A clue as to my present whereabouts, and a record of the incredible experience I had not more than a few hours ago: seeing and touching snow for the very first time in my life.

No wonder this is one of my favourite cities in the world.

With profound gratitude for all that has happened, and in eager anticipation of all that is yet to come, Diego sends you his very best wishes for the new year.

. . . et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in princípio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est: in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hóminum: et lux in ténebris lucet, et ténebræ eam non comprehendérunt.

Diego wishes you, your family, and all your loved ones a very happy Christmas.

A week after leaving Italy with a lifetime’s worth of incredible memories in tow (more on those in future posts), Diego quietly slips back into his old otaku ways with a quick unboxing session.

Today the spotlight falls on the limited edition Blu-ray release of Shinkai Makoto’s 2011 film Hoshi o Ou Kodomo.

Please bear in mind that this is just an unboxing session, not a full review. I’m here to show what’s in the package without going into a discussion about the actual film (which I haven’t even seen in full yet). Time and energy permitting, I might put up a detailed post – hopefully with more and better photographs – on Wolf Hurricane in due course.

First, the front of the slipcase.

Next, the contents of the slipcase. Left: the disc case. Centre: a 64-page book containing full-colour preparatory sketches (pretty much a storyboard, although probably not complete). Right: a “flippable” volume containing the first chapter of each of two manga series related to the main feature, from two different mangaka (though Shinkai Makoto is of course credited for the original work on both sides).

The inside of the disc case. The set contains two Blu-ray discs, with the feature film in one and (presumably – I haven’t played the second disc yet) various extras in the other. An information booklet and a small section of film are also included.

A close-up of the filmstrip.

I’ve only played a few minutes’ worth of footage from the main disc, but it’s enough to confirm that this release includes English subtitles – and what little dialogue I’ve heard so far appears to have been reasonably well-translated. (English subtitles are probably available just for the actual film; I doubt the extra disc will have them for the special features.)

I was also quite surprised to find Chinese subtitles included as well – the Amazon.co.jp listing for this product doesn’t seem to mention this. No idea which specific dialect of Chinese is represented here as I don’t speak or read the language, but it’s almost certainly some form of Chinese (I switched this option on and found long strings of kanji with no intervening kana); furthermore the box itself has 中国語字幕 in the list of available subtitles.

A word of caution: the menus and even the English/Chinese subtitle options themselves are all rendered entirely in Japanese, so viewers with only a sketchy knowledge of the language may have some difficulty navigating the discs. (Toggling between subtitle languages should be easy enough, though – just use your player’s remote control unit to directly access these options.)

. . . and, in due course, perhaps there once more.

Diego’s off to the land of undines, feline executives, and golden sunsets for a much-needed half-month round of rest and recuperation.

Not that I’m expecting to find any actual undines, feline executives, or (in this rather chilly season) golden sunsets. No matter – what this sublimely beautiful country does have to offer will no doubt be well worth the long journey.

Assuming the transport strikes and gladiatorial politics don’t mess things up too badly, that is.

Cheerio.

It’s not for the operating system itself, but was rolled out for the Pages word processing app as part of a suite of iOS 5-related improvements.

Take a look at the following screencap from a document I typed up a short while ago. Does anything in particular stand out?

Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed its absence, but for anyone wanting to create documents of an academic nature on the iPad, lack of native support for this feature has been a real spanner in the works. Effective workarounds (such as creating a template on a desktop word processor and then opening it within the iPad) have existed for a while, but with the ability to insert these things now built into the slick machinery of the app itself, I can toil away on my draft history of the Third Punic War without having to resort to improvised remedies.

A mere footnote to history? In the grander scheme of things, perhaps – but one can look at this as proof positive that those little upgrades can mean a world of difference to some of us.

When mum caught wind of my plan to spend a couple of weeks in Japan – for the third time in as many years – she said something along these lines:

“Japan? Again? What a terrible waste of money! Why not go somewhere else for a change?”

Of course, there’s a reason why I (and many other travellers smitten by the beauty of the Four Islands) keep going back. There’s just so much to see and experience, I feel as though I could return to Japan every year for the next twenty years and still end up barely scratching the surface. But fair enough – it’s about time I ventured to even farther shores, preferably in a continent I’ve never previously set foot in.

(And then, perhaps, go back to Japan.)

So where am I going this year? Here’s a subtle hint. Well, perhaps not so subtle for those who know what my favourite anime franchise is.

Writing in National Geographic, Cathy Newman once poetically described it as “neither land nor water, but shimmering somewhere in between”. A place where “time is measured by the breath of tides, and space bracketed by water”.

