Hills of Hayward

Christine and I recently got hooked on One Piece. Although the animation quality itself is sub-par, the engaging storyline of an ensemble cast of lovable misfits make it quite a joy to watch. I usually enjoy anime series with weight like Ghost in the Shell where the story ponders the difference between man/cyborg/android, or .hack//sign where escapism and online relationships are explored. Comparing One Piece to either of these great series is like a Monty Python’s Life of Brian compared to Stephen Soderbergh’s Traffic.

As far as I know, One Piece manga has been around for quite some time. The anime version, which is what I’m watching now, started production in 1999 and and is still going strong in 2008 at Episode 352! Almost one episode of for every day of the year.

The Cartoon Channel airs One Piece episodes once a week showing episodes around 225-275, but not nearly often enough to catch up on all the character development and past story lines. Netflix and Amazon only carry episodes from 1-50. What is an anime lover in the US to do?

Fortunately, One Piece episodes are available through less than legal methods like YouTube videos or Bit Torrent downloads, and looking at the download and view statistics for either of these methods, One Piece has quite a following. At the very least, hundreds of thousands of fans in the US alone.

What makes this story tragic is that some Anime companies who have produced blockbuster works have been suffering through financial difficulties or even closing up shop as production costs rise and revenues stagnate. They blame the rise of illegal online distribution mechanisms on the internet for their loss in revenue.

Although this may be true, I think it would also be fair to add that never before in history has the Anime medium had as many fans throughout the world. YouTube versions of One Piece come in Greek, English, Portugese, French, German, Chinese, and even Arabic. I see more an more profiles on MySpace or online forums where people use Anime characters for their avatar images.

The problem does not seem to be on the demand side, but the supply side. Why are only the first 50 episodes of One Piece available for sale in the US? Why are the latest episodes of hit series not available for purchase in the US in a timely manner? I can’t imagine the US being a “small market” that can be ignored. Could this be part of the reason why so many fans are flocking online desperate to find the latest episodes of the series they love and crave?

The Anime market is only a small piece of the overall media distribution versus Internet battle that the movie industry, music industry, and tv industry will face in the coming decade. The battle is on, and I have a bucket of popcorn and a comfy seat waiting to see who is smart enough to come out on top.

Happy Chinese New Years to all!

My flight back from Taiwan arrived early in the morning, and I watched the sun rise over the Bay Area, and I was struck with a powerful feeling I haven’t had in quite a while.

I lost this feeling soon after college after a few years becoming experienced with the business world. When I fly over cities, my gut reaction when I look down at the urban sprawl was more like Sweeney Todd returning to London in the opening song to the musical: No Place like London

Sweeney Todd: There’s a hole in the world like a great black pit
and the vermin of the world inhabit it
and its morals aren’t worth what a pig could spit
and it goes by the name of London.
At the top of the hole sit the privileged few
Making mock of the vermin in the lonely zoo
turning beauty to filth and greed…
I too have sailed the world and seen its wonders,
for the cruelty of men is as wonderous as Peru
but there’s no place like London!

This time it was different. Maybe it was the early morning light rather than the harsh bake of the afternoon full sun. Or maybe it was the early spring rains that bring the flush of green to the hills of California. Or maybe it is because I am a father now.

This time my feelings were more like Boromir talking about returning home to Gondor in the Fellowship of the Rings.

Boromir: My father is a noble man, but his rule is
failing and our..our people lose faith.
He looks to me to make things right…and
I would do it, I would see the glory of
Gondor restored. Have you ever seen it,
Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion,
glimmering like a spike of pearl and
silver, its banners caught high in the
morning breeze…have you ever been
called home by the clear ringing of
silver trumpets?

Naruto is a hot Japanese export to the US. It is not a new cell phone or some sort of electronics, but an anime series. I have to blame my friend Sam from getting me hooked on this anime series. When I visited Sam in North Carolina, I noticed him transfixed on YouTube doing searches like “Naruto Episode 1″ and watching each and every episode. Last I talked to Sam, he has watched all 200+ episodes twice.

It should be no surprise to most of you that I have a mild case of being an Otaku. Having watched countless hours of bad anime, when you stumble upon “the good stuff”, it is almost like achieving enlightenment for a couple of weeks. For women, I equate it to maybe like stumbling across a perfect dress on a 70% off sale rack or when you hear a new song on the radio that speaks directly to your heart.

