週刊NY生活

2019年（平成31年）2月9日（土）VOICES FromTHE NEW YORKERS
ʻAlita: Battle AngelʼJustin Tedaldi

Hollywood
adaptations offamous anime andmanga series havea history of troubled birth followedby an indifferent
reception. “SpeedRacer,” “Dragonball: Evolution” and“Ghost in the Shell” didn’t click withfans of the source material, nor did theygain new ones through the interpretationsof directors who might not have grasped
their appeal in the first place. “Alita:Battle Angel” looks to change that trend.
Produced and co-written by JamesCameron and directed by RobertRodriguez (the “Sin City” and “SpyKids” films), “Alita” brings original creator Yukito Kishiro’s epic to the bigscreen. Rosa Salazar (“Maze Runner,”“Bird Box”) plays the titular heroine, acyborg with saucer-like eyes and a combat-scarred past who is revived in the
post-apocalyptic future world of IronCity. Using her newfound skills as abounty hunter, Alita fights to rediscover
her humanity and find a place in her newsurroundings.
With a cast that includes AcademyAward winners Christoph Waltz,
Mahershala Ali and Jennifer Connelly,
along with a reported $200 million production budget with Dolby Cinema andIMAX 3D screenings, “ Alita” hasreceived advance praise: The A.V. Clubcalls it Rodriguez’s “best movie in ages,”
and The Verge calls it “a worldbuildingtriumph.”First published in 1990 under thetitle “Gunnm” and recently reissued here
as deluxe hardcover editions by “Attackon Titan” publisher Kodansha Comics,
the film adaptation was first considered
by devotee Cameron as his feature follow-up to “Titanic.” Rodriguez cameaboard in 2015 as the steward to hisvision, which includes 1,500 CGI shots innative 3D, climaxing with Iron City’s
motorball competition, which blends
turbo racing with gladiatorial combat.
“Alita: Battle Angel” premieres
on February 14. For more information,
visit www.foxmovies.com/movies/alitabattle-angel. (Justin has written about
Japanese arts and entertainment in New
York since 2005. For more of his stories,
visit http://jetaany.org/magazine.)THE

SHUKAN NEW YORK SEIKATSU[English Edition］ (20)JAPAN VOICECOOL JAPAN from New Yorkers’ Viewpoints
CATCH USPERFORMING ARTSGrand Opening Gala

Deguchi Joins The World’s Best:CBS’s Talent Competition Series
Gets Post-Super Bowl Premiere
New York-based Japanese Theater
Producer Makoto Deguchi appeared on
TV as the one of the judges for a talent
competition called The World’s Best.
CBS designated the global talent
competition to premiere immediately
after one of the most nationally viewed
programs Super Bowl LIII on Sunday,
February 3 at 10 p.m. (ET). 50 judges
selected from all over the world partici-

https://www.yomiuri-info.jp/daily_yomiuri/nys/pated in this show. Mr. Deguchi willappear on every episode in this series.
The show runs every Wednesday at 8p.m. (ET) from the second show
onward.
Mr. Deguchi was born in Nara
Prefecture. He was an actor at the SikiTheatre Company who later moved toNew York and joined the Circle
Repertory Company. He produced“Blue Man Group: Tubes” at the Astor

Place Theatre for which he received theDrama Desk Award. He is the one who
introduced the beloved character “BlueMan” to this world. In 2008, he hadhuge success with an eight-week
Broadway Musical tryout performanceat the BRAVA! theatre in Osaka which
was a world first success in Asia. In2015, “TRIP OF LOVE” was performedat Stage 42, an Off-Broadway theatre.
This performance ran for 11 months, alongest-running record which received
the Joe A. Callaway Award by theActors’ Equity Association.
On the show, Mr. Deguchi focusedon observing the competitors’ skills,
how they can entertain the audience andhow they can control the atmosphere.
This show will grab your attention withgreatperformances.
(Ryoichi
Miura/Translated by Chikako Iwasaki)

