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Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 13 May 2014, 07:31
by Tenchu1998
Did you see that North Korean movie, 'Mies joka ei voinut nukkua'? I think it was about a guy who lived in North Korea and was a totally chill guy. He would spent a lot of his days day dreaming, and he would sleep during the night and have these marvelous dreams. It's really a beautiful movie, and a romantic hit with the Asian audience, about a man on the countryside who was content with his life - it's like Anders Thomas Jensen meets Hirokazu Koreeda, kind of a style. A cute, jaunty movie, totally tailored for couples.
Heka wrote:No, seriously it was "miracle in cell no. 7" . It looked decent though super predictable like 99% of Korean dramas.
Hmm, haven't seen this one. It looks like a Korean comedy, though.

I like Hong Sang-soo movies, as far as dramas go. Simple, and just really slow in pace, with people walking and talking, sitting and talking, etc.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 13 May 2014, 08:30
by HungFist
Tenchu1998 wrote:Can you ask her what this Japanese Commercial is about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1cufU0D034
As far as I can tell it's about a girl who thinks her father is so uncool and she even sings about it, but then one day she sees her father at work (apologizing for mistakes that weren't really his fault for the sake of others) and she comes to think that his father is a pretty cool guy after all. And the floor he's sleeping on is heated with gas (the ad is for a gas company).
Tenchu1998 wrote: What kind of dancing does she practice?
Hip hop / jazz.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 13 May 2014, 18:07
by Tenchu1998
HungFist wrote:As far as I can tell it's about a girl who thinks her father is so uncool and she even sings about it, but then one day she sees her father at work (apologizing for mistakes that weren't really his fault for the sake of others) and she comes to think that his father is a pretty cool guy after all. And the floor he's sleeping on is heated with gas (the ad is for a gas company)
Ah... Thanks for giving me some insight.

I notice these gas commercials features a lot of the prominent actors we've seen in other movies. That first commercial was with Nikaido Fumi, and then there's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOnsQGCML6M Looks like Sakura Ando from 'Love Exposure' is depicting the daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgwXOB8E8fc Here Ai Hashimoto from 'Confessions' is depicting the daughter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vkeF5URIA And here, Gen Hoshino from 'Why Don't You Play in Hell' is the son.

And so on and so on...

It seems Japanese actors have to work in movies, theater and advertisement, in order to make a living. They are everywhere in media. I hear it's pretty tough to stay in the business, so I'd guess they never want to lose their momentum - hence, keeping at it. It seems to me this is why they work all the time - if they start slacking off, they will fall behind the rest and end up without work, right? But, it's probably also a good way of establishing their position as respectable entertainers in the media - people will know of them, as they appear everywhere. Gives them status in the society.

This Japanese woman I know of had an uncle who, in the 1960's and 70's, literary worked everyday, doing voice overs for commercials, voice acting, dubbing English movies into Japanese and whatnot - working in the business everyday... He reached the top of his industry, as a well earned reward for his super professional dedication - but, he ended up aging more rapidly, because of all the stress and whatnot... You gotta make a lot of sacrifices, if you wanna be the boss.
HungFist wrote:Hip hop / jazz.
Yeah! Is she into DJ Krush? He's one of my favorite Japanese MCs. Masashi Yamamoto used his music in 'Junk Food'. Great stuff - really has this tranquil feel to it, yet you can still dance to it. Zen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDL1tFsSeWI

I also like this Blazo stuff, with remixes of Hip Hop tunes with Jazz piano samples: http://blazo.bandcamp.com/album/jazz-fo ... tape-vol-1

The Nas one is dope: http://blazo.bandcamp.com/track/nas-the ... lazo-remix

Is this the kind of stuff she likes?

I notice girls like dancing, in general. It seems like quite a common thing, for girls to want to sing and dance when they are younger, whatever the style may be.

