The Old School Otaku Lounge

Originally written by cosmosamurai on 2015/11/09, 10:02:13 PST :

Just noticed Leiji Matsumoto's overhauled website :

Leiji Matsumoto really overhauled his site, and it's quite impressive. I hadn't checked it in ages, as his old site was pretty stagnant and not that useful, while his new site has interesting stuff like pictures of Matsumoto in his younger days, a decent layout, and an exhaustive bibliography 46 pages! . Some interesting text too, at least what I could decipher through machine translation . It's nice to see that the Master himself now has an internet presence appropriate for such a legend.

http://leijimatsumoto.jp




Originally written by usamimi on 2015/11/27, 05:53:57 PST :

Re: Just noticed Leiji Matsumoto's overhauled website :

Oh wow, you weren't kidding! This looks so much better, I wonder if one of his friends or work colleges finally told him hey, maybe you should hire a new designer or something, lol! It's a vast improvement from that old clunky site of his.

Nice site but entirely in Japanese makes it unusable by many fans. Google translate only goes so far.

I guess I have to dig out The World of Leiji Matsumoto special from 1980 again and convert it. Too bad it was broadcast exactly once. My copy is off air, VHS SP so it's good quality.

Too bad I was not able to meet him in person 6 years ago. My mother had died at that time and things were in disarray, so I missed my one and only chance. I'm hoping he goes to 90+ like Shigeru Mizuki and I get the chance to meet him before he's gone too...

^ One of the sellers I occasionally purchase from has informed me that there is a strong possibility that Matsumoto will be at SakuraCon 2017. Said seller knows several Japanese artists and brings in at least one every year to SakuraCon and is good friends with Matsumoto.

If Matsumoto does decide to go, the convention likely will not announce that for another 10 months. SakuraCon usually doesn't start to announce until January/February.

I have been disappointed by things like that in the past when his schedule changed and the organizers didn't want to say as there would have been massive cancellations. We'll try to keep track of it though. Thanks...

Okay. Converted the video over to an MP4 and currently uploading to One Drive. I'll have an available link up sometime later today...

Link:


https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=9 ... ideo%2cmp4

I would not plan for Sakuracon expecting Leiji Matsumoto to show. He's seemingly just a tad anti-American at unexpected times. I would actually put money down on a bet that IF he lists as a guest he cancels about two weeks before the con.

and, sadly, let us not ignore the potential he could pass away. It's a real concern at his age.

_D_ wrote:Link:


https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=9 ... ideo%2cmp4

Thanks for preserving and sharing this!

Leiji's site linked to this french page with a remarkably interesting collection of illustrations he did for sci-fi novels: http://triple-9.fr/?cat=9 For example, here are his illustrations for Northwest Smith from 1972: http://triple-9.fr/?p=885

Finding these rare images was great, and they really are classic Matsumoto imagery with proto-Harlocks and mysterious women amidst varied futurescapes.

From Matsumoto's Northwest Smith art:

SteveH wrote:I would not plan for Sakuracon expecting Leiji Matsumoto to show. He's seemingly just a tad anti-American at unexpected times. I would actually put money down on a bet that IF he lists as a guest he cancels about two weeks before the con.

I'd like to hope that he'd be able to bury his grudge, if that's what it is, and show up. I've met old timey time artists, like Akihiro Kanayama, who were able to put aside their feelings. Kanayama's own father was killed by US soldiers during WWII, so if anyone should have a grudge against Americans, he would be as good a candidate as any. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Either way, going to a convention now is basically just reserving a slot and hoping someone you're interested in shows up. Long gone are the days when guests were announced 5+ months in advance or you could reserve a good hotel in walking distance two weeks before the con.