Roaming Around Japan: Toyosato Elementary School and Kyoto Animation

I’m not really a guy who is into the whole anime pilgrimage thing. It’s pretty easy to blame “Lucky Star” and the many anime fans that still go to Washinomiya Shrine in Saitama prefecture for this whole anime pilgrimage movement. But if anime studios didn’t base their designs on real life towns and buildings, you’d not have this problem. Then again you don’t hear from many towns complaining about the otaku dollars as they cash in by selling merchandise.

Regardless I did decide on my last trip to Osaka in November 2015 that I would go check out the Toyosato Elementary School which was used as a basis for Sakuragoaka Girl's High School in the anime “K-On!”, a show which I had really come to love in the last few years. The main problem with going to the small township of Toyosato (with a population of just over 7,500) is it is really out of the way on a small private railway and hard to get to. If you have the cash, probably the best way is get a rental car and travel the 116 km from Osaka to the school which will take you a bit over one and a half hours. Naturally there are toll booths along the way which are bit hard to dodge, so it’s a bit expensive. Option two is to take the train, which is also a bit of a pain in terms of time and hassle.

From Osaka station, take the Japan Rail (JR) Special Rapid Service bound for Nagahama and get off at Hikone station. Here is where fun starts as you’ll have to transfer to the Ohmi Railway Line, which is a private company which still doesn’t use IC cards (i.e. reusable tap on and off travel cards like Opal and Myki etc.), so your ICOCA card is going to be useless here. It’s time to break out your Japanese skills and ask the guy ant the counter for a return ticket to Toyosato station. Also note that depending on the time of day, the trains going to Toyosato from Hikone only run once an hour (about 35 minutes past the hour) and half an hour in peak hour times. Also note that Toyosato station is unmanned. When you get off the train, go to the first carriage and show the conductor your ticket. Otherwise he will chase you down when you leave. Like he did to me… In total the trip from Osaka station takes around two hours. Please be aware of the amount of time the whole trip takes. You may not want to waste more than half a day to look at what is a school. If you have a Japan Rail Pass, get the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka station to Maibara station, then take the Ohmi Railway Line to Toyosato station to shave about 20 minutes off your travel time. The train line and the township itself have cashed in on the otaku boom. Above you can see the timetable for the train which includes an anime style conductor.

Above is a set of illustrations depicting the four seasons above the platform, also commissioned by the railway. Stepping outside the station, you’ll notice there isn’t anything around in the way of amenities at all. There is a bakery on the left hand side of the street, but it was closed on the day I went. There are no convenience stores within miles (and no restaurants from memory), so bring any food and drink with you if you plan to make a day of it. There are some drink vending machines next to the bakery. To get to the school is pretty easy. Walk around 250 meters straight ahead from the entrance of the station to a T-junction. Turn right and walk a further 650 metres (passing the police station and town offices) and you’ll be right in front of the school.

Along the way you’ll pass several “tobidashi boys” which are essentially warning signs for motorists that a school is nearby and to look out for children. The difference in Toyosatao is that most of these signs have been changed to look like super deformed characters from “K-On!”.

There’s even a Hatsune Miku version and a Konata Izumi (“Lucky Star”) version.

Note that school itself is open from 9am to 5pm. Entry is free. Sometimes the school is closed for special events. Check this Japanese blog called “Clubrooms of Today” for any closures or special events before you make the trip. Besides its inclusion in “K-On!”, the school has quite an interesting history. It was built in 1937 through donations made by philanthropist Tetsujiro Furukawa, the general manager of Marubeni Shoten. His statue appears outside the main school building and is featured heavily in “K-On!”. The buildings were designed by a local American architect William Merrell Vories. Vories who had moved to Shiga prefecture in 1905 as a Christian missionary. On the hand rails in the stairwell of the main building are small brass statues of hares and tortoises which illustrate Aesop's fable of “The Tortoise and the Hare”. The story starts at the bottom and finishes at the top where the tortoise wins and the hare can be found asleep half way up. Apparently Vories suggested the motif for the school and Furukawa approved it remembering his childhood teacher has encouraged him using the story. In 1999 it was decided that the school no longer was up to scratch in terms of being earth quake proof. The local mayor announced a new school building and the old school was to be demolished. This did not go over well with the locals. In 2001 they got an injunction to halt any demolition of the school. However the local council fought back and there were even protests at the site which turned violent (well a bit of pushing and shoving at the very least). Eventually in 2004 the council decided to preserve the school and all its buildings, only after the mayor was defeated in a 2003 election.

