Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Durarara!!




Okay people listen up cos I had to cut my mourning short for this!

There's this new Anime that I just watched two episodes of and immediately got hooked on like crack cos it's sooooooooooooooo freakin' hilarious. It's called Durarara!! (or DRRR!!) and I think it's literally airing right now so I have to wait for each episode :(

It's made by the same guys who made Baccano if you've seen that and has that same style of what seems like a massive amount of characters in random bizarre and disparate adventures till it all starts to come together as the series progresses. But where Baccano! takes quite a few eppies to start making any kind of sense, Durarara!! grabs you in that 1st episode and enslaves you by the second one.

Without giving anything whatsoever away, main character moves to bright city lights of Ikebukuro (large entertainment and commercial district of Japan. Maybe like Times Square but bigger?) in Tokyo at invitation of former middle school best friend. Learns of the three most dangerous characters he should never cross in that city and promptly encounters all of them. And lemme tell ya; these guys are bad news!



Like I said it features many characters but you don't feel lost so much as intrigued at every turn. You get the feeling that your narrator is very much in control (unlike some other series I could mention *coughCodeGeasscough*) so you can relax and enjoy the ride.

The animation style itself is very cool so it's nice to look at and the intro and outro songs are pretty sweet. All in all it's definitely, on the strength of those first episodes, my first pick of the season. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come in 2010!

Durarara!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111


Wai jai! Why???!!! After all these years!

No, the image is sadly not a movie still and yes, I am in deep mourning as I put away my fondest fantasy of somehow stealing Tony Leung away from his girlfriend of 19 years (I'm not saying she's not a trooper).

It's true that it was a flawed fantasy full of logistical nightmares like getting to Hong Kong, battling other better equipped fan girls and then convincing Y to accept our new polygamous status but as fantasies go, it was definitely an old favourite.

My devotion to this actor started I think 7 years ago when I saw Chung King Express and has grown with every one of his movies I've been able to lay my hands on. But I was not a very good devotee, I think. After all this apparently happened in 2008 and look when I'm finding out!

Ah, well, out of respect to Carina (the new Mrs. Leung) who I have to say was a most worthy opponent, I must put aside my fan girl torch and retire to the position of regular fan.

Goodbye Wai jai. You were the best matinee idol a fan girl could ever day dream about. Goodbye! <------@


Dorama Love #^_______^#



Are there Nigerians out there that like K and J doramas as much as I do?

For the uninitiated, Kdorama or Jdorama are simply slang terms for certain sorts of TV dramas that come out of Japan and Korea.

The Dorama is a very wide genre encompassing everything from serious to somewhat bizarre or perverted but the type I'm referring to tends to follow certain patterns: melodramatic, mushy romance or silly, comical, romantic comedies. Characteristic features include, high school life, swaggering pretty boys, clutzy but cute or spunky heroines, bullying, love triangles, jealousy, fights, possessiveness, emo posing, angsty brooding, heart breaking misunderstandings, dramatic confessions, bitter sweet endings and syrupy sweet j or k pop sound tracks.



Of course there are variations. Some of them feature older, working types and therefore slightly more mature stories but the end product is the same. Something to massage your heart strings. They are literally shoujo mangas (japanese comics aimed at girls) on TV. Quite a few of them are based on mangas or manhwas (the Korean equivalent).

I have recently discovered that those shows are like crack to me! I mean it's a good thing we don't have an Asian TV channel in Nigeria cos I don't think I would be able to leave the house!

Why do I love them so much? They are predictable, manipulative, derivative, saccharine, frequently unhealthy...but I could say the same about chocolate and I love that too.

The truth is that a good J or K dorama gives me the warm fuzzies. You know that feeling that you get when you realize that you're smiling despite yourself? Even when you're alone? They also make me tear up despite myself and make me laugh despite myself.

I love when the school idol (usually a pretty boy, tough guy that all the girls, including myself, squeal at and all the boys fear, see bishounen) cracks his icy cool armour and falls hard for the (insert predominant quality - shy, quirky, spunky, clutzy, average) girl and starts to indirectly woo her. I love it when competition rises in the form of another pretty boy tough guy that's a foil to his type. If our main guy is rowdy, this guy is a cool customer, if our main guy is chill, this guy is wild and happy go lucky. Like a mugen and jin (samurai champloo) situation.

I love that the shows never try to be clever. They are what they are and are unashamedly so. I love the online communities of soft hearted fan girls that spring up around and as a result of these shows.

Doramas remind me that there is a place and a time for everything. Sometimes you want something deep and thought provoking. Sometimes you want something that challenges your imagination. Sometimes, you just want something thats fun, can only described in squeals and awwws and gives you warm fuzzies.

I guess that's why I'm addicted to doramas and I wish other Nigerians or West Africans would be interested in them too because that would influence the supply around here! Right now, it's not worth it to my DVD supplier to get them :(

Will do my best to post about some of the dramas I have been enjoying so you can check them out too. Mean while, some good places to start introducing yourself to the genre include here and here.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Updates




I have to say, quite defensively I'm aware, that its not all been thumb twiddling during my long absence. I actually managed to try out some new games and check out some new (at least to me) shows so I have a plump post or two coming up on that.

I'm also tweeting now so you can get accosted by me in a whole new medium. I'm @neogogochan and I'm about sugar water stuff but also the hard ship of being an online scam artisan in a disillusioned world. Which I must be since I'm a Nigerian and I'm online? Oh - wait, no. I think we're terrorists now.

My sister and I have a t-shirt line (Imekura) and we just released a new collection. It's been years since we released one so please check it out. I even shot a video for it!

I have been working with Y and an amazing artist on a comic book called, "Monster Boy." It's a Nigerian cyber punk/fantasy boy adventure mini series. Easy.Delicious is on hold for now though not forgotten.

Well, '09 was a crazy year. I'm hoping i can make some sense out of '10 but so far, it ain't looking good. I really hope I can at least be a better blogger.

Here's looking at y'all kiddoz.

Friday, January 15, 2010

I heart Asian Cinema 3: Chung King Express

Thought I should start the year off with a continuation of my AZN film series! If you remember, it's about Asian films for newbies, movies to get into the genre with. The third entry is actually a film that beat out Godfather as my all time bestest movie:

Chung King Express


A whimsical sort of existentialist HK romance by the god of film making Wong Kar Wai, this is the one that made me (and countless other auteur wannabes no doubt) want to be a film maker.

It's made up of two intermingling stories about paths crossing and loneliness. A cop and and a beautiful illegal immigrant traffiker take up the first half and a traffic warden and a girl that works in a fast food place (Chung King Express) but dreams of moving to California take up the second.



You don't need to know about all the awards it swept at Cannes or how its DP Christopher Doyle is the bEST cinematographer in the world or even just how cute Faye Wong is in this film. All you need to know is that this is a beautiful, unforgettable drama that will make you love the song, California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas.

It also has Tony Leung in one of the roles that made me literally fall in love with him.

*sigh. A must see for any true film buff.

...



...
not much I can say at this point except that I am truly embarrassed.
seriously.
but I am hoping for more stable internet this year and a renewal of my relationship with this blog.
i've missed this place.
sowwy for the long break!