Animating Women's Month Part 2

5.) Doris Lang – Vampire Hunter D

Revisiting vampires again on the list is Doris Lang. Although she made only one film appearance in the 80’s anime owed to graphic horror in Vampire Hunter D, she has remained in the pulse of my heart ever since.  I have to say that a lot of the props go to the English dub voice actress Barbara Goodson. There is something about the pitch and the flux of her voice that is like a talking melody. She also did the voice of another great anime lady, Alcyone from Magic Knight Rayearth. Back to Doris, she was given a very mainstream anime look for the film. Her short pleaded skirt, and blond pigtails were a far cry from the black hair and jeans that she was said to sport in the novel. Other differences vary in the amount of affection that she shows and is shown by D; evidentially the book gave more room for expression. Still, when Doris Lang first meets D and introduces herself by ensnaring him in a mystical nine-tail whip, while trying to lay claim to his sword, let the audience know that she wasn’t going to be just some damsel in distress. Like many of the heroines in Hideyuki Kikuchi original D novels, he did an excellent job at making them just as compelling as D. With a strong spirit, noble heart, pouty eyes, and killer legs, Doris Lang has ensnared herself into the number 5 spot.

A closer look to the novel

4.) Yuko- xxxHolic

The Space Time Witch from the series xxxHolic casts a spell in the number four spot. With her long wiry limbs and dark eyes, it would be easy to think of her as a ripe evil character that would follow in the same vein as many evil Disney queens/witches. However, Yuko shows her playful side in much of the series. Whether playing baseball or lounging around her magic shop while inebriated and posing as if she is in a Tommy Hilfiger ad, Yuko’s appeal can’t be denied. Her involvement in the lives of different high profile Clamp characters leads her to be a major player in not one, but two of Clamps biggest titles: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and xxxHolic. Card Capture Sakura fans probably already know that she was Clow Reed’s girlfriend. Her many childish antics and high price wishes (payment for her help always has to be equal to the service desired) didn’t underscore the large sacrifice that she gave to allow the clones of Syaoran and Sakura to be reborn as regular people. One of her stand out moments is when she invites most of the cast over to a temple to tell ghost stories. The effect is chilling and thought provoking like most of the series.

 3.) Katsumi Liqueur – Silent Mobius

Kia Asamiya's take on a sci-fi futuristic distopia get major props on several levels. He manages to create an original story with compelling characters. Think of it as Sailor Moon meets a serious case of ass-kicking. These ladies don’t waste time challenging their feelings over the minor men in the series, but instead use large portions of the episodes challenging the horrific, but beautiful character designs, known as Lucifer Hawks. The strange beasts that have come to inhabit earth have caused the resident Tokyoites to create the Attacked Mystification Police Force or A.M.P. for short. Complete with archetypal characters such as the cybernetic muscle girl, the sweet psychic girl, the computer girl, and the magic priestess girl, their team still left room for the main character in Katsumi Liqueur. She, much like Harry Potter, in a dysfunctional future holds the key to saving the city. Katsumi and her fellow sorceresses have been tasked to clean up the city. We find out that Katsumi, much like Harry, is the descendant of powerful magic users. Her father tried to create a partnership between those roach-like Lucifer Hawks that would prove to be a no-go. Finding out that she herself has the blood of the Lucifer Hawk, doesn’t seem to slow down the hunt. Harry may have gotten the Elder wand, but Katsumi got Grospoliner. It is the skull shaped head object that morphs into an elongated sword that racks up the cool factor. I remember seeing the trailer for the first movie, the last fifteen minutes being an anime gem of a battle sequence. It was instant love at first sight when I saw her conjure Grospoliner into sword form as she hacked down on a bad guy. The tough as nails, orphan with the four horsemen inside her hacks and slashes her way into the number 3 spot.  

