Twentythree

”From the very first stages…no one is thinking about the hardcore fans of the series.”

Recently, more and more anime and manga are getting adapted into live-action films. It’s not something that’s just happening with current top sellers, either. For example, filming is about to start on a live-action Fullmetal Alchemist, a franchise for which the anime and manga source material concluded six years ago.

However, oftentimes these live-action versions fail to impress preexisting fans. Last year’s two live-action Attack on Titan movies were met with a monstrous backlash from disappointed anime fans who saw little to none of the original work’s appeal in them. But manga creator Hiroya Oku, writer and artist of science fiction series Gantz, feels like that’s to be expected.

In a pair of recent tweets, Oku offered his sobering observations on the mentality of making live-action versions of anime and manga, starting with:

なぜ無理っぽい漫画の実写化が続々と作られるのか？それは、知名度がある原作とイケメンの組み合わせだけで内容はテキトーでも観に行く人達がいっぱいいるからですよ。コアなファンなんて最初から相手にされてません。儲からなかったら誰も作りません。

—
奥 浩哉 (@hiroya_oku) May 29, 2016

“Why are all of these poor, force-fit live-action adaptations of manga getting made? Because if you take a series with name recognition and cast a handsome actor in the lead role, even if the story and visuals are just whatever, tons of people will go see it. From the very first stages of these movies, no one is thinking about the hardcore fans of the series. Unless there’s more money to be made, no one is going to make these films.”

While anime fans who have been burned by one too many sub-par adaptations are no doubt nodding their heads, others might be scratching theirs. Despite Oku’s harsh words, his own Gantz was made into not one, but two live-action films, which were released in 2011. So why do they get a pass?

GANTZやアイアムアヒーローは無理目というよりか、現実的。主人公日本人で、舞台も日本の実際に撮影できる景色だし。兎に角、少年誌のファンタジーのような世界観全部作らなきゃ無理みたいなやつが無理な企画。

—
奥 浩哉 (@hiroya_oku) May 29, 2016

“Gantz and I Am a Hero [another manga with a live-action film that opened this April] aren’t force-fit adaptations, because of their realistic elements. The main characters are Japanese, and they’re set in Japan, so filming can be done in the actual locations for the story. It’s impossible to produce a good film that recreates the entire setting and world view of a shonen manga fantasy.”

Oku may be on to something. One recent and widely crowd-pleasing live-action adaptation was the trilogy of films based on Rurouni Kenshin, a series about Japanese swordsmen fighting in Japan during the 19th century, which again makes for a low hurdle for Japanese film production companies to clear in crafting something that captures the spirit of the original work.

By Oku’s logic, the Fullmetal Alchemist movie already has two strikes against it, as it has a photogenic pop star playing the lead role and is placing its all-Japanese cast in a European-inspired setting. The film’s opening is still several months away, though, so we’ll have to wait a while longer to see if Oku’s skepticism towards projects of this type is always accurate.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: Gantz official website

When it comes to destinations (and people) we seek inspiration from, there’s one high on the list – France!

On a recent trip to Pinterest, we got the scoop on what French girls are Pinning right now, including their favorite new beauty trend: next-level eyebrows. We oohed and aahed at the wild brow moments and had to take them to a wearable level.

The most important look is, undoubtedly, the highlight brow. The full brow gives off a bit of sunkissed shimmer, hinting at long days spent on the beach without going overboard. It’s perfect for a night barbecue or a rooftop party. You’ll be surprised at how subtle it can look, especially paired with a deep tan.

Kurt Andre

Prep: Bronzed Base Makeup

Kurt Andre

Keeping your skin base bronzed and glowing is a great way to tie in these reflective brows!

Step 1: Creamy Highlight

Kurt Andre

Use a creamy golden shade like Benefit Cosmetics Sun Beam Complexion Highlighter ($26). Apply with a flat angled brow brush and go a little thick with the application. This will be your base for the golden shimmer shadow in the next step. 

Step 2: Golden Shimmer Eyeshadow

Kurt Andre

Next, using the same brush, apply a reflective golden eyeshadow like MAC Cosmetics Gold Pigment ($22) over the highlighter. 

Step 3: Blend

Kurt Andre

Finally, use an eyebrow brush to lightly blend the pigment into your brows.

Finishing Touch: Mauve Lips

Kurt Andre

We thought this look was best when we added a little bump of color to her lips! Ashley is wearing Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick in Devious Dolly ($21).

The final look? Magnifique!

You Have To Try This Eyebrow Technique French Girls Can’t Get Enough Of

And the process it uses to color them isn’t what you might expect.

We’ve seen before how artificial intelligence is already on its way to beating humans at playing Go and giving dating advice, but now it seems like there’s another area that machines will soon take us over in: colorizing old photographs.

