#nagahara

[artifedexx]

[stuff-diary]

Teasing Master Takagi-san

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2024

Teasing Master Takagi-san (2024, Japan)

Director: Rikiya Imaizumi

Writers: Rikiya Imaizumi & Tomoki Kanazawa (based on the manga by Sōichirō Yamamoto)

Mini-review:

This is the cutest, sweetest thing ever! It really manages to capture the awkwardness of that weird moment in life, when you're neither a little kid anymore nor a teenager yet. The directing, the writing and the cinematography are all top-notch, but the real reason Teasing Master Takagi-san works so perfectly well is its two leads. I have no doubt Rui Tsukishima and Soya Kurokawa will become huge stars in the Japanese film/tv industry; I've known since Monster that he would have a bright future, but she's also a huge discovery. There's something so natural and genuine about their performances, to the point I wondered if some of the scenes were improvised, and that is hard to achieve for actors of any age. Also, I can't wait to see the sequel with the adult version of the characters, since they will be played by two of my favorite Japanese stars, Mei Nagano and Fumiya Takahashi.

[swampjawn]

Time to talk an unnecessary amount about floors!

Episode 6 of Dungeon Meshi was produced in collaboration with a smaller studio, Enishiya - and it went way harder than I expected, for being made up of two relatively simple and self contained stories focusing on one character each.

And you can really see how those extra resources meant the animators could give full focus to both halves of the episode. Let's take a look at one piece that stole the show.

The first half was handled primarily by episode director/storyboard artist Keita Nagahara and co-animation director Hirotoshi (or Hiroaki? [1]) Arai. It's actually kinda insane how much of this section can be attributed to these two.

But the real star of the show is the second half, Chilchuck vs the mimic, led by co-animation director Toya Ooshima in his first animation director role for TV anime!

And the biggest aspect that knocked my dang boots off was something that's very consistent with Ooshima's style: background animation!

By animating the backgrounds rather than using painted still images, Ooshima and the team of other similarly skilled animators are able to create these beautiful dynamic camera movements that wouldn't be possible otherwise. Like these cuts by Takeshi Maenami where the camera becomes an expressive part of the scene, zipping forward and backward, and tilting to emphasize the speed of this murderous hermit crab. (Maenami's style is also very recognizable here - snappy timing and quick camera movements)

Or this cut by the incredible Kaito Tomioka which cleverly combines a traditional background for the walls with a fully animated floor. The level of detail in these tiles is just completely insane, and used to great effect with this wide, diagonal angle, and the way the camera tentatively drifts forward before reversing direction, and the tiles blur out as it speeds up.

I don't think I'm the only one caught off guard by how much they full-assed this little side story, but it was a pleasant surprise!

I broke down the entire episode in this video here. A lot of research went into this one, and I think it's the best one of these videos I've made so far, so if you're at all interested in more of this type of analysis in video form, I would really appreciate it if you checked it out, or re-blogged this post! Thanks

[1] It's listed as Hirotoshi on Anime News Network, but Hiroaki on a key frame that Studio Trigger shared on Twitter, so I'm not sure which one is wrong.

[spilladabalia]

Shizuka (静香) - Bloodspattered Blossom (血まみれの華)

[jpopstreaming]

🆕🎶 「 この木を切らないで 」 new single by Manatsu Nagahara is now available worldwide! 🌐 Listen now and discover new sounds from Japan on our weekly updated playlist 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3lgjH73

[animehouse-moe]

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 6: Court Cuisine/Boiled In Saltwater

Being a manga reader, I really don't have much to say in the world of story for Delicious In Dungeon. Conversely, I have a world of stuff to say about the adaptation end of things, but I'll keep it short.

Keita Nagahara, the storyboarder for this episode, perfectly understood the assignment. They know what Trigger does best, and they know how to make the most of the source material.

Comedy, action, excessive character animation, Nagahara's episode has it all in spades, wrapped up under very solid awareness of dimensionality and space.

Their use of foreground obstruction to force depth and awareness of space is incredible, and insanely novel. Using party members as those obstructions is impeccable, and I love how they further subvert expectations by using party members for first person perspectives as well.

It's certainly recency bias telling me that this episode is the best of the season, but at the very minimum it is 100% on par with episode 3. Makes me wonder if every episode that's a multiple of 3 will be this good.

