Well as we mentioned on Episode 75, Sankaku.com posted a bunch of cosplay pictures. I thought the one above was the best one.
But, do you think it is better than the current, long reigning champ? :
Or what about the following contestants, who came close to toppling the champ:
Alex
DuoMatrix may have vanished from the podcasting world, but it was for JUSTICE. I’d recognize that voice anywhere!
The Boston Globe had a rather fascinating picture series detailing the two Mongolia’s. What’s that you say? Two?
Inner Mongolia is in fact an autonomous region in Northern China. I actually lived rather close to it at one time and was fascinated with Mongolian culture and people. Ethnically, they are actually quite different from the Han Chinese population.
Hey, ruled the world at one stage! Do check out the link.
Anime Pacific Episode 75 is also now out for download.
As usual, take a look at our podcast page for the anime podcast show notes.
Anime Pacific Episode 74 came out last week, if you haven’t already noticed.
As I once said to Alex, bootlegging and copyright infringement is not merely phenomenon from China or Turkey. It will happen anywhere where you can get away with it. Maine happens to be such a place apparently, with “Winnie the Poo”, “Snoppy” and “Papa Snurf” all making an appearance!
Big thanks to Jake “The Rootbeer King”!
Also, check out Alex’s post below, fantastic stuff!
Check out TIME.com which has a great series of articles on Japan.
Probably the most interesting of the bunch is one entitled “Japan, After The Bubble”.
It is mostly the story of Jin Matsushita, his wealth during the bubble, and his sad fall. Check out this excerpt:
In the autumn of 1989, Jin Matsushita was making more money than he ever dreamed he would; more money, indeed, than he thought he’d ever need. After joining Yamaichi Securities straight out of high school, Matsushita had worked his way up from lowly office boy scribbling stock prices on a chalkboard to fully fledged stockbroker in Yamaichi’s nationwide army of salesmen — and what a golden time it was to be trading stocks for one of Japan’s largest securities firms. Japanese companies like Toyota and Sony were becoming globally dominant, while the country’s businessmen, flush with cash, fanned out across the world, snatching up iconic properties like New York City’s Rockefeller Center, the fabled Pebble Beach golf course and Hollywood’s Columbia Pictures. Matsushita himself was earning an annual salary of $150,000 plus a bonus that often exceeded his base pay. Everyone was getting rich. The Nikkei 225 stock index soared to an all-time high of 38,916 on Dec. 29, 1989. “It was a kind of miracle, I suppose,” says Matsushita.
It was the kind of miracle that doesn’t last: an economic bubble that soon burst. What followed was collapse and years of torpor that came to be known as Japan’s “lost decade.” Neither Tokyo property prices nor Japanese stocks — nor the Japanese people, for that matter — have ever fully recovered. The Nikkei index on June 15 closed at 10,040, an astonishing 75% below its 1989 peak. And Matsushita, now 73, is working the night shift at a convenience store just to make ends meet.
Again, read the whole thing here.
And other articles here.
Alex
It’s what we had long predicted: ADV Films shuts down. And why shouldn’t it? As Justin Sevakis stated, the street price of Anime is zero. Zilch. Why would someone pay for an outdated DVD, when a free 720p high definition fansub is available online? Me and Alex have both stated that we’d happily shell out a wad of cash to grab our favorite Anime’s on Blu-Ray, in a flash. 1080p Project A-Ko? Yes please! 720p torrent or a region coded DVD that technically should be unplayable in my region? Not a difficult decision.
Crunchyroll may be on the right track, but as it stands right now…
Region locked file that I can’t play or torrent?
Even easier decision.
