I came across a new (for me) site today. Stage6 is high quality and less noise from people uploading phone clips.

They use the DivX codec to display video, so a full screen experience similar to DVD is possible. You will probably have to install the DivX components but it’s quick and available as a free download for MacOSX and Windows. The files can also be easily downloaded without the contortions you have to go through on YouTube. Searching and Tag filtering are also much better than YouTube.

For Japan otaku types there’s lots of stuff. jDrama, Anime, jPop, until of course it’s removed, but in the meantime enjoy and learn.

–update 28Feb08–
Since Feb28 2008 Stage6 is no more.
Between bandwidth costs, a fairly major hack and the dubious legality of most of the videos, I think the owners decided to call it a day. I expect that the above links no longer work.

I may end up deleting this post.

Related posts:

1. YouTube
2. Anime music
3. Renting DVDs in the UK

Send It is a good internet store to purchase DVDs available in the UK.

The Japanese Center has many Japanese DVDs with subtitles for rent including the entire Ghibli collection and recent releases unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

If you feel adventurous you can try ordering direct from Japan with Amazon.jp.
For the slightly less adventurous there’s CD Japan that has a fully English site and even singles out films with English subtitles.

There’s also YesAsia.com that pays the vat and duty on UK imports and whose site is in English. (And they operate as advertised when I ordered two discs from them. The discs seem to be imported to the UK then posted to you from this local distributor. Delivery took about 7 days after the discs had been sourced. The face price of the discs was 7120円 about ￡37 and I was charged ￡42 which I think is quite good for imported discs, being only slightly more than I’d expect to pay for a first release Arthouse DVD.)

One advantage of Japanese discs is that they can have Japanese subtitles, and sometimes even the kanji characters in subtitles are subtitled (furigana). I’ve found the subtitles can help me make out what has been said in Japanese — when I freeze frame to give myself time to read. And the soundtrack helps me find the pronunciation and meaning of kanji in the subtitles.

Japanese discs are Region 2 the same as Europe, but are NTSC not PAL (two incompatible TV formats) However NTSC discs will play on computers and most players also ought to play them without any problem (but it might be best to check before spending money). If ordering from Japan make sure there are English subtitles (- 英語 means English language, – 字幕 means subtitle) unless you are very sure of your Japanese abilities.

America of course has the largest amount of English dubbed and subbed DVDs available. (Subbed is best) Amazon is as good a place as any to look. You may get hit for duty on any imports to the EU and most non-EU stores now charge VAT on internet sales. You’ll also need a multi region hacked player to play region 1 discs.

Related posts:

1. Renting DVDs in the UK
2. Listening
3. Studio Ghibli

The site is very well made and easy to use. It has lots of reviews; from other members, its own reviewers and Time Out reviews. There is also a member rating system.

They seem to have every DVD available in the UK including all the Anime series. There are 350+ discs of Japanese language titles. Which would keep most people busy for quite a while! They have a good selection of Japanese language films from directors like Miike Takashi, Kurosawa, and Ozu.

At ￡15 it’s excellent value when you consider that to buy a disc is ￡20 and high street rentals (if you can find Japanese titles) are about ￡4 plus the effort in going there.

Related posts:

1. Buying DVDs
2. SCI-FI London Festival
3. Anime music

Noir
Noir is an adult (or rather not for children) animation originally broadcast in a late night slot on Japanese TV in 2001. The story concerns a pair of female assassins and their quest to discover their origins, while the dark Scillian brotherhood Les Soldats haunt their every move.
The series is widescreen, moody and atmospheric, excellent soundtrack and quite violent despite the fact that no blood is shown. The character of Kirika is a study in understatement, remarkable for an animated character that has monosyllabic dialogue and almost no facial movements.

Excel Saga
Another adult anime. Funny, irreverent, crude, sometimes offensive, sometimes obscure but worth a watch. Fortunately it has extra subtitles to explain cultural references, anime in-jokes and Excel’s awful puns. Check out how fast the actress, Kotono Mitsuishi, can deliver her lines in the preview at the end of each episode.

Azumanga Daioh
I like this anime. Set in a school it is based on four panel comic strips that originally appeared in a comic. It has been said they are like Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts. Very funny. I really like the space cadet from Osaka and the very self centred English teacher. Very everyday situations (and not a mechadroid in sight). The style is of short scenes so this could be one of the better ones to try to learn some Japanese from.

Voices of a Distant Star 「ほしのこえ」
This is almost completely the work of a single animator rather than a studio. It is a poignant story of a long distance relationship conducted by けいたい, made all the more complicated by the effects of general relativity.

It is quite a short film at 30 minutes; so it is probably better to rent it than buy it. Also on the DVD are 3 cuts of a short animation called She and her Cat 「彼女と彼女の猫」which are interesting.

The director has another film which looks just as impressive but I thought the story was just a little weaker.