[alexicon91]

“Lament in the Night” by Shoson Nagahara

[rhysnolastname]

Inking my Franklin Christoph 03 Antique Glass with a M Stub nib so my friends can see it later hehehe

Regular steel Bock nib with a Nagahara cursive italic medium grind.

[dar-jeerling]

Bend The Elbow Outwards (Kurokawa Izana x OC)

read on AO3 instead

Prologue: Can't Make An Omelette Without Cracking A Few Eggs

The human brain is quite an interesting thing: pattern recognition is set in it so deeply that, whether subconsciously or not, one ends up making connections to different, completely unrelated things with the ease of a bird taking flight.

Whenever the girl hiding under the name Nagahara Kyouko thinks about her father, the first sound that comes to mind is not his warm laugh; not his accented Korean as he taught her how to read Hangul, nor his off-key singing of Japanese children’s songs about vegetables, memorised from cassettes sent to him all the way from Tokyo of children’s morning programmes.

Crack, goes the egg he’s showing her how to open at the edge of the bowl. They’re making tamagoyaki for breakfast - her on the dining chair dragged to the counter of their miniature kitchen, their one apron dwarfing her pudgy body as she giggles at the slimy texture of raw egg whites running through her just-washed hands, him right next to her, laughing and fishing eggshells out of the mixture.

Crack, goes the gun in the unfamiliar man’s hands on their doorstep. Her father’s head goes crack, too - falls in little, messy pieces on the floor and on her like the clumsily-cracked egg she’d held in her hands just this morning.

Brain matter isn’t as slimy and runny as egg whites, and skull fragments aren’t as soft and breakable as egg shells, and the blood and fluids on her (just-washed) hands makes her father’s gun difficult to hold—

(—crack, goes the gun again, and dying truly is an instantaneous thing when you’ve been killed correctly—)

—but the girl who will carry the name Nagahara Kyouko in a few short years wasn’t only taught by her father how to crack eggs.

Crack, goes the gun in her hands.

Crack, goes the man who (has, can, will) kill her.

An eternity later, when the blood has cooled and she has collected and separated her father’s remains from his (their) murderer’s, there’s a voice she has only heard on the phone, sharp and furious as always:

“Can’t even die properly, what is wrong with this useless child? That’s what I get for hiring incompetent idiots; can you imagine, getting dropped by a three-year old? An embarrassment to our clan! Hey, you, do you even know what I’m saying? That bastard’s Korean was worse than nonexistent, of course you don’t. Aish, playing with corpses, such a stupid brat. You’ll stink up my apartment for days now, why couldn’t I have you dead…”

A pause in the rapid stream of words; she doesn’t look up from the bloodstained floor, but the cutting glare of a predator scenting weakness is strong enough to make her dizzy.

“Hey. Japanese. You understand, yes?”

A heartbeat’s length of silence; is it better to stay quiet, or to make a sound? But if she opens her mouth, she’ll throw up, and then the life her father gave her will be forfeit. A nod, slow and low enough to also count as a bow; never look in the eyes of someone who is searching for something you have.

“Well, at least that you can do.”

The high-heeled shoes stop in front of her with a deafening crack; pale knees, a sensible, expensive, tailored suit in gray, blood-red lipstick on a mouth pursed in discontent for having to crouch closer to such a failure in this mess. A small, oval face, downy brown hair sensibly pulled back into a bun, fox-shaped eyes the colour of dried blood.

“No matter what that imbecile has tried to fill your head with, you’re still a daughter of the An Family. Your blood, though tainted, still has some use to us.” A smile: warm, friendly, inviting; no teeth in sight, and yet she can feel them closing around her jugular with every hammering heartbeat. “It must have been scary, right? Getting shot. But because we are of the An Family, we always find a way to fix it; your survival is proof you belong with us.”

The girl who will one day run away from the family legacy and take on her father’s surname meets the eyes of this woman who she could pass as a twin to, (if) when she grows up. What a comic way to put it - fix it, like reliving the measly five years of her life again after getting her brains blown out, perpetually swimming in terror as to when the one who gave birth to her will finally tire of her and her father’s existence and end this once and for all, was in order to join the An Family officially.

