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| Old Updates Archive | January
2021
"Dogasu's Backpack"
Turns 21
January 31st, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:48 JST -- Today is my website's 21st anniversary! To commemorate I've written a post looking back on the previous year before making predictions about what's going to happen in the year 2021; check it out here!
Here's to another year of distractions!
Episode Comparison: "Fit To Be Tide"
January 28th, 2021
Dogasu @ 00:27 JST -- Another month, another episode comparison! Let's check out the differences between the Japanese and English versions of the fifth Orange Islands episode, "Fit To Be Tide!"
As this is the first gym challenge of the Orange Islands it kind of sets the tone for how the rest of the arc will go, gym challenge wise. How did 4Kids do? You'll have to read to find out!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Five
January 25th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:06 JST -- It has now officially been one full month since Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" hit theaters. How's it doing in the box office?
First, a look at the Top Ten:
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 25th, 2021)
According to Kogyo Tsushin, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" has been seen by a total of 1,210,000 people and has made 1.4 billion yen so far. For comparison's sake, 2019's Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution was able to make 1.7 billion yen -- 300,000 yen more than Koko's current total -- after only three weeks in theaters.
The only other newcomer to the Top 10 this week is The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, a live action adaptation of the supernatural / boys' love manga.
At the moment, a state of emergency is currently in effect for Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and numerous other prefectures throughout Japan. Most of them are set to expire on February 7th, though that may be extended depending on how the situation develops in the next two weeks. Earlier today it was reported that Tokyo has just seen the lowest daily figure of new infections since December 28th but the lack of available hospital beds still remains a major issue.
"Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series OST Liner Notes
January 23rd, 2021
Dogasu @ 18:51 JST -- The "Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack, a CD that came out in November containing the instrumental background music from the Pocket Monsters (2019) series, included four pages of liner notes from composer Yuki Hayashi. Tonight's update is a translation of those liner notes.
The notes on every song that Mr. Hayashi composed himself -- 49 in all -- have all been translated into English by me. In these notes, Mr. Hayashi explains what he was going for when writing each song, what kinds of challenges he faced, what instruments he used, and much, much more! I personally recommend having the soundtrack on in the background -- which is available on Spotify, by the way -- as you read through these notes.
As far as I know this is the first Pocket Monsters soundtrack to get liner notes like these; hopefully, it won't be the last!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Three
January 12th, 2021
Dogasu @ 16:52 JST -- The weekend of January 9th - 10th is the first weekend after the Japanese government made a state of emergency declaration for the greater Tokyo area. How did Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" fare?
Here's how the Top Ten looked during the 23rd movie's third week in theaters:
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 12th, 2021)
Newcomer Gintama: The Final, a film based on the final parts of the long-running Shonen Jump manga, actually managed to dethrone Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train as the Number One movie in Japan over the weekend. The arrival of the new Gintama movie caused the other films at the top of the charts -- Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation, Poupelle of Chimney Town, and Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" -- to all slid down a spot as a result.
We don't know how much money the 23rd Pocket Monsters made in its third week. Kogyo Tsushin reports that the Number Three film, Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation, made 3.4 billion yen over the weekend so we at least know that the newest Pokémon movie brought in less than that. But beyond that we don't know.
Other newcomers this week are Perfect Strangers: Smartphone no Nozoitara, a Japanese remake of the Italian film Perfetti sconosciuti, and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie (Part One), the first of two Sailor Moon Crystal-style retellings of the Sailor Moon SuperS story.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga declared a new state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures last week due to the nation's worsening COVID-19 situation. Movie theaters are among the businesses being asked to close at 8:00pm under this declaration. Of the 435 theaters currently screening Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" nationwide a whopping 105 of them are located in the four affected areas. A new state of emergency targeting the Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo areas is expected to be declared later this week.
"Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack Staff
January 11th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:23 JST -- I'm slowly going through my massive translation backlog at the moment, and one of the items on my list is to post the full staff list from the "Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack that came out last November. So tonight I'm going to do just that!
