altjapan co. , ltd. is a tokyo based company specializing in the translation and localization of japanese entertainment .

it is particularly active in manga and video game localization .

it specializes in japanese-to-english and english-to-japanese translation , but also handles european language localization as well .

it has worked on titles for companies including capcom , koei-tecmo , namco-bandai , konami , taito , and square-enix .

credits include dragon quest viii , the ninja gaiden series , the dynasty warriors gundam series , lollipop chainsaw , lost planet 3 , and the 2014 remake of strider .

in addition to localization of text , it also produces the recording sessions for video games as well , most notably on the dynasty warriors gundam and dead or alive series .

altjapan 's manga translation credits include nura : rise of the yokai clan , togari , and dorohedoro .

at the 2013 san diego comic-con , fuijko f. fujio productions announced that altjapan would produce the english version of the manga doraemon in conjunction with voyager japan .

inc . original content produced by altjapan includes the books hello , please !

very helpful super kawaii characters from japan ( chronicle books , 2007 ) and the attack !

series , which includes yokai attack !

the japanese monster survival guide ( kodansha , 2008 ) , ninja attack !

true tales of assassins , samurai , and outlaws ( kodansha , 2010 ) , and yurei attack !

the japanese ghost survival guide ( tuttle , 2012 ) .

altjapan co . , ltd .