That An Family, blessed by a legendary gumiho with the power to change the future centuries ago, what has it done for her and her father, other than arrange their deaths? How arrogant of this woman, to think the only thought in her child’s mind in the face of death is ‘I have failed this family, I want to do my role better’ - when it was, in fact, simply, ‘I want to go back to those sunny days in the kitchen with Dad’.

Changing the future after death - that’s the ability the descendants of An Gildong are granted through his union with a Heavenly Fox. But she has not changed the future in the way she wanted; by the criteria laid in front of her, with this failure, she is unworthy of being a part of this family.

So with this loophole firmly in mind, Nagahara Tatsu’s daughter looks her mother in the eyes and says, “Whatever it is this esteemed person is talking about, I’m afraid it doesn’t pertain to me.”

Crack, sounds the collision between backhand and cheek. Blood drips down her face, mixing with the dried puddles on the floor. Over the vicious scolding she’s getting, a thought well-treaded forms yet again, this time confirmed after such a catastrophic failure:

Otou-san, truly, I have always wished to only share blood with you.

[firefoxstudy]

Day 6 of Productivity ✨ 11/13/2022

Got to go to the zoo today and had so much fun seeing the different animals! When I got home I did my getting started reading assignment and got my lecture guide for tomorrow prepared. I’m not sure how much more I’ll get done tonight but we’ll see!

📖 Lament in the Night- Shōson Nagahara

🎵Fuego- John Lee

[the-archlich]

Why is Shogunate era Japan called medieval Japan?

The editor of the book I mentioned discusses this in the introduction and himself says he was never entirely certain of calling the work that.

As Mass tells the tale, he and some others had entitled a book Medieval Japan more than 20 years earlier. Its subject matter began in the 8th century, and a certain Nagahara Keiji chided the authors for that description. His criticism was still in their minds decades later when they began this undertaking. The group never really reached a census on whether they felt it was appropriate to describe this era as "medieval" or not; but lacking any clear decision and absent of other suggestions, they stuck with it.

This is by no means a universal consensus. For example, Kenneth Alan Grossberg, in his book Japan's Renaissance, the Politics of the Muromachi Bakufu, considers the Kamakura period more similar to the European Renaissance than the western medieval period.

[artifedexx]

Kenji's like a pokemon evolution line or something-

[theaskew]

teamLab, 2021. Digitized Nature, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi, Surfer: Hironori Ichiraku, Cooperation: Atsushi Izumi, Kei Nakanishi, Reki Nagahara.

"When the waves rise, we can feel a powerful breath of life, as though life is blooming. It feels as though each wave has a life of its own. But when the waves collapse and disappear, we realize, with a sense of fragility, that they were a part of the ocean. And that ocean is connected to all of the other oceans. In other words, all of the waves in the world are connected to each other. The waves seem alive because life is like a rising wave. It is a miraculous phenomenon that continuously emerges from a single, continuous ocean."

[badmintonbites]

Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara vs Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi

[badmintonstorefan]

Unveiling the Best of 2024: Top 5+ Badminton Racket Brands

Choosing the right badminton racket can significantly impact your game, whether you're a beginner aiming to learn the ropes or a seasoned professional looking for that competitive edge. Understanding the top badminton racket brands is crucial in making an informed decision. Let’s delve into the world of badminton rackets and learn which brand will best suit your needs in the New Year!

1. Victor: Precision Craftsmanship from Taiwan

Originating from Taiwan, Victor Rackets Industrial Corporation, popularly known as Victor, has earned a reputation of producing top-quality badminton equipment. The company was founded in 1968 by Chen Den-li. The company quickly expanded its distribution to European countries after early successful years in Taiwan.

From badminton rackets, shoes, to shuttlecocks and other badminton gear, the brand offers premium sports equipment approved by BWF for international tournaments. The brand is well-known for their advanced technology, durable materials, and exceptional performance.

Global Technical Advisor/Brand Ambassadors: Zhao Jianhua, Wang Shixian, and Li Jinhui.