Click here to see the full list. Every engineer, every recording studio, and yes, every musician who worked on the music you hear in the soundtrack is listed here. Wanna know who played the flute on this soundtrack? Who did the violin solo? Sang in the chorus? Well, then this is the update for you!
I'm also planning to have translations of Mr. Yuki Hayashi's liner notes for each of the songs on that soundtrack up by the end of the week.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 09
January 10th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:57 JST -- Yes, I'm still doing these: my write-up for Episode 09 of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast is now up!
The special guest for this episode is one of the film's Executive Producers, Mr. Hidenaga Katakami (片上秀長). He talks about how he got involved with The Pokémon Company, how he got involved with the Pocket Monsters films, how they "sell" the film to the various partners who help them out along the way, and even provides some behind-the-scenes info on the creation of Zarude.
I'll do the write-up for the final episode of the podcast later this month.
State of Emergency declared in Tokyo area as COVID-19 cases surge
January 7th, 2021
Dogasu @ 13:33 JST -- People have been talking about this for a while but today it was made official: a state of emergency is being declared in the greater Tokyo area.
The COVID-19 situation has been getting worse over the last few weeks here in Japan, with new records being broken daily. The nation's capitol reported 2,447 cases today, which may seem low to folks in other countries (for comparison, New York City recorded 16,016 cases on January 6th) but is an all-time home for the island nation once praised for having this novel coronavirus under control.
Details of the new state of emergency declaration can be found here, but it's basically a much more relaxed version of the one we had last April. Restaurants and bars can remain open but will be asked to close at 8:00pm, and school will still be held as normal, for the most part. And according to this Japanese language NHK article, movie theaters in the affected areas will also be asked to close each night at 8:00 pm.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" is currently in its third week in theaters here in Japan. The film is already on track to becoming the lowest-earning film in the franchise's history, and these new restrictions in the nation's most populous areas will make it even harder for the film to earn more money. So what will Toho do? Will they keep the film in theaters a few extra weeks in hopes of making up the difference once the state of emergency is lifted? Or will they give up on the theater run altogether and end up putting it up on some pay-per-view streaming platform? Whatever they decide to do, the next few weeks are bound to be interesting for a movie that's already had an incredibly tumultuous journey so far.
The state of emergency is scheduled to remain in place until at least February 7th.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Two
January 4th, 2021
Dogasu @ 13:33 JST -- The Japanese box office results are in for the weekend of January 2nd - January 3rd. In its second week in theaters Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" dropped to fourth place.
Here's how the Top Ten looked during the 23rd movie's second week in theaters:
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 4th, 2021)
The Top Ten this week was mostly just a reshuffling of the films that were in the charts last week. First place went to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train, which is currently in its twelfth consecutive week in the Number One spot and is probably not going anywhere anytime soon. The Number Two spot went to Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation and Number Three went to Poupelle of Chimney Town, which is coming in one rank higher this week than it did in its opening weekend.
The only new film to join the Top Ten this week is the Japanese premiere of Peninsula, a zombie film originally released in South Korea back in July that was eventually released in the U.S. under the title Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula. The film Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, which came out the same day as the 23rd Pokémon movie, has already fallen out of the Top Ten.
The website Kogyo Tsushin is also reporting that the film has been seen by an additional 115,000 people over the weekend and earned 139 million yen. This puts the film's total at 517 million yen altogether.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga is considering declaring a new state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures due to the nation's historically high number of COVID-19 infections these past few weeks. A state of emergency declaration would mean that businesses such as restaurants, bars, museums, and movie theaters may be asked to either reduce their operating hours or close altogether for the foreseeable future. Movie theater closures, if they happened, would have a significant impact on the 23rd Pokémon movie; of the 435 theaters currently showing Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" nationwide a whopping 105 of them are located in the four affected areas. Details of the new state of emergency declaration are expected later this week.
