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Shizuoka Hobby Show 2018

The Annual Shizuoka Hobby Show was held from May 10-13, with the first two days being business days and the second two being open to the public. While much of the hype surrounding the show often involves model kit companies announcing the newest and hottest upcoming kits, the public days offer serious model builders the chance to show off their talents. In past years, many Macross fans have come across photos online of the work of a modeling group called the “VF-1 Riders” – a collective of Japanese Macross modelers who focus primarily on valkyrie model kits and customs.

Enter Jefuemon. The only westerner to participate in the VF-1 Riders group, he is a long-time modeling enthusiast and what can only be described as a hardcore Macross fan. He sent us in the following report and photo gallery from this year’s hobby show, which can also be found over at his blog along with updates on his latest projects.

July 19, 2018 Event Reports, Photo Gallery
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JUNNA Rock You Tour 2018 Report

The following concert report was sent in to us by Osaka-based Macross fan Howard Browning.

I was lucky enough to see JUNNA in Osaka on her first solo tour last year, so when it was announced she’d be back this April, I jumped at the chance. My luck held out in the ticket lottery and so on the 22nd I was lined up in front of Namba Hatch waiting to get in.

Namba Hatch is a much bigger venue than Osaka Big Cat where she played her first shows. She played two shows at Big Cat compared to one show at the Hatch, but it’s a step up. While Big Cat was hidden away in a mall, the Hatch is an Osaka landmark with it’s octagonal hall perched on top of a 3 story building.

June 6, 2018 Articles, Concert Reports
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Remembering Noboru Ishiguro, 1938-2012

The following article is the first part in a short series on Noboru Ishiguro, one of the legendary anime pioneers who sadly departed on March 20th, 2012, leaving behind a legacy of not just a half-century’s worth of highly-influential animated works, but also of a man whose kindness and strict work ethic was inspirational to many generations to come.

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Noboru Ishiguro, like most pioneers, respected artists and activists, had a rather unstable, somewhat chaotic youth.  Born in 1938, he spent his childhood in wartime, during which one of his earliest memories appears to have left a lasting impression on his philosophy for the rest of his life: hiding in shelters during the fire bombing raids by the allied forces was part of the norm for the young Ishiguro, and as he emerged to the surface of Tokyo once the quiet calm eerily returned, he turned his gaze to the streets he had not long prior been running down, and saw they had turned to rubble, leaving a lone lamppost bent at an angle.  For him, the lamppost signified the fragile transience in all things.  Everything changes, and nothing ever stays the same.  This realization would remain latent in his mind and influence his carrier until the very end.

April 17, 2016 Articles, Renimation
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