#atsuko shima

[rottingbite]

Fenzi/Doll House.

Tom Keifer is the owner of the doll store“Cinderella”.

The setting is that he has loved dolls since he was a child.

He loves the dolls in his shop, so he has no intention of selling them.

He loves the dolls on sale as if they were living things.

As a result, the employees (Jeff LaBar, Eric Brittingham, and Fred Coury) became so creepy with him that they left the store and moved elsewhere.

Employees rarely come to work at the store.

(However, I am curious about the store, so I sometimes observe the owner from a distance.)

One day, David Sylvian came to Tom's shop to buy a doll.

He asked Tom, "Do you have any dolls with beautiful faces?"

David went on to say.

『The most important part of a doll is its face』.

tom answered.

『The faces of the dolls in my shop are all good』.

『This is the one that looks the best!』

He said.The doll he brought out was an L.A. GUNS doll.

(※・・・In Japan, when the 〝face〟 is written in kanji, it can be read as "GUN", so it is a play on L.A.GUNS.)

However, David does not like the face of the L.A. GUNS doll and leaves the store angrily.

Next up is Paul Weller from the Style Council.

(※・・・He is nicknamed ``Check Man'' in this manga. I don't know why.)

Tom says to Paul.

『When it comes to checking dolls, I'm better than you.』

Paul ignores Tom's words and says to Tom,

『Now, here's a quiz. What is my favorite Japanese band?』

Tom answers easily.

『checkers』

Paul ran away in frustration.

Tom ignores Paul and loves Slash's doll.

Next, Jon Bon Jovi comes to the store.

Jon asks Tom.

『Do you have a stuffed animal like Bubbles?』

(※・・・Bubbles: Michael Jackson's pet chimpanzee）

Tom brings out a Michael Jackson doll instead.

『How about a Michael Jackson doll instead?』

John is scared.

Tom：

『This doll's face has been remade many times, so it has cracks, but this is the only one I have.』

Jon：

『How much is it?』

Tom：

『500 million yen (approximately 4 million dollars)』

Jon leaves angrily

『Bye!』

Tom：

『It's half price sale now♪』

Jon：

『I don't need it!』

Eric says to tom

『Tom, you have to treat your customers well.』

Tom：

『The doll is more important to me than the customer.』

Tom wanders around the store carrying a Cure Robert Smith doll on his back.

Eric：

『Hey! Stop dressing like that at the store!.』

Tom：

『Why?』

Andy McCoy, formerly of Hanoi Rocks, comes to the store next.

Andy：

『Hi!』

Tom：

『Hi!』

Andy：

『It's a little early in the season, but I thought I'd buy a May(Satsuki) doll for my son.』

Tom：

『I have a doll that is just right. Mr. McCoy』

Tom offers Andy dolls of Robin Crosby and Joe Elliott dressed as samurai.

Andy：

『This doll's face looks like a beast.』

Tom：

『If that's the case, how about this doll?』

Tom offers a Duran Duran doll

Andy：

『Oh! great!』

Tom：

『The price is 500 million yen!』

Andy：

『Then I'll take out a 50-year loan.』

Tom：

『The down payment is 100 million yen!』

Eric：

『Tom, stop it! it's ugly!!』

Tom is silenced by Eric.

Andy：

『Hehehe... 5,000 yen is cheap.』

Eric：

『Thank you for your purchase』

Tom crying：

『Wooown, my doll was bought!!!』

Eric is stunned：

『・・・understand?』

However····

Three months later, Checkman Weller's doll shop 〝Checkers〟opened directly across from Tom's shop.

Paul：

『Fumiya(Lead vocalist of Japanese band “Checkers”)-kun’s dolls are not for sale.』

Tom finally became interested in business, the three employees returned, and the number of customers at the Cinderella store increased.

(As a result, thanks to Paul, the store was able to run normally, so Eric thanks Paul.)

The End.

