Archive for April, 2005


The Day After

April 19th, 2005

What *does* one do on the day after a revolution?

If I was feeling obnoxious, I’d say, “I’m going to Disneyland,” but since there’s NO way I’d do that, the answer is – one takes a day off to recharge and reboot.

We decided that, as it was Sunday, to take in the waves of humanity at Harajuku. The last time I was there, it was New Year’s weekend and while mobbed, had a noticeable lack of youthful color. This time, on a beautiful warm April Sunday the gothlings, punklings, goth-lolitas, fruits and sundry were out in little clusters of twos and threes. No one had the guts to be cool and different by themselves – the majority of the pairs were girls, with the very occasional boy/girl pair where the guy had the distinct look of someone trying desperately to impress a girl. The guys tended to clump in hip-hop or reggae cool, and of course there were gaggles of school uniforms wandering around. Navy blue, can you believe it?

We watched a bench press contest for a while. They weren’t actually bench pressing, but they were dead lifting a fair amount of weight.

Here’s a woman deadlifting what we figured was about 45 lbs:

Here’s a foreigner being interviewed by a TV crew. We don’t know who she is, offhand, but we guess she’s an idol type:

This guy has a unique style of his own:

And this seemed to be the dominant meme, along with Hot Topics-like punk (which I adore, so I was happy.):

Goth Lolita seems to be morphing into a punk that is heavily influenced by The Nightmare Before Christmas. Since one of my best friends dresses like that all the time, she’ll be pleased to be ahead of the curve for a while.

These two girls were done up to the nines:

We wanted desperately to be thin enough to buy clothes in this heavily Takarazuka influenced store:

After a few hours of that, we were frankly wiped. P and my eyes were strobing and we were dizzy from too much visual stimulation. Donna was feeling poorly, too, so we opted to crash back at the hotel before attempting some kind of dinner plans.

There was a wedding at the hotel, below our room:

Now, a very dear friend who I have seen exactly twice in my life, had informed me that she would come to Tokyo to see me. We met four years ago when Ogata Megumi came to New York and I geeked out and joined the tour. Masako-san and I hit it off pretty quickly and we’ve been emailing sporadically since then. What an amazing person she is! Not only did she travel for hours to see someone as unworthy as myself, she graciously allowed all my ducklings to come with us. So it was that 10 of us went out for a nice intimate reunion.

This is what I have come to think of as a “random Ikebukuro moment” and things like this appeared much more often than you’d think:

Lorelei, our youngest Yuricon member and Masako-san hit it off really well:

And they both made friends with this giant panda:

We had been seeing a goofy movie poster over two slacker types on a motorcycle, dressed up in a sort of wacky faux Edo period get-up all over town, and when we hit this window exhibit and the light bulb went off, I coveted the t-shirt mightily:

The deal is, that they are Yaji and Kita, the original wandering comedic pair, only this time, they are doing a x-country on a bike, it seems. I want that shirt!

Masako-san and I discussed very profound things like squid and Marimite – and she confirmed what we all know: Saying Sei is your favorite character is like saying the sky is blue. :-)

Masako-san and myself:

The evening was spent wandering around Ikebukuro and scattering cash over random stores. Too soon Masako-san had to go, and we crawled back to the hotel and slept like the dead.





Event: The Day of the (Yuri) Revolution

April 17th, 2005

Saturday started early around here. Of course I didn’t sleep very much. :-)

In the lobby, after a little adventure with a broken elevator and a very heavy suitcase that left me stranded in the basement for a few minutes, I managed to hand off the heavy suitcase to Serge, shouldered my computer and Pattie took the smaller suitcase, still filled with snacks. Bruce stayed back in case anyone showed up in the lobby and needed an escort and we all headed out to Koujimachi.

The next hour was a flurry of unpacking and set-up, as all such things are.

People began to drift up at 12:00, and by 12:30, there was a small crowd outside ready to be let in. We were still trying to get some last things done, like setting up the computer, but that was fine. By the time we got going, slightly late, as such things always do, we were mostly organized. :-)

After opening remarks, which Rica and I kept short, the guests did their intros.

Then we had the most hysterical Opening Ceremony act *ever*. Healerin did a koudan show – a traditional form of half narrated-half acted one person show. Instead of doing his koudan to a tradtional story, Healerin performed two scenes from the Cutey Honey live-action movie. All I can say is, that it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a really long time. His rendition of Black Claw was simply genius.