all conference q + a deguchi hiroshi , vince shortino , matthew alt ( vice president , altjapan co . , ltd . )
zutto dokushin de iru tsumori ? © mari okazaki / shodensha publishing co . , ltd .
company name : altjapan co . , ltd . established : january 1 , 2003 capital : 10 , 000 , 000 yen main bank : mizuho bank president : hiroko yoda
the judging committee this year consisted of urltoken ' s deb aoki , manga translator william flanagan , author and co - founder of altjapan co . , ltd . matt alt , and associate professor at kyoto seika university matt thorn .
haruwa akebono tsukimo nau soramo nao © machio same 2012 originally published in japan in 2012 by ohzora publishing co . , ltd .
dorohedoro . 10 [ graphic novel ] / story and art by q hayashida ; translation , altjapan co . , ltd . ( hiroko yoda + matt alt ) ; touch - up art & lettering , maui girl .
apologise for the spoo . . . . . . glish translation by altjapan co . , ltd . , [ 6 ] in 8 tankōbon volumes between july 10 , 2007 and september 9 , 2008 . [ 7 ] [ 8 ]
indianapolis , i . n . ; the bobbs - merrill co . , publishers
altjapan specializes in international co - productions , including full communication support for both japanese and english - speaking dev teams ( technical documents , email communications , interpretation , cultural consulting . )
. . . north jersey st . r . co . 66 n . j . l . 424 ; 49 atl . 438 ; chicago city r . co . v .
. . . writer and artist of comics . he was co - founder of the independent comics
a native of washington , d . c . , matthew has been working as a professional translator since the early 1990s . together with hiroko yoda he is the co - founder of altjapan co . , ltd . , a dedicated entertainment localization company that has produced the english versions of many top video games , toys , and manga , including the gundam series and the doraemon series . he is the co - author of numerous books about japan , including
yokai attack ! the japanese monster survival guide .
will be messrs . john bale , sons and daniels - son , ltd . , s3 - 91 gr . . .
judging from the logos and some simple induction , i have deduced that bitch started as a hostile parody to girl skateboards , and the net seems to name sal rocco , jr . at world industries as the original prankster ( he’s the guy who gave the name “wee man” to “wee man” of jackass for those who like trivia ) . how this low - key parody ended up being licensed to crown f . g . co . , ltd in a deal brokered by tenacious ltd . and then distributed through yubisha sangyo co . , ltd is an amazing commercial adventure novel waiting to happen .
we produce english versions of japanese games , manga , & other stuff . co - author of yokai attack !
born in tokyo , japan , hiroko yoda has co - authored numerous books on the topics of japanese pop culture , history , and folklore with her husband and collaborator , matt alt . when they aren ' t hunting robots , yokai , ninja , or ghosts , they run altjapan co . , ltd . , a company that produces the english versions of japanese entertainment , including electronic toys , comic books , and video games . she also is the local language editor for the japanese edition of the popular travel website cnngo tokyo .
craig mod is a writer and designer who splits his time between san francisco and tokyo . he is a macdowell writing fellow and a techfellow award recipient for product design and marketing . he is co - founder of hi ( http : / / sayhi . co ) . he was previously a product designer at flipboard . he is also the co - author of the tokyo city guide , art space tokyo .
altjapan is also the name of the translation / localization company matt runs with his wife , hiroko , in mitaka , tokyo , and the books that the two co - authored include “hello , please ! very helpful super kawaii characters from japan” and “yokai attack ! : the japanese monster survival guide . ”
altjapan is a localization company based in tokyo , japan . we have more than a decade of experience localizing best - selling content for top publishers , televisio . . .
matthew alt , a native of washington , d . c . , has been working as a professional translator and writer since the early 1990s . his experience includes four years as an in - house technical japanese translator for the united states patent and trademark office . he currently runs altjapan co . , ltd . , a tokyo - based localization company that produces the english versions of video games , comic books , and other forms of entertainment . an expert in japanese folktales and character culture , he is the co - author of numerous books , including
hello please ! very helpful super kawaii characters from japan” and
yokai attack ! the japanese monster survival guide . ”
matthew alt , a native of washington , d . c . , has been working as a professional translator and writer since the early 1990s . his experience includes four years as an in - house technical japanese translator for the united states patent and trademark office . he currently runs altjapan co . , ltd . , a tokyo - based localization company that produces the english versions of video games , comic books , and other forms of entertainment . an expert in japanese folktales and character culture , he is the co - author of numerous books , including “ hello please ! very helpful super kawaii characters from japan ” and “ yokai attack ! the japanese monster survival guide . ”
altjapan is a localization company based in tokyo , japan . we have more than a decade of experience localizing best - selling content for top publishers , television producers , and video game studios in japan , america , and around the world .
he is the co - author of numerous books about japan , and a contributor to cnn , wired magazine , slate magazine , the independent , newsweek japan , the japan times , the new yorker , and many other publications .
what sets altjapan apart is that we don ' t just translate . we are creators and scholars of pop culture . that hands - on field experience powers our localization of best - selling video games , manga , tv and film , books , and toys .
professor deguch’s research focuses on complex social systems , evolutionary economics , and cultural diversity . he is also the president of the japan association of simulation and gaming , and a member of the board of directors of the japan association for social and economic systems studies and the advisory board for the east asian journal of popular culture ( intellect ltd . )
the former editor of the japanese edition of cnngo , she is the co - author of numerous books about japanese folklore and an accomplished photographer whose work has appeared in photo you magazine , cnngo , on national geographic television , and more . she was also certified as a language examiner for applicants and employees of the federal bureau of investigation .
author and translator matt alt runs altjapan , an entertaining and informative blog launched in 2006 . calling it a “digital scratchpad , ” the maryland native writes about a wide variety of japan - related subjects , ranging from the role of lolita girls in military simulations to the majesty of japan’s toy robot culture . his topics may be off beat but weirdness for the sake of weirdness is not his goal .
