Yakuza 6, Grandia III and Berserk posters

My 3 posters that I got from yahoo auctions just arrived! I used buyee to bid on them and get them shipped. I used to buy video game posters from Trio in Akihabara and Nakano Broadway but the past year they have stopped selling video game posters. I need to find out where to get video game posters in Japan but I've never come across any other store that sells them.

First off is the Yakuza 6 poster. Love this game. Its a return to form for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio after the disappointing Kiwami. Can't wait for Kiwami 2 and I'll definite get the poster for that!

Second poster is for Grandia III. Its not my the best Grandia game but Grandia series is my favourite and it has the best battle system. Plus, Grandia posters are very rare. There was a not so pretty Grandia 1 poster for sale but it cost an arm and a leg. Speaking of arm and a leg, the bad thing about buyee is that I combined my shipping and they packed my posters into a box that was a lot bigger than it had to be in order to charge me more. It might have been cheaper just to ship my stuff separately. I get that they need to make money from the bidding and shipping but ichiman for 3 posters is way too much.

Last one is a Berserk poster from the official guidebook. I was hoping it would be an A2 size poster instead of an A3. Oh well. I think I'll hang it up at work.

Akira to Akira Episodes 1-3

WHAT IS IT?

Akira to Akira is a banking jdorama about two people named Akira. You've got rich Akira is the heir to a major corporation who decided to be a banker and poor Akira who's been through hardships in life. Th story about how their try to succeed in their jobs and it flashbacks through their multiple meetings when they were kids.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

For one, its a WOWOW show so acting is better than normal. The casting is great. I liked that little story about the supermarket fight in Sendai. I wouldn't mind seeing a jdorama about supermarket wars.

WHAT'S NOT GOOD

In the beginning, Poor Akira says that he would assess all loan according to their merits. He then gets put in charge of this factory which is barely surviving and the owner has a little girl who needs a heart transplant. (boohoo)

The fact of the matter is, the factory has a slim chance of being able to repay a loan so that's why Poor Akira's boss did not want to issue a new loan. Not only that, stupid Poor Akira helps this factory worker run away without paying his debt?

Just because someone has a sob story doesn't mean they are entitled to escape from their debts and liabilities.

SUMMARY

Akira to Akira is decent but after 3 episodes it has yet to show me something to get me hooked. Watchable. Fingers crossed it gets better.

Million Yen Women

Hyakuman en no onna tachi aka Million Yen Women is finally out on Netflix outside Japan. I was very intrigued by the show and then gave it an unfavourable review when I mistook the second last episode for the last one. Still doesn't change the fact the revelation of the mastermind and the mastermind's purpose was very meh for me.

The last episode did set things right. I did a bit of rewatching of the first two episodes with Japanese subs and the show still holds up and knowing who the mastermind is does make rewatching more interesting. Maybe I mind change my mind about the mastermind on my second watch.

Anyways, Million Yen Women is not your run of the mill harem show and the women are much more than your typical stereotypes. Its not often I can say I like all of them, except for one.

Very watchable show. Worth giving a bit of money to support jdoramas. Daddy of Light starts the 1st of next month so I recommend you wait till then. Hopefully Netflix pouring money in jdoramas and anime will allow the industry to be more creative instead of catering for the boring masses.

Tsubaki Bunguten

WHAT IS IT?

Tabe Mikako returns to her hometown of Kamakura after her estranged grandmother dies. Mikako's grandmother trained her to be professional letter writer when she was young but Mikako rebeled and hated it.

Its basically a small town everyone has a past show and the letter writing is just an excuse for Mikako to investigate her clients.

WHO IS TSUBAKI BUNGUTEN FOR?

Its basically for people who enjoy easy to watch shows and of course Tabe Mikako fans. The rest of the casting is great with Takahashi Katsunori and Katase Nana.

WHAT'S NOT GOOD ABOUT IT?

The letter writing gimmick is pretty paper thin, especially in this age of electronic communication. I kinda wished they had set it in the 80s. The only interesting letter for me was the debt refusal story.

IS IT WORTH WATCHING?

The second half gets better when its not burdened by the letter writing gimmick for random clients and focuses the relationships between the characters but ultimately it was very meh for me. The mark of a bland show is when you wish you were watching better shows in the same genre such as Kibougaoka no Hitobito and Coffee-ya no Hitobito. Meh.

MIFF 2017: In this Corner of the World / Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni

The Melbourne International Film Festival is back and the movie that I wanted to watch is 'In this Corner of the World' which I have read good things about. Its a poignant movie about a young woman Suzu who lives in Hiroshima during WW2 and its about the world through her eyes.

In this Corner of the World is a beautifully painted anime with a water colourly feel. When the story gets dark in the second half, it will definitely pull at your heartstrings especially in regards to the suffering of the normal people and their attempt to survive during the hardships of war and rationing.

However, I thought the movie had pacing problems and could have easily shaved 15 minutes from its 2 hour runtime and no vital information would have been lost. There were scenes that went too long or were not necessary and I got a bit bored in the first half.

While the movie is certainly moving, it doesn't do anything that I've not seen from many movies and doramas about WW2 and I don't feel like it does it well enough to warrant a recommendation. Its ok but no Grave of Fireflies.

2017 Japan Trip 2 Part 4: Rest of the pictures

Main reason for going to Sky Tree was for this real life Macross thing!

I want to hop into the cockpit!!!!

Can't remember where this cat was from.

Shinjuku at night.

Kimi no Na wa posters at Shinjuku Station advertising the release of the blu-ray.

Peter Rabbit exhibition near Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku.

Went for the 4000 yen Unagi. Was it delicious? Yes. Was it worth it? No.

Golden Gai in Shinjuku aka Champion District from Yakuza.

Hirekatsu at Narikura in Takadanobaba.

Look at the succulent meat of the special roast tonkatsu from some special mugi fed pigs.

Mouth watering very high quality pork. Absolutely worth the 3900 yen price. The one hour wait time is ok once in a while.

Angel Heart exhibit in Shinjuku.

Nothing cools you down in the Japanese summer like macha ice-cream.

Can't remember what type of custard this was but I was too full to eat it at the time. :(

My game haul from this trip. Not to mention 20000 yen in PSN cards which I've spent nearly all.

Finally a Berserk poster! Not the best poster but finally I have one!

2nd Japan trip 2017 Part 3: Hakubutsufes and bugs

One feature of Japanese summer besides the heat is the abundance of bugs. I'm not just talking being able to hear cicadas and higurashis but also bug events! In the above picture, we're lining up to go to Hakubutsufes at the National Science something. It was very close to the Yasukuni Shrine and the Imperial Gardens.

Hakubutsu means natural history and this event is for animal, bug and science lovers.

Kabutomushi aka Japanese rhinoceros bettle.

These two unfortunately aren't for sale.

Got this polar bear for 2man after a lot of deliberation. I way overpayed for it but it looks pretty good hanging in my room. :)

This is from another Kuwabata festival at Tokyo Sky Tree which we had not intention of going up. The main reason for going will be in the next post. The shop owner was very kind and allowed us to get close to this gigantic kabutomushi.