Mangakai Lund

Doramakväll - Ranma½

2012-01-30T00:31:00.000+01:00

Onsdagsmötena har satt igång och nu är det även dags för dorama-mötena!

Vi börjar terminen med en-avsnitts-specialen Ranma½.
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ranma_1/2
http://www.facebook.com/events/337664716268042/?context=create

Tendo Akane is a boyish girl of martial arts who is fervently determined to inherit her father’s dojo. However, her father makes a unilateral decision that his successor should be a man. Moreover, he has already chosen Saotome Ranma as Akane’s husband-to-be, unaware of Ranma’s one strange habitude...he changes into a girl when splashed with water!

Skådespelare: Aragaki Yui, Kaku Kento, Natsuna, Nagayama Kento, Nishiyama Maki, Hasegawa Kyoko, Furuta Arata och Namase Katsuhisa.

Datum: 2 februari.
Som vanligt är det 18-21.30 som gäller på Norra fäladens fritidsgård, Lund.
Vi bjuder alltid på fika ♥

Hemsida nere!

2011-12-15T15:25:00.000+01:00

För tillfället är Mangakai Lunds hemsida nere. Vi jobbar på problemet och hoppas att det blir löst snart. Nästa möte är på onsdag den 18:e januari, kl 18 till 21:30, på Fäladsgården i Lund.

Lost and found

2011-11-03T09:06:00.000+01:00

Har du glömt nåt på ett konvent eller möte? Kom och hämta det!

Vi har många kvarglömda saker i vårt förråd och vi kommer nu att rensa ut dem om ingen kommer och hämtar dem.
Här är bilder på alla saker. De är tagna med blixt så färgerna kan vara lite off. Många av de svarta sakerna ser t.ex. grå ut och de mörkblåa blev ljus- eller klarblåa.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69334583@N05/sets/72157627912076811/

Är du ägare till nån av sakerna så skriv till oss och säg till. Uppge nummer, beskrivning och när du glömde den om du minns. Bor du långt borta så kan vi behålla ditt föremål till t.ex. nästa konvent men då MÅSTE du säga till.

Kom och hämta så snart som möjligt för den 7 december ger vi bort eller slänger allt som ingen claimat.

Eftersom vi inte vet vems dessa sakerna är kan vi inte ta ansvar för om nån lurar sig till något som inte är deras. Vi hoppas helt enkelt att ni är ärliga.

Arrietty in theathers!

2011-10-05T12:40:00.001+02:00

Finally! SF is screening Arrietty. I was expecting Kino to do it if it was going to happen but as long as we're getting it I'm happy (^-^)

Check it out at SF's homepage Lånaren Arrietty

Premier November 2.

Edit:
~~Unfortunately I don't see any sign of the original dub, only the Swedish one... I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.~~
They are screening it and both Japanese and Swedish! I just saw that they've added a link for the Japanese-dub one as well ^___^

But there's more! Mononoke Hime!
For some reason SF decided to also screen Mononoke Hime as well, starting October 28. This one we get in Japanese!

Prinsessan Mononoke

Ranma ½ gets Live Action special

2011-09-30T10:59:00.000+02:00

O_o I always wanted a dorama version of Ranma but I never thought they'd actually make one. It even looks like they're putting some effort and money into it 'cause it has a good time slot and a bunch of well known actors.
It's set to be a 2 hr special some time in Decomber.

Cast:
Aragaki Yui as Tendo Akane
Kaku Kento as Saotome Ranma (m)
Natsuna as Saotome Ranma (f)
Hasegawa Kyoko as Tendo Kasumi
Namase Katsuhisa as Tendo Soun
Tanihara Shosuke as Ono Tofu
Furuta Arata as Saotome Genma

(Edit: Did not know that that text format was some kind of picture... come on it was basically just space! I do not hot-link pictures knowingly!)

I know it might turn out horrible but I'm exited about it none the less :D and looking forward to watching it.

source: ANN

d-wiki info

Domoto Tsuyoshi releases in Europe!