they ' re the people in the shadows . you don ' t know their names , but you know their words . they localizers , the folks that take games not only from another language , but also another culture and open them up for another audience .
good translation is tough to quantify ,
says tokyo - based localizer matt alt .
if it ' s well done , it sort of disappears . ideally the person playing the game doesn ' t even realize they ' re reading something that wasn ' t originally written in their native tongue .
he runs altjapan along with his wife ( and company president ! ) hiroko yoda out of a small second story office on tokyo ' s westside . and with 99 . 999 percent of the games altjapan works on that ' s true . well , save for one : ninja gaiden ii .
since the playstation 1 era , the altjapan team has been working on big aaa titles — games you ' ve probably played . games like dragon warrior vii , shenmue 2 , monster hunter , final fantasy xi , dragon quest viii and most recently ninja gaiden ii . like we said , big famous games that were made by big famous japanese game designers .
one of the big misconceptions about working in localization is that you have constant face - to - face contact with the game designers and directors ,
says alt .
in reality , many times you have very little contact with the people who made the game outside of sporadic emails . the dev team is busy with their own work , trying to make their own milestones . so i can count the times i ' ve met directors of projects we ' ve worked on on one hand . if your deepest desire is to simply speak with star video game directors and designers , you ' re probably better off going into journalism !
though , for ninja gaiden ii , altjapan was doing more than mere translating .
jason karlin is an associate professor at the graduate school of interdisciplinary information studies at the university of tokyo , where he teaches gender and media studies . before coming to the university of tokyo in 2003 , he taught at the university of florida and michigan state university . he is the co - editor ( with patrick w . galbraith ) of idols and celebrity in japanese media culture ( palgrave macmillan , 2012 ) and the author of the eternal return of history : gender and nation in meiji japan ( forthcoming ) .
patrick w . galbraith received a ph . d . in information studies from the university of tokyo , and is currently pursuing a second ph . d . in cultural anthropology at duke university . he is the author of the otaku encyclopedia ( kodansha international , 2009 ) , tokyo realtime : akihabara ( white rabbit press , 2010 ) , otaku spaces ( chin music press , 2012 ) and the moe manifesto ( tuttle , 2014 ) , and the co - editor of idols and celebrity in japanese media culture ( palgrave , 2012 ) .
altjapan is kind of my second life as a blogger . i first started doing things online in about 1998 . i cofounded this blog — they were known as ‘web sites’ back then — called urltoken with this guy from boston . we were both toy geeks , we just loved japanese toys . he had already kind of started the site and i started giving him information because i was able to read japanese books and japanese magazines and stuff and it kind of snowballed . over course of three or four years , that site just blew up , i mean we were getting like millions of hits a month at its peak .
patrick w . galbraith received his ph . d . in information studies from the university of tokyo in 2012 , and is currently pursuing a ph . d . in cultural anthropology at duke . he is the author of the otaku encyclopedia ( kodansha international , 2009 ) , tokyo realtime : akihabara ( white rabbit press , 2010 ) and otaku spaces ( chin music press , 2012 ) . he is also the co - editor of idols and celebrity in japanese media culture ( palgrave , forthcoming ) . he has published academic papers in mechademia , ejcjs and signs and is a former contributor to metropolis , otaku usa and cnn go .
mechademia’s keynote address will be presented by prof . hiroshi deguchi ( department of computational intelligence and systems science , tokyo institute of technology ) , one of the founders of comiket and a co - editor of the forthcoming essay collection the rise of japanese visual narratives : cultural , institutional , and industrial aspects of reproducible contents ( springer ) . other speakers who will be participating in mechademia include both a number of established who have written and lectured on anime / manga extensively , among them deborah shamoon , marco pellitteri , akiko sugawa - shimada , renato rivera rusca , stevie suan , wendy goldberg , heike hoffer and andrea horbinski , and scholars who are just entering the field . just some of the specific talks on the program include :
i didn’t start the altjapan blog until 2004 or 2005 . i really resisted it for a long time , because i kind of burned out on blogging or — whatever you call it — “websiting” for a while . not because it was bad or anything , but it was a niche web site , obviously . it was all about japanese toys and it was very successful at what it did . but the problem is you can only write about that one topic . nobody is really interested in maybe a deeper aspect or a side aspect of japanese culture . they want to know , “when is the next toy coming out ? ” or “why is this toy designed this way . ” i love that stuff — i still love it even now — but it got kind of stifling after a while . it became a hungry mouth to feed , that i had to keep shoveling information into , and it just started feeling like a job after a while .
in addition to this game , the following people are listed as working on other games . no more than 25 people are listed here , even if there are more than 25 people who have also worked on other games .
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burp , don ' t burp . slurp , don ' t slurp . the rules of social protocol around the world are as varied , and as conflicting , as countries on the planet . so how ' s a traveler to know what to do , when and where ?
to misquote madness , don ' t watch that , read this . never again do you need to feel like a bull in a china shop . or a fairy in a bull ring .
“shanghainese men almost always carry the handbag or purse for their girlfriends . you don’t see it anywhere else , except sometimes hong kong . but shanghai men are well - known for taking care of this for their women . ”
“although most shanghai tourist guides include nanjing dong lu pedestrian street and several ‘fake’ markets around the city , shanghainese rarely shop there . we consider them ‘tourist only’ areas .
there are exceptions - - a lot of local women shop at historic food stores on nanjing dong lu , such as shen da cheng and shanghai no . 1 food store . for fashion , young shanghainese prefer to shop in the luwan , xuhui and jing’an districts . ”
“when a group of thais go out to drink , rather than ordering individual drinks they will buy a large bottle of whiskey to share . the waitress keeps bringing small bottles of mixers and ice as required .
at the end of the night , regardless of who has had more glasses of whiskey , the bill will be split evenly . ”