EDIT: Actually... Now that I think of it, I'd guess it's more in the line of, like, 'Beyonce' kind of stuff, than, say, Wu-tang Clan. Quite honestly, I don't even really know what Hip Hop dancing truly is - I just watch 'em homegörls let it loose, from time to time. My personal taste in Hip Hop stuff is very specific. Same with Soul, R&B and groove kind of stuff. I don't know what they play to people during dancing lessons... You can also dance to Earl Sweatshirt, but I doubt they listen to much Earl Sweatshirt when they train dancing. You can also dance ballet to Earl Sweatshirt, as depicted in this music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anRkutaPS9w But I doubt many ballerinas would actually train to Earl Sweatshirt tunes in the background...

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 14 May 2014, 05:16
by HungFist
Films don't pay so well in Japan so yes, doing advertisements is a good source of income. Furthermore, Japanese people appreciate "modest" / "girl next door" type of stars, so being in TV is not considered a negative thing. In Hollywood some stars may think that they shouldn't do something "cheap" like TV ads, but in Japan that's not a problem.

Probably about half or more of all Japanese TV commercials feature some kind of celebrity or semi-celebrity. This probably relates to social hierarchy, collectivism, and the dislike for too aggressive sales tactics. Using celebs is a good way to persuade people indirectly as they make good opinion leaders with their star appeal.

In Japan it's important to keep yourself constantly in the minds of customers. This is also true to products, e.g. companies like Coca Cola release various exotic or seasonal drinks in Japan only for them to disappear from the shelves in a few months. It's important for them to get attention and be in the news in order to be considered relevant.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 14 May 2014, 07:35
by Tenchu1998
HungFist wrote:In Hollywood some stars may think that they shouldn't do something "cheap" like TV ads, but in Japan that's not a problem.
Some of those Hollywood stars do travel to Japan and do commercials there. They get paid pretty well, I suppose.
It seems the Japanese companies do hire Hollywood stars to come to Japan and do commercials for top dollar. They had Tommy Lee Jones come over, and do a series of those Boss Drink commercials. Then there was a goofy one with Bruce Willis, about something I don't know what it was about. It's like 'Lost in Translation', where Bill Murray plays that American actor who comes to Japan to do that whiskey ad. American movie stars still carry weight in the East, I guess.
HungFist wrote:Probably about half or more of all Japanese TV commercials feature some kind of celebrity or semi-celebrity. This probably relates to social hierarchy, collectivism, and the dislike for too aggressive sales tactics. Using celebs is a good way to persuade people indirectly as they make good opinion leaders with their star appeal.
Yeah, it would be too rude to have advertisement try and manipulate you into what to buy. Much better to try some soft tactics and make the celebs guide you through your consumer options. Brilliant strategy!
HungFist wrote:In Japan it's important to keep yourself constantly in the minds of customers. This is also true to products, e.g. companies like Coca Cola release various exotic or seasonal drinks in Japan only for them to disappear from the shelves in a few months. It's important for them to get attention and be in the news in order to be considered relevant.
Man, I could never become a successful businessman, even if I wanted to... I am just too impatient and stupid, to have the patience for that line of work. Especially in Japan, where the social aspect is of the utmost importance, I'd be terrible at it. I hear a lot of the long working hours, is much due to the fact that the Japanese actually work pretty slow because so many other factors play in. The socializing being a major factor. I've heard that a meeting can go on for an entire day - the Japanese wants to feel completely secure with the person before moving onto the real business. Many steps to set foot on, at first, it seems... A lot of anecdotes to tell, and entertaining to do...

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 15 May 2014, 02:13
by Tenchu1998
So, how was it meeting Shinya Tsukamoto? Is he as young-looking in real life as he is in his movies and interviews?
I can't believe how young he looks. Dude is like 50 now, and looks like a little kid to me.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 15 May 2014, 11:49
by HungFist
Tenchu1998 wrote:So, how was it meeting Shinya Tsukamoto? Is he as young-looking in real life as he is in his movies and interviews?
I can't believe how young he looks. Dude is like 50 now, and looks like a little kid to me.
I didn't actually meet him. He was in Yubari at the same time, but I never came across him.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 30 May 2014, 07:05
by HungFist
Japan may not be the best place for minorities, but this made me smile :) Educational posters about sexual orientation for children.