with Grospoliner

 2.) Sailor Pluto- Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon made Japanese animation a more solidified industry here in America. She, aside from Dragon Ball Z, may be most responsible for molding the term anime into the mainstream cultural fray, which was quite an accomplishment for a girl who entered more battle zones with tear drops than guts. Pure hearts and the power of love aside, it was her teammates that formed the backbone of the series. They couldn’t have been more inclusive as there was a Sailor Soldier for every girl, or the girl in all of us. I remember the “cool” going through the roof when they introduced the outer soldiers in the third season. I didn’t find Sailor Pluto until the Super movie (the rest of the second season hadn’t been translated yet in American TV).  There I saw her enraptured in a dark mist as she whispered a “Deadly Scream” as I watched her age her opponents into dust. It was a tie really between Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto here. The unfortunate part was that Sailor Saturn always got the short end of the Silence Glave in the series. I wanted to see a stock transformation sequence and attack scene that never really materialized. Interesting facts about Sailor Pluto is that she is the actual descendant of the time god, is a Scorpio, and hates eggplant. The key shaped weapon she uses makes the many wands held by Sailor Moon look like broken joy sticks. Her human name: Setsuna Meioh sounds like poetry. I liked the fact that she was older than all the rest. She felt more warrior-like. Although I don’t remember it every being an issue in the series, in the manga she had unrequited love for Tuxedo Mask. I found this interesting as almost all the other sailor scouts had some form of love interest. They always shacked poor Pluto as the baby sitter of Sailor Saturn and Chibi-Usa, no wonder she froze time in the third season to catch a break. The mistress of time with her dead-sexy brawn and no bull bravery clocks in at number 2.  

1.) Urd – Ah! My Goddess
 

It was a tuff pick for my number one spot, but I figured amongst all the hybrids, knights, martial artists, and gatekeepers that only a goddess could top the list. As the System Administrator and Goddess Second Class to Yggdrasil, or the tree where all life stems from, Urd has demonstrated her staying power with audiences. Appearing in Ah! My Goddess chapter 14, she has been with the series ever since. An avid potions mixer and drunk, she is a knockout in just about anything and can blow up the world if need be. She has a slight penchant towards lying, which is what places her as a Goddess Second Class, but with quite possibly the most perfect hair to every be drawn on a woman…ever, who cares if she is second class. The half-demon, half- angel sister to Belldandy and Skuld can be impulsive and headstrong, but if nothing it helps to advance the plot, which can be minimal, depending on what volume you pick up. At times the series can waver on too much flower picking, but I guess that’s all you can do sometimes when you are reading about beings that could destroy the earth. The series has a certain light charm, but I find it more fun when they delve into the darker parts of the universe. Contradicting that last sentence is volume 30 of the manga, which is my favorite.  Urd causes a rainstorm in the hopes of bringing her sister and her love interest closer together in a cute adventure. We also see her turn down her chance to be a Goddess First Class. She was the goddess with problems, and not just the metaphysical type. The half goddess/ half demon often try to find a place in the world. I liked the character so much I named a plant in my cubicle in her honor. It is outstanding art work for an outstanding character. I wish she’d get her own series.

 They may not have made the list, but here are some honorable mention

Anthy- Revolutionary Girl Utena

Miko Mido- La Blue Girl

Sailor Venus – Sailor Moon

Ako- Project Ako

Sailor Tin Nyanko – Sailor Moon

Emma Frost – X-Men (anime version)

Yomi- Gai Rei Zero

Morgan Le Fay  – Ah! My Goddess the movie

Kanoe – X/1999
Yuki and Lum Cheng- Silent Mobius

Kan-u Unchou - Ikkitousen

Animating Women's Month Part 1

In celebration of March’s Women’s History Month, it would be easy to list all the greats. There is my mother of course, many aunts and teachers that raised and educated me, not to mention the wonderful, open-hearted female friends that I share my life with. There are the highbrow answers like Queen Elizabeth, Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, J.K. Rowling, and Oprah…if we have to include her. Even with the many wonderful women that have taken part in this blog withstanding, I decided to write to give some love to the other women in my life. The two dimensional type that I watch late at night on the weekends when I find myself alone and channeling my inner geek. These women have captivated me from my childhood and have become heroes. These women of course, are the women of Japanese animation. I decided to compose a list of the top ten anime women and their respective series that I have found to be most appealing in my peculiar life.