2011-09-30T10:32:00.000+02:00

News for all Domoto Tsuyoshi and KinKi Kids fans!

Tsuyoshi is releasing his album 'Nippon' in Europe on October 21.

Here's the info that came with the latest Johnny's International E-mail service:

"KinKi Kids' member Tsuyoshi Domoto's solo album "NIPPON" will be released all
over Europe on the 21st of October!
With an active solo career started in 2002, Tsuyoshi Domoto is now ready
to take over the world!

The European version of the album will be released under Gan-Shin Records,
and it will contain a 16-page booklet with all the lyrics and explanations
for each song in 3 languages (English, French, German).

*Countries of release:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, UK,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg

We really hope you will support Tsuyoshi Domoto in his international activities
not only as a Johnny's, but also as a Japanese artist!"

You can pre-order a copy at cdon.com or ginza.se.

http://cdon.se/musik/tsuyoshi_domoto/nippon-15655332
http://www.ginza.se/Product/Product.aspx?Identifier=144149

So if you're a fan or simply want to support Japanese music internationally go buy one! And if you've never listened to Domoto Tsuyoshi before, give him a try, he is a really good singer (^-^)d

I'm not sure what kind of music he's going with for this album but here is the single he released last April, Eni wo Yuite.

Samurai Vader

2011-09-06T09:11:00.002+02:00

It's been quite a while since I found this one but I really wanted to share it anyway cause I think it's kind of awesome :D

A Darth Vader samurai doll is being released! And it's really big O_o 52 cm tall. Then again you have to pay 136,500 yen for it so make sure you have some (a lot) of extra savings and a glorious spot to put him in.

click link for pictures!
http://www.yoshitoku.co.jp/sw/musha_ningyou.html

Norwegian Wood rerun at Kino

2011-07-27T14:03:00.005+02:00

Kino in Lund will be showing a few reruns of Norwegian Wood this weekend. So if you missed it when it was running, here's another chance to see it on the big screen.

They'll be screening it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 29-31) at 20:45.

Japans LIVS & DESIGN

2011-07-19T13:33:00.010+02:00

Is everyone having a nice summer? Those who live in Skåne maybe travelling a lot with the summer-card? Well if you have a chance to go to Malmö there is a shop you really must visit! :D

It's a nice little shop by Lilla torg in Malmö called Japans LIVS & DESIGN. It's owned by this really nice Japanese woman and she sells Japanese food, candy, bento-boxes, cups and other Japanese things.

The picture is taken from eniro's street view.

This is her shop. Look carefully or you might just pass right by it.

Here's some things I bought today and some of that I've bought before.

Bull Dog sauce - really tasty on rice. This was always in my fridge when I lived in Japan :D

Karee - Japanese curry, does not taste like Indian curry but is just as lovely in it's own way <3

Soy sauce - It's meant for dipping sushi but works just as well with for example gyoza, delish!

Mango pudding - :D

Pocky - Double chocolate with caramel flavour.

Kajuu Gumi - Small jelly candies. The Japanese are really good at making candy taste like actual fruit <3 The orange one tastes just like orange marmalade, you even get the slight bitterness of the peal.

Milk and maple bun - It's made to last long so it smells a little bit of conservatives but I like it :D

She has some frozen foods too, like gyoza and takoyaki.

At fist all of her things were Japanese but sadly I guess she couldn't make a living on that so now there are some ordinary western snacks too.

This map is also from eniro.

The address is Engelbrektsgatan 6, Malmö. I'm not certain of the openings hours but I'm pretty sure it's till 18 Mon-Fri and a bit earlier on Saturdays. Sundays are closed.

I really love this shop <3

Supernatural THE ANIMATION

2011-05-19T21:18:00.009+02:00

I recently finished watching the anime version ova of the American TV-series Supernatural. So here's a little about the anime from the perspective of a fan of the original series.

