Ping Pong bounces into Portland

A few years ago I took the chance to see Uzumaki in an old, low ceiling theater which was showing the movie, and had just a great time. Even though Ping Pong has been out on video and DVD for a little while now (the movie came out in Japan in 2002), I love the fact that Viz Pictures is touring it around to the art house cinemas. It arrives in Seattle at the end of this month, I beleive, and in Portland on June 8 (At the Hollywood Theatre). It's a fun movie, based on a Taiyo Matumoto comic. Take a date. Take a friend. Tell me what you thought.

I realized that I didn't post last month's Mecha Mecha Media article. So here it is. I'll put up this month's column very soon. In June I review Kurosagi Corpse Delviery Service, Mail, Puri Puri, To Heart DVD, Black Lagoon DVD and horror novel Birthday. It should be on newsstands in the first week of June.

Which reminds me... I was recently asked "How do you pronounce your column's title?" I do more communication through email than face to face with the publishers, but when I do, probably 99% of the time people say "Mecha Mecha" as "Mekka Mekka" which is totally OK, as that is how the "mechanical" giant-robot anime way to say it would be. I kind of figured that would happen, but my real intention was to call it "Mecha Mecha Media" with the soft "ch" (めちゃめちゃ) which is a mostly West-Japan-area word meaning "super-duper" (to use an outdated term) or "totally". One of my favorite shows from Japan was the Kansai manzai duo 99's variety and sketch-comedy tv show "Mecha Mecha Iketeiru" (のめちゃめちゃ生けている) which I guess could translate as "Livin' Large". Thinking about it, both pronunciations fit perfectly... but if you ever meet me, I would love to hear you say it with the soft "ch". It feels a little more super-duper.