The main building is where the club room for the fictional Light Music Club resides. Once you take your shoes off at the entrance and find some slippers which actually fit (this is compulsory for all buildings at the school) at the top of the closest staircase is the room. When I visited, I noted that many of the items I had seen in other fan’s photos online were no longer there. All the instruments were gone and the Gamera “Ton-chan” had been removed and replaced with a crappier ordinary plastic turtle. However all of the costumes Sawako had made for the girls are still there, as well as replicas of other items that appeared in the anime.

If you return to the entrance of the building walk out to the pathway which connects the two annex buildings at either end of the main school building, turn right and go to the annex at the end of the path. In this smaller building you’ll find where most of the items in the club room went. All of the donated instruments have been moved here which join a collection of figures, some more costumes and a ton of other fan made paraphernalia. The locals also sell some regional merchandise, mostly stuff specifically made for the school, including t-shirts.

I bought a Ritsu Toyosatsu School t-shirt (above). They were selling t-shirts with super deformed versions of all five light music club members. When I was on the train I noticed a number of high school aged kids in uniform some with musical instruments, some without. It was the Sunday of a long weekend (22 November 2015, Labor Thanksgiving Day was on the Monday) and the 5th Annual Toyosato Light Music Championship was apparently on that same day. I was finally tipped off by the flyers around the township and next to the merchandise on display in the annex at the school. One of the guys setting up came to talk to me and we had a slightly awkward discussion in half broken English and my barely functional and very broken Japanese (and also suffering from a head cold). From what I understood a number of local high school bands battle it out over a few hours. There are a couple of trophies, one sponsored by the local NHK station. Unfortunately I had a ticket for the shinkansen from Maibara station to Kobe, so I couldn’t hang around for the 12pm start.

I took a quick shot of the school stage where the event was to take place.

A couple of fans in their Itasha cars had shown up for the show in the parking lot.

On the way back to the station, I spotted a notice board with posters for today’s event and previous events held at the school.

Next it’s off to Kyoto Animation’s main studio in Uji, Kyoto. Again, I stress to be aware of the Ohmi Railway Line timetable for Toyosato station as at times the train only leaves once an hour. I would also check Hyperdia before you leave for the optimal time in terms of transfers. We’ll be going to Kohata station which will be two transfers and can take anywhere from a bit over 100 minutes to two and a half hours. Take the train from Toyosato to Hikone station, transfer to the JR Special Rapid Service for Aboshi or Banshuako and then change again at Kyoto station for the JR Nara Line bound for Nara or Joyo. Get off at Kohata station. Kyoto Animation is pretty much right outside the station’s entrance. Just turn left once you exit the station and walk about 10 or 20 meters and you’re there. I shouldn’t have to say this, but for god’s sake don’t go in. It’s not open to the public.

However the studio does have a KyoAni Shop not far away. Walk back past the station until you get to a T-junction (around 85 meters). Turn left and walk a further 290 meters going over the Keihan Uji Line (past Kowata Station) and a 7-Eleven. You’ll see a brown brick building with spiral stairs. Go up one flight of stairs and you’ll find the KyoAni Shop next to a hairdresser. It’s usually open from 10am to 6pm, but I think closes around 4pm on weekends. It’s kind of small and once you get a few people in there it’s hard to move about. Personally I didn’t think much of the merchandise on offer when I was there. There was only merchandise for shows that had just finished screening or current shows. Then again I’m not really the biggest fan of the studio. I bought a couple of “K-On!” artbooks and that was it. On reflection I could have just bought the books from Mandarake in Osaka, possibly for a little cheaper. Note that I didn’t visit both the school and studio on the same day. I originally went to Uji back in March 2013 after I had visited Fushimi Inari-taisha and Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto.

I think visiting the Toyosato school and Kyoto Animation is great for fans of “K-On!” and the studio, however it does take a big chunk out of your day to get to these places, which I found to be a major factor in deciding to go. Next time I’ll be heading out to the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.

Roaming Around Japan: The Ghibli Museum

Yes, I know this is a place that everyone goes too, especially if you even have the slightest interest in Japanese animation. Everyone has given their opinion of the places, so what the heck, I might as well give mine. As you may know, tickets can be a little hard to come by. You just can’t rock up to the museum and expect to get in. Often tickets will be sold out a number of weeks in advance even though the museum has been open since 2001 (you’d think everyone in Japan had been at least once by now!). This is because the museum only allows 200 people in per day. Sure, you could attempt to get tickets via the self-service machine in a Lawsons convenience store, but besides being fraught with language difficulties (if you can’t read kanji), as I mentioned before there’s little chance you’d be able to a ticket for the day you want. However if you want to take your chances Lawsons does have an English language website where you can order the tickets. Outside Japan, the best option is to get your ticket from JTB. Frustratingly they have a monopoly on all ticket sales in the western world. Buying a ticket from them costs around AU$17.