First of all, the anime covers the first two seasons of the original series in 22, 22-24 minute episodes. This means that they've compressed a few of the original stories to half the length, skipped a lot of them and then added some new anime original ones. Several of them containing Japanese lore.

Secondly, they also added a small piece of background story where they give Sam and Dean a housekeeper-ish person (demon of course) and make Sam blow up some demonic bull with his mind right in front of Dean. They also screw with Dean's personality a bit. In "Roadkill" he ends up burning his leather jacket for a no good reason ( leather doesn't even burn very well) and then he goes and puts on some ugly ass jacket that not even apple-pie-life-Dean would wear. However, the leather jacket does mysteriously reappear at some point. What's worse is that in one episode the Impala gets hit by another car and Dean doesn't even drop one line about it. Sure, they were still being chased and all but the real Dean wouldn't have let it slide without a comment in any situation.
Another sad thing is the new design of Bobby. They made him a short, plump, bald man. They even took his cap away. Bobby is awesome and he deserves way better!

I don't mind that they change how the story plays out as long as they end up at the same ending but when they start adding things to their past that should have changed how they see things or start messing with the characters, I get upset. Don't mess with Sam, Dean or Bobby!

And lastly a bit about the voice acting.
Now this was released with both a Japanese and an English dub. And this is the first time that I can't say that the Japanese is better.

In the English dub Sam is voiced by Jared Padalecki throughout the whole anime but Dean is voiced by some Andrew Farrar. Only in the last two episodes do we get Jensen Ackles as Dean. It does help with the chemistry of the series but doesn't take it all the way.
As for the rest of the cast it's more or less like any other English anime dub, generally bad but perhaps a tiny bit above standard since it seems like they used some original dialogue and the fact that it's actually set in the USA helps.

I didn't think it was going to work in Japanese and I'm sad to say I was right. It just sounds wrong. The witty jokes and most other lines get kind of butchered. Imagine taking away all the sarcasm from the entire series. I mean the dialogue makes more than half the show and it's just not the same without it...

Both Padalecki and Ackles really do a good job voicing their characters. I'll admit, not as good as the acting in the original series but close enough. In general the acting of the Japanese cast is better (well duh) but the what really makes the series what it is, is lost.

One of my favourites things about the anime is that they use this image and Carry on Wayward Son as the theme song. Sung by Japanese but they do a decent job.

If you're a fan of the original series I can't really recommend the anime... Maybe it'll be better if you haven't seen the original. But then again, if you've yet to see anything Supernatural at all, just skip the anime and go watch the TV-series!

But if you are gonna watch it, remember to watch the bit after the ending too or you'll miss part of the story and might end up feeling very confused at the beginning of the next episode.

BECK live action movie!

2011-02-08T00:38:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite mangas and animes ever was turned into a live action movie, starring some of my favourite actors! Needless to say I was ecstatic when I found out 1½ years ago. And ever since then, yes for one and a half years, I've been ecstatically waiting for the dvd-release.

And it's finally come!

And I've finally seen it! :D:D:D:D:D:D

And it was awesome!!!

And I love it!!

To most people this will not say much though so I will try to explain why. The first reason is simply because I love BECK. The story and the characters are undisputedly awesome and the live action does not let them down. All the actors have been chosen carefully and not only do they look like the manga characters, they act the same way, but somehow without making them manga in their manner and thereby making them seem more like manga characters than real people.

The crazy ones, like Chiba and Ryuusuke, are just as crazy, (and post-it man as Chiba is pure win) but in a manner more suited for live characters. Koyuki is as awkward as ever but not as exaggerated as it sometimes is in the manga. Saku and Tairas characters don't take a lot of room but they do an awesome support and live up to my image of them.

All the other supportive characters like Maho and Saitou (the actor here really looks like the manga character, too bad his story is cut out) are really good as well. I give them a special bonus for having foreigners playing all the parts of foreigners, and the man playing Sykes is awesome!! O__O Just his appearance is reason enough to love him. :D

How can you not love this!