Image

In English: http://roygbiv.jezebel.com/this-adorabl ... 1580416152

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 02 Jun 2014, 15:29
by HungFist
Saw Mario on the street...
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Just another day in Japan...

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 03 Jun 2014, 01:38
by Tenchu1998
It is a character created by the Japanese, after all.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 20 Jun 2014, 13:47
by Tenchu1998
So, are you living in Japan during the summer? If so, how do you survive?

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 20 Jun 2014, 14:06
by HungFist
Tenchu1998 wrote:So, are you living in Japan during the summer? If so, how do you survive?
By staying far away from Tokyo. Except that I'll be flying there tomorrow again. And then again next month. Sonny Chiba festival...

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 26 Aug 2014, 18:29
by HungFist

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 26 Aug 2014, 23:33
by Markgway
So, it's Batman going home after a hard day's crime-fighting...

What's the big deal?

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 27 Aug 2014, 01:19
by Yi-Long
Batman's life must be pretty fucking boring in Japan, considering it's one of the safest places on earth, if you don't count perverts trying to get into schoolgirls' panties... ;)

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 27 Aug 2014, 13:36
by Markgway
Yi-Long wrote:Batman's life must be pretty fucking boring in Japan, considering it's one of the safest places on earth, if you don't count perverts trying to get into schoolgirls' panties... ;)
That's no way to talk about Hungfist!

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 28 Aug 2014, 04:29
by HungFist
Markgway wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:Batman's life must be pretty fucking boring in Japan, considering it's one of the safest places on earth, if you don't count perverts trying to get into schoolgirls' panties... ;)
That's no way to talk about Hungfist!
:angry:

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 19 Oct 2014, 18:16
by HungFist
Here's a video of the Japanese Batman, known as Chibatman because he lives in Chiba.
- http://youtu.be/wcKvbEVeme0

He's been doing that since 2011. Says he wanted to make people happy again. He's also got a dayjob as a welder. He built the bat-bike himself. Cost him about 6000 dollars to make it.

Oh, and I ran across this the other day:

そうだ! いこう! 学園てんごく

"Yes!" "Let's Go!" "School Paradise!"
Image

Just another giant billboard in the city center for a schoolgirl theme club! Love this country!

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 07 Dec 2014, 05:52
by HungFist
The demise of Japan’s used underwear trade
- http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2014/12/03 ... ear-trade/

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 09 Dec 2014, 04:38
by Shingster
No great loss to the world or Japan imo, it was always one of the grubbiest aspects of Japanese culture.

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 09 Dec 2014, 14:26
by Markgway
Yeah, but what will Hung do with his collection?

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 09 Dec 2014, 15:51
by HungFist
Markgway wrote:Yeah, but what will Hung do with his collection?
It's more difficult to sell now, but like OOP DVDs, I think the value will go up
Shingster wrote:No great loss to the world or Japan imo, it was always one of the grubbiest aspects of Japanese culture.
I always considered it a seminal aspect of modern Japanese culture. Sad to see it go :(

Used panty trade also played an important part in the movie that originally got me interested in Japan, and perhaps in the long run got me here, Bounce ko gals (1997). Yeah, it's a bit sentimental and not exactly discreet with its political statements, but I really love that film. For a small town kid who had never seen a building taller than 20 metres and knew almost nothing about Japan it presented a whole new world. I said to myself some day I will be there! Now, 14 years have passed, and when I see scenes from the film I recognize the places because, indeed, I've walked the same streets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IO1rqEedU8

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 09 Dec 2014, 20:45
by Markgway
HungFist wrote: I always considered it a seminal aspect of modern Japanese culture.
Used schoolgirl panties... upskirt photography... ah, the good old days, eh...? :D

Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 30 Apr 2015, 09:50
by HungFist
And again...

Image

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Re: Fist in Japan

Posted: 24 Jul 2015, 16:56
by HungFist
Japan’s ‘Pornaldo’ keeps scoring as male actors fizzle
- http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/201 ... bB97vmsmZe

"...there were more Bengali tigers alive than male porn actors in Japan.

“We’re an endangered species,” he said in an interview. “There are about 70 male actors to 10,000 women.”


Ok, who's looking for a new job? :lol: