For the presentation on anime for JASGA and for my anime lunch with the Japan Club at LASA High School, I prepared a handout to give to attendees called “Austin Otaku’s Guide for the Otaku in Exile.” It’s kind of a tongue in cheek name, of course, since none of us are exiled from Akihabara or Japan, but I know that sometimes I’d rather be there and can’t go right away.
The brochure is a list of sites and other online resources for keeping up to date on the latest goings-on in Anime, J-Pop/J-Rock, and J-Dorama as well as a few local groups, clubs and resources. (I’m always keen on supporting local businesses that offer products or services related to otaku specifically or Japanese culture in general.)
Anyway, here’s the brochure. Feel free to print it out and use it in your own otaku journey.
Of all things Japanese, I tend to be weakest in my knowledge of Japanese music, which is sad really. I enjoy J-rock and J-pop, often more than I like American music, and I can’t even understand what they’re saying most of the time. (Give me Gackt or Mucc over Nickelback any day.) Fortunately, my lack of knowledge can be counteracted by the knowledge my friends have.
In fact, just today my pal @pickledkitten introduced me to Japanese indie rock band Shugo Tokumaru. So far, I like what I’ve heard. I’ll have to try out a few more songs later.
Each Spring, Austin (“The Live Music Capital of the World”) brings in musical talent from all over for its annual four-day music festival known as South-by-Southwest (SXSW). Of the 1400 people performing at dozens of venues throughout the city, some include bands from Osaka, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kagoshima, and other cities, who jam at Japan Nite, held at Elysium.
Here’s a video from SXSW 2008 with FLCL theme band The Pillows.
If you happen to be in Austin for SXSW next year, be sure to swing by for Japan Nite.
Asian Kung Fu Generation must have some friends in anime production world. Their songs have been used in hit shows like “Bleach”, “Naruto”, and “Full Metal Alchemist”, and I’m sure that didn’t hurt sales of their music. Sure, they can stand on their own as a band, but big endorsements are never bad.
They’re the kind [...]
I apologize for the delay in putting up a new post. Work, that necessary but evil aspect of life, has kept me quite busy. I am currently working on a review of Austin Book’s manga section as well as a review of local plushie producer nottaTOY. Those reviews should be live this weekend.
In the meantime, [...]
If you’re a fan of Japanese music here in the States, you face a more difficult challenge getting your fix than anime and manga fans face. There just isn’t a good, American-based distribution channel (that I’m aware of) for J-Rock or J-Pop. Amazon.com has a few major titles, even a few that you can download [...]
When it comes to talented showmanship and range, I’d say very few performers come close to Gackt. This live performance of “Kalmia” (from his Rebirth album) and “Cube” (from the Kimi no tame ni dekiru koto album) really shows off his ability to entertain a crowd and displays his broad vocal range. Or as we [...]
Have you ever found a song that you could listen to over and over and never get tired of? That song for me is Gackt’s “Lust for Blood,” which is on his “Crescent” album.
The song, which is about lost love and the misery of repeating the same mistakes over and over, has incredible depth of [...]
One of the first bands from Japan I was exposed to was L’arc~en~ciel (ラルク アン シエル, or “The Rainbow” in French), and the first album of theirs I heard was “Ark.” My first impression was that Hyde, the lead singer, sounded a lot like Geoff Tate, the lead singer of Queensrÿche. My second impression was [...]
RT @s_konohana: About the Tokyo metropolitan manga & anime regulations, famous manga artists will announce our opposition to it on Monday.about 4 hours agofrom Seesmic
Ii tenki desu! Subarashii ne. Upper 70's, sunny with a light breeze in Austin right now. Oh, how I wish I could take the rest of the day offabout 21 hours agofrom Seesmic
