It is here.

I saw it. It took an entire year to see it, but I did.

Godzilla: Final Wars is out on DVD starting TODAY!

Naturally, I woke up early, rushed to the mall just after it opened, bought myself a copy, rushed back home, and watched it. These actions should not be a surprise to anyone by now.

There was a short moment there were I was thinking “OK, now what?“, because I waited so long to see this movie. It’s like accomplishing a goal and not knowing where to go from there. This feeling was fleeting, however. I know that there are several more films out there that deserve a DVD release in North America, and more being released in their native countries all the time. So come on! Which company is going to show come guts, step up to the plate, and give us Ultraman: The Next?

Until then, I think I’ll be pretty happy watching Final Wars about 200 more times.

Sayonara.

It’s hard to belive that it was 5 whole years ago when I released the article “Ninjatron: Published Poet“, exposing how the evil Poetry.com has manipulated would-be poets into parting with their money. The article was a huge hit, and even nowadays I get comments on it. People are still talking about this ridiculous article I wrote, and it’s even been used by poetry enthusiasts online as proof of Poetry.com’s deceptive ways.

I thought it’d be fun and interesting to retrospectively look back at this article, talk about it again, and maybe dust it off for those who have yet to read it.

While I will admit that the poem I wrote, “Pie is so Good“, was indeed a silly and stupid piece of nonsense, I certainly do believe in its message. From it’s first line down to the conclusion, it delivers an only slightly-skewed version of the truth. I really do like pie. And macaroni and cheese as well.

Sayonara.

So it’s December now. That’s nice, I guess. I like Christmas and all that. But I don’t like Christmas music. I really don’t like it. I get so tired of it. I hate walking into a store that’s playing Christmas music and hearing some fat opera guy wailing on and on about Bethlehem or figgy pudding or whatever.. It’s annoying and sounds terrible. Does this really make anyone feel festive? Not me. It makes me want to burn things.

You know what else I hate? Songs like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree“. You know, that sort of Christmas music that tries to be hip. Oh yeah, these songs are just so edgy and have tapped into the pulse of the nation’s youth. Rock and roll Christmas. What the hell is up with that? These songs are not cool and they never were. They suck.

Just play regular music, dammit.

Sayonara.

People say that they are bored, but not me. Things continue to be interesting somehow. Just look at this recent guestbook post! It comes from someone named “I’m bored“. My, what an exotic moniker.

I’m bored.

Ninja dude. Draw soemthing. Like a cute girl or something.

Well, sometimes you just got to give the public what they want! So if Mr. bored wants me to draw a cute girl, then drawing a cute girl is what I’m going to have to do! Cute girls are my speciality, after all.

But in a request like this, drawing just any cute girl just isn’t going to cut it. No, I’m going to have to draw something even cuter and, ummm, girlier than ever before! If boredy-boy wants me to make a cute girl drawing on his beck and call, then I’ll draw the cutest girl ever drawn! I think that this is a goal that I can reach! And so, I have finished it and am now presenting it to you all for your judgement.

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

Really?

REALLY?

Ok then! Here is the drawing of the cutest girl ever!

Awwww, isn’t she so cute? She’s just adorable! Look at that, all happy playing with her letter blocks. She even knows her ABCs already. And look at the little Pikachu plushie she’s got. How sweet. What a cutie pie. I think I gave myself a toothache.

Geeze, what in the bloody hell is this? I can’t believe that I spent the time to draw that. What was I thinking? I am just so totally sleep deprived right now. I am messed up. Instead of working on something important or actually getting some sleep like I should have done several hours prior, I go and draw a freaking baby because I think I’m so freaking funny. Well I hope somebody out there tells me that they laughed!

She is a cute baby though.

Don’t worry. Soon your boredom will come to an end, or at the very least partake in a brief reprieve. It should only be a couple more days. Come back later to see what I mean.

Sayonara.

As is well known, I’m a big proponent for anime history. I think it’s important for anime fans to know and respect the classic series and creators who were instrumental in the development of this form of art. So as part of my teachings in my anime drawing classes for Comic Book Masters, I bring up a lot of that history where it’s appropriate. I taught two particular lessons this past weekend that deal with the classics. Of course, Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, is on top of the list of important figures that I talk about. But one of my most favorite of all the masters who helped to shape anime and manga into what they are today is Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of Cyborg 009. I just loved the little bit of Cyborg 009 media that I’ve seen over the past few years, and I really want to see more. I think it’s a great concept and a great story, and it’s pretty amazing to think that it was created so long ago. I know some anime fans won’t really give 009 a chance because it’s too “old school” and the art style is too different, but I honestly believe that anyone exposed to it who went in with some sort of understanding of where and when this series was coming from would definitely enjoy it. Especially the most recent Cyborg 009 animated series, which I saw 6 episodes of awhile back and thought to be some of the best stuff I had ever seen.

Even though Ishinomori was so important to the history and cultural landscape of anime and manga (as well as live action TV series, but that’s another story), it’s really disheartening to see that there is precious little information available in English about him and his works. And that’s not to say that anything you find about him will be in Japanese, because his series seem to be very well loved in places like France, Italy, and Brazil. So it came as a pretty big surprise, as well as being fittingly appropriate since I was planning to talk about him with my students, when a Hollywood group called Comic Book Movies announced last week that it had struck a deal with Ishinomori Productions to make film franchises out of Ishinomori’s huge catalogue of characters. Their first venture has not been announced yet, but all rumors and common sense indicate that it will be Cyborg 009 getting the big screen treatment.

I know that the “angry nerd” segment of the Internet likes to whine and complain whenever they catch wind of something like this, but I think a Cyborg 009 live action movie is a fantastic idea. It could lend itself quite well to being an interesting film, since it deals with aspects of friendship and family as well as super hero theatrics. I’m curious to see how it would turn out, and I hope that it gets off the ground. At the very least, it would create more interest in 009 and perhaps make Ishinomori and his contributions to anime and manga more well known in English speaking countries. And hopefully we’d finally get a big DVD box set of the recent Cyborg 009 anime that we really should have already gotten by now.

So, by all means, bring on Cyborg 009. And while you’re at it, bring on Kikaider, Inazuman, Henshin Ninja Arashi, The Skull Man, Himitsu Sentai GoRanger, Kamen Rider, and even Ganbare!! RoboCon. I know I’ll be watching.

Sayonara.