#cinderella #cinderella band #tom keifer #eric brittingham #jeff labar #fred coury #the cinderella cult #manga #80s #80s manga #rock manga #8 beat gag #atsuko shima #la guns #la guns band #jon bon jovi #michael jackson #andy mccoy #hanoi rocks #retro #rare #dolls #japanese #8ビートギャグ #嶋 敦子 #joe elliott #def leppard #robbin crosby #ratt #david sylvian

[rebellionbeach]

literally just Ritchie and Joe

#I want what they have #shima atsuko is actually insane for this #the one where they’re wearing the school uniform is absolute perfection #ritchie blackmore #8 bit gag #joe lynn tuner

[valgue]

#i want someone to love me the way atsuko shima loves sugizo

[we-just-havent-got-a-clue]

#fav old man for almost a year now #maybe #i havent been counting #shoutout to Atsuko Shima for indirectly helping me find him hes great

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

The Autistic Anime Girls Tournament Bracket!

Here are the matchups. The winners of each group will compete in a three-way finale. Full matchups below the cut! I typed all of this by hand, so if you spot an error PLEASE let me know. My brain was simply Not There after a certain point.

I have the poll visuals for the first half of group one done, I just need to make posts for them. I'll try to finish them up by the end of tonight. I'll be releasing halves a day or two apart, but wait for one group to finish up before releasing matches for the next group. Without further ado...

GROUP ONE:

(Side A)

Tome Kurata (Mob Psycho 100) VS Emu Ootori (Project Sekai)

Yuki Nagato (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) VS Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club)

Maria Ushiromiya (Umineko When They Cry) VS Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon)

Tomoko Kuroki (WataMote) VS Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Shouko Komi (Komi Can’t Communicate) VS Mayaya (Princess Jellyfish)

Manami Okuda (Assassination Classroom) VS Athena Cykes (Ace Attorney)

Rina Tennouji (Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club) VS Mizuki Date (AI: The Somnium Files)

Rei Ayanami (Neon Genesis Evangelion) VS Rin Shima (Laid-Back Camp)

Futaba Sakura (Persona 5) VS Kaoruko Moeta/Kaos (Comic Girls)

Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger (Little Witch Academia) VS Tomoyo Daidouji (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Suletta Mercury (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury) VS Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Falin Touden (Dungeon Meshi) VS Mashiro Shiina (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou)

Anthy Himemiya (Revolutionary Girl Utena) VS Kanade Yoisaki (Project Sekai)

Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh) VS Penny Polendina (RWBY)

Tae Yamada (Zombie Land Saga) VS Tomori Takamatsu (BanG Dream: It's MyGO!!!!!)

Midori Asakusa (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!) VS Jiji (Princess Jellyfish)

(Side B)

Asa Mitaka (Chainsaw Man) VS Shijima Tsukishima (Shimeji Simulation)

Patty Thompson (Soul Eater) VS Minori Ichinose/Cure Papaya (Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure)

Mako Mankanshoku (Kill la Kill) VS Nami (One Piece)

Ayumu Kasuga/Osaka (Azumanga Daioh) VS Rena Ryuugu (Higurashi When They Cry)

Mitsumi Iwakura (Skip and Loafer) VS Hina Hikawa (BanG Dream! Girls Band Party)

Sawako Kuronuma/Sadako (Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You) VS Maomao (The Apothecary Diaries)

Hikaru Hoshina/Cure Star (Star Twinkle Pretty Cure) VS Winry Rockbell (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Lain Iwakura (Serials Experiments Lain) VS Banba (Princess Jellyfish)

Himari Arisugawa/Cure Custard (KiraKira☆Pretty Cure A La Mode) VS Maki Aikawa (Air Master)

Honoka Yukishiro/Cure White (Futari wa Pretty Cure) VS Milly Thompson (Trigun)

Atsuko Kagari/Akko (Little Witch Academia) VS Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa)

Hitori Gotoh/Bocchi (Bocchi the Rock!) VS Ryou Yamada (Bocchi the Rock!)

