Welcome to this week’s review of notable instances of public transit use and urban design, as well as discussion of place identity and culture, through anime currently broadcast or screening in Japan and simulcast internationally via the web. This review also documents seichijunrei (聖地巡礼 sacred site pilgrimage) and butaitanbou (舞台探訪 scene hunting)—on this website referred to collectively as anime pilgrimage—which are forms of place-based engagement induced by the use of real locations in show settings.
The Eccentric Family
(有頂天家族 Uchōten Kazoku)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@ye_bi_su made a Kyoto pilgrimage for Episode 4. Episode 4 Google Map. The place count per episode is decreasing, though the locations are becoming more and more off the beaten path. To appreciate how much detail he’s putting into these posts, he dug through his archives to find a photo of the mountainside “大” bonfires on Nyoigatake from a previous Daimonji festival. Indefatigable effort!
@kbt_tigers1985 published a pilgrimage for Episode 3.
Episode 4
Daimonji (大文字) has arrived and everyone in Kyoto is out, filling up every available patch of public space, especially near the Kamo River, to get a view of the fires. This is Demachiyanagi Station (出町柳駅).
Demachi Bridge (出町橋)
Kamo Bridge (賀茂大橋)
Demachi Bridge (出町橋)
Riverbank near Demachi Bridge (出町橋)
The first of the five fires lit is dai (大), or great/large. This is located on Nyoigatake, where the professor has historically been the custodian of the mountain.
Shimogamo Shrine (下鴨神社)
Atago Shrine (愛宕神社)
Togetsukyō Bridge (渡月橋) in Arashiyama
After running out of fuel, the flying inner parlor crash lands on Kamigoryō Shrine (上御霊神社). Oops.
Gatchaman Crowds
(ガッチャマンクラウズ Gatchaman Kurauzu)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@rimatai made a pilgrimage to Tachikawa and Toyosu Station for Episode 2.
Episode 3
Across the street from Toyosu Station (豊洲駅)
Even Gatchaman walk to school.
The Tama Toshi Monorail Line (多摩都市モノレール線) glides over a residential neighborhood in Tachikawa.
Elevated pedestrian walkways connect Tachikawa Station and Tachikawa-Kita Station to each other and the central business district below.
Though hard to see in the scuffle, that’s a wayfinding aid on the ground, showing the route to transfer from one station to the other.
WataMote ~No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!~
(私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い! Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@ngwrb was able to identify the location of the shōtengai in Episode 4 and clipped a Google Street View image. This is the Tenjinbashisuji Shōtengai in Osaka’s Kita Ward. Let’s see who can get there first.
Episode 4
Tomoko commutes to school by rail. Thus far the backgrounds in WataMote have been pretty generic. The train trip is the Chūō-Sōbu Line, and stops at one point at Tsudanuma Station (津田沼駅). There is a big Osaka landmark later in the episode, so it seems the show is using real places as visual models, but not attempting to maintain any continuity with geography.
Things get dicey during the morning rush hour. At one point, Tomoko is convinced that she is the victim of a groper (痴漢 chikan). While her apprehension is misplaced and the show makes a joke of the situation at her expense, groping is a serious problem in trains and other crowded places in Japan.
Tomoko meets Yū at what’s probably a shopping mall, but resembles a covered shōtengai somewhat with its glass ceiling.
Later in the episode, the shōtengai to beat all shōtengai appears. This is Osaka’s Tenjinbashisuji Shōtengai (天神橋筋商店街). At 2.6km it claims to be the longest in Japan, and it dates to the Edo period. I think I’ll need to go here whenever I end up in Osaka again.
Kinmoza!
(きんいろモザイク Kin’iro Mozaiku)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@sennoha13 made a pilgrimage to the residential neighborhood near Keisei-Usui Station, as well as the business district around Mimomi Station for Episode 3.
@nishionishio made a pilgrimage for Episode 2, hitting all three rail stations and surrounding commercial districts.
Episode 4
Another look at the retail district surrounding Tsudanuma Station (津田沼駅).
