On Wednesday I went on over to The Japan Foundation here in Toronto to check out their exhibit on Shoujo Manga. I had hoped to go see it with some company, but in all the chaos that just couldn’t work out, so I went all on my lonesome. I’m glad that I did though, because it was a very cool experience. They had original manga pages on display, where you could see the pencil marks, the texture of the paper, and even spots covered up with correction fluid. And there were also plenty of full colour illustrations there, which were incredible to see in person like that. The richness of the paint and the vibrant colours needed to be seen to be believed, and there were some really awesome pieces of artwork. I gained a new appreciation for those drawings and paintings after being able to see them up close like that.

My favorite part of the exhibit was definitely the very beginning. Nothing that explores the history of any facet of anime or manga would be complete without the works of Osamu Tezuka, and this exhibit on Shoujo Manga did not disappoint in that regard. I gasped a little bit when I saw the original manga pages from Ribbon no Kishi that hung on the wall there. It was a pretty special moment for me to be that close to something so historically important. There were also works from other pioneers that I admire, such as Leiji Matsumoto and Shotaro Ishinomori. As the exhibit progressed chronologically, it delved into popular and important series such as The Rose of Versailles and the works of CLAMP. There wasn’t really anything that I could find about Sailor Moon though, which I think was a glaring admission, but otherwise it was fairly in depth with lots of artwork to look at.

Now, at this point I’d recommend that you go see it if you’re in the area, but I can’t do that anymore because the day that I went was the last day. Too bad. But I really enjoyed it, and the Japan Foundation is a very cool place, so I’ll be keeping my eye out for other interesting things going on there.

Sayonara.

Well, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell, isn’t it?

I should really be doing this more often so that I don’t post all these topics at the same time that have nothing to do with one another.

Botcon was last weekend, and with it came lots of interesting new Transformers news regarding future toy lines and the upcoming movie. 2 or 3 years ago I’d have been really excited. But now it seems like I’ve lost some interest. I don’t know why, I still like Transformers and all, but I guess the more important (and less fun) elements of life have pushed their way to the forefront of my mind, so it has been hard to get excited about things like this. So I have to take a more relaxed approach to fandom for the time being, because even though I am interested enough to keep up with everything, I just can’t be bothered to care about it that much.

When I was out of town, I saw Jet Li’s Fearless. I thought it was phenomenal. By far my favorite movie of the year. I absolutely loved it. In fact, I wish it were longer, because I could have easily sat there and watched that movie for 4 or 5 hours and enjoyed every second of it. But, of course, watching a big epic with crazy kung-fu and subtitles is my perfect idea of a good time, so perhaps I am biased.

So, apparently YTV in Canada has applied for a license to broadcast an all anime channel. It’ll likely be on digital cable. Provided that this doesn’t interfere with anime shows being broadcast on regular TV as well, I think this is a great idea. Really, it should have already happened by now. There are so many shows out there that deserve a chance on Canadian TV, many of which have already aired or are airing now in the US. Plus, there are also plenty of classic series that should be on TV but would otherwise never get up on the air unless something like an all anime network came about. There’s a link right here to leave your comments so the CRTC can be convinced that this is something they should allow to happen. I’m going to let my opinion be heard, and so should you. Click the “2006-10” button on the link, then check the box that says “YTV Canada, Inc.” and take it from there. Let’s make this happen!

Life goes on, and I know that everything is not always as bad as I often make it out to be. But still, I can’t help but to feel that life is very unfulfilling right now. Situations being what they are at the moment mean that there’s nothing I can do about it except endure. But endure is what ninjas do best, so that’s what I am doing.

Sayonara.

Once again, I am left without any suitable subject matter to discuss.

So, just for the hell of it, here is a picture of my desk.

As you can see, there are Transformers here. They mostly serve the purpose of occupying the space to prevent people from leaving papers and other nonsense that I don’t want there. The fact that they look cool and represent interesting characters is mostly a bonus. Though, I do admit to using them to draw some inspiration from in my artwork.

Speaking of which… hmmm, is that new art up on the screen? Why, I think it is! What could it be, exactly? Stay tuned, young ones.

There is also Astro Boy, some exciting pens and pencils, by digital tablet stylus, and a USB powered fan. The camera flash has alerted me to the existence of some cobwebs in the upper left corner. I would take care of them, however on second thought they kind of go with the Spider-man action figures that are hanging just out of frame. So I’ll keep them.

Sayonara.

Well, times have been tough, and it hasn’t been easy to play with the cards that I have been dealt this summer. But life goes on, and somehow I will be ok.

So, enough doom and gloom around here for now. I got this funny flyer in the mail this past week. It’s an advertisement for the Toronto International Film Festival. How I wound up on their mailing list, I do not know. I have never attended TIFF, and it’s highly unlikely that I will this year. What makes this flyer interesting, however, is the artwork on the cover. Now, seriously, take a look at this.

What in the hell is going on here?

There’s all this blue space, and then there’s white on the top and bottom, and then there’s a giant snow creature with huge flaming eyebrows. What does this mean? What does this have to do with movies? What does this have to do with anything? I don’t get it!

How much money did this artist make for such a bizarre and confusing painting? How is it that I can have such a hard time finding work when this strange, pretentious piece of art gets such wide distribution?

Whatever.

That all said, I just can’t stop staring at it. I don’t understand what it’s about, why it exists, or what relationship it has to the Toronto International Film Festival, but still, I keep on looking at those fiery eyebrows. Perhaps the ambiguity of all that is what is so appealing in this case. Hang this painting up in a gallery and I probably wouldn’t care very much, but send it to me in the mail with the intention of selling me movie tickets and that, in a roundabout way, gets my attention. I’m still not going to do anything else about it though.

But honestly, what the hell is up with those eyebrows?

Sayonara.

I just bought this excellent DVD. It’s a short animated film called “Negadon: The Monster From Mars“, and it’s the first 100% CG Monster Movie. A wonderfully crafted tribute to the classic Japanese kaiju films of 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, this amazing film was mostly put together by just one guy who never made a movie before! It has an interesting visual style that goes out of its way to look old and worn out to create a nostalgic feeling, but the animation is excellent with very impressive effects. The DVD also has a lot of extra material about how the film was made.

If you love monster movies or unique animated films, then you gotta check this movie out. I love both, so naturally I really dig Negadon! It’s got a creepy monster, a cool robot, a decent story, and it proves that anyone can create an awesome piece of work if they work hard enough. It rocks!

Check out more about Negadon at the official Negadon website.

Sayonara.