Happyfunsmile Halloween!

Happyfunsmile at Forbidden City
NEW YORK, October 31 — I celebrated Halloween at the Forbidden City Lounge. However, it took me almost forty-five minutes to fight my way through the New York City Halloween parade.

If you never experienced the New York Halloween Parade, it is another world. Basically, it's a huge outdoor cosplay party with millions of people. The parade stretches across a good portion of Sixth Avenue. It's so big that it usually spills over to Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue.

The pedestrian traffic was really brutal. I was tiptoeing through the crowd. I had to push and elbow my way out of the parade. My limited Jiu-jitsu skills became very useful in the crowd of cosplayers. I was lucky to get over to Forbidden City.

I did come across one girl who was dressed as Pris from Blade Runner. She had one large band of black eye shadow. She also had the teased out blonde hair. I didn't get a picture of it. I was too busy fighting my way through the crowd. Damn, I should have tried to get a photo of her. Ohh… well.

Happyfunsmile, a local Okinawan pop band, played a special Halloween show in front of the Forbidden City bar. The space was really tight, but they managed to rock the house. This was my second time watching them perform. They were great.


Peter Tatara, his girlfriend, and me.
I also had the chance to drink with Peter Tatara and his girlfriend. He was cosplaying as Urahara from Bleach. Peter is the Programming Manager for the New York Anime Festival. He recently got Patrick Macias as a guest for the festival, which is pretty awesome. New York City anime fans will get to meet the man behind OtakuUSA.

We had a few drinks and enjoyed the music of Happyfunsmile. Overall, it was a very cool night.

Hangin' out with Junko Mizuno

NEW YORK, October 11 — I got a chance to hang out with Junko Mizuno, female mangaka and designer. She did a book signing at Kidrobot, a specialty toy store in New York. Mizuno spent an hour and a half meeting and signing toys for fans. She was very cool and gracious.

Junko Mizuno is famous for her kawaii noir style of art. It's a nightmarish mixture of mo-e cuteness and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Her most noted works are Pure Trance and Junko Mizuno's Hell Babies. Her designs and characters are also used in action figures, t-shirts, and other types of merchandise.



The store was extremely small and the line was not too long. It had a cozy feeling about it.

I went to the signing with my friend, Micheal, but he wasn't a fan of her work. He came to take pictures anyway. I'm not big on autographs, so I didn't get on the signing line. We just hung out near Junko Mizuno's signing table while she signed books, toys, and sketches. We just talked about manga and met rabid fans of Junko Mizuno. Overall, it was a very cool experience.


Junko Mizuno interview on Japanorama

Laziness and Humidity

NEW YORK, October 8 — Damn, I've been really lazy lately... Grrr. It doesn't help that the weather in New York is hovering in the high 80s (degrees Fahrenheit) with humidity in the 80% range. It's October! Frickin' October people. I think Al Gore was right about the whole global warming thing.

It also doesn't help that my custom built PC is constantly over heating. It makes the whole place five degrees higher than the outside temperature. Don't ask about the cooling system. It works. I've pushed the limits of air cooled systems. The next step is the water/liquid cooled units. I'm fighting the urge to move to a liquid system. If I have a cylinder of water near my desk, I might get the idea to drink from it.

I've fallen into procrastination mode. I've got to fight my reckless laziness. I've got to be more productive! Here is a picture of my desk:



I'm working on my current graphic novel project. I didn't pencil the work. I'm doing layouts and inking.

The Slow Death of Little Tokyo

Kamikaze Anime, Storefront

LOS ANGELES, September 17 – I went looking for anime and manga during my trip to Los Angeles. I started with the most obvious location, Little Tokyo. I was puzzled by the lack of video and book stores in the area. My friend said that the area was hit pretty hard by the poor economy. The number of Japanese specialty stores was shrinking. Some stores moved away, and other stores completely disappeared. In addition, many second and third generation Japanese Americans were moving away. The Japanese Californian population is very scattered.


Wall of Manga, Kamikaze Anime

I did manage to find one anime/manga store. It was called Kamikaze Anime. It sold mostly imported manga, region 2 DVDs, J-Pop, and anime merchandise. The store had an impressive wall of manga displayed in the back. It was pretty cool. They also sold Japanese school uniforms. The uniforms were a little big for Japanese school children, but they were perfect for American cosplaying otaku.



Ready to Wear Cosplay, Kamikaze Anime

Even the Japanese malls were pretty bare and depressing with closed stores and unlit windows. The place felt neglected. The only anime related store in the mall was a Sanrio store. I'm not a big fan of Hello Kitty, but I had to check out the Hello Kitty garbage cans. There is a huge Sanrio store in New York that I have never visited. Yet, I feel strangely compelled to go to the one in Los Angeles. Creepy…


Sanrio Store, Little Tokyo Mall

I think Sanrio stores are like cockroaches. They will survive anything… bad economies, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and even Global Thermonuclear War! Joshua…


Shall we play a game?

The Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest 2007

The Jack Lords performing at The Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest 2007

NEW YORK, August 15 — The Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest 2007 (August 11, 2007) rocked the fat ass. It was truly a pan-asian festival. The festival created an open atmosphere at Chinatown's Columbus Park. The acts ranged from Indo-Jazz to Hawaiian Rock. It was a truly unique amalgamation of music.

It was all ages. Young Adults, senior citizen, and little children enjoyed the rock and jazz music. Very cool... I look forward to the next Asian American Arts Alliance's Soundfest.

Some of the highlights were: The Jack Lords, HappyFunSmile, and Slanty Eyed Mama.

More Info on The Asian American Arts Alliance:
www.aaartsalliance.org

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James Leung Man-Fai