One of our guests was Itou Bungaku, the man who created the term “Yuri.” In 1971, he was editor of Barazoku, a magazine for gay men, and he termed gay men the “barazoku,” the rose tribe, and lesbian “yurizoku,” the lily tribe. That was later shortened to yuri.

We had a little break, and I prepared for my “panel” which in my head was “Erica’s third-degree torture.”

So, there I was, all alone, faced by a room full of people taking pictures and who wanted to know the why, what, where, when and how of yuri in America. I find questions like that maddening, because I really can’t answer for “American fans,” only myself. (Just like at yuri panels at anime cons where I’m asked these huge questions about Japanese culture and acceptance of homosexuality or somesuch…like I can answer for all of Japan…but I digress.

So, with Ive at my side to render my insane ramblings into coherent Japanese, I told the story of how I created Yuricon. Then I answered questions I have no authority or ability to answer. I expect it will be fascinating to see what I said end up in print somewhere. The last question was from Glenn of Anime Tourist – he asked how did I differentiate “Yuri” from lesbian porn made for men. I was a bit glib and answered, “If I like it – it’s yuri.” But, as far as I’m concerned, that is the answer. To me, “lesbian” means two women who love/desire each other. Cheesy porn doesn’t have that – just two woman having sex on each other. That’s never really read “lesbian” to me, so I don’t see where there’s a disctinction to be made at all.

After more than an hour, I was let off the hook, and we had a break before the next panel. To my shame, I was so burnt, I really didn’t listen at all to our brilliant guests who were taking questions and talking about their experiences as writers and artists. (I know, I know…)

After the guest disussion came the AMV contest. I showed a wide variety of anime music videos from Yuri Studios to (what seemed to me) a shell-shocked audience of uncomprehending faces. I hope they liked the music anyway. LOL I came out to watch my favorite video and, as I predicted, all the English-speakers laughed their butts off. I’m sorry the Japanese speakers couldn’t figure out what we were laughing at….and everyone hated the music too – but I love it, so there. Nyah.

The last panel was entitled “Yuri Panel by Yuri Women”. We talked alot about the term “Yuri”. Like with porn movies for guys which are labeled “lesbian” but are really two straight actresses who having sex on each other, “Yuri” waas taken over by hentai doujinshi creators for porn comics with two female characters having sex on each other. Sometimes the characters are actually a couple – but mostly its just fetishy, bodily-fluid-filled porn. Lesbians kind of lost control of the word Yuri.

A lot of the day was spent talking about the word itself, in fact. I think it’s a really good term, and I see no reason why it has to mean porn for guys, when really, its only a teeny, tiny percentage of the world who thinks that’s what it means. When the press release about ALC Publishing’s contract with Diamond Comics went out, the term “Yuri” genre was seen for the first time by many people.

So I asked that all the lesbians in the audience go out and reclaim the word for themselves, particularly the writers and artists, because they can make the biggest effect.

Our final guest list was:

Itou Bungaku – creator of the term “yuri”
Matsuura Rieko – Japan’s most famous lesbian author
Mori Natsuko – lesbian essayist and sci fi novelist
Morishima Akiko – shoujo manga artist and yuri doujinshi artist
Mizoguchi Akiko – lesbian scholar of yaoi
Mizuki Monica – yuri mangaka
Rachel Thorn – shoujo manga scholar and translator
Hagiwara Mami – editor of Anise magazine

And, of course:

Takashima Rica – Yuri mangaka, con chair, genius and all-around goddess.

We also had some stunning industry people there, and a host of translators – so many that I can’t even list them all. All I know is that I thank them all from the bottom of my heart and I owe Ive and Trevor my first and second born children. :-)

It was a pretty amazing cast of characters.

After the last panel, we all milled around and chatted and got to know each other, until it was time to clean up and go. The American staff was mightily fried, and when they learned karaoke wasn’t beginning until 11PM, most of them begged off. But Pattie and Bruce and Serge and I were there and…yes, we sang. :-) Serge, Pattie and Bruce have pleasant voices. lol

The songs started as anime classics, and by the time I left at 3AM were old TV themes from everyone’s childhood. It was pretty funny, even if I didn’t know the shows.

And so, just a few hours shy of 24, the day ended.

But, I believe that the Revolution has just begun….