Look Back - Predictions 2020
January 2nd, 2021
Dogasu @ 00:41 JST -- The idea that any of us could have possibly predicted anything about the year 2020 is, looking back on it now, completely laughable. But I foolishly tried to anyway, and for tonight's update let's do what I do every year and check back to see if any of the stuff I thought would happen in 2020 ended up coming true. Let's perform my 2020 Predictions Check-In.
I think I did pretty alright, all things considered...?
January 31st, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:48 JST -- Today is my website's 21st anniversary! To commemorate I've written a post looking back on the previous year before making predictions about what's going to happen in the year 2021; check it out here!
Here's to another year of distractions!
Episode Comparison: "Fit To Be Tide"
January 28th, 2021
Dogasu @ 00:27 JST -- Another month, another episode comparison! Let's check out the differences between the Japanese and English versions of the fifth Orange Islands episode, "Fit To Be Tide!"
As this is the first gym challenge of the Orange Islands it kind of sets the tone for how the rest of the arc will go, gym challenge wise. How did 4Kids do? You'll have to read to find out!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Five
January 25th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:06 JST -- It has now officially been one full month since Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" hit theaters. How's it doing in the box office?
|
|
 |
First, a look at the Top Ten:
| Rank |
Last
Week |
Title |
Distributor |
Weeks
in Theaters |
| 1 |
1 |
Demon
Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train |
Toho,
Aniplex |
15 |
| 2 |
2 |
Gintama:
The Final |
Warner |
3 |
| 3 |
3 |
Poupelle
of Chimney Town |
Toho,
Yoshimoto |
5 |
| 4 |
NEW |
The
Night Beyond the Tricornered Window |
Morigaki
Yukihiro |
1 |
| 5 |
5 |
Pocket
Monsters The Movie "Koko" |
Toho |
5 |
| 6 |
4 |
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation | Toho | 7 |
| 7 |
6 |
The
Promised Neverland |
Toho |
6 |
| 8 |
8 |
Stand
By Me - Doraemon 2 |
Toho |
10 |
| 9 |
7 |
Natsume's
Book of Friends - The Stone Waker & The Suspicious Visitor |
Aniplex |
2 |
| 10 |
9 |
Peninsula |
Gaga |
4 |
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 25th, 2021)
According to Kogyo Tsushin, Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" has been seen by a total of 1,210,000 people and has made 1.4 billion yen so far. For comparison's sake, 2019's Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution was able to make 1.7 billion yen -- 300,000 yen more than Koko's current total -- after only three weeks in theaters.
The only other newcomer to the Top 10 this week is The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, a live action adaptation of the supernatural / boys' love manga.
At the moment, a state of emergency is currently in effect for Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and numerous other prefectures throughout Japan. Most of them are set to expire on February 7th, though that may be extended depending on how the situation develops in the next two weeks. Earlier today it was reported that Tokyo has just seen the lowest daily figure of new infections since December 28th but the lack of available hospital beds still remains a major issue.
"Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series OST Liner Notes
January 23rd, 2021
Dogasu @ 18:51 JST -- The "Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack, a CD that came out in November containing the instrumental background music from the Pocket Monsters (2019) series, included four pages of liner notes from composer Yuki Hayashi. Tonight's update is a translation of those liner notes.
The notes on every song that Mr. Hayashi composed himself -- 49 in all -- have all been translated into English by me. In these notes, Mr. Hayashi explains what he was going for when writing each song, what kinds of challenges he faced, what instruments he used, and much, much more! I personally recommend having the soundtrack on in the background -- which is available on Spotify, by the way -- as you read through these notes.
As far as I know this is the first Pocket Monsters soundtrack to get liner notes like these; hopefully, it won't be the last!
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Three
January 12th, 2021
Dogasu @ 16:52 JST -- The weekend of January 9th - 10th is the first weekend after the Japanese government made a state of emergency declaration for the greater Tokyo area. How did Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" fare?
|
|
 |
Here's how the Top Ten looked during the 23rd movie's third week in theaters:
| Rank |
Last
Week |
Title |
Distributor |
Weeks
in Theaters |
| 1 |
NEW | Gintama:
The Final |
Warner |
1 |
| 2 |
1 |
Demon
Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train |
Toho,
Aniplex |
13 |
| 3 |
2 |
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation | Toho | 5 |
| 4 |
3 |
Poupelle
of Chimney Town |
Toho,
Yoshimoto |
3 |
| 5 |
4 |
Pocket
Monsters The Movie "Koko" |
Toho |
3 |
| 6 |
5 |
The
Promised Neverland |
Toho |
4 |
| 7 |
6 |
Stand
By Me - Doraemon 2 |
Toho |
8 |
| 8 |
NEW | Perfect
Strangers: Smartphone o Nozoitara |
Sony |
1 |
| 9 |
NEW | Pretty
Soldier Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie (Part One) |
Toei |
1 |
| 10 |
7 |
Peninsula |
Gaga |
2 |
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 12th, 2021)
Newcomer Gintama: The Final, a film based on the final parts of the long-running Shonen Jump manga, actually managed to dethrone Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train as the Number One movie in Japan over the weekend. The arrival of the new Gintama movie caused the other films at the top of the charts -- Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation, Poupelle of Chimney Town, and Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" -- to all slid down a spot as a result.
We don't know how much money the 23rd Pocket Monsters made in its third week. Kogyo Tsushin reports that the Number Three film, Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation, made 3.4 billion yen over the weekend so we at least know that the newest Pokémon movie brought in less than that. But beyond that we don't know.
Other newcomers this week are Perfect Strangers: Smartphone no Nozoitara, a Japanese remake of the Italian film Perfetti sconosciuti, and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie (Part One), the first of two Sailor Moon Crystal-style retellings of the Sailor Moon SuperS story.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga declared a new state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures last week due to the nation's worsening COVID-19 situation. Movie theaters are among the businesses being asked to close at 8:00pm under this declaration. Of the 435 theaters currently screening Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" nationwide a whopping 105 of them are located in the four affected areas. A new state of emergency targeting the Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo areas is expected to be declared later this week.
"Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack Staff
January 11th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:23 JST -- I'm slowly going through my massive translation backlog at the moment, and one of the items on my list is to post the full staff list from the "Pocket Monsters" The Animated Series Original Soundtrack that came out last November. So tonight I'm going to do just that!
Click here to see the full list. Every engineer, every recording studio, and yes, every musician who worked on the music you hear in the soundtrack is listed here. Wanna know who played the flute on this soundtrack? Who did the violin solo? Sang in the chorus? Well, then this is the update for you!
I'm also planning to have translations of Mr. Yuki Hayashi's liner notes for each of the songs on that soundtrack up by the end of the week.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Supporters' Podcast - Episode 09
January 10th, 2021
Dogasu @ 23:57 JST -- Yes, I'm still doing these: my write-up for Episode 09 of Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" podcast is now up!
The special guest for this episode is one of the film's Executive Producers, Mr. Hidenaga Katakami (片上秀長). He talks about how he got involved with The Pokémon Company, how he got involved with the Pocket Monsters films, how they "sell" the film to the various partners who help them out along the way, and even provides some behind-the-scenes info on the creation of Zarude.
I'll do the write-up for the final episode of the podcast later this month.
State of Emergency declared in Tokyo area as COVID-19 cases surge
January 7th, 2021
Dogasu @ 13:33 JST -- People have been talking about this for a while but today it was made official: a state of emergency is being declared in the greater Tokyo area.
The COVID-19 situation has been getting worse over the last few weeks here in Japan, with new records being broken daily. The nation's capitol reported 2,447 cases today, which may seem low to folks in other countries (for comparison, New York City recorded 16,016 cases on January 6th) but is an all-time home for the island nation once praised for having this novel coronavirus under control.