Waseda University recently showed off some old Japanese photos that have been fully-colorized by AI that learned the colorization process through analyzing large data sets full of categorized photos. That’s the really cool part: the AI is coloring photos based on previous photos that are similar to it. Black and white photo of a garden? Well then the AI colors it similarly to a color photo of another garden. Black and white photo of a birthday? The AI will color it similarly to other birthday photos.

How does it actually work? Well, maybe this chart will help clear some things up:

▼ Um… uh… so… yeah, it’s actually really complicated. Let’s just concentrate on that box in the lower right showing the preexisting photos that the AI is thinking about when it colors the new one.

For those who are interested in how the AI works, the full source code is available on GitHub, but for the rest of us, we’ll just enjoy these photos of old Japan that the AI masterfully brought to life using its colorization intelligence.

▼ A black and white original photograph from 1935…

▼ …and the result after it was colorized by the AI. This looks like it could’ve been taken today, if some eclectic wardrobe choices were made.

▼ So peaceful. This 1917 one almost looks like a painting.

▼ I’m not sure if that hat matches the rest of the outfit, but this guy doesn’t look like he cares what we think.

When tested on users, the Waseda research group found that the photographs were colorized with “90 percent naturalness,” which is pretty good considering I’m lucky to get 60 percent or so when I take a phone photo.

▼ Man, these end-of-Meiji-period plants look just like the plants we have today! Imagine that…

▼ A fine group of 1905-era people, posing with their plants.

▼ The plants seemed to have done a lot of nice growing five years later, in 1910.

The Waseda University research group hopes that the colorization AI will eventually get to the point where it can be released to the public and anyone can use it for their own photos. It would be great to be able to just use a colorization program to automatically bring old family photos back to life…although we have to wonder: is feeding the AI all this information about human families and friends really such a good idea? Won’t that just make it easier for it to blend in and eventually destroy us?

I’m just saying; if we’re ruled by AI colorization overlords a few years from now, we know who to blame.

Source: Waseda University via Japaaan Magazine
Images: Waseda University

Everyone knows most tampons are sticks of synthetic, bleached fibers treated with a bunch of chemicals that we shove up our vaginas. What could be worse for women than that?

Despite being unattractive and generally a taboo subject among men and women alike, tampons have a lot of other factors that make them ugly sticks of death. Many of them are made by huge corporations that are infamous for testing on animals, use chemicals that are known carcinogens and increase the risk for toxic shock syndrome and sexually transmitted infections.

Your tampons are looking less sexy than ever. And truth be told, they just might be harming your health.

1. Dioxin: A Known Carcinogen In Your Most Sacred Space

Dioxins are a group of chemicals that are recognized as known carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.  Dioxin is actually a by-product of chlorine, which is produced when the synthetic fibers used to make tampons are bleached. Years ago, tampons were made of 100 percent cotton. This material was probably much safer than the synthetic fibers used in tampon manufacturing today.

Tampons are now made out of rayon and viscose, both of which are totally manmade. Rayon is actually a woody fiber, and it needs to be altered quite a bit before it’s ready to be inserted into your most sacred space. Part of this prepping process if bleaching the rayon, which produces dioxin. Yes, that’s right; a known carcinogen is right by your cervix.

Contemporary tampons are produced using a chlorine-free process using chlorine dioxide, and although this process is meant to reduce or eliminate the dioxin, it does a poor job at doing either. Although the FDA says there’s no “toxic level” of dioxin in tampons, it does caution consumers they should use tampons bearing the risks in mind.

The World Health Organization details the risks of being exposed to dioxide, from liver damage and cancer to damaging a fetus, dioxins are not chemicals you want to tango with. And this is just one aspect of tampons — besides the animal testing and increased risk for other health problems — that make them a less-than-ideal choice for women menstruating.

2. Risk For Sexually Transmitted Infections And Toxic Shock Syndrome

Did you know that there’s an increased risk for sexually transmitted infections when using tampons? This happens because the fibers used in tampons are actually pretty rough. Even when inserted into your vagina, the tampon expands and presses against your vaginal wall. Small pieces of the rayon can actually cut your vaginal wall.

During intercourse, this means bacteria and viruses have direct access to your bloodstream, therefore increasing your risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really want small cuts in my vagina that could mean I get an STI.

Let’s talk about toxic shock syndrome now. Toxic shock syndrome is just another lovely problem that rayon creates in our bodies. Basically, conventional brands have stopped using natural cotton in favor of using synthetic rayon fiber for tampons. So now, we must accept the risk that rayon creates an ideal environment for extremely toxic bacteria to directly impact our bodies. This can lead to major organ failure and death, all at the result of using tampons.