The Revolution has been digitized

April 17th, 2005

I know I didn’t take that many pictures, sorry…

The winners of the day were Rica, of course, for running everything so beautifully, Ive and Trevor, who had a beastly time translating our obscure and weird comments and did it like champs, and my screensaver o’yuri, which got no less than four requests for copies. :-)





The Revolution is Nigh…Day 7

April 15th, 2005

And while it may not be televised, it does look like it will be covered by press on both sides of the ocean.

To say that this whole thing has snowballed out of control is a *major* understatement. But I get ahead of myself.

Morning came early, with the child next door slamming doors and stomping around. We slouched around the room, had sandwiches for breakfast and went down to the lobby as usual. Today I wanted to geek out and spend money, so back to Nakano and all the nifty-shifty and slighty seedy stores at the Broadway shopping arcade.

This is a gratuitous “wacky” shot of a palm tree at a gaming place we saw on the Nakano train platform:

We played some games in an arcade – here’s Erin mastering the Taiko game:

And here’s Pattie taking a rest with Ronald McDonald:

P and I both bought doujinshi, I got some manga I would have bought anyway, but this way I saved the shipping, and I got some very nice ROD The TV gashopon. I saw a set for Mai Hime but it was sold and I never saw the separates anywhere else. And no Shizuru. If I can’t have the cool psycho lesbian with the big-ass weapon, then what would the point be?

We had sandwiches for lunch – I still have NO idea what was in mine at all. It gave me a stomachache later, but the wife says it was nerves. Our feet gave up at 3 or so and we crawled back to the hotel to crash. I drank the energy drink Rica made me buy – it tasted gross, so it probably worked just fine.

We met our staff in the lobby and took what *should* in theory be a 30-minute trip, but is, in reality, more like an hour, to Shinjuku 3choume station, which is right around the corner from the Cocolo Cafe.

Staff floated in and, like some kind of stupid joke, *everytime* I tried to do introductions, we were interrupted. It got pretty funny when we were interrupted three times trying to do a kampai.

Eventually we were all in place, dinner was served and we had a really, really nice time. The two hours flew by. The lighting in the restaurant was the worst possible lighting ever for photos, so all these have a weird surreal look, which I quite like. lol

This is a picture of Catherine taking a picture of me taking a picture, so of course, my picture didn’t come out. lol

From the left: Ive, Serge, Donna, Pattie, Kelli, Takami, Rica (waving):

From left to right: Catherine, Sparkle, Trevor:

I LOVE this picture! From the left: Dillon, Mr. Sakuta, Mr. Horai, Bruce. Aren’t they adorable?

The inevitable Takami and Rica eating picture:

And, at last, proof that I was really here and that I really am not photogenic. From the left: Takami, Rica and myself:

I think the energy drink really did work, but since we’re going to have such a long day, we’re back in the room, relaxing and martialing our energy for tomorrow.

Special snaps for Rica Takashima, who has worked *way* too hard on this and is doing an amazing job.

In the last few days, we’ve gotten some new guests, including Mr. Ito Bungaku, who originally coined the phrase yurizoku (“lily tribe”) almost 40 years ago. I think that this event is a tribute to him, and to Yoshiya Nobuko. I’d like to think that she’s with us in spirit.

Don’t expect updates tomorrow, kids – it’ll be a looooong day, ending in hours and hours of karaoke. Maybe I’ll be able to pull myself together for an entry on Sunday, but I promise nothing. ;-)





Yuri Revolution, Day 6, Part 2

April 15th, 2005

Here’s the very few pictures I took yesterday.

This is the entrance to the Hanazono shrine. I’m exeptionally fond of this shrine, as it’s tucked into an amazingly busy corner of Shinjuku, and because it features prominently in my fave girl-gang manga Hana no Asuka-gumi.

Here’s the shrine itself. Frankly, if it comes down to shrines and temples versus anime stuff, I’d take the shrines. One of my favorite things about Japan are the shrine and temple complexes. I like being in a country where Christianity isn’t the dominant meme.

Last night a bunch of us went to Nakano to try and get to Mandarake (a sprawling series of anime stuff stores) but dinner took so long that the stores were closed by the time we got done. P asked me to take this picture of these “charming” candy creatures with the comment, “It’s amazing what you can do with gumdrops these days.”

It’s another beautiful day out, and I’m really in the mood to get geeky, so I think that we will try to get to Mandarake today and make it an all-day-er.

Tonight is the staff dinner at Cocolo Cafe, so I will get to meet all of our Japanese staff for tomorrow! Oh my god…is the event really tomorrow?