Here is 10-6.

10.) Lena – Shamanic Princess

I have to say that I thought the title of this obscure anime would leave one to conjure images of a flowery
kiddie anime complete with passive powers and do-nothing characters who find excitement in walking to the mailbox (those titles are out there,  My Neighbor Totoro.) But this title is surprisingly dark. I dub it the Jennifer’s Body of anime, in which we see childhood friends, who all grew up to be hot babes, turned against one another due to occult possession and power rivalries. We see the magical girl genre taken to a butt-kicking extreme with stunning artwork that culminates in amazing battle and transformation sequences. Lena stands out in particular as the flute playing magic user from the Guardian World. She was delicate, but deadly. Her character carries a somber demeanor, which is understandable considering that she has to fight her childhood friend, a rather whinny lead named Tiara. She does this while realizing that she is also in love with Kagetsu, said whinny lead’s love interest. She’s a girl that somehow manages to carry all the grace of a ballet about Jesus Christ while she is powering up to blow you into oblivion. A character that rises above her own feeling for the call of duty is what lands Lena in my number 10 spot.

9.) Minai Ruo – Corpse Princess

This was one of the most sought after anime titles to have on my shelf once I heard about it coming to our salty shores. I was utterly captivated at the idea of an anime series that had a strong female lead and was action oriented. Titles like these are not uncommon, but the execution can be poor. This anime felt like My-Hime with a darker slant. We see the ladies saving the lads in this shout to monster slaying mayhem.  I’ve noticed that there was a small trend in some anime titles that required the women to go out and get in these bloody fights while the men only acted as these dominating battery packs. Still, Corpse Princess or Shikabane Hime (in its more romantic language) stood out as a no-nonsense series that featured ladies in all different shades of pleaded skirts. Although that is never a problem, Minai Ruo stood out as the one who wore practical battle clothing and at least appeared to be  old enough to see an R- rated movie. On a cooler note, her main weapon of choice was her own two fists. While all the other teeny-bopper princesses took to the battlefield with hammers and semi-automatics, she faced twenty-foot tall monstrosities with her bare hands…all while putting up with an abusive man of the cloth.  Much like our number 10 spot and other characters on this list, she too dealt with unrequited love and a desire to stay in an abusive relationship. Still, with a knockout right hook and an even more knockout body, this corpse princess reigns at number 9.

8.) Saya – Blood/Blood+/Blood C 

I’ve only seen the first animated movie, and a few episodes of the Blood C series. It seems as if the Blood+ series is a more fleshed out  look at vampire slaying from the female perspective. With high quality art, multiple character designs, and even collaboration with Clamp, this character is anime royalty. Saya the half-breed human/vampire/school girl (a breed unto their own it seems) is tasked into wiping the world free of blood sucking scum. Although the first animated movie was far too short, and the live action movie was far too stupid, the appeal of this character shows no sign of slowing down. I think the incarnation I like the most is the Blood C rendition where we see Saya as a young Shinto priestess in training. She lives in a small boring town by day. She goes through the slice-of-life after school special situations that plague most wall flowers who don’t realize that they are too cute to be anything else but a lead in their own series. By night her father hands her a Katana sword that she then uses to hack and slash random creatures that live lives that are as boring as the townsfolk. It’s amusing to see her taking the sword like she is being given the keys to her father’s car. With great power comes great responsibility… to parallel park. The stand out battle was in the first episode when she fights this stone creature that levitates above a small pond. This no-nonsense sword-wielding, miko who loves to sing songs that make no sense during walks to school earns her place at number 8.