–update 07Sep09–
ADV seems to be no longer and has sold its assets off.
Maybe a testament to how the Internet has changed how people get their anime

Related posts:

1. Studio Ghibli
2. Anime music
3. MVM

Often called Japan’s answer to Disney but it’s so much more. It may not have Disney’s output but Ghibli’s animation quality is the worlds best and has a level of detail that Disney hasn’t approached since Snow White. Disney has the global distribution rights to Ghibli films outside Japan.
Nausica Net is an American fansite with detailed information on all Ghibli titles.
My favourites are 耳をすませば、(Whisper of the Heart) and となりのトトロ、(My Neighbour Totoro). Then there’s 火垂るの墓 (Grave of the Fireflies) that’s in a class all its own.

耳をすませば
This is a charming movie about a young girl, Shizuku, just as she is about to enter high school. Its about first love and finding your way in the world. It has Ghibli’s recurring themes of growing up and like a lot of Ghibli films has a young girl as the lead character. It is set in modern Japan. Shizuku lives in a small apartment with her parents, a grad student and a librarian, and her older sister a university student. The situations are everyday and the drama is small. The only talking animals are in a dream sequence. This film is firmly in reality. You’ll recognise lots of Japanese phrases. I really recommend this, it’s uplifting and one of my favourite films. You’ll also be humming Country Roads for days afterwards.

となりのトトロ
I don’t know why this film has never been given an International release. Its a wonderful children’s film that also has appeal for adults. Set in 1950s rural Japan, a university lecturer has moved to the country with his two daughters to be near his wife who is in a TB clinic. The house has neighbours however, among them a huge bear-like cat creature Totoro and a cat bus (it makes sense in the film!). Again the drama is small but the film is wonderfully observed such as when the daughter walks on her knees in the new house because you don’t wear shoes indoors. And there’s a beautiful scene in the rain at night while Totoro and the girls wait on their father’s bus to arrive.

火垂るの墓「ほたるのはか」
Strictly speaking I don’t think this film is a Ghibli title. It has finally been released in the UK by Optimum as a two disc set. It was directed by Isao Takahata, the other major animator at Studio Ghibli.
This is a very moving and sad film. The opening line is
「昭和２０年９月２１日夜ぼくは死んだ」
（しょわ２０ねん ９げつ ２１にち よる　ぼくは しんだ）
“September 21, 1945. That was the night I died.”
Set in Kobe in 1945 it is about the ultimately unsuccessful attempt at survival of two orphan children. Seita is a fourteen year old boy left trying to care for his young sister Setsuko after a fire bomb raid on the city. Unable to get along with their aunt they set up home in a hillside air-raid shelter, but with wartime famine, food is hard to come by.
This is an important anti-war film. The American film critic Roger Ebart said “it belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made.” Not something you would think of an animated film but speaks to the films story (based on the true wartime experiences of Akiyuki Nosaka) and how well it is executed. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to respond to this film. All too often war stories are about statesmen and soldiers, heroism and sacrifice but seldom do you see ordinary people just trying to survive and unfortunately ordinary children are just trying to survive wars every day.
I’d encourage anyone to watch this film if they can. Although animation, Disney it isn’t, so its probably more suitable for older children and then probably not on their own. It does deal graphically and emotionally with war and death. But it also has a charmingly observed character in the little girl Setsuko and some touching scenes between the siblings.

PS. While using a dictionary to find some kanji about this film I came across this
firefly glow, Auld Lang Syne
蛍の光 [ほたるのひかり]
which perhaps gives another layer to the films title Tomb of the Fireflies.

Other Ghibli films

Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば), My Neighbour Totoro (となりのトトロ), Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), Kiki’s Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便), My Neighbours the Yamadas (ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん) Porco Rosso(紅の豚) and Laputa; Castle in the Air (天空の城ラピュタ) are available in the UK as region 2 discs.　They have both English language and Japanese soundtracks.
Only Yesterday (おもひでぽろぽろ), and Nausica of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) are due for release, but at the moment are only available as Japanese discs. Fortunately Ghibli has English subtitles on all their discs and some even have English dubs.
I’d recommend any Ghibli film. They are all worth a watch and shouldn’t disappoint.

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Related posts:

1. Buying DVDs
2. Repast • めし
3. Listening

YouTube doesn’t allow you to download video. However… If you use Firefox the download helper extension will overcome that.

Other Interesting Music Videos on You Tube.
Not a lot at the moment. You Tube has been clearing house recently and a lot of things I found interesting have gone.

This guys videos are interesting. He tapes street performers in Tokyo.

Related posts:

1. Ulfuls • ウルフルズ
2. Better than YouTube, “Stage6″
3. Chickens at Shunt

Some of the theme songs are ok, if short at 90 secs. But more importantly they are usually subtitled in Japanese (romaji) and English, so it’s easy to follow along.
I quite like John Denver’s Country Road in Japanese translation カントリーロード from 耳をすませば probably because the tune if not the words are familiar.

If you want the lyrics to Anime or Game songs Anime Lyrics (.com) is the site to head to.

Some anime title songs
damekko doubutsu

Related posts:

1. iKaroke Tune Prompter