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Turnin' Japanese
Well, at least some of my current interests are. I just got the symphonic orchestration of Inu-Yasha's "Wind" soundtrack. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but-- wow! Inspirational. Uplifting. Free. This has instantly become one of my favorite orchestral soundtracks.
I have also been engrossed in an ancient Japanese live-action hero show (precursors of the "Power Rangers"). "Shiro-Shige Kamen" is a *very* obscure Japanese television program. There were only thirteen episodes made; this show had only one airing in one area of Japan; the hero dies at the end. I'd seen stills of the show in the comprehensive TV "encyclopedias" that are published and it looked really neat. Taking place at the beginning of the Meiji Era of Japan: samurai and ninja still existed, with some modern inventions starting to appear. The hero is a "policeman" of the era (they use the weapons that look like hand-held pitchforks) who gains supernatural powers to fight supernatural lawbreakers.
Filled with wolf-headed ninjas, fox women and demons of many shapes and flavors, this show did not seem to exist anywhere in any form. There was also a rights issue between two "owners" and neither could find any prints anyway. Still, I looked for any information I could about it over the course of 18 years. Out of the blue, Toei announces that they've found good prints and are releasing the entire series as a deluxe boxed set. I had to be revived with multiple slappings of a good-sized mochi.
Shiro-Shige Kamen is everything I hoped for: fantastic photography, interesting plots, period costumes and demons, demons, demons!
Monsters galore!
Horses and feudal Japanese villages!
Evil Fox Women!
I have also been engrossed in an ancient Japanese live-action hero show (precursors of the "Power Rangers"). "Shiro-Shige Kamen" is a *very* obscure Japanese television program. There were only thirteen episodes made; this show had only one airing in one area of Japan; the hero dies at the end. I'd seen stills of the show in the comprehensive TV "encyclopedias" that are published and it looked really neat. Taking place at the beginning of the Meiji Era of Japan: samurai and ninja still existed, with some modern inventions starting to appear. The hero is a "policeman" of the era (they use the weapons that look like hand-held pitchforks) who gains supernatural powers to fight supernatural lawbreakers.
Filled with wolf-headed ninjas, fox women and demons of many shapes and flavors, this show did not seem to exist anywhere in any form. There was also a rights issue between two "owners" and neither could find any prints anyway. Still, I looked for any information I could about it over the course of 18 years. Out of the blue, Toei announces that they've found good prints and are releasing the entire series as a deluxe boxed set. I had to be revived with multiple slappings of a good-sized mochi.
Shiro-Shige Kamen is everything I hoped for: fantastic photography, interesting plots, period costumes and demons, demons, demons!
Monsters galore!
Horses and feudal Japanese villages!
Evil Fox Women!
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I particularly like the one eyed... cactus.... thing.. in the back. :)
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The one-eyed cactus-thing is actually a one-eyed, one-legged umbrella-thing. Ordinarily this is a comical monster (purposefully scary-funny). This is a scarier version: outside it looks goofy, but the umbrella opens up and a ghostly black figure kills you with poison spikes!
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"I had to be revived with multiple slappings of a good-sized mochi."
That line cracked me up, as did "frog cracker" from yesterday. Frog cracker!
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There are also several versions of that kid in the striped shirt with only one eye who fights classical Japanese monsters. Kooky.
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"with multiple slappings of a good-sized mochi" I also had to laugh at this... as just a few days ago I learned about the yearly mochi related deaths and the PSAs about how to remove mochi from your grandfather with a vacuum cleaner. O.O
Looks like a wonderful array of monsters for sure! I have seen lantern monsters like the umbrella one, except the lanters just had teeth instead of an eye.
Toei is soon becoming my favorite animation/production company in Japan (for various reasons before this, and now this).
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The lantern kaiju usually has spooky, droopy eyes and sometimes a long tongue. Dunno what up with all the creatures with long tongues. Issues, I guess.
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Transports me back to Japanese Deer Park :>
Awesome!
Next time I encounter an ep of Inu-Yasha, I will try to pay more attention to the music. I absolutely can not stand the show... but we know the melody of the closing theme by heart.
Re: Awesome!
Re: Awesome!
Re: Awesome!
Re: Awesome!
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Love the costumes, the lascivious cactus demon takes the cake though.
BTW, this reminds me, did you ever see the Power-Rangers like show they used to show on the 80's cable show Night Flight? They bought the show from Japan and then redubbed it and added rock music. It was totally bizarre and I loved it. Wish I could remember what it was called.
Rawr!
Yeah-- that would be "Dynaman". The original Japanese series was my all-time favorite sentai/power-ranger-type series. I didn't mind so much that they goofed it up, but they did everything so half-assed that they could only do those few episodes before they got their asses sued, tying up the American rights for that series. They did remarkably foolish things like using music without clearing rights or paying for it. My mind boggles.
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How..obscure!
-J
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Damn!
Just got off an assignment for which these images would have been PERFECT reference. Drat my terrible timing! Ah, but many thanks to Martes for cluing me in to you, o Master of Tailoring Wild Suits. (And I'm not talking the corporate kind.)
Now, in the interest of making sure I'm addressing who I THINK I'm addressing, we did a trade once: in return for a fantastic werewolf skull, I put Freida onto a Rage card. Do I have the right guy? And if so, will you be hitting Conifur?