                                                        

 7.)  Ukyo Kuonji – Ramna ½

Lightening the list up at number 7 is Ukyo from Ramna ½. This kick-ass, gender bending, pizza chef sweeps into town in season three of Ramna ½ to stir up more trouble for the misogynistic lead. It took Ukyo ten years to find Ramna after he and his father dumped her on the side of the road while strolling away with her father’s food cart. It came as an even more shocking blow when Ramna didn’t even know that she was a girl the whole time they were growing up. In yet another case of unrequited love, although this one is played for comic effect, we see Ukyo challenging Ramna to duels that take place on boxing ring sized grills while simultaneously being swept off her own feet either by his sweeping charms or sweeping sidekicks. In one of the first harem comedies to make it big in the U.S., Ramna is the story of a young martial artist that went on a training mission in China with his father. The two fell into different magic pools that gave them the ability, and curse, to turn into what drowned in the pool. Poor Ramna must face the world as someone who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. What made me like this character was when she dons the traditional school uniform, opting to let her hair down  while carrying her pizza spatula on her back. Symbolically, I felt like she is a cool character that crosses the threshold of gender. Her spatula is a traditional cooking utensil but also is a battle weapon. Being self-employed, while trying to get an education and chasing down a childhood love makes her a stand out character for the list.

6.) Fuu- Magic Knight Rayearth

Fuu first appeared in Magic Knight Rayearth back in the 90’s. Magical girl shows dominated the hearts and airwaves of viewers on both sides of the globe. The first major breakthrough work by the renowned artist troupe Clamp, M.K.R. offered up a melting pot of genres that included sword and sorcery, Mecca, magic, action/adventure, and romance. With a solid storyline, the series had something for everyone. For me, that something was Fuu Hououji.  Intelligent with a keen eye for archery, this character was a bit insecure, but humble. She was the first of the three to get a love interest in Ferio. Garnering the most spells and the longest sword, she trudged through the high and low lands of Cephiro fighting everything from hot witches to anthropomorphic monsters. Suffering the task of having to kill her love interests sister, Fuu was obviously placed in the situation of most burdens to bear for a middle school student. Still, her calm demeanor and ability to hack a Pterodactyl-like-creature in two, in the middle of the desert, knights her into the number 6 spot.

Next Time on This Peculiar Life...

Animating Women's Month Part 2. Stay tuned for the top five.

March’s Peculiar Person of the Month: Photographer Nikki Johnson

Mississippi native Nikki Johnson grew up around cameras her entire life. The niece of a product developer for Polaroid, she entered the frame of picture taking at a young age. The seeds were planted oddly enough at her father’s funeral, which then filtered Nikki out with a flash into the many snap shots of the industry. Focusing her lenses on everything from vampire parties to movies about magic urine, she has a wide angle on a world that lives not too far beneath the surface of New York City. Her gathered experiences can be seen in places like HYCIDE Magazine as well as at several art fairs around the city. The latest being at The Pink Gallery. Nikki interacted with This Peculiar Life NYC to give a candid look into her two upcoming books Natural History and Yearbook as she highlights what she feels is most peculiar about her own experiences.

This Peculiar Life NYC:  Who or what got you into photography?

Nikki Johnson: Last week [my mother] told me that she had given away one of the photos of my grandfather in his coffin to a relative. I dimly remember the photos. I asked her who took them. She told me that I did! So I guess I have been deep into photography [since I was] seven. As far as actively taking photos I didn't get into it until I was a freshman. I took my first photo class and got completely hooked. I was an English major who changed to an Art major. I graduated [and] worked in a one-hour photo lab. I left Mississippi to go to graduate school in Rochester New York. By then I had a taste of what it could do as a means of expression, and I was hooked. I earned my Masters in Photography from R.I.T. and moved to New York City.

T.P.L. NYC: Are there any particular themes that inspire you?

N.J.:  I am attracted to unusual things [that] defy explanation, seem out of context, or have an element of mystery to them. What I find myself looking for is ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances or unusual people in fairly ordinary circumstances.

T.P.L. NYC: Where do you go to look for inspiration?

N.J.:  I actually look at surrealists and lots of Greco-Roman [paintings and sculptures] because of the interesting mix of idealization with realistic representation.



East Village Vanitas (c) Nikki Johnson



T.P.L. NYC:  Tell me about your still-life series of photographs that are about meditations on death? How did this project come about?