To get to the museum from Shinjuku station, take the Chou line to Mitaka station which will be a 15 to 20 minute trip. Take the south exit and turn left and follow the canal for about a kilometre until you get to the second set of traffic lights and a T-junction. In front of you should be Inokashira Park. Take the road to the right and follow the signs to museum which should be 300 metres down the road. The Studio Ghibli and the local council has put up various decorative signs in English and Japanese along the way so it’s hard to get lost. Alternatively there is a bus which goes directly to the museum. However I recommend the walk as the suburb the museum resides in is really beautiful. It’s so green and lush. As I mentioned before Inokashira Park surrounds the museum. You couldn’t claim it’s the most beautiful looking park in the city, but it is really pleasant to walk through after you have a look at the museum. Along with the signs pointing you to the museum, several lamp posts are also emblazoned with a Mitaka coat of arms designed by Miyazaki.

The museum has a faux entrance which has Totoro at the ticket counter (a fantastic photo opportunity that pretty much all patrons take up). The actual entrance is a further 100 meters on. If you buy a ticket in Japan, you will be given a set time when you can enter. This is to have a steady stream of patrons visiting throughout the day. For us foreigners, we can rock up with our JTB tickets anytime during the day (from memory there was two foreign couples who came as well). I went at the opening time, 10am. A ton of people had already rocked up by 9:30am. Around 10 minutes before opening time, the staff called out for families with small children. They were given priority and let in first. At the entrance your printed out JTB ticket is exchanged for Ghibli Museum one which has three 35mm frames from a Studio Ghibli film in it. Mine has a scene from “From Up on Poppy Hill” which had been released the previous year.

As the patrons pile in through the entrance, most head to the gift shop. Despite the best efforts of the museum, both the Mamma Aiuto gift shop and the Straw Hat Café (open from 11am) are seemingly always packed and are hard to get in to purchase anything. The museum itself is unlike any museum I’ve seen. The architecture is heavily influenced by European architecture, mostly on buildings in coastal Italian village called Calcata. On the ground level is the main hall which contains an amazing skylight with a propeller like fan reminiscent of “Laputa Castle in the Sky”. Nearby is an incredibly detailed fresco pained on the ceiling which includes many of the studios characters flying the sky surrounded by greenery. There’s a spiral wrought iron staircase, balconies, a bridge on the first floor and passages, some of which lead to dead ends, some which lead outside to patio area and some of which lead to other rooms. The building has little nooks and crannies all over the place which invite you to explore the building.

The ground and first floors have a permeant exhibit on the creation of one of their animated films. However it is more broadly an exhibit about how animation is made. It includes an amazingly intricate three dimensional zoetrope which animates the characters from “My Neighbour Totoro”. There are a number of “hands on” exhibits in this section which show patrons how animation works. The other main drawcard on the ground level is the Saturn Theatre. The museum runs several animated short films specifically produced for the museum during the day. However you’re only allowed to see one film once during the day. The film I saw was “Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess” which was directed by Miyazaki and seems to be set in the world of “Spirited Away”. There was no dialogue at all in the film, so it’s really accessible to anyone from any country who visits the museum. Like the rest of the museum, the little theatrette is packed full of little details and includes the front end of a tram as a projection booth. I also managed to spot a well-hidden Aardman character in the entrance to the theatre.

The first floor is also home to a mock-up of an animator’s studio which filled to brim with artefacts and tools that animators use and toys as well. On this floor as well are the temporary exhibits. When I went the exhibit was “The Gift of Illustrations - A Source of Popular Culture”, which exhibited the work of Scottish folklorist Andrew Lang and his illustration books from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, in particular the ones about fairies. Other exhibitions have focused on the studio’s work as well as international studios such as Pixar. There’s also the Tri Hawks reading room which is a library of sorts and the Catbus room, which as it sounds has a giant soft Catbuts for kids to play on and in. Outside the Catbus room is a wrought iron spiral staircase inside a cage. This leads up to the roof of the museum where there is a garden and a five metre high statue of the robot from “Laputa Castle in the Sky” and one of the cubes from the film.

It's certainly a fantastic way to finish up your visit to the museum. Everything inside the museum is off limits to photography, hence the reason why I haven’t posted any photos of the interior. I did note that one of the foreign patrons did take a few sneaky snaps of various exhibits. You can take photos of the Laputa robot and garden, so as you can image it’s a pretty popular spot to take photos, especially with all that pent up stress of not being able to take any photos inside the building. I’ve read a couple of comments from some anime fans that the museum is too childish and did nothing for them. This was is totally untrue for me and the majority of people who visit. Hayao Miyazaki explicitly designed the museum as something that wasn’t flashy or put the studio’s work on a pedestal. I really respect what he and the studio have achieved here. It feels “real” and not cheap or shallow or half thought out just to make a quick buck. If you’re looking for a detailed look into Ghibli films with lots of drawings and mock ups of characters or something in the vein of what Disney might do, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.