Cheerio.

It’s been a very, very long time since I last did an anime viewing list, and with good reason: not a lot of series worth writing about and not enough energy to write about those that were. Nevertheless, stretching one’s blogging legs after a long dry spell is usually a good thing, and with a fairly decent crop of new shows debuting within the next few days, I decided the time was right to tap out a brief sketch of what I plan to follow this season.

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Tamayura 〜hitotose〜
たまゆら〜hitotose〜
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

Anime director Satō Junichi won my enduring respect with the three-series ARIA franchise, and his recent Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth didn’t disappoint. (Never mind that I only saw about 3 episodes of that and will have to wait until next year’s home video release to watch the rest.) When it comes to iyashikei, this chap clearly knows his stuff, which is why I’m looking forward to his latest slice-of-life project about a young girl with an interest in photography.

Iyashikei titles have been quietly gaining dominance in my viewing list over the last few years (in terms of influence if not numbers), mainly because they serve as a very effective antidote to the stress of the daily grind. The sort of work I do – I’ll spare you the details but it’s got something to do with finance – places such overbearing demands on the brain that there are times when I simply want to stop thinking altogether. Now this really isn’t possible when one tries to wade through something like Evangelion, or even comparatively lighter fare such as any episode of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu with Koizumi in a prominent speaking role. Certain comedy titles like Baka to Tesuto to Shōkanjū are stupid enough to fill the role, but that sort of series tends to act like coffee: hits one hard and dissipates in an instant.

Iyashikei, if properly executed, are different. They require no mental commitment, only an emotional one. They don’t require you to think, they merely invite you to feel. A cerebral investment pays rich dividends, as in the case of ARIA which works its medicine best after I’ve had time to pause and reflect on each episode – but it’s possible to just drift along at first and leave the thinking for later. And the effects can be longer lasting than a Lucky Star-induced high; indeed, potentially life-changing (I write this without the slightest shred of exaggeration).

One often wishes for something new, something mind-blowing, something innovative. I make no such demands of Tamayura. If it can take me on a walk around town, show me nothing other than vignettes of someone’s everyday existence, and leave me on my doorstep feeling that all is right with the world, then it will have served its purpose.

Now whilst we’re on the subject of slice-of-life series, let’s talk about . . .

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Kimi to Boku.
君と僕。
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

My rationale for picking this title up is the same as that behind Tamayura; namely, the desire to add a good, clean, simple slice-of-life series to my war-chest of de-stressors. In addition, as a natural loner who’s quite happy with his sheltered little world, close friendships are something of an alien concept to me – more to be observed than experienced, a source of both fascination and amusement. Bands of brethren are a common device in the feminine form (K-ON! and Hidamari Sketch to name just two), but an inoffensive story about five male high-school buddies with no hint of shōnen-ai (assuming Random Curiosity’s description can be trusted) is more difficult to ferret out and something I’d look forward to seeing.

Now friendships made in the sheltered setting of a school are all well and good, but the ties that bind may sometimes be better tested in the heat and toil of the workplace. Which brings us to . . .

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Working’!!
WORKING’!!
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

I liked the first season. I liked it a lot. Crisp, simple animation; good character designs; great laughs; (relatively) clean story; a catchy opening sequence. (So catchy that on my last trip to Tokyo, I bought the limited-edition DVD of episode one just because it was the only way I could lay my hands on the bundled OP/ED CD.) The daily trials of a part-time family restaurant worker may not win any Michelin stars, but it can be a recipe for comedy gold.

More Kotori cross-dressing we can do without, but I’d happily endure slovenly service and sword-wielding staff to have another bite of such tried-and-true goodies as the Dread Claw of Doom.

Even though this series moves us a bit further away from the iyashikei standard represented by Tamayura, it doesn’t hurt to have the occasional sugar rush of cheap laughter in order to recharge one’s batteries. In any case, Working’!! may be less emotional fare but it is by no means stupid (if the first season is anything to go by), so the Wagnaria staff can expect me to become a regular customer as this season progresses.

What’s that, you say? Tired of Salisbury steaks and strawberry parfaits? All right, let’s head on down to the seaside and grab some fries from a beach cafe, where we just might catch a glimpse of . . .

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Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
侵略!イカ娘
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

We’ve certainly moved farther away from Tamayura territory here, but my motivation is the same: the search for something to put a smile on my face. I haven’t seen the first season but I’ve read good comments about it, and if this second invasion wave of a petite sea monster who’s pressed into beachside waitressing turns out to be a hit, there’s a very good chance I’ll grab the home video release of the original season.