Tsukimi Kurashita (Princess Jellyfish) VS Victorique de Blois (Gosick)

Clara Valac (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun) VS Nagi Usui (NEO: The World Ends With You)

Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (Cowboy Bebop) VS Nene Kusanagi (Project Sekai)

Tsuyu Asui (My Hero Academia) VS Chieko (Princess Jellyfish)

GROUP TWO:

(Side A)

Nico Niiyama (Kiznaiver) VS Ajimi Kiki (PriPara)

Nagisa Furukawa (Clannad) VS Fuuko Ibuki (Clannad)

Kushina Uzumaki (Naruto) VS Nagisa Momoe (Madoka Magica: Rebellion)

Hinata Hyuuga (Naruto) VS Yellow (Pokémon Adventures)

Cibo (Blame!) VS Kuriko Saiki (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)

Vanilla H (Galaxy Angel) VS Himiko Yumeno (Danganronpa)

Nejire Hadou (My Hero Academia) VS Yuuko Aioi (Nichijou)

Tsubomi Takane (Mob Psycho 100) VS Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort (Genshin Impact)

Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) VS Reina Aharen (Aharen is Indecipherable)

Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) VS Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Don Quixote (Limbus Company) VS Chizuru Hishiro (ReLIFE)

Io Nitta (Devil Survivor 2) VS Miho Nosaka (Yugioh)

Ringo Andou (Puyo Puyo) VS Aoi Akane (Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun)

Mei Hatsume (My Hero Academia) VS Alluka Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Gin Akutagawa (Bungou Stray Dog) VS Izutsumi (Dungeon Meshi)

Sorawo Kamikoshi (Otherside Picnic) VS Three (Drakengard 3)

(Side B)

Satsuki Minazuki (Liar Satsuki Can See Death) VS Yuki Shirakaba (Catulus Syndrome)

Anri Sonohara (Durarara!!) VS Kotomi Ichinose (Clannad)

Nico Yazawa (Love Live!) VS Bocchi Hitori (Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu)

Ahiru Arima/Duck (Princess Tutu) VS Kanao Tsuyuri (Demon Slayer)

Miriel (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Anzu (Ensemble Stars!)

Rinku Aimoto (Dig Delight Direct Drive DJ) VS Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Mako Wakamiya (Do Chokkyuu Kareshi x Kanojo) VS Biscuit Krueger/Bisky (Hunter x Hunter)

Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail) VS Maria Inomata (School Babysitters)

Akane Kurashiki (Zero Escape) VS Sayo Yasuda (Umineko When They Cry)

Sonia Nevermind (Danganronpa) VS Mai Minakami (Nichijou)

Miki Naoki (School-Live!) VS Ai Mie (The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses)

Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) VS Lynne (Ghost Trick)

Sumireko Usami (Touhou Project) VS Lucina (Fire Emblem Awakening)

Shouko Sano (Colorful) VS Shizuku Murasaki (Hunter x Hunter)

Kon Ishimori (Kemono Jihen) VS Marcille Donato (Dungeon Meshi)

Anisphia Wynn Palletia (The Magical Revolution Of The Reincarnated Princess and The Genius Young Lady) VS Hayate Tendo (Dig Delight Direct Drive DJ)

GROUP THREE:

(Side A)

Ai Enma (Hell Girl) VS Kaoru Seta (BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!)

Jun Naruse (Anthem of the Heart) VS Kanna Makino (Tamako Market)

Eve Wakamiya (BanG Dream!) VS Chouko Shizuhata (Oddman 11)

Hikari Kagura (Revue Starlight) VS Croix Meridies (Little Witch Academia)

Miko Iino (Kaguya-sama: Love is War) VS Nafra Ampsey (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun)

Sana Futaba (Magia Record) VS Momoko Hanasaki (Wedding Peach)

Mei Misaki (Another) VS Valerie (Pokémon)

Kanade Tachibana/Angel (Angel Beats!) VS Akashi (The Tatami Galaxy)

Miku Hatsune (Vocaloid) VS Manatsu Natsuumi/Cure Summer (Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure)

Katarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!) VS Sayaka Kanamori (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)

Hana Tabata (A Bouquet for an Ugly Girl) VS Richeh (Witch Hat Atelier)