It’s a really fun way to fill in an hour or two for children and adults who love the studio’s films. Afterwards it’s quite pleasant to walk through Inokashira Park, especially in spring when the cherry blossoms have come out. A lot of anime fans do the Ghibli museum in the morning and take the train back from Mitaka station and go to Nakano Broadway which is a mere six stops away. Next time I’ll be heading out to the Toyosato Elementary School which was the basis for Sakuragaoka High School in “K-On!” and the Kyoto Animation studio and shop in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.

Video Backlog: “Gundam the Origin”

Publisher: Emotion (Bandai Visual, Japan)
Format: Region Free Blu-ray, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English, Japanese, French, Korean and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) Subtitles
Length: 4 episodes, 63 minutes (episode 1), 58 minutes (episode 2), 68 minutes (episodes 3 and 4)
Production Date: 2015 - 2016
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

By the year Universal Century (UC) 0068, man has ventured out to live permanently in space. Space colonies surround the Earth at various lagrangian points (where gravity from the moon and Earth are equal). Second and third generation colonists have been born over the last 60 or so years. However, tensions are brewing between the Earth government and the local governments who run the colonies. In the area called Side 3, the colony called Munzo wants to become an autonomous republic. Local politician Zeon Deikun prepares to make a rousing speech asking for the colony’s autonomy in the local parliament, but collapses and dies soon after he takes the podium. The public is outraged and allegations about who killed Deikun run rampant. Jimba Ral, a political ally of Deikun, takes in the Deikun's wife Astraia, and her two children. Jimba suspects their factional rivals the Zabi family, was behind his death. During the procession for Deikun’s funeral, one of the Zabi family cars is bombed with Sasro Zabi dying in the explosion. Rumours spread by the Zabi family implicate the Ral family in Sasro’s murder.

Jimba’s son, Ramba Ral, an officer in the local military is tasked with evacuating Deikun’s family from Munzo. However, a mob halts their escape with Kycilia Zabi intervening to save them. The head of the Zabi family, Degwin, arranges for the Deikun family to live with Zeon Deikun’s ex-wife, Roselucia, who as you can imagine is not on friendly terms with Astraia. This is to keep an eye on the family. In particular, the Zabi family fear Deikun’s children may one day seek revenge on them. The children remain with Roselucia in the main house, while Astraia is cruelly banished to a tower far from the main house. Though the Ral family’s standing in the colony has been ruined by the rumours of their role in Sasro’s murder, Ramba hatches a plan so that the two young children, Casval and Artesia as well as his father Jimba, can escape the colony. He gets his lover Crowley Hamon, to pose as a federation solider and using false orders take the children to the spaceport via a Guntank. But everything doesn’t quite go to plan. The soldiers in the Guntank ask for more bribe money and Federation soldiers attempt to stop them in Guntanks, only to have Casval commandeer the firing controls and destroy one of the Guntanks. Eventually Jimba and the two children are smuggled out of the colony in a cargo ship.

Three years later and the trio are living on Earth in Andalusia, Spain. A local businessman sympathetic to their cause, Don Teabolo Mass, has taken under his protection. He has adopted the two children who are now called Édouard and Sayla Mass. Jimba invites representatives from Anaheim Electronics in order to plan a rebellion against the Zabis, however Don strongly advises him to cancel his plans. Later that night a group of armed men enter the house to kill everyone. Édouard and Sayla fight off a killer in a suit of armour and survive. Jimba is killed but Don survives though is badly injured. In hospital Don is visited by Shu Yashima, an entrepreneur and business man. Sympathetic to Deikun family’s plight, he suggests they all move to his Texas colony which he owns. It’s close to Muzno which means they can keep a distance from the Zabi’s but also give the impression that they are submitting to them. Édouard and Sayla move in with the colony’s chief manager Roger Aznable. There they meet his son, Char Aznable, who is a dead ringer for Édouard, except for the colour of his eyes. As he enters his late teens, Édouard becomes rather cold, calculating and manipulative. He severely beats a man he suspects of being sent by the Zabi family to spy on him and Sayla.

