaku on Vimeo.

The first thing you may notice is that her performance doesn’t sound at all like any other shamisen performance you’ve heard. The Tsugaru style of shamisen uses a much more rhythmic and percussive form, presumably to beat the cold. Suzuki-san said that if people in Tsugaru played shamisen like they did in more formal styles elsewhere in Japan, the player would freeze.

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Austin Otaku: South Florida Edition

September 25, 2009
Austin Otaku

As I’ve mentioned before, the reason I started AustinOtaku.com was to try to make the best of wherever I live, even deep in the heart of Texas. I think this is a pretty good philosophy to have, and in most large cities in the U.S., I think this is possible, even for otaku, to find [...]

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Event: “Eureka Seven” Movie at Gateway 16

September 24, 2009
Austin Otaku

After dropping by Barnes & Noble to pick up my copy of The Otaku Encyclopedia by Patrick Galbraith, I headed over to Gateway 16 this evening and joined some fellow otaku from the Austin Anime Meetup Group for “Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers.” Overall, it was a good movie, though it was [...]

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Event: Arcade UFO’s Fighting Game Tournament

September 23, 2009
Austin Otaku

Put on your knee-socks and head band. It’s time for an 80′s-style arcade showdown. This Saturday (September 26th), Arcade UFO will be hosting its Arcade Fighting Game Tournament. Be sure to show up at 1pm for Registration. The big showdown begins at 2pm. Don’t miss this opportunity to show off your mad skills on games [...]

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Sunset Dinner and Drinks with JASGA

September 18, 2009
Austin Otaku

A few of us members from the Japan-America Society of Greater Austin took Tsugaru shamisen player Toshie Suzuki and pianist Kohei Moriyama from Wednesday night’s concert out to Austin’s famous The Oasis. The Oasis is a multi-tiered restaurant overlooking Lake Travis with a perfect view of the sunset. Hopefully, Toshie Suzuki will be able to [...]

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Thursday Night Manga and Okonomiyaki

September 18, 2009
Austin Otaku

Here are some pics from tonight’s Thursday Night Manga Meetup, which is an event held by the Austin Anime Meetup Group. In addition to some really great conversation about manga, anime, and Japanese cinema with the group, I decided to treat everyone to some okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza), delivered by Osaka Soul. So, first of all, [...]

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Toshie Suzuki in Concert at Casa de Luz

September 17, 2009
Austin Otaku Goes to the Tsugaru Shamisen Concert

Last night, Toshie Suzuki, a championship player of the Tsugaru Shamisen, performed at Casa de Luz in Austin. Well over 100 people showed up for the event, which is great. That just shows how interested Austinites are in Japanese culture, from anime and manga to the unique sounds of the Tsugaru shamisen. I have about [...]

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