3. Let’s Ditch The Chemicals: Alternatives To Tampons

I know you hate pads because I hate pads. We can all agree that, although reusable, organic cotton pink polka-dot pads might be amazing for absorption and even comfortable, you just don’t want the feeling of bleeding all over yourself during the day. Right? Right.

So, listen up. There are several alternatives you can use during that time of the month. One of them is the menstrual cup. You can buy natural rubber or 100 percent medical-grade silicone cup. Either way, there’s no known health risks of using them.

The menstrual cup is a small cup that’s inserted into your vagina and provides leak-free protection for up to 12 hours. It rests just under your cervix and catches your flow. Then, you remove and empty the cup. It’s easy and eco-friendly.

You may also choose to use natural, organic cotton tampons. I would encourage you to choose organic to avoid pesticides in your vagina. (Not a penis friendly place there, lad.)

Sea sponges, while not vegan-friendly, are certainly an option, and they help to absorb your flow as well.

With so many options, why would you ever pick to suffer through the health risks that many tampons create with dioxin, STIs and TSS? Ditch them. Safe, eco-friendly options are available. Forget about those tampons, and find some alternatives. Your body will thank you.

3 Reasons It’s Time For Women To Completely Ditch Using Tampons

Love wins, one city office at a time.

Starting today, Takarazuka in Hyogo Prefecture, home of the cross-dressing all-female theater troupe Takarazuka Revue, has begun issuing official partnership certificates for same-sex couples. It is the fourth city in the nation to do so after Shibuya, Setagaya and Iga, Mie Prefecture.

Although the Japanese constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the city has gotten around this by drafting its own partnership oath. Once a couple submits the document, they receive a certificate signed by the mayor and become eligible for public services for married couples.

When the decision was announced last year, Mayor Tomoko Nakagawa said that the job of local government was to create a society that all citizens felt comfortable in. He added, “This is a step forward to encourage the drive for recognizing same-sex marriages across Japan and ultimately push the Diet to start discussions on the issue.”

While Takurazaka does not compel private businesses to recognize the certificate as Shibuya does, several major companies, such as Panasonic and SoftBank, have already announced that they will do so.

In other good news, the city of Naha in Okinawa is expected to begin recognizing same-sex partnerships in July.

Source: Asahi Shimbun
Image: Wiki Commons

Oh. You want me back? Now, after all this time? How cute of you. And by cute, I really mean how nauseating.

So you’re telling me you want me to come back to you? Let me think about that one for a second.

How about … um … no.

We all knew this day would com: you crawling back and begging me to be yours again, using your smooth words to try and get me back into your arms. Forgive me for being surprised, but it’s just that you’re a little sooner than we were expecting. Wow, how unlike you to actually be early for something.

Enlighten me, was she not everything you were expecting? Did she not treat you like I use to and give you everything I knew you needed? Did she not make you her everything, like I did?

Or was it you she didn’t want? Did she finally come to her senses? Stop believing all your empty promises and cheeky lies? I’m sure you guaranteed her everything you promised me. Was it her who left you, causing you to run back to the person who you knew would never leave you? Well, the person you thought never would.

It’s OK. We all already knew this day would come. Guessing it wasn’t going to last between the two of you. We predicted you coming back to me once she was gone. Sorry that it took so long for you to realize it too.

You used to be everything I ever wanted. Back then, I would have done whatever it took to make you sure you were mine. I would have done anything to make you happy. Fought for you until the very end. It appears the girl you used to know is long gone, resting in her peaceful grave. Sorry for your loss.

Once upon a time, I’d come running back to you. But looks like that hourglass has run out of sand. I’m not your princess anymore. Those glass slippers were giving me too many blisters. And turns out, you are no Prince Charming after all. My time is not yours to waste. My life isn’t yours to be a part of either. Frankly, I’m not yours for the having anymore.

Don’t you find this all a bit ironic? I wanted you when you didn’t seem to appreciate me. Now you want me, and I can’t say I feel the same. Seems like we always desire the things we can’t have in this world. We never realize the value of someone until they are out of our reach. How does it feel to want someone who doesn’t return the favor? Looks like the tables have been turned. Hope you enjoy eating alone.

I would say that I wish you the best, but unlike you, I’ve never been one to lie. If I could, I would tell you that I hope you have found contentment in life, but I’m done caring about your happiness. I wish I were mature enough to say I want nothing but the best for you, but clearly, I’m not.

But hey, thanks for the message. It was entertaining to hear from you after all this time. You always knew how to make me laugh. Maybe next time you should appreciate the good things you have before they’re gone. But one thing is for sure: “Next time” sure as hell isn’t going to be with me.

Truly not yours anymore,
The best thing you’ll never get back
Xx

Everything You Want To Say To The Guy Who Wants You To Take Him Back