Sep
12
Land
Posted in: 2d, cel animation, character, Colorful, France, General, illustration, japan, Tokyo, transition
Outstanding piece by Tokyo-based Masanobu Hiraoka, one of the creatives from Je Regarde.
Oct
05
Sølve Sundsbø for Vogue Japan.
Posted in: fashion, Floral, Flowers, Gallery, japan, photography, Solve Sundsbo, Vogue
Jul
06
Masao Yamamoto.
Posted in: Black and White Photography, Gallery, japan, Masao Yamamoto, nature, photography
Jun
16
Makoto Shinkai: Neko no Shuukai
Posted in: anime, Cats, General, ident, japan, Makoto, Neko, nhk, no, Shinkai, ShuukaiRoughly translated as “Kitty Gather Together,” this gem from the Far East comes from anime director Makoto Shinkai. Admittedly it’s a few years old now, but that doesn’t make it any the less amusing! Personally I would really love it if channel idents in the Western world took a few more risks like the chaps at NHK.
On a side note, the narrative has a waft of similarity with the recent Cravendale Cats with Thumbs campaign. There’s just something unnerving about cats banding together…
Mar
29
須藤元気（Genki Sudo)「WORLD ORDER」の”MACHINE CIVILIZATION”フル
Posted in: CIVILIZATION, General, Genki, go!, japan, Japanese, machine, Music, ok, ORDER, Sudo, Videos, worldImagine and OK GO video, but with a Japanese spin. Okay now stop imagining and click play!
Source: See No Evil
May
26
SEX, DRUGS, AND JAPANESE DISCOTHEQUE.
Posted in: Enter the Void, Foreign Film, Gallery, Gaspar Noé, japan, nsfw, Tokyo, trailer
Gaspar Noé’s Enter the Void, is that NSFW trailer you’ve been dying to play. Not short on the T&A and graphic nature, it’s also full of crazy visuals, set in future time Tokyo and it’s red light district. You can expect lots of moody picturesque shots on top of all the inappropriateness for your work computer screen. View the trailer on the next page.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Apr
09
Kenichi Tanaka: Japan-A Strange Country
Posted in: culture, General, Humour, info graphics, issue animation, japan, Japanese, Kenichi Tanaka, Students, vector, visual essayUPDATE: English VO version found on youtube! Thanks for the info, tvp.
Kenichi Tanaka made this thesis piece to show his countrymen that things that take place in Japan, ‘isn’t that normal’. So the tale was told from a foreigner’s viewpoint rather than a Japanese’s, but he begs ‘please don’t call me racist, because I am one of short, small eyes Japanese ;P’. This is a smart and insightful piece because of the cultural self-awareness of its maker. Definitely a significant contribution to the world of visual essays.
We are not sure why it’s not available in English, (see English VO version link at the top) but to those of you who don’t speak Japanese, watching this humorous infographics animation while not understanding the VO, somehow adds another layer of complexity and heightens the uniqueness of the viewing experience. To find out more about the piece, be sure to visit Kenichi’s blog, here.
Nov
10
Fumiko no Kokuhaku
Posted in: Animation, anime, falling, Fumiko, General, Hiroyasu Ishida, Independent, japan, Japanese, Kazuhiro Murakami, Kokuhaku, no, short, Tatsuro Kawano, Yuko Iwase, Yusaku Nagata
Hailing from the land of the rising sun, this quirky independent short film is about the confession of Fumiko. It’s a simple plot but, extremely well executed and will be sure to raise a smile. I’m not entirely sure on what the girl says at the end, but if you are able to understand Japanese then we’d be super grateful for the translation.
The dialog at the beggining and at the end is the same. The girl asks “Would you like to go out with me ?” The boy answers “Sorry, I have to focus on baseball training …”
For more information and staff translation check out Catsuka.
Be sure to check out their amazing Making of to see all the storyboards, character development and research.
Credits:
Animation / Artwork / CG / Audio: Hiroyasu Ishida
Artwork / CG textures: Yuko Iwase, Kazuhiro Murakami
Anim: Tatsuro Kawano
CG Modeling: Yusaku Nagata
Oct
22
On our recent journey to Japan, we visited our friends at the Kinfolk Lounge, located in a trendy and very fashion-centric area of Tokyo called Nakameguro. From the street, you can view a chalkboard sign and a few Kinfolk bikes hanging upstairs, while the speakeasy sits on the second floor above another cafe. Inside, you’ll see killer Kinfolk Keirin frames of a rainbow assortment suspended from the wooden rafters. The decor is described as vintage Japanese meets modern day safehouse, perfect for meeting locals and travelers of all kinds. Kinfolk isn’t your everyday cycle company; their bikes are classic, lugged-steel Keirin beauties, hand-made in Japan. At the lounge, we hung out with our good friends John and Ryan and had some great times drinking biiru (beer in Japanese) and shootin’ the unchi ’til daybreak. Not only do these guys make beautiful frames, but the drinks are pretty enchanting as well. So, the next time you’re in Tokyo, stop by and tell the guys hello from WMIG. Now we just need to get these bikes here in NYC!
Photos by James Lisle.
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