N.J.:  I had a lot of life-changing events during 2010. I wanted a way to mark the passage of one part of my life into another. This still-life series was a project that I had to get on paper, but just didn't have all of the elements to create it. I had an image of a sumptuous meal. A shark head with grapes and wine, the idea of the finest things in life turned on its head. A shark's head is not easy to come by, but I had a friend who had gotten a job at a fish market. It became one of those conversations where being open about art and ideas leads to a major creative change. She said she had one in her freezer that she had kept too long. Suddenly the photograph was going to happen. I already collected animal bones and decorative skulls. I videotaped the assemblage of these items and felt the process turn into a ritual. It became less about a meal, and more about being a photographic nod to traditional 16^th and 17th century still-life paintings with themes of death and mortality examined through symbolism.

 

T.P.L. NYC:  Why photography over other creative forms?

N.J.:  My undergraduate degree is in painting. I took several courses in photography at the same time, so I was always trying to transfer the joys of one onto another. I just found it easier to convey many of the things in life events first hand and trying to convey them through the medium. Everything artistically that I wanted to explore and express just felt more explicitly available in photography for me.

T.P.L. NYC:  You were recently in HYCIDE Magazine, did you submit photos for it, or did they give you an assignment based on the theme of the magazine?

N.J.:   HYCIDE Magazine was interested in photographs of sex parties and the BDSM scene as part of their new "Sex Issue." They asked me to submit and really enjoyed what they saw, so my work was included. 





Cocoa (c) Nikki Johnson



 T.P.L. NYC: Are there any other art mediums that you like to use?

N.J.:  Yes, I also incorporate text art and video, and have used xerography in the past.

T.P.L. NYC: You have two books you have been working on, Natural History and Yearbook. How did they come about? What are the themes and voices you were trying to express with both of them?

N.J.:  [With Natural History,…] I wanted to present the images that meant the most to me, and I felt a need to gather them together as a milestone to mark [the] ways [my]  life [is] changing. It is a bound museum of the different series with some of the same people weaving in and out of them. My photographs are intimately connected in my mind and…it [is] important [to thread them] together in physical form. Yearbook is a collection of photographs taken through 2011. It is still in the editing phase because I literally shot it up until the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. I've spent the past year closely photographing porn-producer and actor Jean Val Jean, as well as shooting portraits, "collecting blood," creating new pieces, and following some new artistic paths to new destinations.

 

Natural History Cover (c) Nikki Johnson



 T.P.L. NYC:  Will you be exhibiting anywhere soon?

N.J.:  Yes, I will be in a pop-up exhibition by Pink Gallery on Friday, March 9th as part of Pool Art Fair.

Opening Day: Friday, March 9th
3PM Exhibition opens to the public
6PM Vernissage by invitation or ticke
DJ + Bar

Regular admission to the fair is a $10.00 suggested donation.

The Flatiron Hotel 9 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10010212.839.8000www.flatironhotel.com

T.P.L. NYC: The blog is about peculiar things, so what is the most peculiar thing you have seen, did, or photographed? Any peculiar assignments or people you have met while showcasing your stuff?

N.J.:  I've photographed sex parties, vampire parties, a self-created amputee, a cat birthday party / fashion show at the Algonquin hotel, and a former African-American wax museum in which the contents have been disposed of mysteriously. I regularly look for blood on the street because over 8 years ago I almost stepped in a giant pool of blood that trickled past my doorway, down to the sidewalk, past a bodega and into a pool in front of a novelty store.



Porn Star and Homeless Man (c) Nikki Johnson



Ave A Stabbing (c) Nikki Johnson

  

N.J.:  The most peculiar thing I have done recently was shooting photos on the set of the Zoppa Brothers short film Piss Apostle. This film is about a thief who redeems himself by sprinkling people with his urine, which has magical healing powers. They were filming a montage sequence of miracles, and several actors were in line to get "blessed" for their close ups. I was out of camera range, but lurking near the floor, waiting for the water to hit them while trying to get it on camera. Situations don't often seem odd to me no matter how strange they seem to someone else, but during my time on the set. I felt weird, but I loved it!



Vampire Party (c) Nikki Johnson



T.P.L. NYC: Where can people find out more about you?

