CGSociety author Renee Dunlop has an excellent article on what it took to convert the anime “Mach Go Go Go” into the live action spectacle “Speed Racer”. If you have any interest in visual effects or animation, click on the image below to read her article and view plenty of behind-the-scenes videos:

The ORIGINAL Mach Go Go Go opening:

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SAPPORO — Two prized local melons fetched a record price of 2.5 million yen for the pair during the season’s first auction at a wholesale market on Tuesday.

“I had expected Yubari melons would fetch a high price, but I didn’t expect the figure to be this high,” said a startled broker at the Sapporo City Central Wholesale Markets in Sapporo’s Chuo-ku.

The pair of melons, which weigh 3.9 kilograms in total, fetched the record price of 2.5 million yen after 100 melons were put up for auction on Tuesday.

Soon after the bidding started at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, with a starting price of 2 million yen per set, Sapporo-based wholesaler Ibi bid 2.5 million yen a set.

After the successful bid, the melons immediately went on sale at a retail store run by Ibi near the wholesale market for 1.25 million yen each.

Takeo Fukawa, 24, manager of the store, said, “I wanted to support Yubari,” referring to the financially struggling Hokkaido city where the namesake premium melons are grown.

The hammer price for Yubari melons during the season’s first auction has been on the rise over recent years, fetching 600,000 yen for a pair in 2005, 800,000 yen in 2006 and 2 million yen in 2007 — the year after the city of Yubari became an organization designated for fiscal reconstruction following financial difficulties.

]]> http://japancast.net/index.php/2008/05/13/melons-for-millions/feed/ http://japancast.net/index.php/2008/05/10/japanese-lesson-74-intermediate-lesson/ http://japancast.net/index.php/2008/05/10/japanese-lesson-74-intermediate-lesson/#comments Sun, 11 May 2008 01:47:27 +0000 paulrus http://japancast.net/index.php/?p=1430 This lesson is for you intermediate listeners and you beginners who want to test your vocabulary. Listen carefully and write down any words you don’t recognize.

Japanese Lesson #74

As I mentioned in the show, here are links to follow us on various social sites:

Paul

Facebook

Twitter

FriendFeed

MySpace

Hitomi

Facebook

I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for the return of Iron Chef Japan. Well here it is! It’s not going to be on Food Network anymore though. Nope, now you’ll be able to catch it on the Fine Living channel.

Starting on May 5, you can watch all of the amazing craziness of Iron Chef Japan every week night at 11pm. In the meantime, you can indulge your Iron Chef craving by watching some video clips, you know, just to tide you over til next week.

Even though I really love Iron chef America, I’m glad that the original is coming back on the air. There really is not much on TV like it, unless you know where to catch Most Extreme Elimination challenge. You can’t beat the secret ingredients, the sweat, the dubbing and ,of course, the original Chairman!

Source: FOXNews.com -

TOKYO - A man triggered panic in a northern Japanese city Thursday when he killed himself by mixing detergents in his house, releasing toxic fumes that drove 350 people from their homes - the latest in a series of such suicides.

The panic in Otaru came just hours after national police urged Internet providers to crack down on Web sites that have spurred a wave of detergent-related suicides. Some 50 people have reportedly killed themselves over the past month in Japan by mixing household chemicals to produce hydrogen sulfide.

The method, the latest in a series of suicide fads in Japan in recent years, is even being used as a weapon. A farmer in another part of northern Japan was arrested Thursday for allegedly trying to kill his 82-year-old mother with the gas, police said.

The farmer in Kori, Nobuya Matsuno, was mixing toilet cleaner with mothballs in a bucket Wednesday when his father caught him and called police, a Fukushima police spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with police policy.

In Otaru, on the northern island of Hokkaido, a 24-year-old man mixed the chemicals in his house after midnight. He died and the gas escaped his home. Neighbors were alerted by the smell, a Hokkaido police official, also on condition of anonymity.

The man’s 58-year-old mother, apparently overcome by the fumes, was found unconscious nearby and was taken to a hospital, but police said she was recovering. About 350 people in the neighborhood fled to a nearby school playground where they waited for about two hours.

These cases came a week after at least 90 people were sickened by fumes in an apartment building in southwestern Japan when a teenage girl killed herself by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser in her bathroom.

On Wednesday, Japan’s National Police Agency urged Internet providers to delete materials from Web sites showing readers how to mix the chemicals. Some sites reportedly provide “poison gas” warnings that viewers can print out and hang outside their doors when they kill themselves.

“Since April, the number of such Web sites has just jumped. They are rife on the Internet. Writing examples include ‘you can die easily and beautifully,”‘ said Seiji Yoshikawa, deputy head of the Internet Hot Line, which reports suspect Internet sites to the police.

The police request was the first action taken by state authorities against detergent suicides. Japanese news media have counted more than 50 such suicides in April alone, though no official statistics have been released.

Hydrogen sulfide gas is colorless and characterized by an odor similar to that of rotten eggs. When inhaled, it can lead to suffocation or brain damage.

“What’s making the problem so grave is that rescuers and neighbors could be seriously affected,” the Asahi newspaper said in an editorial Thursday. “Considering the seriousness of the issue, we cannot waste any time in launching preventive measures.”

With one of the highest suicide rates in the world, Japan has battled a series of suicide fads over the years. Many cases have involved victims who found each other on the Internet and committed suicide together.

