The Beach Episode: a tried and true anime trope. Exhausted from their adventures, our heroes decide to make a detour into paradise, hoping to find some time to cool off, take a dip, and feel the sand between their toes. Sadly, we here at Spectacle cannot offer sandy shores or sea breezes. The city won’t let us. The best we can do is pick out two of the most mind-altering anime flicks you still haven’t seen and crank the AC real, real hard; and if you insist on taking your shoes off – we can’t really stop you.
This summer, the party is at Spectacle. No invite required. Always $5.
As part of our refreshment menu, we are offering these two ice cold works of wonder:
THE FLYING LUNA CLIPPER
(ザ・フライング・ルナクリッパー)
Dir. Ikko Ohno. 1987.
Japan. 55 min.
In English and Japanese with English Subtitles.
SATURDAY, JULY 5 – 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, JULY 8 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, JULY 18 – MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY, JULY 22 – 10 PM
Throughout the 1980s, the highly versatile range of MSX home computers were taking Japan by storm. Their ease of use made them perfect for the education sector, whereas their graphic and sound hardware made them ideal for gaming and artistry. One such artist was the enigmatic Ikko Ohno, a graphic designer and columnist working for MSX Magazine. His unmistakable and playful trop-pop art covers (made on MSX computers) can be found across the catalog. During this time, Ohno began working on a movie which could further showcase his own art while also demonstrating the full, untapped potential of MSX computing.
Released onto the local home video market before quickly falling into obscurity, it would be almost 30 years until a rogue Laserdisc copy of Ohno’s art project was discovered in a Japanese thrift store by journalist Matt Hawkins, who would eventually unleash what is thought to be one of the strangest experimental pieces of animation ever made – THE FLYING LUNA CLIPPER, which has gone on to influence artists, musicians, and game creators the world over.
Laying somewhere in the sands between video game and video art, THE FLYING LUNA CLIPPER is a tranquil and tropical hazy daydreamy tale of vacationing snowmen, magnificent sea-planes, and dancing banana ladies. The island vibes are undeniable, and must be seen to be believed.
Screening alongside:
NAGISA NO PEPPY
(渚のペピー)
1987.
Japan. 2 min.
TAMALA 2010: A PUNK CAT IN SPACE
(タマラ 2010 ア パンク キャット イン スペース)
Dir. t.o.L. 2002.
Japan. 92 min.
Japanese with English Subtitles.
SATURDAY, JULY 5 – 5 PM
TUESDAY, JULY 15 – 7 PM
SUNDAY, JULY 20 – 5 PM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 – 10 PM
Mickey Mouse. Astro Boy. Betty Boop. Hello Kitty. Tamala. Wait – you don’t know Tamala? She’s only the most important kitty cat in Meguro City, no – on all of Cat Earth! Her face is everywhere. You can’t escape it. It’s almost creepy… Anyway!
TAMALA 2010: A PUNK CAT IN SPACE is the story of our titular Tamala (don’t call her Tam). Despite her cute looks, Tamala is no baby. She smokes, she drinks, she curses, she starts fires, she struts ass. Certainly not appropriate behaviour for the corporate face of CATTY & CO. Feeling stifled by her overbearing human mother and a general sense of ennui, Tamala decides to steal a rocketship and hightail it off the planet Aye Es Aye Pee. With her boyfriend Michaelangelo (don’t call him Moimoi) by her side, the two work to uncover the mysteries of Tamala’s real family, her true nature, and her shocking purpose in the universe.
Funded and conceived by the mysterious Shibuya-kei group t.o.L. (aka Trees of Life, about which little is known) and aided by the animator Kentaro Nemoto, TAMALA 2010: A PUNK CAT IN SPACE is a Pynchonesque, cutting-edge black & white fusion of the 2nd and 3rd dimension with a razor-sharp critique of Japanese Kawaii culture and the dystopian Post-War consumerist idolatry that drives it to this very day.
Special Thanks to Deaf Crocodile