Bean there, Done that.

Busy day today. I saw the premiere of Joker Foie Gras Folie à Deux in Japan earlier, then shopping, then lazing, then watching three movies, then waiting patiently for my pc to work again, and now blogging.

More on Joker later in the week, I wore appropriate socks for the occasion. I can't find the match to either of these.

I hadn't intended on buying more Halloween decorations. 30 bucks later...

The three movies I watched were courtesy of Twitch, so I didn't have to move from my chair. 

First was pretty good, though bloody bloody. Machine Girl.

Then not as good was Meatball Machine.

And its inferior sequel, Meatball Machine Kodoku.

I found a Yokai for today from Fukushima (and all over Japan) though he seems to be a relative of Azuki Baba from a few days ago for he's another bean-washer. Azuki arai  Appearance: Azuki arai are mysterious yōkai encountered in mountainous regions all across Japan. They have many regional nicknames, a common one being azukitogi. These yōkai live deep in forests and mountains, spending their time near streams. Few actual sightings have been recorded, but they are said to be short and squat, with big, round eyes, and overall resembling Buddhist priests. They appear full of mirth with silly smiles and large hands with only three fingers.

Behavior: Azuki arai are more often heard than seen. Their main activity seems to be washing red azuki beans by the riverside while singing a dreadful song interspersed with the “shoki shoki” sound of beans being washed in a basket:

Azuki araou ka? Hito totte kuou ka? (shoki shoki)
Shall I wash my red beans, or shall I catch a human to eat? (shoki shoki)

They aren't dangerous and are quite shy so if you happen to see one, that's a good omen.

As you can see Azuki arai is rather famous and has been depicted in several stories. 

As for today's Junji outing, a friend sent me a link to this story. It's an Enigma.

Here's a sampling.

As you can see there are holes in a mountain and you squeeze into them and then stuff happens. Then this character shows up.

Not really, but it's a pretty good gag. If you want to read more, you'll have to click the link above and subscribe to some site and I wasn't gonna do that.

And now it's way past my bedtime and I have a big day tomorrow exploring the wilderness.

For some yummy, creepy recipes check out Ghoul at Heart.

See ya tomorrow, if my computer cooperates.

Mistress of Evil!

I caught the sequel to Maleficent tonight with a friend. It wasn't as good as the first (I had a short nap near the beginning; in my defense, I had little sleep last night), thought the battle scenes were pretty good and I do like the character that Mal morphed into. Much of the same cast was back including a wondrously evil Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota was as sweet as before. Of course Angelina is delightful.

I picked up a Clear File (as I am wont to do) and this was a set of two.

 

 

There was a display with a couple of photos from the movie.

 And Mal's horns.

After the movie, I treated my friend to a Gatcha of her choice and she chose:

She won the Spider-Light. (When I got one of these ages ago, I won the lamest one, Dr. Strange.)

I tried for the Disney Villains for myself and surprisingly won Maleficent!

A display at the Cinema. Just a couple of clowns. I suspect we'll see plenty of these costumes on Halloween!

On the way home, I picked up an Idol Masters Clear File that comes free with three chocolates.

Today's Eko Eko Azarak is one of the last ones before I run out. Fortunately Tuesday is a holiday so hopefully I can catch up on some movies so I have something to add.

As for a fellow Cryptkeeper, try Into The Cauldron. I'll be back tomorrow...

I Started a Joker...

Surprisingly, Joker was released simultaneously in North America and Japan. It's so nice to see a movie without needing to worry about spoilers. That being said, you can rest assured that this entry will be spoiler-free. (Here is the link to Joker in Japanese.)

I can see why this movie won all its accolades, including the Golden Lion in Venice and TIFF Tribute Award for Joaquin. I can also see why it was rated R in the US and under 15 year olds in Japan aren't permitted either. Great soundtrack, terrific cinematography, superb acting all around. A great movie though just a tad disturbing. The only disappointment is the complete lack of goods available, not even a Clear File! There was a ton of DC promo material available but none of it had anything to do with this movie. I picked up two Clear Files based on the 80th Anniversary of Batman, but that was it.

