Afro Samurai?

'Afro Samurai' to debut on American TV screens

Say it ain’t so.

The Yomiuri Shinbun (newspaper) reports that Japan's own "Afro Samurai" is set to hit the small screen in the United States as an animated series, to be followed up by a feature film starring Samuel L. Jackson.

However, comic book aficionados in Japan are scratching their heads as they have never heard of this manga export. Although no manga expert himself, Uncle Swint is wondering, too.

Of course, Afro-Sammy also has his own website. However, for the time being, the Afro Samurai action figure dolls are Sold Out!

Though in Japan "Afro Samurai" only appeared in a self-published magazine, it has attracted interest from Hollywood, and there are even plans under way for a nationwide release of the manga. Japanese manga as a whole has caused a stir in the U.S. film industry, but it is extremely rare for a series that is so little known in Japan to make such a high-profile U.S. debut.

"Afro Samurai," written by 31-year-old Tokyo-based graphic designer Takashi "Bob" Okazaki, (see photo) is the story of a black samurai fighting his enemies as he sets out to find the person who killed his father. With a sci-fi twist, the violent story is akin to a fusion of historical drama and hip-hop culture.

Go figure.

Head for the Hills

Uncle Swint’s neighborhood, near Roppongi Hills, is no longer the hippest newest place to be in Tokyo. Our hood has been upstaged by Omotesando Hills which opened on February 11th. From the outside, the two-story structure, covered in 250 square meters of glass, offers no hint of what lies within. But step inside and you find yourself in a long, narrow building, with sloping walkways, an additional four underground stories and more than 90 spanking new shops and restaurants.

The building being hailed by some as a triumph for the increasingly world-famous architect Tadao Ando; but only time will tell.

Every spring brings fashionable shoppers to the tree-lined boulevard of Omotesando—the Champ Elysees of Tokyo. This year, global fashionistas will have a new attraction to focus on.

An odd building in the neighborhood

A Billboard Building?



This architectural gem is down the street from Uncle Swint’s House. For a long time, I had no idea what it was. I’m still not sure. Its designer, Klein Dytham architecture (KDa), calls it an "inhabitable billboard."

This is a good example of just how efficiently space gets used here in Tokyo. The sheer white finish of the building’s face acts as an advertisement for itself. It’s located on a very visible intersection, hence its billboard value. Nonetheless, the “advertisement” is quite subtle, leaving me wondering: what is the point?













Pictures from Ping (online magazine).