“in tokyo , a classic foreign tourist thing is going to a sushi bar and never ordering any raw fish . focusing on cucumber rolls or inari rice balls or tamago doesn’t cut it .
basically , those items are for little kids in japan , so it’s funny to see adults keep ordering them and avoiding what japanese consider to be the more flavorful fish . ”
definitely do not answer your phone on a train . locals can expect to be lambasted by teenagers for the merest mumble , or at least get the evil eye from restrained salarymen .
if you must pick up , the accepted gesture is to cup your cell with your hand , say nothing longer than , ' am on the train , will call you back , ' then bow to the disgruntled commuters around you .
“in mumbai just cross the street . just go . god will protect you . if you wait for cars to stop before you abandon the safety of the curb , you may never make it . ”
women should not buy tobacco or alcohol from shops , or drink or smoke in public . or , if they do , they should prepare for some quizzical looks , and maybe even a raised voice asking what they think they ' re doing .
in singapore , don’t question why the locals refer to anyone older as ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle’ - - it’s a singaporean thing .
“locals wear surgical masks at the mildest hint of flu . call it post - sars trauma . locals who have sniffles and are not wearing a mask may be evil - eyed by complete strangers on the street .
it’s also local habit to overreact whenever someone near them sneezes or coughs , especially on public transport . i’ve been in a situation in which the people around me literally formed a little ring around me with their faces averted when i coughed .
“koreans are pretty big on blood type , so have it ready when socializing . there’s a pretty strong perceived correlation between one’s personality and their blood type here . ”
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i needed a sounding board ,
says tokyo based localizer and former team ninja member andrew szymanski .
so it was great having matt and hiroko .
andrew , who joined tecmo after college and recently left the company last september , did an excellent job localizing the first ninja gaiden for the xbox , but felt it was somewhat stilted . if game development is a group effort , why should localization be solitary ? he was able to convince tecmo and microsoft to let him bring in matt and hiroko for the ngii localization .
it was a reunion of sorts as the trio had previously worked on ninja gaiden : dragon sword and dead or alive xtreme 2 .
one of the things that helped me convince the higher ups ,
recalls andrew ,
was that matt and hiroko both are authors and write books together .
both are best known for titles like yokai attack ! or hello , please ! .
for localization , your skill at writing english is actually more important than your japanese ,
says matt . if you don ' t know a japanese word , you can always look it up or ask someone . but if you can ' t string together a sentence , you can always , no wait , you ' re screwed .
team ninja knew ninja gaiden ii wasn ' t aimed strictly at the japanese market .
the main target for ninja gaiden ii was the west ,
says andrew .
the market is global , and japan is more global than ever before .
and since it ' s a game targeted for a western audience , it needed to be written in a western language : english . the game ' s story was conceived by ninja gaiden ii ' s director hiroaki matsui in highly detailed , manga - like stories boards .
but where did former team ninja lead ninja tomonobu itagaki factor in ? according to andrew :
itagaki - san ' s main responsibilities are , of course , overseeing the development of the whole game , but he is often focused on combat design , enemy ai , level design , and other key gameplay elements . he trusts matsui - san implicitly for art and story direction , and thus we mainly worked with matsui - san to develop the dialogue , worldview , and key story points . he also relies on my judgement when it comes to the localization and the entire english version of the game as a whole , so it was great having the freedom and support to bring on matt and hiroko and create an english script that we were all proud of . it goes without saying that itagaki - san has final say over everything that goes into the retail game , and it was a tremendously satisfying feeling to hear his words of praise when it came to our finished voiceovers and other localized assets . it was great seeing him say ‘submit , or die ! ' in english as he watched the cutscenes !
at work and after work over bottomless beers , matsui gave andrew very vivid instructions of how he envisioned ninja gaiden ii ' s story and world .
these team ninja guys live and breathe this stuff ,
says andrew .
so much stuff happens outside the office because they ' re always thinking about whatever they ' re working on .
andrew then typed up a rough english draft . andrew then reconvened with hiroko and matt to punch up the first draft — which was also in english . meaning ? that the script team ninja was working from was in english and all the motion capture and voice acting was in english .
even though it was being written in english , the trio were striving to make sure it stayed in line of what a ninja would actually say . explains andrew ,
the question we always asked ourselves was ‘is this ninjy ? '
basically , would a ninja actually say this . continuing , he adds ,
so i ninja would never say ‘i am going to kill you . ' instead , a ninja would says , ‘you will be the bloostains on my blade . ' that ' s ninjy .
andrew , matt and hiroko weren ' t simply pulling out a dictionary and digging through to find words that
match
, but rather , entrenching themselves in the game from head to toe and back and again .
the first rule of localization ,
says andrew ,
is to integrate localization into the development process .
but this wasn ' t * just * localization — ninja gaiden ii was something else entirely , somewhere between translation , collaboration and straight - up writing .
ninja gaiden ii is the game as team ninja conceived it — no compromises .
it turned out exactly the way we wanted ,
says andrew . team ninja ' s plan , the original impetus , was to create a throw - back — you know , a spiritual successor to something you would ' ve played on the nintendo entertainment system .
this is a game where ninjas fight dinosaurs ,
says andy .
if you can ' t have fun with that , where can you ?
the hardest projects i ' ve worked on have been the ones where the client doesn ' t appreciate the value of a good translation .
says hiroko .
or ones where the contribution of a native japanese speaker to the english version isn ' t appreciated , which happened more often in the early days . the easiest ones are the projects where the dev team welcomes us in as part of the process , because the closer the you can work with the people who designed the game , the smoother the whole process goes .