What makes Naruto series unique is that it brings the mysterious world of the Japanese Ninja into everyday terms. The conception of a ninja here in the US is laughable and borderline idiotic. We have… lets see… Chris Farley in Beverley Hills Ninja, Ask a Ninja, and an assortment of late-night low-budget ninja and martial arts movies.

Instead of making the ideals and the nobility of the Ninja inaccessible or godlike, this series celebrates the ninja craft with plenty of humor and humanity by following the lives of Naruto Uzumaki and his friends as they grow to become and understand the nature of a ninja.

Naruto has taken US by storm. Take a look at these kids in full cosplay (costume play) of a scene in Naruto. You can catch Naruto on the Cartoon Network, but both Christine and I (yes I got her watching as well) recommend the original japanese language version with subtitles on YouTube. The english voice actors do not work with the people that write the script, and do not correctly capture the mood or portray the characters.

One of the endearing facets of the Naruto character is his penchant for eating Japanese ramen every meal. In one episode the Naruto character and a friend, Choji, explain the proper way to eat and critique ramen similar to the ultimate ramen movie, Juzo Itahi’s Tampopo.  It is gratifying to see the writers of the Naruto series pay homage to this quirky but brilliant and underappreciated movie.

My favorite quote in the series is: “There are no bad people among ramen lovers!” On the surface this is a simple quote of a naive child; however, an ongoing theme of the series is that even the most evil of people are human, albeit tragic. I hope to remember to share the joys of life even with people I disagree with.

Wong Kar Wai is one of my favorite directors. His movies, whether it is set in the future or in the past, has a timeless quality to their stories. His characters are often misfits, obsessive, and a little deviant. Unlike in real life where people are bleached by work pressures, social pressures, and the general media from sharing our little personality quirks, Wong’s movies embrace these quirks in its anti-heros. I feel strong attachment to his characters because of their vunerability.

My favorite Wong Kar Wai movie is “Chungking Express“. It should be available now in the foreign section of your local video store thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s Rolling Thunder Pictures label. Although I warn you, Quentin talks way too much before and after the movie, I would give him the fastforward treatment.

Chungking Express is a modern love story starring Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Brigitte Lin. Unlike regular love stories with sugar-saturated suspension of belief fairy-tale plots, ChungKing Express is urban and contemporary. The movie somehow uses a paging device, expiring cans of fruit, and the ubiquitous city food stand as plot devices. Faye Wong is absolutely ethereal, and watching her act is alone worth a look at this movie.

What got me writing about Wong Kar Wai today was a NY Times article, “The Master of Time: Wong Kar-wai in America”. Wong is apparently shooting a new movie in New York. Similar to Ang Lee who made the jump into Hollywood from asian cinema, Wong is also attempting this leap with the upcoming “My Blueberry Nights” starring Norah Jones, Natalie Portman, and Jude Law.

What is interesting is his choice of using Norah in this movie, who like Faye, also is multi-talented, but is known primarily as a singer rather than an actor. Can Wong pull off his style in Hollywood? Can Norah hold her own as an actress? The movie is due out middle of next year, so I will be anxiously waiting.

After hearing that this movie would be Jet Li’s final martial arts flick, I really wanted to watch it. Rumor has it that Jet Li will still do action movies, but no more “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” style period pieces.

Christine and I were not dissappointed. The fight scenes were intense, and Jet Li has not slowed down despite his ripe old age of 43. I especially enjoyed the english subtitles; this allowed me to feel immersed in the film, rather than irritated by bad voice dubbing.

Overall the film is enjoyable and almost a must see. The biggest flaw as well as the biggest strength of the movie was how simple the story line was. The plot line was 100% predictable, but the purity of the acting and the emotional sincerity of the cast made the movie still highly enjoyable.

I can understand how Jet Li would choose this movie to be his final one. The message of inner-restraint and harmony with the world through kung fu is a noble way to end his spectacular career. I applaud him for it. To my surprise, some of the non-asian audience applauded during the credits despite the frequent europe/western-bashing dialogue due to the historical backdrop.

After the movie, Christine and I were both curious as to the historical accuracy of the main character in the movie, Huo Yuan Jia. It seems that the movie did take considerable dramatic liberty. No wonder the Huo family is suing the producers and distributors of this flick.