Later Char Aznable becomes indoctrinated by the Zabi family’s propaganda as Munzo edges closer to a fascist dictatorship. Char decides to enter the Zabi’s military school. After the children receive word that their mother Astraia has died in Munzo, Édouard suddenly tells Sayla that he is leaving with Char to go to military school. She tearfully pleads with him to not leave her, but he just ignores her. Édouard has not been accepted by the military school, but plans to do away with Char enroute and assume his identity. Meanwhile Dozle Zabi heads up a development team of new robotic construction equipment called a Mobile Worker, which can easily be adapted into a weapon called the Mobile Suit. He invites Ramba Ral and the men who would later become the Black Tri-Stars, to help test these new weapons.

Based upon Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s manga of the same name from the early 2000’s, this is another big budget OVA/movie series release from Bandai Visual and Sunrise. It’s being released in a similar manner to “Gundam Unicorn” with theatrical releases in Japan, a BD release in cinemas on the same day, an English dub and subtitles in various languages on the BD. This time it’s a bit different with the same Laserdisc sized limited box set (only available in Japan directly from the Bandai Visual Club website) being sold in the US, UK and Australia without the option of the cheaper regular editions sold through regular retail outlets in Japan. The difference is pretty significant (about $40), so I opted to buy the regular versions from Amazon.co.jp.

The set of OVAs (or movies) generally follow the life of Casval Deikun who would later become Char Aznable. This series generally follows the first arc of the manga which leads up to the One Year War just before the events of the original Gundam TV series. The series is directed by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko with Takashi Imanishi (mostly know as the director of “SPT Layzner”) doing the actual direction of the individual episodes. Apart from Char’s backstory we also see his family, the Zabi family, the Ray family, the Ral family and of course a number of cameos of various characters for the original TV series. Also key to the series is the development of the Mobile Suit on both sides of the conflict.

As you’d expect from a big budgeted series like this, the animation is extremely well done with some really nice battle scenes on occasion. However as this is set before the One Year War, big battle sequences are far and few in between. Most of the series deals with the political machinations between the Zabi family and the Deikuns and Rals. Most of this is scripted quite well. Some of the drama in the first OVA heads into melodrama and feels quite silly. This is especially true for Zeon Deikun and Jimba Ral’s scenes. There’s also a scene where a very young Casval Deikun confronts Kycilia Zabi. I know that it’s important to show what Char was like as a kid, but the entire sequence is hard to swallow. I mean he’s still a prepubescent child at this stage. The other three parts fare much better as the teen Casval metamorphosises into the cold blooded Char hell bent on getting his revenge on the Zabi family.

However the lead up to how he became Char also had me seriously attempting to suspend disbelief. As you may have seen from the trailers for the second part, Édouard and Sayla Mass meet a teen boy Édouard age, Char Aznable, who is pretty much a clone of Édouard. It’s patently obvious what happens next, but the whole set up just feels a bit too forced. I also found it hard to believe that the spies sent by the Zabi family could not figure out what happened. How thick are they? The cameos of characters such as Mirai Yashima, Kai Shiden and Hayato Kobayashi also feel unnatural. I especially felt that Mirai’s cameo was completely unnecessary. What kind of businessman would bring their young daughter to a meeting in hospital? The scenes in the last part which showed Amuro’s school and family life also seem out of place in the context of the series. What really worked well however was the beginning of the friendship between Char and Garma Zabi at the military school. In this series Garma is shown to be much kinder than his siblings and seemingly uninterested in family politics. Char’s character is also developed very well in this section as it is revealed that he is a man that will go to any lengths to sate his lust for revenge, and certainly is quite patient and calculating in doing so.

The standard versions of the series I purchased include slipcovers with brilliant artwork by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, a booklet featuring character and mecha designs and second larger book which compares the rough drafts from the manga with the completed animation. I also got a couple of bonus clear files, one when I bought the second part at Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku and the second from Amazon.co.jp for the fourth part. In conclusion this is a pretty exciting series. I think sometimes it ties itself up in knots trying to explain certain parts of Char’s origins and some of the cameos are too obvious for my liking. A lot of the drama is offset by a lot great humour which I really enjoyed. While these scenes with Amuro feel out of place, the sections covering the development of the Mobile Suit work well within Char’s story. Sunrise have announced the second arc of the manga, known as the Loum Arc, as two movies/OVAs for 2017. I’m looking forward to them. 8 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: Eleven TV series, two OVA series and three movies. In addition I am also waiting for the second parts of two TV series to be released before viewing them.