Victor Sponsored Players: Denmark national badminton team, Anders Antonsen, Tai Tzu-ying, Wang Tzu-wei, Jenny Moore, Greg Mairs , Ashwini Ponnappa, Hendra Setiawan, Mohammad Ahsan, Praveen Jordan, Melati Daeva Oktavianti, Greysia Polii, Apriyani Rahayu, Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, Lee Zii Jia, and Kirsty Gilmour.

Top Badminton Rackets from Victor:

1. Victor Thruster TTY A is a head-heavy racket for advanced players. 2. Victor Thruster F Enhanced Edition is an excellent racket for smashes. 3. Victor Thruster F Claw LTD Edition is the hallmark of long-term collaboration between VICTOR and World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying. 4. Victor BraveSword 12 is an all-around racket for dominating rallies. 5. Victor Jetspeed S 12 ii F ensures superior agility and pace on the badminton court. 6. Victor Thruster Ryuga offers great offensive shots, given by its characteristics. 7. Victor AuraSpeed 100X focuses more on the continuity between each shot.

2. Yonex: Japanese Excellence in Badminton

Who doesn’t know about Yonex in the world of sports? Hailing from Japan, the company was started by Minoru Yoneyama in 1946. The company produced fishing equipment and later began manufacturing badminton rackets for other brands in 1957. The company started selling Yoneyama-branded racquet in 1961 and became a world leader. It started manufacturing tennis rackets and golf clubs soon after.

Renowned for its cutting-edge technology, Yonex rackets are favored by top players globally. The brand is committed to advanced research and development to ensure that their rackets deliver the best innovations to its players.

Yonex Sponsored Teams: National Badminton Teams of Malaysia, China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, India, England, France, Chinese Taipei, and Spain.

Yonex Sponsored Players: Lin Dan, Viktor Axelsen, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Taufik Hidayat, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Kento Momota, Yugo Kobayashi, Lee Yang , Lee Chong Wei, Choi Sol-gyu, Lee Yong-dae, Zheng Si Wei, Dechapol Puavaranukroh, Kantaphon Wangcharoen, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Lucas Mazur, Wang Yi Lyu, Aaron Chia, Sooh Wooic Yik, Takuro Hoki, and many other professional male badminton players.

Yonex also sponsors Kim So Yeong, Michelle Li, Saina Nehwal, Yuki Fukushima, Arisa Higashino, Sayaka Hirota, Mayu Matsumoto, Nami Matsuyama Wakana Nagahara, Aya Ohori, Chiharu Shida, Sayaka Takahashi, Akane Yamaguchi, An Se-young, Chae Yoo-jung, Chang Ye-na, Kim Ga-eun, Kim So-yeong, Kim Hye-rin, Kong Hee-yong, Huang Dong Ping, Huang Ya Qiong, Lee So-hee, Shin Seung-chan, Jia Yi Fan, Sung Ji-hyun, Ratchanok Intanon, Busanan Ongbamrungphan, Sapsiree Taerattanachai, Beiwen Zhang, Carolina Marin, Chen Qing Chen, Chen Yu Fei, and Delhpine Delrue.

Top Badminton Rackets from Yonex:

1. NanoFlare 800 Pro will make your counter-drive shots more effective. 2. NanoFlare 1000 Z delivers incredible speed and cuts air resistance like none. 3. ArcSaber 11 Pro designed for all-around performance on the court. 4. Astrox 99 Pro makes your attacks more powerful than ever. 5. Astrox 88D Pro designed for quick attacks in a doubles game. 6. Astrox 88S Pro is made for professionals who demand control over their shots. 7. ArcSaber 7 Pro helps you with incredible precision, accuracy, and control. 8. Astrox 100 ZZ is the perfect choice for speedy smashes. 9. NanoFlare 700 delivers lightning-fast drives, net shots, and smashes. 10. Nanoflare NextAge will make your shots faster without being too demanding.

3. Apacs: Malaysian Ingenuity for All Levels

Established in 2002, the Malaysian brand Apacs, is now available across 50 countries. The company has gained a quick reputation for its commitment to manufacturing high-quality badminton equipment with advanced technology. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, Apacs rackets will provide a wide range of options to enhance your game.

The name of the company incorporates all the essential ingredients of the game including Aggressive, Power, Accurate, Control and Speed.

Apacs Sponsored Players: Cheam June Wei, Tommy Sugiarto, Soong Joo Ven, Tan Wee Kiong, Cheak Liek Hou, Lee Hyun IL, and others.

