Categories
Traditional

Eggplants and Cucumbers in Obon

A couple of weeks ago, from the 13th to the 15th of August, Obon お盆 was celebrated around Japan. Matsuris took place all around the country to honor the spirits of the people’s ancestors.

One of the traditions during Obon consists on introducing wood sticks into eggplants and cucumbers like shown on the pictures below. Cucumbers represent horses and eggplants represent cows. Legend has it that the spirits of one’s ancestors travel to our world riding on cows and horses. In the following pictures that I took in a coffee shop in Kichijoji there’s no incense, but usually there should be. The smoke of the incense marks the way from our world to the spirits world so they don’t get lost when coming and going back.

obon

obon

Categories
Trains Videogames

Mario at Yamanote Line

The other day I had to use the Yamanote line and found a little nice surprise. The whole line has been decorated with Mario themes as part of a campaign to promote the collaboration between Nintendo and Suica by JR. Nintendo eShop users can now use the e-money of their Suicas on the Wii U to buy games and other items.

yamanote line mario bros

yamanote line mario bros

yamanote line mario bros

mario4

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Categories
Anime

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Ghost in the Shell: Arise is an OVA divided into four parts based on the Ghost in the Shell universe 攻殻機動隊. I recently finished watching the third part “Ghost Tears”. In September the fourth part, “Ghost Stands Alone”, will be released and will complete the series. Masamune Shirow has not been involved in the production team and for that reason the style of Arise has changed from the style of the movies and Stand Alone Complex. One of the most significant changes is that instead of having blue tachikomas now there are red logicomas.

Arise begins just at the end of World War IV in year 2027. The plot explores the depth of the formation of Sector 9, the intelligence department of the Japanese ministry of internal affairs. Another novelty is the new characters, many of them related with Rikugun Go Maru Ichi Kikan 陸軍５０１機関, the organization that transformed Kusanagi into a cyborg.

The Arise OVAs are ideal if you still don’t know the Ghost in the Shell universe and want to immerse yourself in it. It is much more “light” than Stand Alone Complex.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

SONY DSC
Photo by Nihongogo

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

There’s also an Arise manga drawn by Fujisaku Junichi, one of the key members of Production I.G. Its name is Ghost in the Shell: Arise ~Sleepless Eye~ (攻殻機動隊ARISE～眠らない眼の男). The art is impressive but the story is quite boring because it’s just a connection of several action scenes.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Official website