In hindsight my love for Japan definitely stems from my love for video games, so what could be more awesome than this short film about Super Potato the most awesome retro game shop in all of Japan! I’m gutted that I never visited it whilst I was in Japan but it would definitely go on my list of places to visit should I return.

Aside from it’s brilliant name, Super Potato holds in its collections a smorgasbord of limited edition retro consoles, accessories and games. The sort of stuff I remember reading about in Magazines such as the Japan-only sequel to one of my favourite games EVAH Secret of Mana.

So it goes without saying that I’m grateful to CheapyD and Scott Popular for paying homage to this legendary games store and inspiring me to make the pilgrimage someday soon.

(Via, Kotaku)

Thankfully last year was peppered with news of the end of many of the worlds tyrants and dictators including Kim Jong-Il. With all the associated media attention on North Korea, an award-winning British photographer Charlie Crane has found his work documenting this closed off country thrust into the spotlight.

If you watch Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe Review of the Year, you’ll realise how chaotic and memorable last year was. I can only imagine what 2012 has in store for us, especially considering that it signifies the end of the Mayan calendar. Leaving that doom aside for a moment though, my hopes are a little more simple:

I’ve already had a few lessons and I feel that I’m on the road to achieving this ambition finally!

I had an impromptu swimming lesson from my girlfriend whilst we stayed at Haven in Clacton-On-Sea this summer, it’s encouraged me to seek out professional instruction.

Having always enjoyed running and being re-inspired to run by Haruki Murakami’s ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running‘.

I wanted to keep my resolutions simple this year, so that I might have a realistic chance of achieving them this year, so wish me luck kids!

(Image Credit, Veerle Pieters!)

Being the avid Akira fan that I am, I was intrigued by the release of a limited edition leather jacket fashioned after the one worn by Kaneda in the film as well as a number of collectible pins. I’m pretty sure the coat would look diabolical on me but that doesn’t stop me from thinking it’s kinda cool.

Notice the plural in the title, I’m a huge fan of World Cinema, particularly Japanese and Korean (as evident in my last post). However something needs to be about the cluster-bomb of film festivals and seasons during October and November.

First there was the BFI London Film Festival featuring a number of Japanese films. This is then overlapped with both Zipangu Fest and New Japanese Cinema at the Barbican.

There’s only so much time one can dedicate themselves to such activities so I hate to complain about the number and quality of film festivals in the capital but I ask perhaps they share their Google Calendars to avoid the general compression of films that we’re seeing this year.

This years Korean Film Festival has already started so I’m sorry that I haven’t posted about it earlier but better late than never, eh? It seems that the festival has spread its reach this year to Cambridge, Sheffield and Newcastle so don’t fret that you don’t live in the capital you might still be able to enjoy the event. Visit the official website for all the relevant details.

Last night I watched a short documentary called Tokyo Rising exploring some of the creative output by Japan following the devastating earthquake in March. It’s presented by Pharrell Williams and is beautifully shot. It’s inspiring and interesting and well worth your time. Check out the trailer!

I came across this short film on Time Out Tokyo which tells the tale of post-nuclear commute. You can read about the background to the project on the same article and see the Kick Starter page here.

I don’t know if you’ve heard about A Game Of Thrones, I heard chatter about it earlier this year on Twitter and wanted to see for myself if it lived up to the praise heaped upon it. I’m confident enough to say that it certainly does and delivers it in spades. I ended up watching the entire first season of the show in one sitting!

The show is based on a series of books by George R. R. Martin and although I haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet, reviews seem to suggest that he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Tolkein. The production value of each episode easily rivals that of something like Lord Of The Rings and the narrative is so rich and interesting, the acting is excellent and the girls are gorgeous. I’m eagerly anticipating the second series.

In the meantime, I think I’m going to have to pick up the books as I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Just a quick reminder for you crazy kids that this years Hyper Japan event has kicked off!