Saki Hanajima (Fruits Basket) VS Myne (Ascendance of a Bookworm)

Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket) VS Konata Izumi (Lucky Star)

Shizuku Mizutani (My Little Monster) VS Ran-Mao (Black Butler)

Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy (Smiley Pretty Cure!) VS Tsubame Mizusaki (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)

Kyouka Izumi (Bungou Stray Dogs) VS Franziska von Karma (Ace Attorney)

(Side B)

Nico Robin (One Piece) VS Tsubasa Katsuki (Comic Girls)

Penny (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet) VS Alice Carroll (Aria)

Sora Kajiwara (Sketchbook: Full Color’s) VS A.K.I. (Street Fighter 6)

Maya Yamato (BanG Dream!: Girls Band Party) VS Sucy Manbavaran (Little Witch Academia)

Kiyoko Shimizu (Haikyuu!!) VS Sen (Hakumei and Mikochi)

Arle Nadja (Puyo Puyo) VS Mai Mishou/Cure Egret/Cure Windy (Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star)

Omoharu Nakanaka (Komi Can’t Communicate) VS Sora Naegino (Kaleido Star)

Yor Forger (Spy x Family) VS Li Tianxi (Link Click)

Maho Hiyajo (Steins;Gate 0) VS Kirie Motoba (Himouto! Umaru-chan)

Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist) VS Eula Lawrence (Genshin Impact)

Miae Hwang (After School Lessons For Unripe Apples) VS Ruby Rose (RWBY)

Nanami Hiromachi (BanG Dream!: Girls Band Party) VS Lotte Jansson (Little Witch Academia)

Himiko Toga (My Hero Academia) VS Bulma (Dragon Ball)

Witch (Puyo Puyo) VS Power (Chainsaw Man)

Kanna Kamui (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid) VS Tooru Taki (Natsume's Book of Friends)

Suzuno Kamazuki/Crestia Bell (The Devil is a Part-Timer!) VS Yoo Iseol (Return of the Mount Hua Sect/Return of the Blossoming Blade)

#autistic anime girls poll #poll info #bracket #poll bracket #tumblr poll #tumblr tournament #tumblr competition

[adharafirenze]

This… is what Atsuko Shima wants you to believe is real-

#I’m not sorry #Japan band #ryuichi sakamoto #David Sylvian #Japan memes #Japan

[yyh4ever]

104th Hop Step Award - H☆S (October, 1993)

Togashi-sensei's Direct Instructions! The road to conquer all areas of manga! 

Mass Recruitment for the 104th (October 1993 Term) H☆S Award!! This month's judge is Yoshihiro Togashi-sensei!

The Hop☆Step Award (H☆S Award) was a monthly recruitment project by Weekly Shonen Jump (Shueisha) that took place from March 1985 to July 1996.

I already translated Togashi's ten "4-koma" that he drew during the Yu Yu Hakusho serialization to give advice to the participants of the H☆S Award - October 1991 & 1992 Terms.

This time, I am translating the October 1993 Term, where he gives the newcomer manga artists more tips and advice on how to create different styes of manga. The winner of this edition was Eiichiro Oda with the one-shot "Ikki Yakō" (一鬼夜行). At the time, Yu Yu Hakusho was in the Black Chapter Arc.

Togashi gives instructions to help creating gag, love comedies, sports and fantasy manga. He used a little bit of all those elements in Yu Yu Hakusho.

Part 1. Gag Manga

T/N: Chain letters (letters of misfortune) were popular in Japan during the Showa era. A ''letter'' or ''postcard'' was delivered to your home/work in the style of ''If you do not send it to a certain number of people, you will be unhappy.'' The sender is unknown. Chain letters were also a hot topic in magazines and manga, like Doraemon and a bunch of gag manga. 

Source: Weekly Shounen Jump N°44, 1993. Shared by katsura_00

The funny versions of Yanagizawa, Kido and Kaito represent the editors in charge of:

Jungle King Tar-chan/DNA² (Kaoru Kushima);

Lucky Man/JoJo (KAITO Katsuhiko);

Yu Yu Hakusho/Monmonmon (Tomoyuki Shima)

Waiting for powerful works that will break these guys territories! !

