#eva tomo no kai

[jinruihokankeikaku]

"This is the bittersweetness of adolescence." (From EVA tomo no kai. If you ask me, this phrase comes pretty close to summarising 'Evangelion in a word'. Or at least, one of its major themes.)

[pineaple-over-the-sea]

incorrect quote #50

kai: soy el más responsable del grupo

eva: literalmente quemaste la cocina

kai: y tomo la responsabilidad por eso

[borntobekings]

moving sales

I’m working my way towards moving out of this overpriced apartment and into a shared place, which means it’s time to sell as much as I can to make that process easier. Underneath the cut is a list of what’s up for grabs.

The usual boilerplate applies: everything here has been kept in a house with cats and dust, but is in generally good condition. Shipping and handling will range from $3-$8 for most things, but if you’re getting something particularly unwieldy or heavy I might wind up asking more. If you’re interested in anything, you can send me an ask or message me on Tumblr or (and this will catch my attention faster) email me at annwyd at gmail dot com.

The contents of this sales post are video games, anime, manga, and anime merchandise; there may be another post later with other books and merchandise. Prominently-represented series: Type-Moon’s Fate franchise, Gundam (particularly Gundam 00), Macross Frontier, and various others.

Signal boosts are appreciated even if you can’t buy anything!

VIDEO GAMES

Games for PSP Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (UMD only): $10 Fate/EXTRA: $25 Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions: $8 Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology: $15

Games for PlayStation Vita Jak and Daxter Collection: $25

Games for Nintendo DS Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift: $15 Ace Attorney Investigations: $20 Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: $15 Professor Layton and the Curious Village: $15 Final Fantasy IV: $13 SOLD Rune Factory: $12 Chrono Trigger: $18 SOLD

Games for Nintendo 3DS Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer: $20 SOLD Story of Seasons: $25 Yo-kai Watch: $25 Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: $15 Persona Q: $20

Games for Playstation 3 Enslaved: Odyssey to the West: $7 Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice: $10 SOLD Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch: $12 Dark Souls: $10

ANIME & MANGA

Anime DVDs Mai-Otome complete collection: $40 Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya complete collection: $10 Simoun complete collection: $10 Gundam Wing complete series: $90 SOLD Macross first volume: $7 Gundam 0080 complete series (in two volumes): $25 Cowboy Bebop all six sessions: $25 Red Garden complete collection: $15

Manga Monster by Naoki Urasawa, first six volumes: $30 Chrono Crusade by Daisuke Noriyama, all ten volumes: $55 Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, volumes 1 through 16: $60 Wandering Son by Shimura Takako, volumes 1 and 2: $25 ON HOLD

FIGURES & OTHER ANIME MERCHANDISE

Figures Nico Yazawa Nendoroid from Love Live: $25. Comes with box and packaging. Maki Nishikino Nendoroid from Love Live: $25. Comes with box and packaging. Ichiban Kuji set of Togame and Shichika from Katanagatari: $20. Comes with box. Saber Alter Nendoroid Petit from Fate/stay night: $10 SOLD Caster Nendoroid Petit from Fate/stay night: $10 SOLD Lancer Nendoroid Petit from Fate/stay night: $12 SOLD Beach Queens Rin Tohsaka from Fate/hollow ataraxia: $35. Comes with box. Rin Tohsaka Figma 2.0 from Fate/stay night: $45. Comes with box and packaging. Beach Queens Saber Alter from Fate/hollow ataraxia: $25. Comes with box. Saber Alter Figma from Fate/stay night: $55. Comes with box and packaging. Hyper Fate Archer figure from Fate/stay night: $45. Comes with box and packaging. Mami Tomoe school uniform Nendoroid from Madoka Magica: $40. Comes with box and packaging. Kyouko Sakura Figma from Madoka Magica: $40. Comes with box and packaging. Sayaka Miki Figma from Madoka Magica: $40. Comes with box and packaging. >>Both of the above for $70. Ichiban Kuji Touko Aozaki from Kara no Kyoukai: $10. No box. Fate and Nanoha Nendoroid Petit set from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: $12. No box. Sayla Mass mini-figure from First Gundam: $10 Aigis Chogokin figure from Persona 3: $40. Box is slightly damaged; figure itself is fine. SOLD

