Tuesday, December 29, 2009

End Of Year 2009/10 Top 10 Shenanigans


Well, I kind of had no choice, what with the plethora of Top 10 lists that currently bamboozle the senses, all focused on the decade known as the Noughties, the Naughties, the Aughts, the 00s, the 2000s or the Zeros, depending on your cultural upbringing or sense of humour; it seems everyone and his dusted-down and/or bedraggled dog is conjuring up one list or another, and I keep expecting to read one that highlights the ten best kinds of staple (I'm talking stationery apparatus, not food product) over the past 10 years.

In that case my vote goes with Zebra, the Japanese stationery manufacturer established in Japan in 1897, since theirs are the only ones I've actually been able to use over the past 8 years anyway. And I have a soft-spot for the name still, exactly a decade after I was editor of a little magazine of the same moniker back in Melbourne.

What a somewhat mad 10 years it's been over the intervening period.

For what it's worth - which is likely extremely little in these circumstances - here's my ¥2 worth of Top 10 inanity, even if these tens don't exactly restrain themselves to the past decade but count towards something in the atmosphere at least (maybe they've tainted the water supply?):


TOP 10 JAPANESE ARTISTS
Seiji Fujishiro
Yayoi Kusama
Yoko Umehara
Shirow Masamune
Maharo
Yoshitomo Nara
Yumiko Kayukawa
Takashi Murakami
Aya Takano
Ryoji Arai


TOP 10 JAPANESE FILM DIRECTORS
Seijun Suzuki
Akira Kurosawa
Yasujiro Ozu
Mamoru Oshii
Satoshi Kon
Ryuhei Kitamura
Takashi Miike
Hayao Miyazaki
Mamoru Hosoda
Shinichiro Watanabe


TOP 10 JAPANESE ELECTRONIC MUSICIANS
Hifana
Takashi Watanabe (DJ Warp)
Tatsuya Oe (Captain Funk)
Toshiyuki Yasuda (Robo*Brazileira)
Shin Nishimura
Shuji Wada (DJ Wada)
Kenji Kawai
Gadget Cassette
M-Koda
DJ Krush


TOP 10 JAPANESE MOVIES IN THE 2000s
Millennium Actress
Spirited Away
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
Battle Royale
Azumi
Casshern
Zatoichi
Tekkon Kinkreet
Tokyo Marble Chocolate
Mind Game


TOP 10 ANIME SERIES 2000s
Ghost Hound
Fullmetal Alchemist
Paranoia Agent
Gankutsuou
Samurai Champloo
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Samurai 7
Wolf's Rain
Le Chavalier D'Eon
Zenmai Zamurai


TOP 10 JAPANESE FOODS
Takoyaki: Octopus balls swamped in mayonnaise, special sauce and dried bonito flakes
Ikura don: Salmon rose with wasabi, chopped shiso and Kikkoman soy sauce on rice
Yakitori: Grilled chicken and the bird's assorted parts on sticks
Mori soba: Chilled buckwheat noodles served on a bamboo mat with a dipping sauce
Ramen: Noodle soup, especially tonkotsu (pork broth)
Fugu sashi: Blowfish served up super-thin and raw with a lip-smacking ponzu dip
Hachinoko: Bee larvae snack, great with beer. Really.
Basashi: Raw horse served sashimi style, often with ginger and daikon radish
Ikayaki: Grilled squid, often served with lemon and Kewpie maynonnaise
Tsukemono: Japanese pickled vegetables


TOP 10 TOKYO PLACES
Tokyo Parasite Museum
Tsukiji Fish Market
Nihon Minkaen Open-Air Folk House Museum
Jiyugaoka cake shops
National Film Centre
Nakagin Capsule Tower
Tin Toys Museum
Yakitori Alley, Yurakucho
Yamamoto-tei Tea House
Shibamata

TOP(PLING) 10 JAPANESECULTUREGONOW! SPOTLIGHTS
The quirky culture of Sake consumption
RX-78-2 Gundam statue terror
Tokyo's Postmodern (architecture) Purge
Shikinejima: Flying Fish Island
I was an MP in Post-WW2 Japan*
Tokyo Tower vs. Tokyo Sky Tree
Crow Castle
Toho Studios
Panda! Go, Panda! - the zaniest anime ever made?
Godzilla vs. Mothra

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