They were responsible for the screening, checking all the applications and eliminating the mediocre works before passing them on to Togashi. Inside their territories, works with "characters that are all very similar," "characters with no strong personality at all" or "just imitations of existing characters" were mercifully discarded. 

Part 2. Romantic Comedy

Source: Weekly Shounen Jump N°45, 1993. Shared by katsura_00

Part 3. Sports Manga

Source: Weekly Shounen Jump N°46, 1993. Shared by katsura_00

Part 4. Fantasy Manga

Source: Weekly Shounen Jump N°47, 1993. Shared by katsura_00

T/N: The fantasy illustration of Botan, Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru and Atsuko in medieval clothes was designed to the opening page of Yu Yu Hakusho volume 11, tankobon edition.

🏆 Winner: Eiichiro Oda

Oda-sensei was the inner of this edition! Togashi-sensei reviews his 31-page one-shot, "Ikki Yakou", that was published in the 1994 Shonen Jump Spring Special, and later reprinted in 1998 as part of Wanted!, a compilation of Oda's pre-One Piece stories.

Source: Weekly Shounen Jump N°2, 1994

#Yoshihiro Togashi #Yu Yu Hakusho #hop step award #Weekly Shounen Jump #1993 #H☆S Award #gag manga #romantic comedy #Eiichiro Oda #sports manga #Togashi's advice #一鬼夜行 #Night Parade of One Demon #fantasy manga

[yridenergyridenergy]

Goods for Tour23 Phalaris Vol.II were just revealed!

Shinya's drawing of the Phalaris-kun squirrel is featured prominently, as well as an a-knot-exclusive set of stickers drawn by Atsuko Shima. She is the artist behind the 8-Beat Gag comics, who has previously drawn Dir en grey in their visual Kei debut style.

Picture from SUGICROSS1969

Lastly, the short-sleeve T-shirt design is by DaDa, who has drawn art for Dir en grey a few times in the past.

#Dir en grey #Phalaris #Merch #Merchandise #Tour goods #Phalaris Vol II #Announcement #News

[taiso]

"Dentist"

[from left to right: Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, Ryuichi Sakamoto]

8-Beat Gag manga, Atsuko Shima (1983)

#8 beat gag #yellow magic orchestra #イエロー・マジック・オーケストラ #haruomi hosono #細野晴臣 #yukihiro takahashi #高橋幸宏 #ryuichi sakamoto #坂本龍一 #1980s #my scans #dentist tw #teeth tw #medical tw #not a big fan of some of the stuff in this manga #but this panel is very quirky and silly and i enjoy it

[alpineshepherdlass]

I would feel much more hesitant about posting these adorable Eighties-era manga drawings of mostly David Sylvian pining after Ryuichi Sakamoto if not for the fact that: 1) the Professor himself reportedly brought up these comics in an interview, presumably because he also enjoyed them?; 2) David is a benevolent, present-day-oriented sort of guy; at worst he’d regard them with polite indifference, and 3) Atsuko Shima did such a fine, fine job creating these, and I covet the ones heartofdavid describes below - more than the handful I’ve managed to find! ALAS.

The main David/Ryuichi comic was serialized in Ongaku Senka for many years, and in the storyline it seems the attraction was mutual - after [Sakamoto-san’s then-partner Akiko Yano] gave her approval of the relationship (one of the storylines, very funny). Subsequent stories were about rivals for either of the duo's affections - one that comes to mind is Bowie going after Ryuichi, and Bowie and David doing a serenade sing-off in a restaurant - but always with a happy resolution. David's appearance changes over time, until he is shown as a glasses wearing, natural hair colour, long hair in a ponytail...housewife type of figure (lol) usually shown in an apron, cooking or cleaning.