Blindbox Items Sheryl Nome heroine figure from Macross Frontier: $10 SOLD Sheryl Nome Chibi-Kyun Chara figure from Macross Frontier: $7 SOLD Ranka Lee Chibi-Kyun Chara figure from Macross Frontier: $7 SOLD Prop Petit Plus Setsuna F. Seiei from Gundam 00: $5 SOLD Tieria Erde trading figure from Gundam 00: $7 SOLD Lockon Stratos trading figure from Gundam 00: $6 SOLD Graham Aker trading figure from Gundam 00: $7 SOLD Soma Peries trading figure from Gundam 00: $5 SOLD Ivan Karelin Half-Age figure from Tiger & Bunny: $7 Fire Emblem chess piece figure from Tiger & Bunny: $7 Kotetsu T. Kaburagi chess piece figure from Tiger & Bunny: $8 Barnaby Brooks Jr. chess piece figure from Tiger & Bunny: $8 >>Both of the above for $15. Asuka Souryuu Langley Petit Eva figure from Evangelion: $7 Rei Ayanami figure from Evangelion: $8 Asuka Souryuu Langley figure from Evangelion: $8 Misato Katsuragi figure from Evangelion: $8 SOLD Ryuuko Matoi rubber strap from Kill la Kill: $7 Ayano Tateyama charm from Kagerou Project: $6 Waver Velvet Graphig figure from Fate/Zero: $8 SOLD Kirei Kotomine Graphig figure from Fate/Zero: $9 Irisviel von Einzbern Graphig figure from Fate/Zero: $8 Illyasviel von Einzbern Graphig figure from Fate/Zero: $8 Saber Graphig figure from Fate/Zero: $8 Rin Tohsaka prize figure from Fate/stay night: $7 SOLD Taiga Fujimura Nendoroid Petit from Fate/stay night: $7 Bazett Nendoroid Petit from Fate/hollow ataraxia: $7 SOLD Saber Chibi-Kyun Chara figure from Fate/Zero: $10 Kariya Matou rubber strap from Fate/Zero: $6 SOLD Caster rubber strap from Fate/Zero: $6 Ryuunosuke Uryuu rubber strap from Fate/Zero: $6 >>Both of the above for $10. Berserker rubber strap from Fate/stay night: $5 Shinji Matou rubber strap from Fate/stay night: $5 Fuuka Yamagishi rubber strap from Persona 3: $6 Marie & Aigis charm from Persona Q: $4 Estelle One Coin figure from Tales of Vesperia: $12 SOLD Owain rubber strap from Fire Emblem: Awakening: $7 SOLD

Other Merchandise Master Grade 1/100 Master Gundam model kit from G Gundam: $45.  Opened to peek inside but otherwise untouched. SOLD High Grade 1/144 Nobell Gundam model kit from G Gundam: $25. Same condition as above. SOLD Type-Moon Academy Chibichuki! gag manga book in Japanese, volumes 1 and 2: $15 SOLD Illyasviel von Einzbern & Berserker bust from Fate/stay night: $5

[jinruihokankeikaku]

The last scene of Episode 11 - the scene in which Shinji, Asuka, and Rei look down upon Tokyo-3 from atop a small hill. During the screenwriting stage, it seems there was a proposal that Aoba would be singing while playing his guitar beside them - oh, just like at a campfire! If the scene had played out like that, then the fact that he'd been carrying a guitar in the scene at the coin laundry would have foreshadowed it.

(From EVA Fan Club #6.)