A lot of money has gone into the production of this film, and you can tell. It's really well-made and keeps up a high quality throughout. Just the fact that all of the people that are supposed to speak English actually do and speak it perfectly adds a lot to the value, at least for a foreign fan like me. :)

Also the props. Lucille (the guitar) is made to look exactly like in the manga.

There is a lot of English in the movie, and it's good enough for me to wonder if they dubbed the Japanese actors. XDD Which is a good thing. And Ryuusuke and Maho actually speak English with each other and not the fake kind they use in Nodame which is "we're really speaking another language but we thought you'd be sick of not understanding so we make it Japanese, you can just pretend it's some other language"

The music! I've always loved the BECK music and the movie is no exception, I want the soundtrack! The songs are awesome BUT (and this is a big but and the only downside to the movie in my opinion) you never get to hear Koyuki sing... To keep up the illusion of his awesome voice they've muted all his singing and just play the background music and show peoples reactions... I know that this is the best way of keeping the illusion of a perfect voice real, cause no matter which voice they'd used it would never live up the the expectations but I'd be willing to give up the illusion to get the vocals of the songs... At one point you get the lyrics in English on the screen, the background music and Koyuki lip-syncing the words. It's kind of frustrating, I want to hear the song! But this was the only part of the movie I didn't like.

It is well-made, the English is good, the story isn't rushed (it's 2½ hours long so it shouldn't be) and I enjoyed every moment of watching it. I admit I'm totally biased, considering I loved it before I saw it but it didn't let me down even though I had high expectations which speaks in it's favour. I really recommend watching it and even though there are no subtitles yet anyone of medium Japanese skills will be able to follow without any problems. I'm not that good and I never feel lost and, as I've said, there is quite a lot of English which helps.

All in all; I will love this movie forever! :D (and I don't care if anyone disagrees!)

Anime - Worth a watch

2011-01-28T12:09:00.001+01:00

OK, so I've been finishing some anime again. Some of them were so-so but there were some pretty good ones that are worth watching :D

So yes, these are all anime that I think are worth watching but are not must sees. Spice and Wolf especially since it's not really my style but it is interesting and well made.

Claymore

It's about women warriors that are half human half demon. Working for an organisation they travel from town to town killing demons.
It's a really grey-toned series coloured only by the red and purple blood of humans and demons :P A well-made series with lots of slashing but without going overboard. I'm not really that into this type of anime but this one is good so if you like this genre I recommend it :D

26 episodes, licensed, anime original ending, manga 19 vol ongoing

Kamisama Kazoku

Samatarou lives with with his parents, two sisters and an angel. Oh, yea and his father is God and his mother a goddess. Samataro goes to school to learn how humans live and the angel Tenko goes with him to help.
His family is the kind that whenever they do something they tend to be really annoying but it doesn't go completely over the top. You just have to live through episode two. That's the worst one. They don't do that again. It's a comedy, half crazy, one third serious and with a little bit of romance. The two main characters are pretty level-headed so as long as the family stays away it doesn't get that silly. I like this one, it's funny and interesting.

13 episodes, not licensed, manga 5 vol complete

Spice and Wolf

Lawrence is a young merchant who is travelling with a god wolf named Horo. She helps him get good deals and always makes him buy her tons of apples.
This anime is pretty calm but has it's moments of thrill and action. Horo is wise, clever and very god at making things go her way. Even in human form she still keeps her ears and tail but without going all moe. A big plus. You can clearly see both her ferocious side as a wolf and her cheeky and girlish sides as a woman. I think both she and Lawrence are good character and go very well with the story.
The animation is nice and has nice theme songs. The ending especially is very cute. It's completely in engrish and I don't get what's it's about but it has charm.

There is also a second season for those who liked it.

13 episodes, licensed, 5 vol ongoing

Japanorama!