At issue 52 and counting of this weekly review, it’s no surprise that many anime depict ubiquitous use of public transportation among school age children. What happens in Kinmoza! takes that one step further, illustrating the opportunities for social interaction that accompany both transit use and walking to and from school.
Genshiken Second Season
(げんしけん 二代目 Genshiken Nidaime)
Episode 4
Ohno meets Angela at Chūō-Daigaku-Meisei-Daigaku Station (中央大学・明星大学駅). The school in Genshiken is modeled on Chūō University in Hachiōji, hence the station name.
The Genshiken club returns to its venue of choice, Tokyo Big Sight (東京ビッグサイト) in Odaiba, for NatsuComi. In the show, “Comiket” is called “ComiFes”.
A Certain Scientific Railgun S
(とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン） Toaru Kagaku no Rērugan)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@shira_ry made a pilgrimage to Tachikawa for Episode 15 and Episode 16.
Episode 16
It’s very interesting to compare the slick, futuristic rendition of Tachikawa (立川) in A Certain Scientific Railgun with the mostly true-to-life interpretation in Gatchaman Crowds.
The phosphorescent glow emanating from Tachikawa-Kita Station (立川北駅) gives the monorail an organic feel, like some deep sea organism.
Servant x Service
(サーバント×サービス)
Episode 4
Hasebe takes Lucy to a famiresu, a ubiquitous third place that’s something between a diner and a coffee shop. Given that studio A-1 Pictures also produced Working!!, I had kind of hoped there’d be a Popura or Inami cameo during the scene. No such luck.
Later, the ward office newcomers are treated to nomikai (飲み会) at an izakaya (居酒屋), the definitive third place for the after work crowd.
More imagery of Star Road (スターロード), a bar district in Asagaya, Tokyo.
Tamayura: More Aggressive
(たまゆら〜もあぐれっしぶ〜 Tamayura Mo Aguresshibu)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@thuporn spotted the cherry tree at Mount Asahi in Takehara from Episode 5. This also appeared in Tamayura: Hitotose.
@Bf109K1 made an extensive pilgrimage for all of Episode 5.
@Bf109K1 (post) and @lidges (post) both made pilgrimages to Bamboo Joy Highland (バンブージョイハイランド) in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture for Episode 4.
@lidges made a pilgrimage (post 1 and 2) to Takehara for Episode 2 and Episode 3.
@aqcuaria made a pilgrimage to Takehara for Episodes 1-3 and the OP.
A Town Where You Live
(君のいる町 Kimi no Iru Machi)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@pieace_ made a pilgrimage to Narimasu Station and surrounding neighborhood in Itabashi Ward, as well as quick stops in Takadanobaba and Iidabashi, all in Tokyo, for Episode 1 and Episode 2.
@kbt_tigers1985 made a pilgrimage to JR Hiroshima Station for the 2012 OVA.
Other Pilgrimage
@aqcuaria made a pilgrimage to Chiwa Station in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture for the manga Non Non Biyori, which will get an anime adaptation produced by Silver Link, scheduled for broadcast in Fall 2013.
@rimatai made a pilgrimages to Yokohama for Futari wa Milky Holmes Episode 2 and Episode 3.
@kibaichi made a pilgrimage to the Sakuragaoka neighborhood in Tama, Tokyo Prefecture for Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya.
@rimatai made a pilgrimage to Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture for Fantasista Doll.
@Beetle787 made a pilgrimage to Fukuoka city for Yuyushiki.
@shira_ry made a pilgrimage to the Nakamurabashi neighborhood in Nerima, Tokyo Prefecture for Ribbon-chan the TV.
@ngwrb rounded up his pilgrimage to Togakushi, Nagano Prefecture with a post covering Episode 8 of RDG Red Data Girl (Episode 6 and Episode 7).
@ngwrb made a pilgrimage to Minakami, Gunma Prefecture for Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabu Kome wa Machigatteiru.
@USO9000 (post), @inoken0315 (post 1 and 2), @minkara (post) and @sinononu21 (posts 1, 2 and 3) made pilgrimages to multiple locations for the Saki manga source material.
These pilgrimages by @inoue1024 to Toyama for True Tears (1, 2, 3) aren’t new, but feature some seriously impressive mountain climbing.
