Fritz the Cat

Released in the 70's, Fritz the Cat was one of the only cartoons to receive an X-rating. It was based on a controversial comic by Robert Crumb, then later adapted to a screenplay by Ralph Bakshi. Bakshi later went on to write and direct many more animated films that weren't as raunchy like the 1978 Lord of the Rings, Wizards, and Cool World.

It's a pretty accurate movie of college life in some respects. The dialogue feels real, and the characters are pretty likable. Though some say it's too dated, the characters, the commentary on drugs, phonies, and cops is still entirely valid. Fritz the Cat was groundbreaking for its ability to show people that cartoons don't have to be just for kids.

It's also not a movie that is, as many say, cartoon pornography. The amount of sex feels pretty realistic to me, not overboard, and they aren't lame romantic sex scenes that do nothing for the movie, but they're often dark and hilarious. It's doubtful that this film would even be rated X by today's standards. The nudity is pretty poorly drawn, the "drug" use is just smoking weed (although there is a neo-nazi who shoots up), and the loose morals of the film are contestable since it mocks of everything it depicts.

 Fritz the Cat is a great film that can reflect on the counterculture of anytime, not just the 70's. 

Anamanaguchi - Dawn Horizons

Luigi Serafini and Codex Seraphinianus

A surreal book by Luigi Serafini that presents itself as an anthropological study of an imaginary land in a made-up language.

It came out in the 1970's, but there have been several reprintings. Unfortunately, it's still too extravagantly priced ($500+).

There are no translations of this made-up language, although it does follow a specific pattern. Serafini never commented on whether the language was intelligible. Some people think they can translate it, but they're probably full of shit.

The flowery writing style draws a lot of comparisons to a never-translated text "The Voynich Manuscript"

A page from The Voynich Manuscript

To me, it seems like the same idea, but what do I know?

More from the Codex:

and a gif:

Coincidence?

Recent Drawings/Paintings

Studio Ghibli Crest

A Gang of Ghosts

Tokyo Tower

from the series

"The Atomic Bomb Visits Japan"

Sketch

Sun-bathing Haniwa

Calligraphy Hour

Person "Jin"

Moon "Tsuki"

Heart "Kokoro"

...

...

Calligraphy's all about the process and letting the process be seen in the product. This is why abstract characters and scratchy dry brushing are so valuable - they allow the viewer to understand the emotions of the creator. Before painting, the ink must be ground into the stone for about an hour. This relaxes the calligrapher. All strokes are final. You can't redefine a brush stroke or try to improve it, you can only start over again.

Calligraphy has gained a lot of following as a performance art with calligraphers using massive brushes that take many people to hold, etc.

A short video of a skilled calligrapher.

Murakami Takashi

Best known in America for doing the cover art for Kanye's Graduation and his Louis Vuitton installation, Murakami has an extensive body of art and is the pioneer of the supposed "Superflat"

Milk

he "Superflat" concept is an attempt to form marketable characters and cute figures that could potentially appear as cell phone charms, toys, figurines, and comics a la Andy Warhol or another of those pop artists selling low culture as high art. In Murakami's case, this attempt is wholly unsuccessful. The otaku culture, though widespread, is still something despicable to the art set, since anime and manga, though it requires drawing skill, is highly stylized, and not viewed as art. 

A woman transforms into a jet

On the same token, otaku don't view Murakami's art as something they can relate to either. It lacks the moe that inspires such strong desire and adoration. Murakami's art isn't a negative criticism of the otaku culture; I actually find it to be one that embraces it and wants to raise it to lofty new heights, but because he seeks to take it somewhere else, he can't be a part of it. His figurines are original, but they are too mannequin-esque. They don't have the flaws that creates the endearing sensation that is "moe". They borrow heavily from anime and manga without giving anything back.

My Lonesome Cowboy

I personally like Murakami's figurine/statue series. I am not as interested in the paintings, which are for the most part bland and uninteresting. However, even the figurines don't stimulate the imagination to fill in the back story for them. And that is the problem. I like the commentary on the overly sexual nature of otaku culture, somewhere between ecchi and hentai, at the border of art.

Murakami would be much more sale-able if he just embraced the moe database and worked harder on creating characters that inspired some interest instead of something slightly shocking but overall forgettable.