Here's the Japanese trailer for Joker, it may have some footage not seen in America.

 

 

Fortunately, I just happen to have some Joker stuff hanging around. Last Halloween to coincide with Ninja Batman, there was a Lucky Draw (kuji) for some Batgoods. Unfortunately it only took place at one anime-store, one that I infrequently frequent so I didn't discover it until late November. These buckets are really cool and I managed to score all three.

I also have a few sheets of stickers. I love the cheesy punchlines that hearken back to the puns on Valentines Cards 50 years ago.

This figure came in a Gatcha-capsule though it represents the Heath Joker. I wish I had the set.

I refuse to showcase the Joker who shall not be named (think Suicide Squad) but I will show one of his fellow cast members.

Enchantress also allows me to segue into today's bit of Witchcraft, Card 4 of Eko Eko Azarak.

Pretty freaky. I managed to find volume 8 of the Eko-manga and today popped into Mandai in hopes of scoring more. It was not to be so the search continues. I bought a few things anyway and was given a freebie to try the UFO Catcher machines. I scored this with my free try!

Today's Halloween treat is from Baskin-Robbins (known as 31 in Japan). I didn't order anything yet the Slime Magic looks yummy.

I'm over two hours past my bedtime, so more spells and curses tomorrow...
I'll leave you with a link to the Countdown host, John Rozum, who reviews obscure spooky movies for this entire month.

Born To Be Wild!

I watched Justice League again yesterday and enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time I saw it. While watching the scenes with Steppenwolf and the Parademons, I had a flashback to buying the Super Powers figures over thirty years ago. My bestest bud at the time was Ed (nicknamed Edge, click the label for more Edgy fun) and I recall buying a few of these with him at the Silver Snail.

Sadly, the movie didn't keep the above designs and opted for a grittier look. Edge would have been 61 today and had he not snuffed it from liver cancer over 25 years ago, he would have loved to have seen so many of our favourite super heroes make it to the big screen.

When I first wrote of the movie (linked above), I promised to show off some more JL goodies. I shall now fulfill that vow. First up, there is a Kuji draw going on right now even though I've only seen them for sale at one theatre so far. I'm not overly impressed with the top prizes (Pillows! Sheesh, I have enough pillows!)

Other prizes include Mugs, Glasses and Hand-Towels. I've only tried four times and have so far won two hand-towels and two glasses.

Fortunately, I got my choice of towels.

The glasses are randomized. I'm not disappointed with my haul.

Two weeks ago after watching the flick, I popped into the UFO Catcher and proceeded to spend a lot of time and coin at winning a big Batman.

It has the trademarked Affleck chin.

I also landed a Harley Quinn.

And yesterday, I won her bat. It is supposed to be a sponge bat so I could bonk people upon the head with it. Unfortunately, it is a very hard sponge and would cause some brain damage if hit hard enough.

There is also a set of Minis out there though I've only seen them for sale at one location.

I do like the smirk on WW.

These Putitto Series of mini figures that hang on a glass are rather expensive so I only bought the one. I bought the Black Panther long ago and it was cheaper that WW.

One of my roving reporters brought me a Kinder Surprise from Jolly ol' England.

You get three eggs and wow are the other prizes ever lame!

Some kind of wrist-band thingie and a finger-ring bug, which admittedly is rather cute.

But Woohoo! I got the Joker!

There is some kind of Puzzle/Dragons contest going on right now.

Pepsi has some specially designed cans though I have yet to find them in the supermarket.

I could also win some headphones. If only I could figure out how.

The latest issue of PEN magazine is devoted entirely to DC Comics. I leafed through it today. Pretty good stuff!

I'll let you know if I come across any other DC Goodies...

ps. Quiz: How does today's blog-post title relate to its content?