So I think a couple of folks on Japanator’s IRC channel were talking about Double K earlier, and I wasn’t paying attention…until I saw it again on the Gurren Lagann livejournal community.
Apparently DeviantArtist captainosaka took part in a 4ch conversation in which they said that a Kamina/Kittan buddy-cop show would be the greatest thing ever, and the artist in question decided to make it happen.
He’s got a comic of his creation Double K (one panel of which is posted above, with apologies to captainosaka), but make sure you check out all his other stuff– he’s got a lot of really fantastic art for the concept. I’m incredibly fond of his original design for Yoko (and slightly less fond of his follow-up design), and I’m bowled over by the Gurrenrod.
This might be my favorite fanart all year. (Ignoring that a good chunk of it started being posted in’ 07.) ♥
So, I never really followed up on this post, but because of it I learned of M.U.G.E.N., a video game engine people use to make their own fighting game characters. Then today a friend linked me to a video on niconico of our favorite mascots, Colonel Sanders and Donald McDonald, duking it out. I couldn’t find a copy on YouTube (curses!), so here is the video if you have a niconico account. (Donald wins, if you care but can’t watch.)
In the meantime, I did find THIS video: clearly the Colonel and Donald put aside their differences and unite to fight evil. And by evil, I mean Dragonball Z, Fist of the North Star, Fate/Stay Night, and a few other series.
A Google alert nudged me over to this forum post, where someone is offering up a downloadable add-on to the ol’ SNK vs Capcom fighting game– a playable Yoko from Gurren Lagann. I was never particularly into any of these games, but now I’m kinda jonesin’ for a little start-up-down-left-right-left-up-A, if you know what I mean.
Japan loves Colonel Sanders more than I think America ever has, really, but this takes the french-frilled cake: alafista reports on a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Akihabara that has dressed up its Colonel Sanders mascot in a frilly maid dress, vaguely a la Emma in style. Colonel Sanders is too classy for those short-skirt-and-petticoat getups!
I suddenly have this mental image of maids serving giant greasy buckets of KFC chicken, how about you?
Okay, I admit it, I’m mostly posting this for Japanator’s John Martone. See, in the first episode of Macross F (which I know I’ve been remiss in first-dating) we’re treated to a cute little jingle for a Chinese restaurant:
But see, every time I hear this stuff, I’m transported back in time to Ranma 1/2’s Shampoo reciting her restaurant’s menu, a character song from one of the six trillion Ranma CDs that came out during the show’s peak. You can enjoy the iffy amv/slideshow as you choose.
Just a quick FYI– nominations for the Anime Blog Awards are only open until April 22nd, which is a week from today. So if you’ve got a blog and plan to nominate, get to it!
And for those of you who are whining about the awards sucking…all the nominations come from bloggers (which could be you) and the votes will come from the general public (which is definitely you). If you want to make them better, don’t just whine; participate!
Just another quick LOOK-IT’SA-ME!: this month’s issue of The Escapist is themed “It Came From Japan,” so of course I submitted an article. And what topic could be better than yaoi? Hence, “It’s a Yaoi Thing: Boys who Love Boys and the Girls who Love Them.” Anyone who’s actually interested in the article probably knows most of what’s in it, but thought I’d also let you know.
But it’s not just me! Japanator’s Zac Bentz also wrote an article called “Big in Japan,” about various Japanese artists who may be poised to hit American sales charts. Also: Erin Hoffman’s “Hail to the Kitty” (about Hello Kitty, natch); Emily Dettmar’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (about what shoujo series say about Japan’s ideal girl), and Khristopher L. Kirkland’s “Konnichi wa, Nihon!,” about his introduction to otaku-dom via a Japanese class.
It’s good stuff. Check it out! (And if you wanna vote for The Escapist in The Webby Awards, hey, go for it.)
