Categories
Cafes Design Music Stores

Kokoro & Moi & Escalator Records

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Back during the heights of the Shibuya-kei scene, Escalator Records was one of my favorite labels, and I loved visiting its shop and cafe as well. Kokoro & Moi were responsible for a lot of the label’s branding (including at their physical spaces), and it’s nice to see a few examples here. Now I really need to get my hands on the two compilation series they mention, We Are Escalator Records and We Were Escalator Records.

Categories
Architecture Design Events

House Vision 2

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It’s too late to take in the “House Vision 2” exhibition (it ended this past Sunday) but you can still experience some of the highlights courtesy of this Japan Times piece, written by Mio Yamada, who was the last editor of my “On Design” column (and who continues to write it now). The exhibition offered a look at what future homes could be like, with designs by renowned architects.

Categories
Art & Design City Life Tokyo Walking Web

Poweredby.Tokyo

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I’ve just come across Poweredby.Tokyo, a new community site that looks to shine a light on the “Tokyojin,” the people (Japanese or not) who make up the creative spirit of Tokyo, and to share the parts of the city that give them the most joy. The site is incredibly slick, and you can dig into the various stories already shared here. But before that, start by watching the fantastic intro video (viewable from the front page of the site, or on YouTube). Big thanks to my spiritual “Tokyojin” partner, Jennifer Geacone-Cruz, for the heads-up on this.

Categories
Anime Manga Web

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

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My first steps leading to me getting into Gundam started earlier this year when I watched the episodes released so far of the OVA series Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. This prequel series to the original 70s Mobile Suit Gundam anime really kicked off my interest and love of Gundam, and since then I’ve watched a few more series (always sticking to the “Universal Century” timeline stories), and I’m currently in the process of watching the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam series.

Back to The Origin, it’s actually an adaptation of an original manga series, and I came across this Forbes piece that shares the news that you can currently read the first 30 issues/chapters in English for free online through publisher Kodakawa’s ComicWalker site. I’m quite looking forward to reading this, as it seems to include even more background story than what we’ve seen in the anime adaptation.

Categories
Art Events

PauseDraw

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Even though I’m no longer in Tokyo running my PauseTalk events, it warms my heart to see that its offshoot, PauseDraw, is still going strong. Unlike PauseTalk where talking’s the thing, the sister series is all about getting a group of people together to draw, draw, and then draw some more. Originally started by Luis Mendo (with a first edition in Amsterdam), he was then joined by Adrian Hogan once the series moved to Tokyo (along with Luis), and they’ve been going non-stop ever since. You can stay updated on upcoming PauseDraw events through its Facebook page and Twitter account — the next one takes place Sunday, September 11, 2016 (each edition usually takes place on the first Sunday of the month).

Categories
Photography Technology Web

Hi and Goodbye

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Earlier this year, the fine folks behind the “moment sharing site” Hi (né Hitotoki) shared some big news: they would shut down the site on September 1, as part of a novel archiving project (here’s what Craig Mod had to say about the “Hitotoki Archives” project). We’re just a few days away from the site shutting down, which means you still have a chance to share a moment or two, that will be preserved on physical media.

I received a notice the other day to download all of my contributions to the site, which I’ve done. I was never a big contributor to the site, but it’s nice to see these shared moments again, and I’m thinking of incorporating them in my blog (as you know, I’m very much in an archival state of mind these days).

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Categories
Games Technology

Nintendo Monthly iPhone Wallpapers

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I use the Line app once a month, and for the exact same reason every time: to check the new messages from the official Japanese Nintendo account, for the purpose of downloading the new iPhone calendar wallpaper it shares each month. Pictured above, the wallpapers we’ve gotten for July, August, and September (which is now adorning my iPhone lock screen, a bit ahead of schedule). I absolutely love these.

Categories
Games

Hidden My Game By Mom

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Right now I’m enjoying the hell out of a strange little iOS game called Hidden My Game By Mom – Escape Room, developed by Hap Inc. It’s a pretty simple concept — your mom hides your portable game machine, and you try to find it — but it’s done in such an adorable way, and I especially love the illustration style used. It’s a free game, so just try it out for yourself, and if you like it, you might want to try some more Hap games.

Categories
Anime Games Manga

Astro Boy: Edge of Time

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I wrote about my experience playing the demo that was released alongside the just-launched Kickstarter campaign for the Astro Boy: Edge of Time digital card game, but I wanted to bring it up here as well as a project that I want to highlight. I liked the demo (more of a tech test of the gameplay) and really hope the game gets funded so we get to play the whole thing. Also, my friend Nayan Ramachandran of Playism is heavily involved in the project (he’s working on the story aspect of the game), and he even pops up a bit in the Kickstarter video. I love Tezuka Osamu’s creations — I watched a lot of the Astro Boy anime when I was a kid — and want to see what they’re going to do here, bringing all these characters together in one world.

Categories
Anime Film Games

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

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Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV isn’t a game, but rather a CG-animated movie that acts as an intro to the world that will be depicted in the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game. My buddy James Mielke just reviewed the film for Rolling Stone (as part of its Glixel initiative, which will culminate in a proper game coverage offshoot site sometime this fall), and as you’ll read, he didn’t much care for it.