no matter how good your localization skills are , nothing can compare to working directly with the team that made the game to ensure that their vision makes it to gamers outside japan . that ' s exactly what happened with ninja gaiden ii . if any of the localizers had questions about what the developers originally intended , then hiroko and matt could immediately turn to andrew . if matt or andrew had any questions about the intricacies of japanese culture or nuances , they could refer to hiroko .
it ' s so rare that a native japanese speaker confronts an english speaker about their english translation ,
says matt .
i ' m not talking about errors , necessarily , but more like nuance .
you know , the stuff between the lines , not on the page . the ninjy .
kinja is in read - only mode . we are working to restore service .
the tradition of narrative art or telling stories with a series of sequential images has been a part of japanese culture long before superman ever put on a cape . the earliest examples of pre - manga artwork that influenced the development of modern japanese comics are commonly attributed to toba sojo , an 11th - century painter - priest with a whimsical sense of humor .
toba’s animal scroll paintings or choju giga satirized life in the buddhist priesthood by drawing priests as mischievous rabbits , monkeys engaging in silly activities including farting contests , and even depicted the buddha himself as a toad . while there are no word balloons or sound effects in toba’s paintings , they do show a progression of events , happening one after another as the scroll is unrolled from right to left . this tradition of reading images from right to left continues today in modern manga .
in later years , toba’s influence on manga was acknowledged with the introduction of toba - e or “toba pictures , ” an 18th - century style of humorous images bound in books , accordion style . created by shimoboku ooka , toba - e relied on visual humor and used few words .
another influential artist in the development of modern manga was katsushika hokusai , the famous 19th century (
floating world pictures
) artist and printmaker . while hokusai’s iconic woodblock print images of 36 views of mount fuji are known the world over , his manga sketchbooks are also some of the best early examples of humor in japanese art .
hokusai was also the first artist to use the term
manga
or
playful sketches
to describe his humorous images . hokusai’s manga includes irreverent images of men making funny faces , sticking chopsticks up their noses and blind men examining an elephant . originally intended as sketches for his students to copy , hokusai manga was distributed throughout japan .
shunga , or erotic art is another popular genre of japanese prints and painting that has influenced the development of modern manga .
the exaggerated eroticism of shunga (
spring pictures
) imagery often included suggestive metaphors for genitals such as long eggplants or mushrooms and even depicted outrageously large penises engaging in intercourse . shunga’s influence continues to be seen in contemporary manga , especially hentai or sexually explicit manga .
another example of influential pre - manga japanese artwork includes prints of yokai or mythical japanese monsters .
tsukioka yoshitoshi created several popular prints featuring yokai , as well as scenes of ghosts , warriors committing seppuku and true crime stories . his exquisitely rendered scenes of graphic violence have made him popular with contemporary art collectors and has influenced modern horror manga masters such as maruo suehiro ( shojo tsubaki , or mr . arashi’s amazing freak show ) and shigeru mizuki ( ge ge ge no kitaro )
manga has a long and strong tradition of poking fun at society and mocking the rich and powerful . kibyoshi or
yellow cover books
satirized japanese political figures and were very popular in the 18th century ( whenever they weren’t banned by the authorities ) .
after commodore perry opened up japan to the west in 1853 , an influx of foreigners followed along with the introduction of european and american - style comics . in 1857 , charles wirgman , a british journalist , published the japan punch , a magazine modeled after a popular british humor publication . george bigot , a french art teacher , started toba - e magazine in 1887 .
while both publications were originally intended for the non - japanese expatriates living in japan , the humor and artwork in the pages of the japan punch and toba - e caught the attention of native japanese readers and artists . ponchi - e or
punch - style pictures
began to appear as japanese artists were inspired by western - style comics and began the evolution toward the uniquely east - west style that is modern manga .
at the dawn of the 20th century , manga reflected the rapid changes in japanese society , and the influence of western culture in this once isolated nation . manga artists responded enthusiastically to imported artistic styles and began mixing western comics with japanese ideas .
rakuten kitazawa was one such artist who embraced this east meets west sensibility . inspired by popular comic strips such as the yellow kid by richard felton outcault and the katzenjammer kids by rudolph dirks , kitazawa went on to create popular comics features , including tagosaku to mokube no tokyo kenbutsu ( tagosaku and mokube’s sightseeing in tokyo ) . in 1905 , he founded tokyo puck , a magazine showcasing japanese cartoonists .
kitazawa is considered to be the founding father of modern manga and his artwork is displayed at the omiya municipal cartoon hall or manga kaikan in saitama city , japan .
another early pioneer was ippei okamoto , the creator of hito no issho ( a life of a man ) . okamoto was also the founder of nippon mangakai , the first japanese cartoonist & apos ; s society .
kitazawa , okamoto and many other artists of this late meiji - early showa period tapped into the excitement and anxiety felt by many japanese people as their nation left their feudal days behind to become a modern industrial society . but this was only the beginning of even greater changes for japan because the land of the rising sun would soon go to war .
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this is haraguchi . i ' m filming ' death kappa ' and need an extra gaijin for a few scenes . can you handle it ?
i was born to play this role , sir . literally .
now that the death kappa dvd / bluray is out , the true story can be told . this wasn ' t our first shot as extras in a monster movie - - that would be our epic , blink - and - you ' ll - miss - it roles in a crowd of yokai in takashi miike ' s
yokai daisenso
- - but this was the first chance we got to actually react . emote . method act . really express the essential humanity of . . . of . . . being in a japanese monster film .
our role was to occupy the
command center
set up by the military to deal with the giant , nuclear kappa raging through downtown tokyo . things started quietly , with us as little more than human backdrops to the action . the extra ranks were filled with pals of the director . right to left in the photo below , flanking the
real
actor , you can see kondo yutaka ( illustrator of ninja attack ! ) , hiroko , me , and the karasawas ( creators of the mind - bendingly awesome
king of pachimono