Top Badminton Rackets from Apacs:

1. Apacs Ziggler LHI Pro III is ideal for pro players who want a slightly head heavy racket for hard smashes and faster defense. 2. Stardom Pro III is the perfect racket for all-around performance in a singles and doubles game. 3. Apacs Honor Pro racket will dominate the court with powerful smashes and controlled shots. Another racket for aggressive players is the Apacs Imperial Pro.

4. Li-Ning: A Chinese Powerhouse on the Court

Li-Ning, originating from China, was started by the legendary gymnast, Mr. Li Ning in 1990 with a goal of providing local athletes a national brand that they can proudly wear on the global stage. Several years later, the company has become a global force in badminton equipment because of its innovation and design. The company celebrates 21st century technology and matches it with the nation’s glorious heritage.

Li-Ning rackets are well-known for their unique design, cutting-edge technology, and diverse range that caters the demands of all playing styles and levels.

Li-Ning Sponsored Players: PV Sindhu, Yuta Watanabe, Srikanth Kidambi, Goh Liu Ying, Chen Long, Fu Haifeng, Zhang Nan, Li Xuerui, Zhao Yunlei, Liliyana Natsir, Liu Yuchen, Pornpawee Chochuwong, Jonatan Christie, Jia Yifan, Ou Xuanyi, Liu Yuchen, Loh Kean Yew, and many others.

Top Badminton Rackets from Li-Ning

1. Li Ning Ax Force 80 is a head-heavy racket for powerful shots. 2. Li-Ning G-Force 3500 Superlite is a carbon-fiber racket for attacking. 3. Li-Ning Aeronaut 6000 headlight racket makes your defense lightning fast. 4. Li-Ning BladeX-700 delivers striking force for more efficient shots.

5. Babolat: Heritage Meets Precision

What started as a family business in Lyon for manufacturing raw material for racket strings, the brand is now a leader in racquet-sports equipment. In 1995, the French company was a well-known name in the tennis world. The company decided to expand and foray into the game of badminton with the very first Babolat badminton racket frame. Today, it has a wide range of badminton rackets for children and adults of all playing levels.

Babolat Sponsored Players: In addition to Chloe Birch, Babolat is popular in the European continent where it sponsors several junior and club teams.

Top Badminton Rackets from Babolat

1. Babolat X-Feel Origin Power racket delivers extreme control over your shots with incredible precision and sensation. 2. Babolat X-Feel Origin Essential is an all-around racket with even balance. 3. Babolat Satellite Gravity 74 weighs just 74 grams to give you faster swings than any other racket. 4. Babolat Satellite Blast is a head-heavy racket to empower your game.

Carlton: British Legacy in Badminton

Carlton is credited to introducing the first modern-day metal badminton racket that utilizes grommets to make the equipment more stable and durable. Carlton has introduced many innovative technologies in the field of badminton such as the first truly one-piece graphite racket.

Carlton has sponsored several All England Champions such as Eddy Choong, Lim Swie King, Morten Frost, and Mike Tredgett. The company also sponsored legends such as Peter Rasmussen, Simon Archer, Nathan Robertson, and Gail Emms.

Top Badminton Rackets from Carlton

1. Carlton MegaFlex F1 Titanium is an offensive racket with even balance. 2. Carlton MegaFlex F2 has a head-heavy balance for maximum power. 3. Carlton Airblade Tour is an all-around racket to play both: defensive and aggressive game.

Bonus! Franklin Sports for Recreational Badminton Play

For those engaging in badminton recreationally, Franklin Sports provides a range of rackets that emphasize fun and accessibility. The company was started in 1946 as a regional brand by Irving H. Franklin and brother Sydney Franklin. The brand has collaborated with several world-class athletes including Sugar Ray Leonard, David Robinson, Dan Marino, Barry Bonds, and Joe Namath.

Franklin Sports is dedicated to creating equipment that encourages players to enjoy the game at any skill level, thus, making the brand an excellent choice for family gatherings and picnics.

[jpopstreaming]

🆕 「 imagination」 by Manatsu Nagahara Available for streaming worldwide!🌐 Added to our weekly playlist 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3lgjH73