#still laughing #david sylvian #ryuichi sakamoto #david bowie #merry christmas mr. lawrence #ymo #yellow magic orchestra

[rottingbite]

How to draw Tom Keifer

#cinderella #cinderella band #tom keifer #how to draw Tom Keifer #80s magazine #80s rock #8 beat gag #atsuko shima #8ビートギャグ #嶋 敦子

[asnowperson]

OMG Hagio Moto drew an Eroica tribute, why haven't I seen this?

After seeing Urasawa's Eroica tribute thanks to this post, I bought the latest issue of Mystery Bonita at the speed of light. It said something rather curious on the last page: "We have Shiomi Chika in the next issue!" This could only mean one thing: These Eroica tributes by other manga artists were a thing, and I had been living under a rock!

My little research showed me that to celebrate the 45th anniversary of From Eroica with Love, Mystery Bonita started having guest artists every month starting with their 2021 July issue. As I am unable to get all the magazines (because most of the back issues are no longer on sale as e-books, and even if they were, am I that rich?), I can't confirm whether every artist drew a manga. But here is a list of contributors so far (June 2023): Shitou Ryoko, Sakai Miwa, Mineo Maya, Nanamaki Kanako, Akaishi Michiyo, Nakayama Seika, Aoki Tomm (three times), Toono Yukiko, Ogawa Yayoi, Shima Atsuko, Haruna Remon, Hagio Moto, Takahashi Miyuki, Yamato Waki, Honda, Shitou Kyouko, Hamada Shouko, Urasawa Naoki, Shiomi Chika, Nogami Takeshi, Anno Moyoco, Yamamura Higashi, and Nagano Noriko.

Begging break!: If anyone has old issues of Mystery Bonita, especially the ones from 2021, can you please contact me? They only sell the latest 12 issues on e-book stores, so I can't buy the older ones. It so happens that one of the tributes I'm really curious about, the Mineo Maya one, was published in the 2021/9 issue and I can't get it. I would eternally be grateful for (and depending on the difficulty, might be willing to translate) any Eroica tributes thrown my way.

The Urasawa one is also in the works, but I was literally screaming like a 12 yo girl while reading the Hagio one and I got overexcited. This was published in the June 2022 issue of the magazine, you need to buy that issue if you want it. Thanks to Lucas who kindly delivered these superb 8 pages to us, I literally started working on this the moment I got it while I was fangirling. So here's a gift from The Rose Garden to you: Hagio Moto's take on From Eroica with Love, with "Van Gogh Murder Case". Enjoy this y24-ception!

And yes, I am serious with the "Poe Clan" tags. This thing has Edgar and Allan in it ;)

#hagio moto #moto hagio #萩尾望都 #aoike yasuko #yasuko aoike #青池保子 #エロイカより愛をこめて #from eroica with love #eroica yori ai wo komete #ポーの一族 #poe clan #poe no ichizoku #year 24 group #24年組 #scanlation

[rebellionbeach]

listening to culture club rainbow abc whitesnake msg duran duran is so early 80s showa 57 atusko shima core of me

#im on a journey collecting every 8 beat gag and they're actually like kinda pricey #but if i don't own every single ritchie blackmore affiliated japanese magazine then i don't know what i'd do with myself #atsuko shima is also kind of insane and i love her for that #truly a pioneer in rps

[garyholt]

Atsuko Shima was able to release her fanfic comics about 80s musicians bc she enjoyed making them and it led to her working with Michael Monroe for an official merchandise design #becringebefree

[adamwatchesmovies]

Paprika (2006)

Paprika is a fever dream blast of inspiration that is simultaneously wonderful to behold and nightmare-inducing. It ends on a low note but the trip to that conclusion ensorcels you so completely you may not even care.

In the near future, Doctor Atsuko Chiba (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara) uses the experimental DC Mini device to hop into her patients’ dreams and treat their subconscious using her alter-ego, Paprika. When people exposed to the device, including her boss, Doctor Toratarō Shima (Katsunosuke Hori), start exhibiting erratic behaviour culminating in suicide attempts, Paprika must explore the increasingly bizarre dreams they collectively share to find out who is responsible. How does the strange parade of creatures and living objects connect to her patient, Detective Toshimi Konakawa (Akio Ōtsuka), the scientists responsible for creating the DC Mini, Doctor Kōsaku Tokita (Tōru Furuya), and Kei Himuro (Daisuke Sakaguchi). More importantly, why is this happening?