magazine . ) this was a big step up for both of us but hiroko in particular , who spent most of her time on the yokai daisenso set wearing an enormous frog head .
about halfway through the day , haraguchi had a flash of inspiration .
i need some freaks . kappa freaks . you !
he said , pointing at me ( big surprise ) , then kondo , and then naoki karasawa . our job was to react to news of the kappa defeating the human military forces - - and here ' s the result :
so . total time spent on set : eight hours . total screen time : maybe eight seconds . compensation : a bento lunch . and the experience ? absolutely priceless . . . because now i ' m one step closer to that elusive goal of becoming a professional kaiju eiga extra . maybe i ' l really luck out and get to actually be stomped by the giant monster next time .
huh ? how ' s the actual movie ? also priceless . death kappa is the citizen kane of radioactive yokai movies . buy it now ! seriously ! it ' s a lot of fun .
i missed seeing this at the roxy in sf by * one * day - i was disappointed . . . now i ' m heartbroken !
damn it ! i was dubious about this one and was planning on holding off on getting it .
man , where there ' s a will to get a bunch of middle aged men to dress up in military uniforms for a monster movie , there ' s a way .
you must watch the mysterians over and over to learn how to properly be a gaijin extra with a speaking role . i recommend the scene when they start using the markalites .
also , you need some horn rimmed glasses . the cool frameless kind ( or the uber gay ' little hipster ' style ) are usually reserved for villain and men with secret agendas .
> >
heh that guy with the bucktooth looks a little like eric idle .
that ' s nabe yakan , seemingly in every b movie this country has to offer ( and if i sound jealous , it ' s because i am . : )
> >
you must watch the mysterians over and over . . .
now where have i seen that face before ? ah yes , of course .
i did a commercial that ran for a year and i got a bento and a 5 , 0000yen gift card . . ! ?
horror dining
roppongi ' s goth - y trick or treat almost fills the gaping hole left by the departure of kichijoji ' s bar jap , but for better or worse it ' s more horror flick heaven than death - metal crashpad . plus it has the downside of being in roppongi . . . .
reading rainbow i am now the master of unlocking . this friday , i ' ll be appearing on nhk world ' s show japan unlocked to discuss koji suzuki ' s pioneering j - horror book ring and japanese ghost stories in general . thrill to top - notch special effects as hosts jonathan . . .
i love the gacha gacha doraemon too ! http : / / ww . . .
we get what you need . we get what your customers want . because from ancient folklore to cutting - edge technologies , we get japan .
a native of tokyo , japan , hiroko holds a masters degree in international peace and conflict resolution from american university in washington , d . c .
her diverse experience includes interpretation for united nations delegations ; translation and localization of dialog for game software and comic books ; and translation and proofreading of television scripts .
a native of washington , d . c . , matthew has been working as a professional translator and freelance writer since the early 1990s .
his translation experience includes four years as an in - house technical japanese translator for the united states patent and trademark office .
there is no trivia on file . if you have any interesting trivia about this company , please add it .
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sad news : actor makoto shimotsuka , the pilot of super robot mach baron , passed away yesterday at the age of 65 . urltoken
just stumbled on a street where the children apparently ritually slaughtered some kind of chalk creature . urltoken
in 1983 the only
anime expo
was strictly confined to rooftops ! one of the photogs from this session was in the audience at my 80s fandom panel at animenext & i asked him directly if any hook - ups between cosplayers resulted from this event . his reply ?
no comment .
this is from some cosmetic company ' s ad campaign , but it really works better without any context at all . urltoken
things i learned from a 1963 esquire ad : 1 ) buying liquor can cause
feminine flutterings
2 ) cutting the cheese is a real he - man ' s job . urltoken
digital detritus : old laserdiscs going out with the garbage . ( well , the audio signal ' s digital anyway . the video was analog . )
aging awesomely : bandai announces a series of walking canes decorated in classic super robot motifs of tetsujin , mazinger z , and getter robo .
some people say ultraman has cheesy vfx , but this fight has two simultaneous fights choreographed across the foreground and background plates , pyrotechnics , and all of this with live camera movement . on a kids show budget . the chutzpah alone kicks the ass of most prestige shows
32 years ago today in 1986 ,
project a - ko
was released in japan .
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japanese motion comic publisher mangapolo named the winners of its 2015 manga translation battle on tuesday . a panel of judges chose the winners based on their translations of one of four manga . readers also voted on their favorite translation , which received the audience award .
grand prize : alethea nibley & athena nibley , u . s . a . ryohei saigan ' s kamakura monogatari
first prize : hayley tournier , u . s . a . ryōsuke tomoe ' s museum
casey loe , u . s . a . yoko kamio ' s the crown of thorn
audience award : hana ihaya , u . s . a . yoko kamio ' s the crown of thorn
the grand prize winner receives a trip to japan and a job offer to translate the manga . first prize winners receive a job offer to translate the manga and runner - ups receive a tablet computer . an awards ceremony and symposium to honor the winners will be held february 24 in tokyo .
last year ' s manga translation battle asked contestants to pick from masaaki nakayama ' s fuan no tane plus , ishiki ' s acchi kocchi , machiya hatoko ' s and eda yuuri ' s koi to wa yobenai , and fumiko tanikawa ' s saya saya to .
contest manager mangapolo is affiliated with online retailer tokyo otaku mode . mangapolo collaborates with publishers to bring legally produced motion comics to its youtube channel in japanese and english . series for which mangapolo has produced motion comics for include attack on titan , dragon ball , and vinland saga .
the summer anime season has begun , and we ' re reviewing every new anime of the season . check back daily for new reviews ! now available : drop kick on my devil ! - holmes of kyoto - phantom in the twilight - asobi asobase - master of ragnarok - music girls - planet with - chio ' s school road - angels of death - harukana receive - seven senses of the re ' union - banana fish - and much more !
this season ' s kaiji spinoff mr . tonegawa : middle - management blues sets mike off on a journey through the long history of anime spinoffs - the good , the bad , the confusing and the sublime !
― five years ago , i wrote a column about some of the works of nobuyuki fukumoto , a manga artist sometimes affectionately called fkmt by his fans . it was a celebration of milestones like akagi and kaiji , and several . . .