From Ars Technica:  Japanese police ask ISPs for help in reducing suicides

Enjoy the show!

Japanese Lesson #73

Tags: anime, Bleach, Ichigo, Rukia, Soul Society

The big feed would be on Friendfeed.  I have basically everything I do plugged in there:

http://friendfeed.com/paulrus 

Otherwise if you’re just a Twitter user, you can find me here:

http://twitter.com/paulrus

I’ll try to convince Hitomi to create an account, but at the moment it’s just me.  I will try to at least post updates on when the latest episodes are being recorded.

Paul

DreamWorks has acquired rights to the Japanese manga “Ghost in the Shell” with plans to adapt the futuristic police thriller as a 3-D live-action feature.  Story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.  Created by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” was first published in 1989.   It went on to generate two additional manga editions, three anime film adaptations, an anime TV series and three videogames. The second anime film, “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence,” was released in the U.S. by DreamWorks in 2004.  Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment are attached to produce and brought the project to the studio.   Jamie Moss has been tapped to pen the adaptation.Universal and Sony were also chasing “Ghost in the Shell,” but Steven Spielberg took personal interest in the property and made it happen at DreamWorks.” ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories,” Spielberg said. “It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks.  “DreamWorks prexy of production Adam Goodman said “Ghost in the Shell” is a property “that epitomizes 3-D live-action motion picture possibilities.  “Avi Arad is at the forefront of comicbook-based material, having produced the three “Spider-Man” films, the three “X-Men” movies, the two “Fantastic Four” picss and the upcoming “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.  “Moss’ writing credits include “Street Kings,” which bowed Friday, and “Last Man Home,” in development at Universal.

Tags: anime, Ghost in the Shell

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このアニメ「めぐみ」は、昭和５２年、当時中学１年生だった横田めぐみさんが、学校からの帰宅途中に北朝鮮当局により拉致された事件を題材に、残された家族の苦悩や、懸命な救出活動の模様を描いたドキュメンタリー・アニメです。

Story: In 1977, Ms. Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old girl, disappeared on her way home from school. It was revealed later on that she was abducted by North Korea. This film features the anguish of Megumi’s family and their desperate effort to bring her back home.

Visit the source link above to download the anime.  It’s been produced by the government of Japan to bring awareness to the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea.

Tags: freeanime, North Korea abdutions, anime

Tags: anime, convention, festival, evangelion

さっき　レッスン７１　と　７２　の　show notes　を　おくりました。
I just sent you lesson 71 & 72 show notes.

もし　あなた　が　サポーター　で　show notes を　うけとって　いない　ばあい　は　れんらく　を　ください。
If you are a supporter and have not received the show notes, please let me know.

いつも　どうも　ありがとう♪
Thank you for your continuous support!

ひとみ
Hitomi

In this lesson we cover the often confusing phrase “yoroshiku onegaishimasu”. With no direct literal translation, this phrase can often be confusing to learn. We hope you enjoy the lesson.

Japanese Lesson #72

As I mentioned in the podcast, we’re testing out “User Voice” which gives you the chance to give us ideas and then have other users vote on those ideas. Check out Japancast User Voice.

Now it’s April and the sakura (桜) trees have burst open with cherry blossoms, signaling the start of a new school and work year in Japan. The official first day of school was Tuesday. In the morning the second and third years came for the 始業式 (しぎょうしき/opening ceremony). Along with the usual speech by the principle, there was an onstage introduction of all the new teachers and staff. Every year, some of the teachers and administrative staff are shuffled around between the prefectural high schools. This year we got new math, science, social studies and English teachers, along with a new school nurse and groundskeeper. The 入学式 (にゅうがくしき/entrance ceremony) for 新入生 (しんにゅうせい/incoming first years) was held at 2pm. As the band plays and parents and siblings watch, the homeroom teachers lead their new classes into the gym, seating them just like the graduation ceremony, with half the class on the right, half on the left of the procession pathway. Following the national anthem, the principle gives another speech, and then introduces the homeroom teachers. The new students also sing the school’s alma mater for the first time. At the conclusion, the homeroom teachers lead the students out the way they came in and take them to their new homerooms. The parents stay for a while longer and receive general information on the school. The next day there’s yet another ceremony in which the second and third years “meet” the new first years. First the third years are seated on the gym floor, each class in single file, followed by the second years and finally the first years. A space is left between first years on the left side and the second and third years on the right . This is so the students have plenty of room to bow to each other at the beginning of the ceremony. First, the entire student body bows to the principle, then the two groups of students face each other and bow. Finally, they move together and close the gap, in essence becoming a single group. The speeches in this ceremony are given by a few of the former teachers and staff, who have either just been transferred to different schools or have retired. They talk about their time at the school, and inevitably someone gets choked up and wipes away a few tears. Mostly, the students seem bored by the affair.

Like last year, I’m teaching all of the first and second years (seven classes of ~40 students each), as well as the third year oral communication class which meets twice a week, giving me 16 classes per week. Unlike last year, where I went to the homeroom classes for their writing lessons, this year I’m having the students come to the language laboratory (LL) for my classes. Most English classes meet three times a week, and I’m in only one of those. I had my first class today and it went decently well. At the beginning of the school year the new students are extremely shy, especially in English class. Hopefully with time they’ll open up a bit and will more readily try to speak.