The latest iteration of the Street Fighter franchise dropped earlier this week, and Capcom pulled out all the stops. SF2THDR (don’t ask) is a polished up version of the classic Street Fighter II Turbo, tweaked and rebalanced based upon knowledge gleaned from well over a decade of tournament play, with a fan made soundtrack that’s already made it’s way online in its entirety and a hip hop album inspired by the game. Not bad for a $15 download.

Probably the most noticable difference is in the new graphics designed by Udon studios, the people behind the Street Fighter comic book. I worked with a couple of cats from Udon, and they’re good people. The new look was obviously a labour of love, because nobody in their right mind would want to redraw all those fucking sprites.

Hats off to all involved. Never before have I enjoyed getting my ass handed to me so many times by so many different people from around the world.

Akuma by Arnold Tsang, for Street Fighter #0.

This show Banged Up Abroad not only has a strangely sexy name, but is one of the very few things I’ve seen on TV that frightens the shit out of me. Each episode follows an innocent enough person or couple wanting adventure and/or cash and are given a great opportunity to get it….at a price! Comedy ensues.

I have never tried smuggling drugs or even koala skull ashtrays, but I still get piss scared going to the airport, worried they’ll lock me away forever. These are people put in really stressful situations that just gets worse and worse until the bubble bursts and they’re sent to hell.

All the episodes are on ye olde You Tube, so check it out and share in the piss your pants adventure!

Gary sent this compilation of footage he shot while in Japan to family and friends, but was too shy to post it on the blog, so I’m doing it for him. Enjoy!

Seeing as no one has responded to my plea for Japanese gift suggestions yet, I asked the owner of my favourite cafe for his recommendations. After giving it some thought, he determined that I should get Gary to pick up a set of Infant Island fairies, presumably to keep them in my pocket should I ever need to call upon the majestic power of Mothra. That line of thinking had me questioning whether Toho has ever considered an Infant Island music box, one that has the twins twirling to their rendition of Mosura No Uta. So far I haven’t found anything, but I’m not giving up hope.

If you want to experience the siren song of the Infant Island fairies, an mp3 of Mosura No Uta can be found at Monster Movie Music.

I ask for little, but today I must enact our ancient covenant and beg you, our readers, for some guidance. May my plea be heard!

My brother and I Was Ben co-conspirator Gary is leaving Japan in a few weeks, and he has promised to buy me anything my heart desires. Unfortunately, I know little of Japanese pop culture trash. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Here are a few things I’m interested in, just to give you an idea as to what I’m into.

Violence – I dig the Japanese crime scene, though I can only imagine such things are a little hard to come by. As you can see from my previous post, I’ve been enjoying the Pinky Violence, and anything related to knife-wielding girls in hot pants is certainly welcome. Also, bear-fighting bad boy Riki Takeuchi has dropped an album called Ma-Tsu-Ri, and that or any other Yakuza-inspired offering would be greatly appreciated. You don’t think they make Riki Takeuchi body pillows do you?

Fighting Game Memorabilia – Possibly one of the more convenient items on the list, I would like some memento devoted to a fighting game. I have no idea what might be available, but the stranger the better. If I was sure it would play on North American systems, Gary would be bringing home Tatsunoko vs. Capcom without fail. Gatchaman for the win.

Manga – I’d be interested in seeing small press stuff, really niche items, or whacked-out versions of North American properties.

Vending Machine Swag – I don’t even care what the fuck he gets. Hell, I’m tempted to get him to throw coins at that Marvel machine until a lil’ Ben Grimm pops out.

Kaiju – If there’s one thing Gary is definitely bringing home, it’s something Godzilla-related. Last year he got me a Godzilla statue and an Godzilla lighter that roars when sparked up, both of which I cherish. He had a hard time finding me Godzilla merchandise last time, but since then he’s found an entire store devoted to such delights, and now I’m spoiled for choice, though I am intrigued by that Godzilla costume built for G.I. Joes.

Once again, if I’m missing the latest must-have item, please let me know in the comments below. Thanks!

If you’re visiting this site looking for T.R., try The X-Men and The Micronauts mini-series.

T.F.’d in The Savage Sword of Conan volume 4.

I noticed the first snow of the season falling outside my window at about the same time winter hits in Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django. I normally hate winter, but I have to admit, there’s something about a warm room on a cold, still night that enhances the cinematic experience for me.

Sukiyaki Western Django is like something from another planet, with Japanese actors speaking Shakespeare phonetically while kicking the dust with both machine guns and samurai swords in hand. It’s about as close as anything has come in the past ten years to give me that feeling of wonderful disbelief so many international b-pictures of the 60s and 70s provide.

What was most pleasantly surprising was discovering that Sukiyaki Western Django isn’t some bastardization of the original Django (one of my favourite Italian Westerns), but a direct companion to that film. The only thing I felt was missing as I watched it, and hoped would be corrected even as the film drew to an end, was some variation on the classic Django theme song by Luis Bacalov.

As you can see below, they covered all their bases for this viewer, at least.

Django – Luis Bacalov
Django Sasurii – Koji Endo

When the world’s got me down, sometimes the only way I can get myself back up is by making doodles of Baron Munchausen and my cat hotboxing.