Gallery Showing Design Festa, Harajuku

My work.

Other work in the same room.

More work included in the show. Mapping all of the districts of Tokyo.

The bartender taking a break.

Show Poster.

Tokyo Tower

Though featured in a variety of romantic dramas and animes, the Tokyo Tower is actually full of tourists and schoolgirls. The foot of the tower, known as Foot City, is full of expensive exhibits, such as one on Michael Jackson, and an aquarium, etc. 

This is a picture I took from the window. It was a cloudy day, so Fuji wasn't actually visible. In my 4 weeks in Tokyo, I still haven't glimpsed Fuji D:

The Tower isn't as fun when you go there alone :(

Seeing all the Japanese old women pose for photos together, the sailor suit girls holding hands and asking their male classmates shyly to take their picture.

It's taller than the Eiffel Tower, but it's not quite as romantic.

I don't know, maybe that's a personal problem.

The viewing window.

There's a beautiful rose garden nearby where you can see the tower clearly. I still remember the smell of the blossoms that I stole. I left them in my room until they rotted. When a flower smells so strong and sweet, it doesn't wilt cleanly, but it rots with a stench.

The Tokyo Tower:

Go there with your lover.

Gazing out at the city alone makes you feel like nothing.

Square Enix Store: Hatsudai, Tokyo, Japan

I came here with the notion that this was a Square Enix Museum because that's what I heard from a YouTube video, but it's really just a store. Another misconception is that this store is really difficult to find. Once you get off at the station, you just exit past the statue of the huge metal man with a moving jaw:

And then take a left. It's about 3 blocks away from the station. The only reason that people think the store is hard to find, I think, is the cryptic way that Japanese people give directions and draw maps, as well as the fact that none of the locals have heard of it.

Anyway, onto the huge Sephiroth in the floor:

This is pretty much the centerpiece of the store. The only other really amazing display they have is Vincent's outfit:

A lot of items they were selling were just really hilarious. For example:

Cloud Cologne!

Other than this, they sold a lot of jewelry featured in various Square Enix games. The focus tended to be FFXIII and Dragon Quest for the most part.

There's really not much that you can get at the store that you can't find in Akihabara. All of the figurines, plushes, and phone charms can found in a lot of stores in Akiba for lower prices, so save your money. The reason that I would go to the store is just to see the life size Sephiroth and maybe hug a few giant King Slimes.

They have all the Square Enix game soundtracks, but they were very expensive. Some can be over $100. So if you're into that kind of thing, the SqEnix store is the place to go. Otherwise, don't go out of your way.

Shimokitazawa Record Stores

Warsawa

Warsawa is a tiny record store with some rare titles. The prices are a lot more reasonable than even US prices despite the fact that half of them are imports.

I picked this up based on the recommendation from http://rdfrnds.blogspot.com/

They play one of the new release albums in the store and display it so that you know what you're listening to.

JetNet

JetNet is right next to Warsawa and has a slightly larger selection with much higher prices.

They have a lot of well-known indie titles, but they also have some rare stuff.

Unlike Warsawa, JetNet has various genres. I don't think I would come back to this store because it was really overpriced.

Found this Cold Cave album with 18 tracks that I'd never heard of it. I didn't get the name of the album in the picture, sorry.

Indies

This store doesn't really have too much indie music, but has a huge selection of 90's music. This store is also overpriced and has a lot of crappy albums, but they do have some good stuff.

A wall of EPs.

Cool album with fan remixes.

Unknown Record Store

This was a boutique style used record store. They didn't have a lot of great titles, but if you search through enough, you can find some great stuff.

Big selection of Brian Eno up on the wall.

Some cool books and stuff they had in the corner including a kid's book about Robert Moog.

Flash Ranch

This record store has a really huge selection of used vinyl ranging from the 1930's to the late 80's. All used vinyl is 800 yen ($8), but if you buy more than one, you get a huge discount. You can also haggle down the prices (if you can't speak Japanese) by writing down the price you want on a piece of paper. They have a pretty good selection of music books as well.

I picked these albums up for about $20 in total.

Shimokitazawa is the vinyl destination of Tokyo. Don't be fooled by big names by Tower Records which have poor selections and high prices. I would give Warsawa the highest rating of all the stores for its selection, prices, and atmosphere.