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.
Media and General Interest
Chichibu Anohana promotion
Asahi Shimbun ran an article about Chichibu Shrine in Saitama Prefecture, which will host a special summer festival promoting the feature film release of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. The historic shrine and town provide the background setting for the anime series.
The Eccentric Family
(有頂天家族 Uchōten Kazoku)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@kbt_tigers1985 made a pilgrimage to Kyoto for Episode 4.
Episode 6
A young Benten on the shore of Lake Biwa (琵琶湖)
Yasaburō and Yodogawa continue their pursuit of Benten, atop the Teramachi Kyogoku Shōtengai (寺町京極商店街) and rooftops in the surrounding neighborhood.
In Yodogawa’s flashback, Benten awaits the first meeting of the Friday Fellows in a parlor that looks out over the Kamo River.
After Benten leaves the pair stranded on the rooftop, they finally make their way back down to ground, one street west of Teramachi-dōri (寺町通) and about halfway between Shijō-dōri (四条通) and Sanjō-dōri (三条通) (Google Street View).
Rokudō Chin’nō-ji (六道珍皇寺)
North entrance of the Teramachi Kyogoku Shōtengai
Kinmoza!
(きんいろモザイク Kin’iro Mozaiku)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@nishionishio made a pilgrimage to Keisei-Usui station and surrounding area for Episode 5 and Episode 6.
@ngwrb made a pilgrimage to Mihomi Station and nearby park and school covering the OP and Episode 1 through Episode 4.
Episode 6
In the beginning of the episode there are two instances of someone invoking the Yamanote Line game. Named for the loop line that passes through many of the major districts of Tokyo, it’s a drinking game, one of the most well known among Japanese, that requires participants to quickly name stations on the line without repeating or hesitating, the penalty for which is, of course, to take a drink. Train stations can be replaced with just about any topic.
The many shades of Keisei-Usui Station (京成臼井駅)
Summer matsuri (祭) transform quiet neighborhood shrines into lively parties.
Day Break Illusion
(幻影ヲ駆ケル太陽 Gen’ei o Kakeru Taiyō)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@paffue made a thorough pilgrimage to Nagasaki covering Episode 1 through Episode 4.
Episode 6
Nagasaki Electric Tramway (長崎電気軌道)
Pedestrian overcrossing
Tram station
Gatchaman Crowds
(ガッチャマンクラウズ Gatchaman Kurauzu)
Episode 5
The angles don’t quite match up precisely, but I believe this is overlooking the Yurikamome (ゆりかもめ) part of Toyosu Station (豊洲駅) from the adjacent apartment building.
Galax users plan a retreat to Fukushima.
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
@rimatai made a pilgrimage to Kabukichō, Shinjuku for Episode 5.
Episode 6
Tomoko commutes home from school, once again on the Chūō-Sōbu Line (中央・総武緩行線).
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
@ngwrb made a pilgrimage to the Maruko Bridge, which connects Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki and Ōta Ward, Tokyo. The bridge appears prominently in the new credits, but was also in earlier episodes.
Tamayura: More Aggressive
(たまゆら〜もあぐれっしぶ〜 Tamayura Mo Aguresshibu)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@rimatai (post) @626shin (post) both made a pilgrimages to Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture for Episode 7.
@lidges made an exhaustive pilgrimage to Mihara and Onomichi, both Hiroshima Prefecture, for Episode 6.
@Bf109K1 (post) and @thuporn (post) both made a pilgrimages to Ondo-no-seto (音戸の瀬戸), a strait in the Seto Inland Sea between Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture and Honshu, the main island of Japan, for Episode 6.
@aqcuaria made a pilgrimage to Bamboo Joy in Takehara for Episode 4.
Other Pilgrimage
There is a new PV video (first PV is here) for Kyōkai no Kanata, produced by Kyoto Animation and premiering October 2013. With the handful of background art in the two short clips, a subcommittee of the anime pilgrimage allstars had enough material to set about searching for the location on which the setting is based. A collaborative effort between @high__k, @ssslocation, @los_endos_, @etesuke and @nobucafe1 eventually narrowed the possibilities down to their most likely candidate, Kashihara in Nara Prefecture. The location is a good bit off the beaten path, so much so that they did not have the benefit of Google Street View for preliminary scouting. Quite far from being frustrated, some members of the group were downright giddy that this meant the first time in a while for a true adventure into the unknown. There was risk they might show up in Kashihara, only to find out that it wasn’t really the location that appeared in the videos. @nobucafe1 eventually made a full reconnaissance trip, and happily reports that the collective hunch bore fruit.
@ssslocation made a pilgrimage to Ochanomizu, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo for the PV of upcoming Golden Time, set to launch October 2013. You can check out that PV and some static visuals here.
@yomikatajiyu (post 1 and 2), @sanana373 (post) and @nobucafe1 (post) all made pilgrimages to Gifu Station and Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture for Love Lab.
@rimatai made a pilgrimage to Tanashi Station in Nishitokyo, Tokyo Prefecture and Asakusa, Taitō Ward, Tokyo for Fantasista Doll.
@AF10194 made a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pont du Gard aqueduct for Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyōbi.
@hauyashi attended some special events in Hannou for Yama no Susume.
@fureshima made a pilgrimage (post 1 and 2) to Kita-Ōmachi Station, Uminokuchi Station and Lake Kizaki in Ōmachi, Nagano Prefecture for Ano Natsu de Matteru.
@fureshima made a pilgrimage to Nanto and Himi, both Toyama Prefecture for True Tears.
@gonta0822 made a pilgrimage for One Off.
@ngwrb made a pilgrimage to Shibukawa and Yoshioka, Gunma Prefecture for Kissxsis.