In November 2018 CATCH USPERFORMING ARTS, a non-profit
organization, was founded in New
Jersey with the aim to advance performing arts in culture, the arts andentertainment in service to the international exchange between Japanand the United States.
Their grand opening event washeld at Opera America in Manhattan
on the evening of January 21.
Featured performers were kotoplayer
MasayoIshigure,
singer/songwriter Ka-Na (KanaUemura), dancers Yusaku Komori
and Mari Ogata and Japanese calligraphy artist Taisan Tanaka.
Ka-Na sang her socks off to her
mega-hit number “ Toire noKamisama” (“Goddess in the toilet”) to an acoustic guitar accompaniment. Listening to her voice,something welled up within asmembers of the audience dabbed
their eyes at her love for her grandmother. Currently active in both
America and Japan, Ka-Na spoke ofher upcoming American performance saying, “I’d like to spread thenotion of how wonderful J-pop is to
non-Japanese as well.”On the organization’s future
activities, Ishigure commented, “I
hope that the organization spreads
and shows Americans our culture.”
Deputy Director Hiroshi Kono
said, “Our activities also include
discovering new talents. We would
like to offer opportunities for hidden
artists to come forward.” They planon hosting performing events, workshops and lectures to raise young
performers and support the artists.
(Kaoru Ishiguro)

Yasuhiro Takeuchi
Is Nominatedfor theEdgar Award
On January 22, the Mystery
Writers of America (MWA), an authority
on the mystery genre, announced thenominees for the Edgar Award. “MarkX: Who Killed Huck Finn’s Father?” byProfessor Yasuhiro Takeuchi of
Hokkaido University Graduate School
wasnominatedfortheCritical/Biographical category.
This book is an English version based on the book, “Solving theMystery Behind ‘The Adventures ofHuckleberry Finn’” published in 2015.
Yasuhiro Takeuchi was bornin 1965 in Aichi Prefecture. He graduated from the English Language
Department at the University of Tokyo.
He was an Associate Professor ofHitotsubashi University and Nara
Women’s University before becoming anauthor. His written works include “Don’t
Want to Discuss ‘Catcher in the Rye’Anymore? Salinger Kaitai Shinsho”(1998) and “The Mystery of Catcher inthe Rye” (2005).
Additionally, JapaneseAmerican writer Naomi Hirahara’s“Hiroshima Boy” was nominated for theEdgar Award’s Paperback Original category. The final results of the Edgar
Award will be announced on April 25.
(Yukishige Takesue/Translated by AiOmae)

THE JAPAN VOICE is the English Edition of SHUKAN NY SEIKATSU
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Editor in Chief: Ryoichi Miura, Associate Editor: Ashley Matarama, Editor: Kaoru Komi
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A new Music
Video Star:Dancer Yuki Sukezane
25 year old Yuki Sukezane was bornin Kyoto, Japan and is the youngest in a familyof five. Yuki has an older sister named KikiSukezane, an actress based in Los Angeles, andan uncle named Tomoki Sukezane, a fashion editor. Ever since she was very young, Yuki and hersister loved dancing and entertaining their family
at gatherings and were fascinated by music
videos.
Starting dance lessons at the age of11, it was no surprise that Yuki set her goal tobecome a dancer rather than going to college
while in middle school.
During her high school junior year in
Virginia as an exchange student, Yuki entered
and was championed at many dance competitions and appeared in the TV program “106 &Park” on BET as a result. That’s when she decided to pursue dancing as her career.
Upon graduating high school in Japan,
Yuki worked as a part-timer and honed her dancing skills in preparation to come to New York in2013. Last year, she passed an audition andsigned an exclusive contract with Clear TalentGroup, a major talent agency.
She stars in many dance pieces choreographed by Danielle Polanco, an elite dancer
who Yuki worships and considers to be her mostinfluential instructor. Also, Yuki performs as amember of Les Ballet Afrik, a dance company
founded by a Senegalese dancer Ousmane Wiles(Omari Mizrahi), as well as entering many battle
events as a member of the House of Amazon,charmed by vogue dance and ballroom culture.
Her dance is powerful and magnificent, unimaginable from her quiet and modest
speech delivery. Yuki has a big dream to go on
tours as a backup dancer for music artists.
(Ryoichi Miura/Translated by Hiroko Makabe/Photo courtesy of the artist)