2011-01-04T03:30:00.004+01:00

Years ago, like 6 years ago (in Sweden that is) a TV show aired that was called "Japanorama". It is a British show hosted by Jonathan Ross of BBC fame, Ross is a huge fan of all things Japanese and he uses the show to show just what is it that makes Japan so special.

Japanorama is a 3 season show that ran in 2002, 2006 and 2007 on BBC Three and BBC Choice and have had much praise for the care the BBC and Ross took in the making of it.

Each episode takes up a theme with everything from Samurai to Otaku and Kawaii. Ross meets with important persons in each of the subject he address and you get to hear the views, visions and ideas by people like Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell).

The episode known as Otaku takes up the way that people in Japan view Otakus and also what it truly stands for. It is an interesting view of the fan-culture of Japan.

In the episode Gaijin they take up the subject of foreigners and outcasts in the Japanese society and how they are treated. This part shows the sometimes extremely narrow minded and racist society they can be, but also the way the Japanese youths strive to get away from those things.

It also have a segment that follow a UK band as they do their first tour in Japan and also the Etiquette School, which teaches you things like the correct way to open doors and the proper way to hold your chopsticks.

I can really recommend checking out this show even if it's a bit dated by now. It has interesting information about the people, the society and the popular culture of Japan.

Fall dorama - Q10

2010-12-25T16:43:00.007+01:00

Happy holidays everyone!

I just finished watching one of this fall's doramas called Q10 (pronounced "Kyuuto") It's about a high school boy falling in love with a robot. I may sound strange and like the beginning of a bad comedy but it's actually very well done if you ask me. First off, it's not a comedy. It's about love and not just the lead character but about those around him.

Usually I don't like the concept of falling in love with a robot like in Chobits or Zettai Kareshi but this one is a bit different. In Q10 the robot girl is always what she is supposed to be, a robot. Her way of moving and speaking is always mechanical and it is obvious that she can not show real emotion or expressions. I like that. It's realistic in it's own way. Here I'd like to give the actress, Maeda Atsuko, some praise for doing a believable robot. And I think the lead, Sato Takeru, portrays his character really well too.

To me this was a heart felt romance and yes it did have me crying at the last episode. When I say romance I don't mean one of those filled with a major annoying dramatic events around every corner and rivals trying to make everyone's lives hell. It's just a plain old nice romance dorama that takes on a little of what may happen in life. OK, if you add a robot, an otaku and a girl from the future to the mix it may not be so plain but they do give a nice twist to the story.

I like this dorama and I'll probably want to re-watch it a few years down the line.

If you want some more info, go here.
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Q10

This seasons doramas

2010-10-21T20:49:00.001+02:00

Hello!

I guess I'll do the honours of making the first post. As the title says I'll be talking about the doramas of this season that have caught my eye. :)

First of all:
Q10 (pronounced kyuto)

Cast:
Sato Takeru
Maeda Atsuko

Story:

"Heita is an ordinary high school boy with a kind heart but no real interest in romance. His class is joined by a transfer student named Q10 (pronounced "kyu-to," the same as "cute"), who looks like a girl but is actually a robot. Together, the two end up causing trouble at school, and Heita even begins falling for Q10." --Tokyograph

I'll confess, I'm a huge Takeru-fan and that's why I first checked this one out but the story seems really interesting. I'm not familiar with the girl but she looks really cute and I hope she'll be a good actor as well. The story seems sweet and cute and the Japanese are good at school doramas so I see great potential in this one. The first episode is out but so far no sub.

If you keep following my entries on doramas you'll notice I base most of my choices on which ones to watch on the actors in it. That was how I chose which ones to watch when I first started getting into dorama and it's still my preferred way of choice. I do read the plot summaries for others as well and when I find something that sounds interesting I'll watch that too (if I have time, I'm still behind on last seasons doramas ;__;).