N.J.:  My website is www.nikkijohnson.com and through my site they can connect to me on twitter, flickr, and facebook as well. I also have a tumblr site: http://nikkijohnson.tumblr.com/

Shedding Blonde (c) Nikki Johnson

Sin City comes to New York City, and celebrity relatives can be found hidden in the closet

So it was the middle of the week, when I found myself outside The Tally Beck Contemporary Gallery for its grand opening. I decided that I would try and be early, which was dashed by my need to find some form of stomach sustenance. So, I watched the many tall, bobbed, cat framed glasses wearing people enter in through the red carpet while trying to down a dollar bag of barbeque chips from the sidewalk. I tried to keep it classy.

I took my time with the walk across the red carpet. The velvet ropes were open and there wasn’t a cameraman in sight, still I figured that this might be the only chance I had to be on a red carpet, so I proceeded with inner excitement as one hand combed through my hair and the other held a crumpled potato chip bag.

The opening showcased a collective of artists from Shanghai called island6. The group’s unique work is known for its use of digital media and sex, which was perfect for an exhibit that was called Sin City- Impressions of Shanghai: New Work by island6.

As I descended down the steps, I felt like the floating bubble amongst a tank of exotic fish. It was like an all out assault from the art world. The patrons all walked around like they themselves were art. A girl with a neon flashing corset and bra that lay overtop the classic little black dress, stood in front of an Anna Wintour twin. A tall Nordic looking man (a struggling actor) smiled at me from behind the bar while sliding over a plastic cup of ginger ale and some shrimp chips. The food was compliments of the Dumpling Diva, a woman standing behind the bar wearing an oversized Lapis colored hunting hat with an apron.

It was a far cry from the tailored world of the Men’s Warehouse carbon copies I was used to seeing parade the halls of work. The pretension was a bit thick, but overall, I felt nothing but delight as I made my way through the tank like gallery.  

The exhibit was composed of twelve different pieces that included neon light work, telephone interactive video, and LED based creations, and that’s light-emitting diode not the carbon metal.

According to the Tally Beck Contemporary website, this exhibition explores the realities and myths of 1930s Shanghai, focusing on female sexuality and issues of exoticism, eroticism and Orientalism. Island6 produces animated, sociohistorical vignettes of 1930s Shanghai and the collision of Chinese and colonial cultures. Their work has been shown extensively in Asia and Oceania as well as in art fairs and special exhibitions in the U.S., France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Morocco.

I found myself in front of a sketch that looked like an old photograph of a woman, a hooker from the 30’s I presumed or rather made up for my own enjoyment. Everyone finds hooker’s melodramatic and interesting much like the image I stood in front. She sat on her side facing me in black and white, her body forever frozen in the allure of her beauty’s peak. Her feet radiated with her own pair of ruby slippers, but these shoes were more likely reflecting the decadent charm of the red light district that she worked at as opposed to using them to wander down a yellow brick road. She held in her hand a long stem cigarette holder that burned with a matching red stream of smoke that belly-danced up the picture frame. The dancing light gave the illusion that her cigarette was burning. She was willing to pose in a picture with me and my friends.

The evening ended when I was headed towards the coat check. My friend and I were commenting on the tall, pretty, blond girl, of print model beauty.

“You are far too attractive to be relegated to the corner pocket. Why did they put you all the way back here,” I said.

“Well, I figured, I’d give the other girl a chance to get out of the corner,” she said.

“Nobody puts baby in the corner,” my friend said as he slid into his coat.

“She’s my cousin you know. Jennifer Grey is,” she said.

Her sincerity was so obvious I couldn’t help but believe her. It was the proverbial cherry onto top of the cake for an evening of culture that took me far from my stereotypical culture of New Jersey. I managed to score a triple threat of free champagne, a t-shirt, and meeting celebrity’s relatives…and there was art.   

To visit the Tally Beck Contemporary Gallery go to 42 Rivington Street New York, NY 10002 or call +1 646-678-3433

I give the Sin City Exhibit PPP’s out of PPPP.