[jinruihokankeikaku]

Some Asukas (and a Shinji) from EVA Fan Club

[jinruihokankeikaku]

ＣＡＳＴから一声　林原めぐみの巻 A Word from the Cast - Hayashibara Megumi

自分の中の私 あなたの中の私 知りたくて　知りたくなくて 自分の奥の自分 会いたくて　会いたくなくて 自分の奥の自分に向き会える程 私はまだ強くない あなたはまだ強くない 自分の中の弱い自分 いつも何かから逃げている自分 きたない自分

そんな自分を認めた時に 人は強くなれるのかもしれない

人、母、きずな、ＳＥＸ、 人が人である為に 生れた理由を 知る為に 私は　あなたを守る あなたの為じゃない 私の為よ…

レイ：林原めぐみ

The 'me' within myself The me within you I want to know her...and I don't The self beyond myself I want to meet her...and I don't To face the self beyond myself... I'm not strong enough. You're not strong enough. The self within myself that's weak The self that's always running away from something The baser self

When people acknowledge themselves as such Then, they may be able to grow strong.

People, mothers, bonds, and sex So people may be people So that we may know The reason we were born I will protect you. Not for your sake - - but for my own...

Rei / Hayashibara Megumi

[jinruihokankeikaku]

"God's Notions" by Tsurumaki Kazuya

(Originally published in Eva Fan Club #9.)

There is a phenomenon called the "100th Monkey".

From a band of Japanese monkeys that live on the desert island of Koushima in Miyazaki Prefecture, there emerged a genius monkey, that would carry mud-covered potatoes to the river, wash them, and then eat them. In the world of monkeys, this was a revolutionary affair. The habit of imitating the genius monkey and washing potatoes primarily spread among the younger monkeys, but it seems that the monkeys of the older generation made no effort to take up this novel habit. Nevertheless, when the number of monkeys who would wash potatoes surpassed a certain threshold, something incredible happened. They say that not only did the entire band of monkeys begin to practice potato-washing, but indeed, similar conduct was observed among bands of monkeys on the mainland, and on other islands, where communication with Koushima would have been impossible.

So says Lyall Watson, the first to name the phenomenon in which, when a certain number of people believe something to be true, it becomes true for everyone. For the sake of convenience, he defined the critical number to be one hundred.

Mars - for which the discovery of vestiges of life has become a topic of much discussion lately - has two moons. No one was aware of their existence until their discovery by one A. Hall in 1877, around the time of the planet's closest approach, but they say that ever since their discovery was announced, they could be observed by anyone and everyone. It must have been around the same time that Schiaparelli carried out his detailed survey of the famous "Martian Canal Maps", though.

Perhaps this matter was also an instance of the "100th Monkey Phenomenon". From the moment something hitherto nonexistent is felt to exist, it actually exists. It is possible that human consciousness is capable of exerting influence upon physical reality itself. The quantum theory, and the metaphysical theory of the anthropic principle supported first by Dr. Hawking, and by many noted scientists, may also have some connection to this area.

I think that "100" must refer to a quantity rather than a fixed number. If a person could think 100 people's worth of thoughts, they could bring about the "100th Monkey Phenomenon" on their own. They could attract a reality for which they alone hope―dreams come true. It may sound like some romantic notion that where there's a will, there's a way, but there does exist the possibility that a single lunatic could make a mess of the whole world. Like Hall may have created the moons of Mars, or like somebody, 15 billion years ago....supposing there existed with such fervently held notions as to make the Universe anew, there would be nothing stopping us from calling him God.

--

Translator's notes: 想い込み (omoikomi) is translated here as "notions". While usually defined in Japanese-English dictionaries as something to the effect of "misconceptions" or "prejudices", the spelling (想 as opposed to the more typical 思) and context suggest an intended meaning more akin to "convictions; (strongly held) beliefs" or even "obsessions". The distinction between a "fixed number" and a "quantity" in the final paragraph is somewhat ambiguous in English. The intended distinction is between "a fixed number [of distinct entities]" (that is, the number of people or animals thinking) and "a quantity [of intensity; a degree]" (that is, the total amount of thought). The italicised English phrase dreams come true is written phonetically in katakana in the original text, and therefor has not been altered for this translation.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

Curio of the Day - A Map of Central Dogma (from Eva Fan Club #1)

[jinruihokankeikaku]

"A Film for a King" (by Tsurumaki Kazuya; published in Eva Fan Club #6.)