justin goes in - depth on the numerous reasons your favorite unlicensed anime remains unlicensed , from music clearing headaches to personal grudges between licensing parties .
― tony asked : one of my favorite anime in the early 90 ' s , dragon quest : the adventure of dai , in japan got a vhs release , but never got a single dvd release . it aired in japan in october 1991 , and got all 46 episodes released on . . .
james digs into a terribly uneven 2006 tv special from madhouse about a japan plagued by natural disasters , and paul breaks down all this week ' s new anime releases .
― i didn ' t go to see fireworks on the 4th last week , but i did go to see fireworks the anime movie on the 3rd . that ' s some clever timing on the part of whoever ' s in charge of promoting the film . the movie itself is alright , and it ' s cert . . .
this focus story for orario ' s toughest tavern elf offers plenty of colorful new details about the story ' s world in a must - read for danmachi fans .
― ( note : because the main character ' s name is consistently transliterated as lyu rather than ryu in this novel , that spelling will be used throughout this review . ) in a franchise full of colorful characters , lyu leon is far from being among the most dynamic . . .
― the kingdom hearts orchestra – world tour 2018 launched on june 9th with an unforgettable sold - out show at the dorothy chandler pavilion in los angeles . with composer yoko shimomura on stage , and surprise special appearance by director tetsuya nomura that announced the long - awaited release date of kingdom hea . . .
flcl progressive started out pretty low - key - especially compared to the original - but the plot becomes a noisy riot of abstract ( yet familiar ) elements in this finale .
both the english and japanese voices of the seven deadly sins hero melodias - bryce papenbrook and yuuki kaji - were on hand to answer a few questions from their fans at anime expo 2018 .
― due to the success of the first season , the seven deadly sins made its return to netflix with a second season earlier this year . a movie is set to be released later . the popular series is based off a manga created . . .
― july 5 - 8 2017 , los angeles , california cosplay galleries day one day two what ' s going on in the entertainment hall ? ( gallery ) premiere reports jojo ' s bizarre adventure : golden wind world premiere my hero academia : two heroes world premie . . .
studio trigger enlists the help of inferno cop director akira amemiya to reboot tokusatsu series ssss gridman ( known to the us as superhuman samurai syber - squad ! ) , and they showed the first episode at anime expo 2018 .
― during trigger ' s industry panel before the ssss . gridman premiere at anime expo , hiromi wakabayashi emphasized the point of trigger ' s younger staff heading the show . akira amemiya ( dir . . .
― friday at anime expo was even bigger than i expected with a packed main floor , crowded dealer ' s hall and premiere line - ups capping hours in advance in the blistering heat . i found myself between two choices . brave the giant crowds or begin my hunt for a casual space to relax . i ' d already checked ou . . .
it won ' t stream on netflix until this fall , but anime expo 2018 provided an early look at shinji higuchi and mari okada ' s fascinating new show , with a twist on dragon riding you won ' t believe .
― dragon pilot : hisone and masotan has a strong pedigree . the new series , streaming this fall on netflix , was helmed by shinji higuchi and hiroshi kobayashi , produced by masahiko minami , and written by mari oka . . .
all the details from this weekend ' s trigger panel at anime expo 2018 , including new details and a sneak peek at hiroyuki imaishi ' s explosive new action show , promare .
― if there was any way to describe trigger ' s anime expo 2018 panel , it would be “full of adrenaline . ” this isn ' t too off the mark for the studio , but trigger really played to their high - energy reputation to a totally packed house on fri . . .
― 2018 is an explosive year for bkub okawa ' s pop team epic , as it transformed from a 4 - koma to an epic 12 episode anime with some of the biggest voice acting talent in japan . with 24 pairs of actors , innovative meta gags , and . . .
anime expo 2018 : jojo ' s bizarre adventure : golden wind u . s . premiere
― jojo ' s fans got a very special treat at anime expo this year . only weeks after the anime adaptation of jojo ' s bizarre adventure part 5 was announced , anime expo announced it would host the u . s . premiere months before its planned television premiere in oct . . .
― warning : this article contains some spoilers for recent episode of my hero academia season 3 . startling changes transformed my hero academia ' s
symbol of peace
in the series ' third season . all might ' s stalwart role as a beloved hero for u . a . ' s students , deku in p . . .
all material copyright © 1998 - 2018 anime news network . all rights reserved . served by daru - chan cloudflare ray # 437dacf1461e5612 - ord
on the plane bound for nagoya in summer 1996 , my friend dennis — who had been to japan many times before — mentioned that there was a japanese brand called bitch skateboards and the logo mark involved the international bathroom door symbol for men pointing a gun to the head of the international bathroom door symbol for women . to my seventeen year - old ears , this was the holy grail of engrish : a whole host of products not only emblazoned with a “bad word” but a totally politically - incorrect logo to match . i spent a lot of time during my three weeks in gifu prefecture searching for bitch goods , and for my first two weeks , my closest encounter involved snapping a blurry photo of a tiny tag on a backpack .
i finally hit the mother lode / motherload one day in a neighborhood clothing shop targeted towards teenage girls and soon became the proud owner of a bitch skateboards lighter and a ridiculous bitch skateboards retractable umbrella . ( i liked the idea of using the latter in the u . s . , because seriously , who is going to stop you on a rainy day to voice a complaint against the offensive language and imagery on your umbrella . )
in hindsight , i somewhat wince at the idea of brandishing bitch goods , but i can promise you that my early endorsement was completely ironic . i was very confident that the brand was a misguided and unconsciously - misogynistic commercial venture dreamed up by non - anglophones in japan . much to my chagrin , i later learned through the product tags that bitch was based out of a city called “los angeles , california . ” so now the joke was not linguistic mishap as much as licensing gone amuck . as time goes by , the situation has lost its initial humor , but there remains the enigma of how bitch skateboards came to take over the second - rate shopping centers of rural japan in the mid - ’90s .
the internet is very good at solving these kinds of history mysteries , but a simple search came up with very little in the way of thorough explanation . this “ bitch skateboards ” is not the decks we’re looking for . the rise and fall of the brand unfortunately happened in the 1990s black hole of japanese internet coverage .