The medium of animation is perfect for this kind of story. You would need so many special effects to bring the otherworldly sights of the dream world to life it would’ve basically turned into an animated movie anyway. Director Satoshi Kon has so many visual tricks up their sleeve. Paprika’s movements are inhibited only by her imagination. This is shown in the mind-blowing opening scene in which she moves from reflections on windows, to pictures on T-shirts to billboards and anything you could think of to get from one place to another. Many scenes show characters morphing or changing as their consciousness gets sucked into the never-ending parade of weird objects invading everyone’s dreams. When you see it, you don’t know whether to run for the hills screaming or force your eyes open so you don’t miss a second. The colours and creativity in these visuals are so dazzling it doesn’t even matter that sometimes you'll have difficulty understanding the plot.

The film ensnares you in this whirlwind of wonder and unease. You have difficulty differentiating reality from dreams, except when someone wakes up and points out how crazy things were a second ago. That’s the power of this story. And then, we get to the conclusion, which is a major letdown. Not only can you decipher the mastermind behind this big thing based on the character's design, the reason for everything doesn’t really make much sense. You’re left wondering if maybe the translation was bad, or if this story really wasn’t all that good and you were just swept up in all the razzle-dazzle. Ultimately, I say there is more to the film than just what you see. The mystery is compelling and the twist keep you guessing. It’s just everything before the conclusion was so great that when this generic ending comes around, it feels even worse than it is.

The last few minutes of Paprika will split audiences. Either you’ll love it and it’ll become a new favourite, or it’ll leave you with mixed feelings, meaning you’ll be blown away by the movie but content with just seeing it once... maybe two or three times. The sights within are nothing short of incredible so regardless of how you may feel about that finale, it’s worth seeing. (English Dub on DVD, May 24 2019)

#Paprika #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #satoshi kon #seishi minakami #megumi hayashibara #toru emori #katsunosuke hori #toru furuya #akio otsuka #koichi yamadera #hideyuki tanaka #2006 movies #2006 films

[fortressofserenity]

Divergences

I still think it’s worth bringing up on the differences between what western women find attractive vs what East Asian women find attractive, especially if they manifest themselves in the media they consume respectively. As I said before, why Duran Duran got to be in a Japanese comic and the Backstreet Boys don’t is that I feel the former lends itself easily to a shoujo manga/girls’ comics sensibility: the dandified air of its public presentation and how it plays into Japanese girls’ comics love of soft men whereas the Backstreet Boys don’t give off vibes like that. Their public image is kind of bland and too macho to lend itself to shoujo manga the way Duran Duran would.

The closest manga appearance BSB ever got is Backstreet Girls, which is about gangsters transitioning to become female pop stars. Yes, that’s a real plot point. Conversely speaking in the west, even if Duran Duran became pinups for many girls growing up in the 1980s yet its members don’t really lend themselves to a western romance novel sensibility. When romance novel heroes are expected to be masculine (well as masculine as the West deems fit), muscular and brooding yet the members of Duran Duran tend to be androgynous (especially in their younger days), frivolous and skinny one would have to realise why Fabio was the most famous name in romance novels. Why was he the model of many romance novel covers and not somebody from Duran Duran? It’s not hard to see how different western preferences are in some regards.

So they don’t really converge in other regards, particularly when it comes to the men they find attractive. Sort of like how one western musician (or band, in the case with Japan and Duran Duran) could easily be the inspiration for Japanese manga like the 8 Beat Gag cartoons by Atsuko Shima but be ignored altogether as muses for western romance novels. There’s really something about the cultural differences between east and west that play out a lot in the sort of men they find attractive, sometimes in ways westerners don’t expect to and vice versa.

#romance novel #romance novels #duran duran #backstreet boys #8 beat gag #japan (the band) #japan the band #david sylvian #manga #anime