There's a movie called Ed Wood.

Tim Burton was the director, and it became quite a hot topic―I'm sure there are many people who have actually seen it. It's a black-and-white piece that humorously depicts Ed Wood, said to be the worst film director in history.

I was unfamiliar with the name "Ed Wood", but for a long time, I had been curious about the film Plan 9 from Outer Space, presented in a book I'd bought about ten years ago called something like The Best 100 Sci-Fi and Horror Films. I've no idea why a film deemed to be the worst in history would be ranked among the Best 100, but while virtually every film ranked below #30 was presented with about 1/8th of a page, and with no stills, this "worst film of all time" was spared half a page, and featured still inserts larger than those for films like Planet of the Apes and Brainstorm. Even among independent movies, those that are half-bad never linger in my memory at all, and indeed I gradually well up with anger towards them - but conversely, I do, at times, fondly remember films whose lack of quality is remarkable. This was probably a truly awful movie. So I went ahead and assumed that for that reason, the editor of the book must have been very fond of it.

If I were told that it was the worst, I would want to see it, and confirm for myself the ways in which it was, but because it's an old movie, and the worst movie, it would never be broadcast on television or arrive in repertory cinemas, nor, at that time, would its video release have been launched quickly, so I was sure that like La jetée, which was the source material for Tokikake, or The Last Battle by Luc Besson (known as the French Spielberg), it was one more film that I would never get an opportunity to see.

This is where Tim Burton's Ed Wood comes in.

For it is the worst film in history - Plan Nine from Outer Space - that is the greatest work of the worst film director in history, Ed Wood. As opportunistic marketing, Plan Nine from Outer Space was also being screened in some mini-theaters where Ed Wood was showing. But alas, as soon as I was able to go see it, my feelings waned. After all, it was the worst movie. In the end, I didn't go.

I did see Ed Wood later, on LaserDisc. A line that Orson Welles delivers to a troubled Ed in the middle of the film lingers in my heart. His film, Citizen Kane, was undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, but it was not successful commercially.

An audience has the right to judge the best from the worst. But a film is something that ultimately exists for the director, and the director alone.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

ＣＡＳＴから一声　山口由里子の巻 A Word from the Cast - Yamaguchi Yuriko

個性の強いキャラクターの中で、常にかっこよくシンプルでありたい。

今を大切に生きてください。

赤木リツコ

Amidst a cast of characters with strong personalities, I want to be someone who remains stylishly simple. Take care, now. - Akagi Ritsuko

[jinruihokankeikaku]

ＣＡＳＴから一声　三石琴乃の巻 A Word from the Cast - Mitsuishi Kotono

ミサトすャんがすきっ Love ya, Misato-shan!

サービス♥サービス♥ saabisu-saabisu!

(The beer can is says 'beer'.)

[jinruihokankeikaku]

ＣＡＳＴから一声　緒方恵美の巻 A Word From the Cast - Megumi Ogata

……本当に本当にスゴイ作品だと思います。参加できて幸せです。 とりあえず…… "I think it's a really, really amazing work. I'm glad to have been able to participate. But first of all.....

逃げちゃ、ダメだ。 SHINJI: "I mustn't run away."

…GO!!

(Signed M. OGATA♥ and 碇シンジ♥)

[jinruihokankeikaku]

"Don't Question an Angel's Worth" by Neon Genesis Evangelion Assistant Director Tsurumaki Kazuya

(Originally published in Eva Fan Club #1; the translation and any errors therein are my own.)