I only hope there isn’t much in the way of, ahem, indecent exposure here. There’s a beach involved (which usually spells fanservice disaster for even relatively inoffensive series like K-ON!), but ANN has the word “none” in the “Objectionable Content” field for season one so I’m optimistic.

So far we’ve covered land and sea; now it’s time to hop into a vanship and head for the skies to rendezvous with . . .

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Last Exile -Fam, the Silver Wing-
ラストエグザイル-銀翼のファム-
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

It’s been eight long years since the first series was released. I didn’t catch that one while it was running, but I did grab the DVD set a couple of years or so after it ended – and I simply loved what I saw. Set on a war-torn planet where two young aeronauts are thrust into a world of aerial battles and feuding empires, the original Last Exile boasted production values that were stellar for its day, and the epic quality of the series had a very strong appeal for this enthusiast of Tolkienian literature. There was so much to drink in and delight the senses that I was quite ready to forgive the spotty storytelling and completely messed-up ending. Needless to say, I hungered for a sequel, and as the years passed (along with unproven rumours of a live-action adaptation) it seemed that this desire would remain unsatisfied.

Now the world of the vanship is back, with both new faces and a surprising set of returning characters. (The bare character list alone supplies a much longed-for bit of closure to a major unanswered question from the original series regarding the survival of one of the main characters.) Like the first Last Exile, this one features two young vanship pilots caught in the midst of a global war – not the sort of story I usually look for in anime, but one that piques my interest in a different way. (Probably best served with a dose of Working’!! or Tamayura to balance things out.)

This title was licensed for home video distribution by Funimation long before the first episode’s scheduled air date, and out of respect for that arrangement I shall wait until the Blu-ray is released and I am able to acquire it before I start watching (which will probably be quite a long time from now). I only hope the reviews and commentaries that will undoubtedly flood the blogosphere shortly after Silver Wing debuts end up fuelling my anticipation, rather than dampening my enthusiasm.

So much for the aerial battlefield. Let’s head back down to terra firma to witness another kind of tough diplomacy at work, where desperate penny-pinchers risk life and limb for the chance to grab the last . . .

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Ben-To
ベン・トー
Official Site / Anime News Network / Wikipedia

Some of my best memories of Japan don’t involve ancient architecture or centuries-old gardens. Sure, Himeji Castle was impressive, and the cherry trees near the Imperial Palace were spectacular, but there was something else that made a real difference, something that never failed to nourish and comfort me every time I trudged back to my hotel room after a long day of walking. One of those little things that made my trips really special was the portable, ubiquitous, and (often) unbelievably delicious bentō.

Small wonder, then, that my ears pricked at hearing about a series featuring students battling it out over discount bentō. There’s no sophistication involved, just loads of fun and mouth-watering images of Japan’s beloved boxed meals (check near the end of the PV above for a peek). If the action is kept high, fanservice kept low and the humour just keeps on coming, I expect we’re in for the great-granddaddy of all food fights – and I expect I’ll have found the brainlessly fun series of the season to serve as a nice counterbalance to Tamayura.

I’ve wanted to add CLANNAD to my anime video collection almost from the day it first aired. Too bad the R1 release has, so far, been DVD-only.

I started buying anime on Blu-ray last year, and since then I’ve never looked back.  Well, almost – the final installment of my beloved Aria franchise was released only on DVD and I was more than happy to make an exception in that case. But for everything else, if it wasn’t available on high-def video then it stood very little chance of landing on my shelves.

Blu-ray releases are far from uncommon in Japan, the very wellspring of anime goodness; the trouble is that there are two near-insurmountable barriers standing between me and their seemingly limitless supply of razor-sharp viewing delights.  The first is the language barrier:  I know Japanese to a limited extent but not well enough to dispense entirely with the need for good English subtitles.  (Dubs, of course, have never been a consideration in my sub-only world.)  The second is the cost barrier:  as anyone who has ever tried to import goods from the Land of Raw Fish on Rice will tell you, it seems that bankrupting the youth through scandalously overpriced merchandise has become a national pastime.  I’ve already written of the stratospheric asking price for CLANNAD‘s first season Blu-ray set here, and I regret to report that the identically priced second season doesn’t give much cause for celebration.  Heap postage and customs duties on top of that pile and you’ll be working double shifts just to dig your way out of debt.

Imagine my delight, then, when I came across this listing on Amazon.com, advertising an upcoming release that would smite both barriers in one fell swoop.

CLANNAD at a non-exploitative price? Best news I’ve had all day.