Roaming Around Japan: Odaiba

On my first trip to Japan I had planned to go to a number of anime related places, so much so that unfortunately the holiday just ended up being an “anime holiday” for the most part. At the time I thought that I would never go back there and crammed as much stuff I wanted to see in the short week and a half I was there. Earlier in that year Gundam Front Tokyo had just began trading in the newly opened Diver City shopping complex and this was the main reason I wanted to go to Odaiba. The main attraction of Gundam Front Tokyo (and Diver City) is the 18 metre tall RX-78-2 Gundam statute which stands right outside Diver City. It was previously used by Bandai as a promotional tool for the franchise’s 20th anniversary, in particular for the line of model kits, but now it has been on display in Odaiba since 2012.

Odaiba is in fact a large artificial island in Tokyo bay. Originally built for defensive purposes in the 1850’s, during the tail end of the economic bubble in the early 1990’s it was earmarked for expansion with the then Tokyo governor announcing the area to be redeveloped as Tokyo Teleport Town. The plans were quite grand with residential and commercial properties planned along with a projected 100,000 residents to be living there by the middle of the decade. However by 1995 over a trillion yen had been sunk into the project. The economic bubble had burst long ago, the developers were bankrupt and many plots of land remained undeveloped. The other problem is that Odaiba is virtually in the middle of nowhere in terms transport. It takes over half an hour to get there from Shinjuku via the train. Businesses just weren’t interested in the place. Odaiba was viewed as a boondoggle. The new governor of Tokyo halted the plan. 

However less than five years later, Odaiba started to become a rather popular local leisure and tourist spot. This really isn’t all that surprising considering what’s there; two museums (Museum of Maritime Science and Miraikan), a number of shopping malls, lots of parks and open spaces, and plenty of futuristic architecture such as the Fuji Television building and Tokyo Big Sight which hosts conventions and other events such as Comiket (in summer and winter) and the annual Anime Japan. The extension of the Yurikamome line into Odaiba also helped with the popularity of the area. In the last couple of years there have been proposals to relocate Kabukicho from Shinjuku to Odaiba (which seems absurd beyond belief), however as you can imagine nearly all of the businesses and residents of Kabukicho hated this daft idea. This was plan was part of a push to “clean up” Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic games. Hopefully it has been hit on the head.

To get to Odaiba, probably the best way is to use the JR Saikyo line from Shibuya which will normally link on to the Rinki line without any transfers. However it is advisable to check Hyperdia before you go. The trip usually takes 20 minutes from Shibuya to Tokyo Teleport. The other option is the Yurikamome line which is far more picturesque journey, but will add on another 15 minutes (to Daiba station). Exiting Tokyo Teleport (the “B” exit), keep walking straight ahead following the covered walkway until you come to the overpass. Keep walking towards the distinctive Fuji Television building, right past on its right hand side. Walk between past the Aqua City and Decks Odaiba/Joypolis buildings (unfortunately the “Little Hong Kong” replica of a Hong Kong streetscape was shut down years ago) and across the road to the park. Walk along the boardwalk to your left and you’ll eventually comes across a replica of the Statue of Liberty. This one quarter scale replica (a bit over 12 metres) was a present from France to Japan and installed in April 1998 for the commemoration of "The French Year in Japan".

Walking along the waterfront is quite pleasant with a nice view of the city and the Rainbow Bridge (blown up in “The Next Generation – Patlabor -” movie). You may even see the Tokyo Cruise Ship Company’s Himiko cruise boat, designed by Leiji Matsumoto (of “Captain Harlock” and “Galaxy Express 999” fame). The only other thing of interest is the Noitamina Shop and Cafe Theatre on the fourth floor of Aqua City. Other than that, the two closest malls in the area are full of chain stores you can practically find anywhere else on the planet. If you get back on the viewing platform between the Hilton Hotel and Aqua City, you can turn around and walk back to Diver City on several connecting pedestrian overpasses without having to cross any of the roads below.

Here you will find the shopping complex Diver City and 18 metre tall RX-78-2 Gundam statute which sits outside. Unfortunately Bandai have decided that the statue will be disassembled on 5 March 2017. Where it will be displayed from  then on, nobody knows. Behind the Gundam statue is a local branch of the Gundam Café (open from 10am). The menu isn’t as large as the main store in Akihabara, but you can buy coffee, light meals such as takeaway burgers and a of course a ton of merchandise. I am unsure if the café will be closing when the statue is dismantled. Inside Diver City are a number of chain stores and restaurants, most of which you can find in any large shopping centre in Japan (or the world for multinational chains). Of interest on the seventh floor though is Gundam Front Tokyo (open 10am) which is like a mini amusement park/museum for all things Gundam. There are a couple of free areas such the Strict-G upmarket Gundam inspired fashion shop and the main shop, however to see the displays, it will cost ¥1,000. This includes a short film in the G-Dome where CG animation projected on the inside of a dome, an “experience field” which has a full sized battle scared Core Fighter and a Strike Freedom Gundam torso which you can enter and have pictures taken in the cockpit for an extra fee, plus other displays and a Gunpla Factory which explains how they make the model kits as well as a chance to make one yourself. As fan of the series, I found Gundam Front Tokyo was really well done and extremely fan friendly.