The second dorama attracting my attention is:
Freeter, Ie o Kau

Cast:
Ninomiya Kazunari
Karina
Story:

The story revolves around Take Seiji, who quits his job after three months. With no dreams, no savings, and a poor relationship with his family, he becomes a hikikomori. However, after his mother falls ill with depression, he ends up having to take on a part-time job at a construction site. Because of that, he soon decides to work towards rebuilding his life: "Even though I'm just a freeter, I'm going to buy a house for the sake of my family." One of the people he meets at the construction site is Chiba Manami, who graduated from a top-class university and joined a well-known general contracting firm. Manami is the complete opposite of Seiji. But while their personalities clash at first, they gradually come to understand each other. --Tokyograph

As with the previous the main actor (Nino) brought my attention to this dorama. I'm an Arashi-fangirl as well but within the group my favourite isn't usually Nino but there's no denying that he's a good actor and I tend to enjoy the doramas he's in so I'll check this out too. It hasn't been subbed yet either but STORMY is doing it and they're usually fast. ^^d I'm still undecided about whether I like Karina or not but I love her in Love Shuffle so I'm hoping for the best.

Juui Dolittle

Cast:
Oguri Shun

Narimiya Hiroki

Inoue Mao

Story:

Tottori Kenichi is a foul-mouthed but gifted veterinarian nicknamed Dolittle. His catch phrase is 'pet care means business'. He is the director of his animal clinic and rescues not only 'voiceless' pets but also helps their owners, who lack understanding and caution, with their problems and worries. - D-Addicts

I'm not sure about this dorama... I'm not a huge fan of any of the actors but since it's inspired by Dr. Dolittle (and I so loved the movie when I was little, the old one that is, not the one with Eddie Murphy) I feel I need to at least check it out. The story involves a love triangle, which I generally don't like, but sometimes you're lucky and the relationship part of the dorama is minimal and focus is on the actual plot (if there is one :P). If nothing else cute animals are always a plus!

Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna

Cast:

Kanno Miho

Tamaki Hiroshi

Story:

A pet groomer at a salon in Shirogane, Nogami Meiko has a lot of celebrity dog-lovers as customers. She cheerfully serves customers with care, and her skills are tried and tested. The salon's owner, Kotomi, has a strong faith in her, and she is admired by her colleagues. Meiko leads a quiet and fulfilling life however, there is another side to her. She has a plan for revenge that she must accomplish. In truth, when she was 19, she was imprisoned for murder but there was also another side to this case. Just as she's about to execute her plan, she meets a man named Mashima Takuro.She acts mysteriously around him and for some reason, he makes her feel better. Is he the only miscalculation to her? Or a reckoning? Jdramas@wordpress

This last one is a bit of a wild card so to speak. I hadn't heard of it before but saw the subbed version come out a few days ago and got a bit intrigued and the more I read about the story the more interested I am. It makes me want to know what's going to happen and that's a good thing. Besides I never say no to a little Tamaki. :) Did you know he's a singer too? When I found out I loled and then I found his music and I kinda like it.

This is one of my favourite songs.

That's it for this time, if you're lucky there'll be a follow up telling you if there doramas were actually good or only seemed interesting. :)

About this blog

2010-10-21T16:41:00.000+02:00

This is a blog started in the name of Mangakai Lund, an association in the city of Lund Sweden. All of the members gathered because we all like Japan, but we like different aspects of it. So in this blog the members will post about the things closest to them, whether it be fashion, dorama, movies, music, manga, food, or anything else related to Japan or fandom. We will also blog about random fandom stuff such as internet memes and basically anythig else that we find relevant.

The blog will be in English since we want to make it internationally available.

Hope you like it!

Mangakai Lund

2010-10-13T22:47:00.000+02:00

Hej,
och välkommen till Mangakai Lunds blogg!

Tanken är att här ska vi - medlemmar från vår förening - skriva recensioner, ge tips, informera om events och annat roligt vi hittar på.

Vi tackar för i helgen då vi hade vårt lilla endags-konvent, KodachiKun!

(bild: Diana Davidsson)