The End of the World

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The BFI presents…5cm Per Second plus its director

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Live events, Makoto Shinkai, Unashamed fanboying]

In case you’re wondering why things have been quiet in recent days, I’ve been out of town. Given the time and expense involved I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing in getting the train all the way to London just to see a movie (admittedly I also met up with one of my closest friends who lives in London now, but still…I actually booked an afternoon off work for this) but as it turns out the hassle was worth it: 5cm Per Second looks great on the big screen. Fantastic actually. Shinkai is also really modest and down-to-earth when talking about his own work, which is evident in recorded interviews but all the more noticeable when you meet him in person - I made handwritten notes of the hour-long interview that followed too, which I’ve posted on the Nakama Britannica blog for those interested.

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I can’t be arsed to write a proper post so read these blogs instead

Posted by Martin  [Tags: community]

There are a number of things I could do as a reaction to burn-out (if that’s what I have) but I think recommending new additions to my own feedreader is the most constructive. My answer to everything at the moment is “I can’t be arsed.” Do that post on Kurenai I promised to write? Can’t be arsed. Reply to a week’s worth of other blog posts that I promised myself I reply to after reading them? Can’t be arsed. Mow the lawn? Can’t be arsed. You get the idea.

The QFT-ness of the subtitles speak for themselves

Since I Can’t Be Arsed to write a proper blog post I’ll instead point you in the direction of other blogs who still CAN be arsed. They’re on my blogroll and/or feedreader but since they’re 1. new and 2. especially good I think they deserve a special mention. The support of the Empire of Britannia in these recommendations is purely coincidental, honestly.

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Sci-fi London anime all-nighter 2008

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Live events]

How hardcore am I? Apparently hardcore enough to sit for over eight hours between midnight and the break of dawn in the name of cinematic entertainment…my head aches, I’m sore all over and badly in need of a shave and a proper night’s kip and my eyes look like bloodshot piss-holes in the snow. This year marks my third successful attempt at the notorious Anime All-Nighter that forms part of the annual Sci-fi London festival; this year I dragged along one of my friends (the brave soul who’s marrying one of my sisters next year, incidentally) for the ride, which made an already entertaining evening even more fun. I’d already seen three of the evening’s offerings in some format or another but it was still great to experience them in the AAN setting. This year’s running order was an impressive one: Appleseed: Ex Machina, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Tekkonkinkreet and Vexille.

Every year the AAN has a special sort of atmosphere, this time around aided by a guest appearance by the Alien (yes, the Alien) and the Predator (yes, the Predator) who wandered into the downstairs foyer beforehand, hugged my future brother-in-law among others, danced to Yoko Kanno’s Voices and left via the lift. Where’s a camera when you need one?

Need…sleep…so…zzzz

The free tea, coffee, Red Bull and various types of ice cream were on offer as in previous years and it was also good to see that the seat allocation system was repeated, because it saves a lot of hassle. The venue is pretty posh by cinema standards too, so the wide variety of stuff on offer is hosted in a clean and classy location - always pleasant and comfortable in my experience. Incidentally, we had time to kill beforehand so caught a special showing of the live-action French cyberpunk movie Chrysalis, which was really quite impressive; well worth a watch if you get the chance.

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Happy Christmas!

Posted by Martin  [

NOTE: this is a pre-timestamped post since I’ll be away from the ‘net all day. My final Twelve Days post, the subject of which ought to be obvious given the alphabetical listing and my Gainax fanboyism, will come on Boxing Day instead. Just so you know.

I actually suck at festive greetings because there’s always someone I forget…and feel guilty about later for forgetting them, hence I never send cards for fear of leaving someone out. So, to the awesome fellow bloggers who have made me laugh, cry, scratch my head and offered endless inspiration and lively discussion, Happy Christmas to you all. You guys rule. A blanket greeting that reaches everyone equally may not seem like much but I really mean it when I wish you all the best for the festive season.

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London Sci-fi Anime All-Nighter 2007

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Live events]

The Anime All-Nighter event has become a regular and very popular fixture in the annual Sci-Fi London event. As with previous years, it was a back-to-back showing with only breaks to answer the call of nature and load up on caffeine before the next one. Things kicked off at midnight and wrapped up at around 9a.m. Quite an experience!

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Serial Experiments Lain artbook

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Yoshitoshi ABe]

I’m not usually into the large artbooks that are heavy on pictures but lacking in adding to the stories that inspired them; I like to read books, not merely look at the pictures. In the case of Yoshitoshi ABe I’m willing to make an exception though, because Reload an Omnipresence in Wired, like everything else he’s done, is a little bit special.

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Love and Pop: Hideaki Anno’s live action debut

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Hideaki Anno]

The tagline ’schoolgirls by day…call girls by night’ has to be one of the most misleading sales pitches of any film I’ve yet seen. Ignoring the sensationalist waffle on the DVD case, this is a film that is innovative in the extreme and explains why I think Hideaki Anno is one of the best film directors of recent years.

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Shiki-Jitsu: Hideaki Anno, live action director

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Hideaki Anno]

Anyone who remembers the second half of End of Evangelion and various bits of Kare Kano may have suspected that within the mind of Hideaki Anno lurked a live-action director anxious to get out. I was interested to see how his own distinctive style (complete with what I’ve come to call ‘Anno-isms’) transferred from animation to live action, which includes the feature Shiki-Jitsu, a.k.a. ‘Ritual’.

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Miyazaki’s Laputa: A Tale of Two Dubs

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Hayao Miyazaki]

Nine times out of ten I’m a subs-only guy. In rare cases (Cowboy Bebop for instance) I listen to the English language dub and Miyazaki’s Laputa is one of them. There are however two different dubs for this film and since I have two copies I have both versions so thought I’d share my comparisons with you.

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The Sci Fi London Anime All-Nighter: I am a Shinkai fanboy as of now

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Live events]

My weekend jaunt to London (the reason why I didn’t post anything yesterday) not only gave me chance to check out Cafe Manga (an eaterie that should prove to be a big hit when it properly gets off the ground) and do a bit of sightseeing but was also the night of the Anime All-Nighter at the Sci-Fi London event at the Apollo Cinema in Piccadilly. Thanks to some friendly souls in the audience (nice meeting you guys!) and a good choice of titles it was a golden opportunity to see some anime that really looks its best on the big screen. From 11.30pm till 8.00am the following morning we dosed up on generously provided tea, coffee, Red Bull and assorted snacks, before sitting back and enjoying the show…
Voices of a Distant Star
The evening kicked off with the short sci-fi romance from up-and-coming animator/director Makoto Shinkai. How this one man created such a little gem of a film (it’s only 25 minutes long, remember) with hardly any outside assistance is a mystery: in its short running time we are presented with a heartfelt and powerful drama that results from a teenage couple torn apart by intergalactic war, with visuals and characterisation that bely its indie origins.

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