When I was a child, one dream of mine was to talk to aliens, and for a couple of nights, I tried the "method of First Contact by facing a fixed direction and turning a flashlight on and off every night", which had been published in some bogus book called An Illustrated Introduction to UFOs or something to that effect. Nothing came of this, as you might imagine; and after I'd realized that, I switched to the somewhat more sociable fantasy of "watching a live broadcast on television of a large-scale cigar-shaped saucer touch down near Haneda Airport, and the Prime Minister going to greet it". I figured they would offer a brief remark in advance, because showing up all of a sudden would be rude - which, thinking back on it now, seems silly, but as a child I felt that aliens, being in possession of an advanced culture, would not behave rudely. Later on, when I'd become a bit more cynical, I found I couldn't help but contemplate the notion of malicious aliens, as well. I feared that I'd be abducted in secret, or that we'd be subject to a sudden invasion, or something, but stronger than any other was the fantasy (or rather, delusion) that my parents and my friends might have been replaced by aliens without my knowledge, which went on to make me even more of a cynic. If aliens were to deliberately come all the way to Planet Earth, one wonders what their objective in doing so might be. Conquest? Plunder? Perhaps even protection and observation? But these probably represent excessively anthropomorphic ways of thinking. [The aliens] would have emerged and evolved out of the ecosystem of some faraway planet, so it's not necessarily the case that they'd think in a manner similar to that of Earth's organisms. Even when it comes to communication alone, the use of words is not the only method. There might exist aliens unable to communicate except by such means as competing with or disregarding one another. They might be creatures with no concept of "objectives" to begin with. Misunderstandings could arise from the preconceived notion that our interlocutors are overwhelmingly different from ourselves. Conversely, there could be blunders resulting from empathizing with them too much. In that sense, whenever one tries to communicate - whether that be with an unknown life-form or with one's own neighbour - it is nevertheless with an Other.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

がんばれシンジくん　from ＥＶＡ友の会 #3

REI: "What?" SHINJI: "Oh, no, I was, just, uh...." Thump-thump-thump-thump.... "I was asked to - I mean...." ...thump-thump-thump... "Hey...cat ears!" [Certain Death! Dad Joke!] "...just kidding" Bang!

[jinruihokankeikaku]

Masayuki's letter to EVA Fan Club about why he won't respond to their request for comment remains one of the most amusing (yet oddly poignant) comments ever made on Evangelion (and filmmaking in general). In my opinion.

However, while I make no defense of my translation, which is...frankly, mediocre even by my standards, I do think it's one of those pieces of writing that ought to be read in the original language, as even a better translation might yet fail to capture some of the original letter's nuance and expressiveness. In any case, if you'd like, you can read the whole thing - the original text and my translation - here (.PDF), on NeoCities.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

Brief Project Update (2023.08.21)

I'm in the process of translating a series of short essays written by Tsurumaki Kazuya for the EVA Fan Club newsletter, published in Issues 1, 2, and 5-14. They cover a wide variety of topics, enumerated below, and also vary substantially in terms of the formatting and style of the prose. I posted my translation of the first of these yesterday, and plan to post the rest as I finish translating them.

Issue 1 - Don't Question an Angel's Worth / 天使の価値を問うな (on talking to aliens)

Issue 2 - The Forest of Ohmu / オームの森 (on environmentalism; presented as a dialogue)

Issues 3 & 4 - hiatus

Issue 5 - For My Comeback, Some Journal-esque Content / 復活の今回は、日記らしいネタ (on a friend's cousin's psychic awakening; presented, in part, as a dialogue)

Issue 6 - A Film for a King / 王様の映画 (on Ed Wood and Plan Nine from Outer Space)

Issue 7 - Dazzling Broadway / 幻惑のブロードウェイ (on progressive rock)

Issue 8 - Diver's High / ダイバーズ・ハイ (on the pleasures of scuba diving)

Issue 9 - God's Assumptions / 神様の思い込み (on monkeys, life on Mars, and quantum physics)

Issue 10 - The Feeling of Dreaming / 夢みる気持ち (on a disturbing dream and how it felt)

Issue 11 - Proclamation of the Worn-Out / ヘタリ者宣言 (on Barcelona's Church of the Holy Family and fashion trends)

Issue 12 - All of Heaven's Lights are... / 天の光はすべて… (on astronomy)

Issue 13 - Magic / 魔法 (on King Crimson, and performers and audiences)

Issue 14 - A Farewell over the Phone / 電話にて、さよなら (on communication - spoken, written, and otherwise)