Darn it. One day too late.

My next holiday in Japan is supposed to begin on 30 September. One day too late, it seems, for me to experience this limited-time-only themed restaurant bus.

Not that I would’ve altered my bookings even if I’d known about it in advance, but still … darn it.

(Incidentally, I still haven’t seen the film, nor do I really plan to. But I’m still enough of an anime enthusiast to appreciate special events like this.)

Two weeks to Global Shinkai Day 2011

Global Shinkai Day 2011 will be held on the 12th of March.

Crunchyroll are spearheading preparations with their brand-new DVD release of Shinkai’s most recent film, 5 Centimetres Per Second. The site is also running a competition in which one talented fan can win an autographed poster featuring Shinkai’s upcoming project Hoshi o Ou Kodomo (check this page for details on how to enter).

In addition to Crunchyroll, I’m keeping a watchful eye on the Shinkai fan forum Cherry Blossoms Falling for more information as the event approaches.

Note: For broader coverage, this post has also been published on Wolf Hurricane. Mark your calendars and spread the word, comrades.

It might be a waste of time. It might be a waste of money.

On the other hand, it might be worth investing a little bit of both just for the experience of it.

If all goes well and I find myself back in Japan come November, I’ll probably set aside a day for this little excursion out of central Tokyo.

Just for the experience of it.

Global Shinkai Day report

Here’s a bald account of how I spent the first annual Global Shinkai Day.

I propose a toast – in honour of Shinkai Makoto

Global Shinkai Day is here! Regrettably, this poor fellow can’t join the festivities just yet, seeing as how he’s got an appointment in the morning and (possibly) a parish meeting in the afternoon.

In any case, there should be just enough time between those two engagements for a quick toast in honour of the master. This is what I intend to say before taking the first sip:

To Shinkai Makoto.

May he be given many more years in which to practise his craft, for the enjoyment and edification of all.

Cheers.

With no sherry or port on hand, I imagine I’ll have to do the libations with either milk or apple juice. 😉 There’s my father’s collection of well-aged vintages of course, but he’ll tear me to pieces if he sees so much as a single cork out of place.

More details on my Global Shinkai Day participation later. Cheerio.

Diego’s plans for Global Shinkai Day

In my little corner of the world, Global Shinkai Day 2009 will be a quiet affair centred on a chronological private DVD viewing of Shinkai Makoto’s four main works: Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko; Hoshi no Koe; Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho; and Byousoku 5 Centimeter. I had originally intended to do a marathon viewing, but I decided that it probably wasn’t feasible to fit a continuous screening into my schedule so I shall watch the films separately as time permits during 27-28 February.

New DVD Review Alert! – Voices of a Distant Star

Hop on over to Wolf Hurricane and read my review of ADV’s R1 DVD release of the 2002 OVA Hoshi no Koe (release title: Voices of a Distant Star), part of the two-volume Shinkai Collection first launched in 2005.