by Michael John Grist There’s a giant head in my living room. It’s made of grey clay and it sings through the night. It sings songs about America. Sometimes boogie-woogie or the Big Bopper. It sings Buddy Holly. It sings about the plane that crashed and sometimes the song about the crash. It sings about whiskey and rye. I don’t know why the head sings. I don’t know why the head is in my room, or why I let it stay. The head doesn’t wake me up when it sings. It sings so low and so slow and so deep … Read More
SunLovePrice Haikyo
At the time of the Great Tohoku Earthquake in March I was teaching at a composer’s office 10 minutes west of Shinjuku. During the quake and aftermath it was a bit crazy, but soon things calmed down and it was time to go home. All the trains were stopped so I started walking, and on the journey ran across this little haikyo- the Sun Love Price pachinko/restaurant combo. I dipped in, but with just my iphone camera in the dark interior I could only get blurry photos. A few weeks later I returned to shoot it properly. I think it … Read More
Gellick in the Hax
Gellick is the rock at the heart of DAWN RISING, my epic fantasy novel. He is the lightest, most fun character, the one least touched by all the chaos outside in the city- though there is plenty of darkness lurking within his stone chest. He is a Balast, a race that calcify with time, losing all fluctility until they are just motionless blocks of stone, unable to think, speak, or move. It’s a terrible fate, one that comes young and never lets up, that all Balasts seek to stave off through the Hax- an endless recounting of their life stories … Read More
Volcano Museum 5. Documentary
Well over a year ago now a Belgian film-maker called Jeroen Van der Stock got in touch with me about making a haikyo / ruins documentary in Japan. He had the concept but seemingly no solid structure at that time, so we met up for coffee to discuss ideas. I went along because it seemed a kick- I’ve had other meetings about haikyo books and TV shows that fell through quickly- so I didn’t have high expectations. A year and a half later, Jeroen has pulled the first stage of his haikyo documentary vision together. He got funding from a … Read More
Why Sucker Punch sucked
There are 2 main reasons why Sucker Punch sucked. These reasons have got nothing to do with all the half-naked girls, the cartoon violence, or the complexity of 3 nested worlds. No. Director Zach Snyder would be glad to have any of those problems. He’d love it if they were all we could fault the movie on, especially after the success of movies like Moulin Rouge, 300, and Inception. Nope, the problems are much deeper than that. They’re in the bones of the story, the structure. Sucker Punch is the story of Baby Doll, who within the first 3 minute … Read More
story craft #15 Acts of Invention
26. That’s how many acts of invention a story needs. We can look at any story, any story that is a story, at least, and reel them off. Without fail, they’ll be there. They are all discreet. They all require a new idea, or the development of an old idea into a new idea. They are the ingredients in the cake, mixed and baked according to recipe, flavored with the writer’s voice, that build a living breathing story out of a bunch of bits and stuff. 26. Why is this interesting? Why should we sit up and take notice? Well, … Read More
Mare in Indura
Mare is the most powerful voice of resilience and independence in DAWN RISING, my epic fantasy novel. She is by far the toughest character, who has been through the worst childhood imaginable- her parents were beaten to death in the street by drug-money collectors and she was sold into body-slavery, where mogrifers cut out the left side of her brain and threw her back into the slums of Indura expecting her to die. But she didn’t die. She pulled herself together and taught herself to survive in the filth and rot of the world. As a result she relies on … Read More
Axiom Interview
I recently did an interview with Axiom magazine about my haikyo photography and fiction writing. Axiom is a print and web magazine focused on Japanese entertainment, gaming, and culture, run by Adam Miller and Jimi Okelana. I chatted with Jimi for about 10 minutes- probably the first time I’ve done an interview over the phone. I’ve done interviews a couple of times before, but only by email. By phone is fun, though challenging to express what you want to say concisely without just going on and on. I think I did go on and on, but Jimi managed to pluck … Read More
The Boltonian
About a year ago my old school in Bolton got in touch with me about writing something for the alumni school newsletter. I think they had seen the review of this site in the Guardian newspaper, and figured something on haikyo would be pretty interesting. I put something together along with a few photographs, fired it off along with my address for the chap to send a copy of the newsletter, but then unfortunately never heard back from him. I assumed he hadn’t run my piece, and forgot about it. A few days ago I was in touch with an … Read More
One-armed Ultraman
Ultraman is a Japanese icon, guardian of Tokyo against all kinds of horrible invaders since 1966. His branding can be found everywhere, from plastic bento lunchboxes to bikes, cell-phone straps, and kids’ ride. My buddy Scott was out walking the streets near his home in northern Tokyo and stumbled across this one-armed Ultraman. It doesn’t really qualify as a haikyo since it seems that it may still function, despite the missing arm and rust-coated surface. 10-yen will give your kids a ride into battle with whatever crazy alien-suited baddie the Man had to face. Scott very kindly took these photos … Read More