There is so much attention to detail such as the hallway to the entrance of the Dome-G theatre (above). If stand in a certain spot, you can see the image of Heero Yuy’s Gundam from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. A loop of two introductory videos laying out the rules for the Dome-G play in this hallway before you go in. One is narrated by Gihren Zabi from the original Gundam series, the other by Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed. Unfortunately Bandai have decided to close Gundam Front Tokyo on 5 April 2017. With the removal of both Gundam attractions, I’m not sure what else Diver City could do to attract visitors. Without the Gundam stuff it’s just another ordinary shopping complex. There was a Maidreamin maid café in the complex, but it seems to have shut down.

Right outside Diver City in front of the Gundam statue, if you turn to your right, keep walking over what is called the Symbol Promenade Park for around 270 metres. To your right you’ll see a covered walkway to the Mega Web (open from 11am). Walk through that  to get to Toyota’s history showcase. This is display of various motor vehicles from the 1950’s right through to Toyota’s short-lived foray into the world of Formula One motor racing in the 2000’s. It also includes an area where they restoring cars they’ve recently acquired and of course a gift shop. The complex also includes Toyota Showcase City which displays current models, concept cars and cars available for test drives and Ride Studio which is basically a large indoor go-karting place. Connected to the Mega Web is Venus Fort, whose interior looks like an elaborate mock-up of an 18th century southern European town. The lighting cycles though the various parts of a day (from morning to night) in about 15 minutes or so. It’s gaudy and quite odd. I’ve never really seen any shopping complex like it before. It’s certainly worth the trip even if you’re not interested in any of the shops. Apart from the usual chain shops you find in these complexes there is a local branch of Studio Ghibli’s Donguri Republic chain, Village Vanguard and Kiddy Land.

Finally, the other building of note is Tokyo Big Sight. To get there, go to Aomi Station and take the Yurikamome line to Kokusai-tenjijo-seimon Station (about a 10 minute trip). As I said before this convention centre hosts the two big otaku events in Tokyo; the biannual Comiket and the annual Anime Japan. Even if there is no conventions happening, it’s still an awesome building to behold. Around 350 meters over the walkway across the road is the Panasonic Centre. This is mostly a building to display Panasonic goods, however some of the displays are quite interesting. Best of all it’s free. The building also houses Nintendo Game Front were you can play recently released games and a café.

There’s far more to Odaiba than what I’ve mentioned here. You could literally spend a day or two wandering around and discovering all it has to offer. I think it’s a real shame that Bandai has decided to pull up stumps in regards to its Gundam related attractions. Still if you need somewhere to go on a rainy day in Tokyo the museums, shopping malls and other attractions in Odaiba should be more than enough to fill in a day or two. Next time like everyone else who has visited Tokyo, I’ll be looking at the Ghibli Museum to give my thoughts.

Video Backlog: “Strike Witches: The Movie”

Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region A Blu-ray, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles. Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles.
Length: 95 minutes
Production Date: 2012
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

In 1939 a mysterious enemy called Neuroi attacked Earth, mostly centring on Europe. Suspected to be of alien origin, Earth’s armies were no match for them. However in the past humanity had always relied on witches, young women, who had magical powers and fought off monsters and demonic creatures whenever they appeared in the world. Military scientists designed Striker Units, wearable machines with propellers that in combination with the witches magical powers, helped the young women to fly. In the battles against the Neuroi, the witches soon discover that they have cores, which when fired upon destroy the Neuroi and dissolve them. The first two TV series follow the 501st Joint Fighter Wing team, where after a prolonged battle the heroine of the series, Yoshika Miyafuji, uses up all of her magical power in a climactic battle.

Two months after the battle, Yoshika has returned to her home country of Fuso and adjusting back to her old life. She surprises her childhood friend, Yamakawa Michiko (who was searching for her in the forest), by riding on a bear that she befriended as a cub. Later the pair hears the distressed cries of a puppy and discovers it fighting for life in a fast running river. Yoshika leaps onto the rocks to save it, but eventually falls in with the puppy and soon finds her self floating downstream and over a waterfall.  Lucky a witch in a Striker Unit was passing by and saves Yoshika and the puppy. She introduces herself as Hattori Shizuka and soon realises that it was Yoshika she saved, someone she idolises due to her former military career in the battle against the Neuroi. Hattori explains that she in fact was looking for Yoshika to bring her to Europe to study as a doctor.  The Helvetian Medical School, one of the most prestigious medical schools in the world, has invited Yoshika to study there. Yoshika jumps at the chance and her and Hattori board the Carrier Amagi the next day.

