Well, clearly I need to figure out how to better use this crazy new blogging interface thing.

I am back in the land of Kaiju catastrophes and am sadly going to miss out on Christmas back home. The good news is that I get to enjoy all the insane Christmas art here!

Every year it gets more and more insane with Christmas everything and I’ll be sure more gems in the near future.

I don’t know how or why it’s escaped me for so long, but An Eternal Thought In The Mind Of Godzilla is my new favourite blog. The most recent post showcases three renditions of Godzilla by various manga artists, which is appropriate considering tonight my Macho Movie Review co-host Billy is coming over for a double bill of kaiju fury.

Other notable posts include excerpts from the Pink Lady colouring book, some scans from a 30-year old copy of Animage, and a fashion shoot with yesterday’s subject, Bunta Sugawara. And that’s just scraping the surface. Dig in!

My time in Japan is unfortunately coming to a close. Now that I have only a few days left, I’m getting more and more excited about things that I simply can’t get over here.

CEREAL!

Captain Crunch, Life, and especially my good pal, Count Chocula. Japan’s a tough place to live for lovers of these crunchy morning delights. Here, I basically have the choice of either frosted flakes or chocolate frosted flakes. Sure there’s granola stuff sometimes, but it’s damn expensive. Oh Count…

POPTARTS!

I feel this breakfast treat is a different enough animal to warrant it’s own place here. I really fucking miss pop tarts which is strange since I rarely bought them while in Canada.

PIZZA!

Sure, they have pizza here, but it’s just not the same. While very delicious, you’re looking to pay around $35 for something that equals to about one medium sized pizza back home. What I really miss are those giant cheap-ass slices. Oh, and to eat pizza again without corn and mayonnaise on it! I don’t know why, but most pizza here has corn on every slice. Not that it tastes bad, but the un-corned pizza is missed.

WILLY WONKA’S STASH!

Nerds, Punky’s and every other kind of tooth rotting candy I can possibly get.

SPEAKING ENGLISH!

How novel it will be to finally go to a store and not go through the process of using my crap Japanese.  Not that it’s really a big problem to tell you the truth. Japanese is tough to learn, but not as tough as people think. There’s actually rules that make sense unlike our bastard tongues. Still, the idea of speaking English on a regular basis sounds like good fun.

Hmm… so most of what I miss seems to be food based. To tell you the truth, Japan’s a really great place to live! It’s got tons of fun things to do and I find new things every time I go for a walk here. I’d highly recommend hoofing it over here. Bansai!

I was skipping along merry ol’ Osaka when I came across this… TATSUNOKO (I think…my katakana’s rusty) vs CAPCOM: CROSS GENERATION OF HEROES!!!!

I did indeed pick up a flyer here too. I’ll try and put it up when I can swipe the camera from the ol’ lady.

Also…

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!

I’m on the hunt for cool Halloween stuff.

Thank you baby black Jesus for leading me to this holiest of holy treasures. I rarely buy anything here in Osaka, but I just couldn’t resist plunking down the ¥300 for some big noggin’ super heroics.

I was kinda disappointed to get Spider-man. I love Puny Parker and all, but it doesn’t seem special seeing him on funky merchandise, unlike the other characters available.

STRIKE!

Ironman looks great with such an overwhelming melon.  The ol’ Canobble Head looks like he’s waiting for a swift kicks to the x-berries.

Now these guys are the treasures I’d like to score. With my love of all things Thing; Ben would be the greatest to get, but Hulk looks so freaking awesome too. Anger!

And then there’s the Secret….
Any Guesses?

Food staring at me…

…too late for begging mercy…

…bye crunchy creature.

I was very excited to stop by an arcade yesterday and see a new little fighting game by the name of Streetfighter 4.

Unfortunately, I have to say that I’m pretty mixed in the feelings department about the game. Why, why, WWWWHHHYYY did they have to make it 3D??? The game itself plays just like its 2D counterparts, but has a kinda-sorta cell shaded style that well…is lifeless.

Capcom always to me was the place to go for awesome 2D fighters. I’ll go to Virtua Fighter or blech…even Tekken if I gotta have 3D fighting action.  I can certainly understand if this was a Street Fighter EX kinda thing, but to call it Street Fighter 4 is crazy!

It was still a pretty fun game though. It plays solid, but it hurts just thinking of the fresh, crisp 2D fighters they could have had instead of this 3D nugget of poo.