urltoken is a united states based web site operated by yp holdings that provides listings for local businesses .

in 2013 it was re-branded as urltoken or simply " yp " .

it currently offers a broad range of marketing tools including online presence , local search , display ads and direct marketing .

it was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of at&t .

yp ’s consumer brands include the yp mobile app and yp.com , which are used by nearly 60 million consumers each month in the u.s. and the real yellow pages directory .

in may 2016 , yp entered into a partnership with the better business bureau , displaying ratings for listings of businesses that have earned an a or a + rating or bbb accreditation .

yellowpages . com

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if you browse for businesses using the yellow pages website or mobile apps , you may notice a small change in some of the listings . these listings on urltoken or the yp app
© 2006 at & t knowledge ventures . all rights reserved . at & t is a registered trademark of at & t knowledge ventures . subsidiaries and affiliates of at & t inc . provide products and services under the at & t brand . for more information , please review this announcement in the at & t newsroom at urltoken
cautionary language concerning forward - looking statements information set forth in this news release contains financial estimates and other forward - looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties , and actual results may differ materially . a discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in at & t ' s filings with the securities and exchange commission . at & t disclaims any obligation to update or revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise . this news release may contain certain non - gaap financial measures . reconciliations between the non - gaap financial measures and the gaap financial measures are available on the company ' s web site at urltoken .
about at & t at & t inc . is a premier communications holding company in the united states and worldwide , with operating subsidiaries providing services under the at & t brand . at & t is the recognized world leader in providing ip - based communications services to business and the u . s . leader in providing wireless , high speed internet access , local and long distance voice , and directory publishing and advertising services . as part of its
three screen
integration strategy , at & t is expanding video entertainment offerings to include such next - generation television services as at & t u - verse sm tv . additional information about at & t inc . and the products and services provided by at & t subsidiaries and affiliates is available at urltoken .
a and a + ratings and accreditation from the better business bureau where applicable .
when searching or browsing yp’s website or app for a particular type of business , you can see right in the search results and listings pages exactly which businesses have received these top ratings . you can even narrow your searches to only include businesses with bbb ratings .
bbb ratings and accreditation have long been considered some of the most important seals of approval for small businesses . having those seals can help customers make informed decisions . and they can also help quality businesses stand out from the competition through a trusted third party .
stephan west of yp explained in an email to small business trends , “for businesses that have earned an a or a + rating ( or bbb accreditation ) displaying their rating provides an added level of recognition as a trusted business . additionally , consumers are able use these ratings in their decision - making process and can easily click through to
to view information about complaints , customer reviews , licensing , government actions , and more . ”
for yellow pages , having bbb ratings on yp business listings just seemed to make good sense . since many people use it as a way to browse or search for local or independent businesses , it seemed like a natural place to add some sort of rating or accreditation system to give customers a better idea of what they can expect from each business .
and since the bbb is already such a trusted entity , and bbb ratings can have a big impact on both businesses and their customers , integrating that information into the online and mobile yp experience seemed like a win for all sides .
west says , “bbb has a well - earned reputation of providing unbiased ratings on local businesses , which act as a strong complement to user reviews . yp’s goal is to give consumers as much information as possible to help them make a well - informed decision , making this integration a natural fit . ”
annie pilon is a senior staff writer for small business trends , covering entrepreneur profiles , interviews , feature stories , community news and in - depth , expert - based guides . when she’s not writing she can be found on her personal blog wattlebird , and exploring all that her home state of michigan has to offer .
founded in 2003 , small business trends is an award - winning online publication for small business owners , entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them . it is one of the most popular independent small business publications on the web .
together with hundreds of expert contributors , small business trends brings you the news , advice and resources you need .
small business success . . . delivered daily .
© copyright 2003 - 2018 , small business trends llc . all rights reserved .
small business trends
is a registered trademark .
at & t inc . ( nyse : t ) today closed its acquisition of bellsouth corporation , creating a premier global communications company committed to driving convergence , continued innovation , and competition in the communications and entertainment market .
the transaction consolidates ownership and management of cingular wireless , the nation ' s leading provider of wireless voice and data services , and yellowpages . com , a leading internet yellow pages and local search site .
at & t will be an engine for innovation , competition , and growth for our customers at home and abroad ,
said at & t chairman and ceo edward e . whitacre jr .
in the southeast , we will build on bellsouth ' s excellent record of serving customers and communities . and we are ready to lead the way in a new era of integrated wireless services nationwide .
at & t will immediately start to implement a carefully planned integration process to converge the at & t , bellsouth , and cingular wireless and wireline internet protocol ( ip ) networks , combine product portfolios and integrate customer care capabilities . the new company will be able to accelerate the introduction of innovative broadband services , such as ip - based services , while expanding the reach of broadband access in remote and rural locations in the traditional bellsouth region .
at & t , bellsouth , and cingular have led in developing and deploying many of the communications services that customers depend on today , including broadband dsl and wireless technologies ,
said whitacre .
moving forward , at & t will work to integrate these services for customers in the southeast , across the country and around the world .
with the merger complete , at & t enhances its u . s . leadership position in broadband , wireless services , voice services for consumers and businesses , and data services to fortune 1000 companies .
in 2006 , the at & t foundation provided more than $ 65 million in charitable contributions , ranking it among the top five largest corporate foundations in the country , in terms of annual giving . this year , forbes magazine named the at & t foundation among the
25 most generous corporate foundations ,
ranking the company 11th on the magazine ' s list of top corporate donors .
in addition , nearly 350 , 000 at & t employees and retirees serve their communities as members of at & t pioneers , the nation ' s largest company - sponsored volunteer organization .
whitacre will continue to serve as chairman and ceo and as a member of the board of directors . duane ackerman will serve as chairman emeritus of bellsouth for the transition period following the merger .
three members of the former bellsouth ' s board of directors have joined the at & t board — reuben v . anderson , james h . blanchard and james p . kelly .
reporting to whitacre will be : jim cicconi , senior executive vice president - external and legislative affairs ; jim ellis , senior executive vice president and general counsel ; karen jennings , senior executive vice president - advertising and corporate communications ; jim kahan , senior executive vice president - corporate development ; rick lindner , senior executive vice president and chief financial officer ; forrest miller , group president - strategic initiatives and human resources ; randall stephenson , chief operating officer ; and ray wilkins , group president .
reporting to chief operating officer randall stephenson will be : dick anderson , group president - global business services , replacing forrest miller ; stan sigman , president & ceo - wireless ; john stankey , senior executive vice president and chief technology officer ; and ralph de la vega , group president - regional wireline operations .
at & t ' s current regional wireline presidents will report to de la vega , along with rod odom , who has been named president and ceo , at & t southeast . previously , odom was president - network services for bellsouth corporation .
at & t ' s corporate headquarters will remain in san antonio . the new at & t southeast ( formerly bellsouth corporation ) and cingular will continue to be based in atlanta .
in the coming days , at & t will launch extensive new advertising , which will begin the transition of the bellsouth brand name to at & t . at & t will re - brand cingular through a co - branded transition , which is scheduled to start in 2007 . details regarding the cingular branding will be announced at a later date . yellowpages . com will not undergo a name or web site address change .
merger synergies and financials at & t today affirmed the financial guidance it provided when the acquisition of bellsouth was announced in march 2006 , including information on expected synergies . specifically , at & t expects that synergies from the combined operations will ramp quickly to reach an annual run rate exceeding $ 2 billion in 2008 and increasing to $ 3 billion in 2010 . merging at & t , bellsouth , and cingular wireless is expected to yield a net present value of $ 18 billion in synergies .
stockholders of the former bellsouth received 1 . 325 shares of at & t common stock for each common share of bellsouth . based on at & t ' s closing stock price on friday , dec . 29 , 2006 , this exchange ratio equaled $ 47 . 37 per bellsouth common share .
in connection with the completion of the acquisition , bellsouth ' s common stock and debt securities will be immediately delisted from the new york stock exchange .
approval process the completion of the bellsouth acquisition comes after an extensive review process , which included approval by or filings with 36 states , the u . s . department of justice and the federal communications commission ( fcc ) , as well as with three foreign countries .
in order to receive bipartisan fcc approval , at & t volunteered a number of commitments , including making broadband access increasingly affordable and available to consumers and supporting public safety .
at & t has committed to making broadband services available through a combination of technologies to 100 percent of residential living units in its 22 - state local - phone - service territory by the end of 2007 . additionally , at & t will offer a stand - alone broadband service for $ 19 . 95 , as well as other offers to encourage broadband adoption by those who do not currently subscribe .
at & t plans to repatriate 3 , 000 jobs currently outsourced by bellsouth outside the united states , as well as to make its disaster - recovery capabilities available in order to facilitate the restoration of services in the former bellsouth region , in the event of a hurricane or other natural disaster .
these commitments reflect our long history of providing consumers and businesses with the most advanced and affordable communications services ,
said whitacre .
we can ' t wait to show people what the new at & t can do .
yp - the real yellow pages sm - helps you find the right local businesses to meet your specific needs . search results are sorted by a combination of factors to give you a set of choices in response to your search criteria . these factors are similar to those you might use to determine which business to select from a local yellow pages directory , including proximity to where you are searching , expertise in the specific services or products you need , and comprehensive business information to help evaluate a business ' s suitability for you . “preferred” listings , or those with featured website buttons , indicate yp advertisers who directly provide information about their businesses to help consumers make more informed buying decisions . yp advertisers receive higher placement in the default ordering of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the top , side , or bottom of the search results page .
from business : the oregon caves is a place of adventure , wonder , and discovery . join your guide and a small party of fellow cave explorers for a 90 - minute tour . the route wends …
from business : the southern oregon historical society was established in 1946 . our properties include hanley farm in central point , the research library in medford , and a large …
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i was wondering about metal detecting in western colorado mountains . probably kind of northeast of ouary area up in the big blue wilderness area . i am new to metal detecting and don ' t know too much about it . i ' ve read that whites mxt - 300 does pretty good for nuggets in co mountains . i will have to hike in about 5 miles where i want to try , so its kind of off the beaten path . any suggestions would be appreciated . thanks stan ' s response : hi keith , your planned adventure sounds great . for the money , i don ' t think you can go wrong with the mxt - 300 . just be sure to practice a lot under different mineralization conditions before going into a remote area . each detector has it ' s own personality and you must learn what every little sound means . it is time consuming work , but a very good investment of your time . use earphones ! my favorite nugget detector in the next price range up is the fisher gold bug ii with multiple coils .
where are some spots to detect in the grand valley ? stan ' s response : hi andy , what are your main areas of interesting in metal detecting ? are you more interested in nugget shooting , historical sites for small gold , or are you most interested in treasure caches ? once you get back to us , we can hone in better on some target sites for you .
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