Details of the new state of emergency declaration can be found here, but it's basically a much more relaxed version of the one we had last April. Restaurants and bars can remain open but will be asked to close at 8:00pm, and school will still be held as normal, for the most part. And according to this Japanese language NHK article, movie theaters in the affected areas will also be asked to close each night at 8:00 pm.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" is currently in its third week in theaters here in Japan. The film is already on track to becoming the lowest-earning film in the franchise's history, and these new restrictions in the nation's most populous areas will make it even harder for the film to earn more money. So what will Toho do? Will they keep the film in theaters a few extra weeks in hopes of making up the difference once the state of emergency is lifted? Or will they give up on the theater run altogether and end up putting it up on some pay-per-view streaming platform? Whatever they decide to do, the next few weeks are bound to be interesting for a movie that's already had an incredibly tumultuous journey so far.
The state of emergency is scheduled to remain in place until at least February 7th.
Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" Box Office Performance: Week Two
January 4th, 2021
Dogasu @ 13:33 JST -- The Japanese box office results are in for the weekend of January 2nd - January 3rd. In its second week in theaters Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" dropped to fourth place.
|
|
|
Here's how the Top Ten looked during the 23rd movie's second week in theaters:
| Rank |
Last
Week |
Title |
Distributor |
Weeks
in Theaters |
| 1 |
1 |
Demon
Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train |
Toho,
Aniplex |
12 |
| 2 |
3 |
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation | Toho | 4 |
| 3 |
4 |
Poupelle
of Chimney Town |
Toho,
Yoshimoto |
2 |
| 4 |
2 |
Pocket
Monsters The Movie "Koko" |
Toho |
2 |
| 5 |
5 |
The
Promised Neverland |
Toho |
3 |
| 6 |
6 |
Stand
By Me - Doraemon 2 |
Toho |
7 |
| 7 |
NEW |
Peninsula |
Gaga |
1 |
| 8 |
7 |
Wonder Woman 1984 | Warner Bros | 3 |
| 9 |
10 |
Tengaramon | Giggly Box | 4 |
| 10 |
8 |
Kamen
Rider Saber The Movie / Kamen Rider Zero-One The Movie |
Toei |
3 |
Source: Kogyo Tsushin (posted January 4th, 2021)
The Top Ten this week was mostly just a reshuffling of the films that were in the charts last week. First place went to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train, which is currently in its twelfth consecutive week in the Number One spot and is probably not going anywhere anytime soon. The Number Two spot went to Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The New Interpretation and Number Three went to Poupelle of Chimney Town, which is coming in one rank higher this week than it did in its opening weekend.
The only new film to join the Top Ten this week is the Japanese premiere of Peninsula, a zombie film originally released in South Korea back in July that was eventually released in the U.S. under the title Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula. The film Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, which came out the same day as the 23rd Pokémon movie, has already fallen out of the Top Ten.
The website Kogyo Tsushin is also reporting that the film has been seen by an additional 115,000 people over the weekend and earned 139 million yen. This puts the film's total at 517 million yen altogether.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshide Suga is considering declaring a new state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures due to the nation's historically high number of COVID-19 infections these past few weeks. A state of emergency declaration would mean that businesses such as restaurants, bars, museums, and movie theaters may be asked to either reduce their operating hours or close altogether for the foreseeable future. Movie theater closures, if they happened, would have a significant impact on the 23rd Pokémon movie; of the 435 theaters currently showing Pocket Monsters The Movie "Koko" nationwide a whopping 105 of them are located in the four affected areas. Details of the new state of emergency declaration are expected later this week.
Look Back - Predictions 2020
January 2nd, 2021
Dogasu @ 00:41 JST -- The idea that any of us could have possibly predicted anything about the year 2020 is, looking back on it now, completely laughable. But I foolishly tried to anyway, and for tonight's update let's do what I do every year and check back to see if any of the stuff I thought would happen in 2020 ended up coming true. Let's perform my 2020 Predictions Check-In.
I think I did pretty alright, all things considered...?
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