While Yoshika is no longer part of the military, she still wants to help around the ship. This irks Hattori to no end and scolds her for not adhering to military regulations. As their journey continues the ship hits an iceberg causing major damage to ship and badly injuring and trapping one crew member. Despite the fire and threat of an explosion, and ignoring Hattori’s commands, Yoshika bravely rescues the trapped and injured man and also manages to get the sprinkler system back in operation, putting out the fire. At their first port of call Gallia, the pair meet two old friends from the 501st; Lynette Bishop and Perrine H. Clostermann. There they spend some time with orphaned children that Perrine looks after. Hattori soon realises that because Yoshika doesn’t act like a solider, it actually helped the 501st become a better fighting force. Later the ship stops at the Rhine to help people affected by a landslide. The 501st become aware of Neuroi becoming more active in the area. Soon Yoshika finds herself in the middle of a Neuroi attack and helps evacuate a local village. Despite the fact she no longer has any magical powers, she joins in the fight alongside the 501st.

This franchise has an infamous reputation for having a bunch of young girls weaning no pants (or a skirt). However the first TV series at least didn’t really concentrate on this fact and to my surprise was quite entertaining. The second series wasn’t as nearly well written and was focused more on the fanservice side of things. Like the “KanColle” franchise, this series revolves around anthropomorphic mechanical girls, a trend that really started in the late 1980’s, but really didn’t take off in a big way until around 2005 with shows like this one and “Sky Girls”. “Strike Witches” is a little bit different to other franchises due the fact the girls are normal people and only wear boot-like mechanical devices with propellers which help them fly. For some reason which I don’t think has ever been explained, the girls also grow animal ears and tails when using their magical powers. My personal theory is that they are possessed by animal spirits which give them their powers. Or maybe they just drew them that way because it’s cute.

Anyways let’s talk about the elephant in the room; the lack of skirts and/or pants. It’s utterly absurd that Yoshika and the rest of the girls walk about in underwear or the old style Japanese school bathing suits, even when they’re no longer in the military or off duty. Let’s face it; it’s pure sexualisation of teenage girls. It serves no other purpose. Even worse with this film there are a large number of crotch shots, especially during battles as the camera passes in extremely close (literally giving the viewer a face full of crotch) as the girls zoom into frame before they take on the Neuroi. It was never this bad in the original series. The story itself is a rather dull affair. I don’t understand why the military themselves took Yoshika to the medical school. She couldn’t be advised by letter and make her way there herself? The movie is a just an excuse to string a number of battles together and bring out the extended cast for the two series, which most of their appearances don’t propel the plot along one iota. For the most part they really don’t need to be in the film at all.

From what I’ve read online there are huge number of highly accurate military machinery and references to key military personal from WWII. This is fantastic if you’re a military nut, but for the general audience it just flies right over your head.  The animation by AIC (yes they still make anime, and I bet you can’t name any of their recent shows) is pedestrian at best. It looks no better than standard TV animation from that era. It’s certainly not movie quality except for some parts of the battles. Speaking of which, the best thing I can say about this film is that the battles were very well choreographed and look quite good (gratuitous crotch shots notwithstanding). But other than that’s there’s not much to like in this film. It’s quite a disappointment. Even the personalities of most of the girls are non-existent. Almost the entire cast are softly spoken doormats. They’re very submissive and really, really dull. The exceptions are the extroverted Francesca Lucchini and Charlotte E. Yeager whose contributions to the story and film are just to make obligatory appearances.

Funimation have been really dead slow in getting this film out; nearly four years. Why they didn’t release this earlier is beyond me. I can understand a year or so hold back due to reverse importation worries, but four years is a bit of a joke. The presentation is as per usual; the video is OK, except for the horrible banding which plagues many of their discs. It’s quite noticeable in low light scenes, especially inside the ship during the fire. At least they’ve included the Japanese promotional video and trailer as extras. Funimation now seems to lump all of their previews of other titles as one long video rather than listing separate previews which you can chose to play. It’s yet another thing to add to the pile of Funimation annoyances. At the very least on screen titles in the film are all Japanese, probably because Funimation weren’t supplied “clean” footage for these segments. I can only give this film 5 out of 10. While I loved the original series, I wasn’t all that fussed with the sequel TV series. But this film has finally killed the franchise for me.

Remaining Backlog: Nine TV series, two OVA series and three movies. In addition I am also waiting for the second parts of two TV series to be released before viewing them.