Ero-guro fans rejoice! Jun Hayami's work is finally to be published in English by Creation Books in a collection entitled Beauty Labyrinth of Razors! This work was originally supposed to be released in 2005, but was pulled back for.... obvious reasons. Now it is finally being released on hardback with only 69 copies being made. It compiles 12 of Jun Hayami's stories. The only downside is that the book is on quite the pricey end, being $79 before shipping. Personally, I really wish I could own such a work of art, but I don't think I can be spending that kind of money.

"Graphic art by Jun Hayami in the Japanese “erotic-grotesque” (ero-guro) style of manga, a unique fusion of sex, violence and philosophy unlike anything seen in Western comics. Deranged killers, innocent young women and leering perverts collide in some of the most feverishly lurid fantasies ever committed to paper.

Beauty Labyrinth Of Razors is a compendium of Jun Hayami’s most challenging work, containing 12 stories selected from his books and never before translated and published in English. With a translation by James Havoc and Takako Shinkado, and an introduction by Jack Hunter (author, Eros In Hell)."

While it may be easy to justify other works of ero-guro, Hayami's is a difficult one to present to others. Is it an effort at humor that only the most senile and depraved of us can truly derive laughter from? Or is it simply art for the sake of showing the grotesque and perverse reality that we often shun from our everyday thoughts? Are the works of Jun Hayami to even be considered art?

Whether Hayami's work is really something to be interpreted or not, if you have not read him before you definitely should. Even if it is something that may not particularly pique your interest, to just fathom the mere existence of his work is something that will forever change you.






More information/scans/etc. can be found here:
Creation Books: http://www.creationbooks.com/creation-pages/creationhome.html
Flying Teapot: http://flying-teapot.blogspot.com/
Same Hat!: http://samehat.blogspot.com/

-Garrett

This name will most likely strike a sense of unfamiliarity among most people, but chances are you more than likely know his music. If you were anything like me (and I mean that in the sense of you being a kid of the 90s) you were most likely caught up in the Pokemon craze. The one thing in particular that stands out in Pokemon that many may have not appreciated when they were younger is the music, and Junichi Masuda is the man to thank for that.

Junichi Masuda was one of the main founders of the company, Game Freak, and has composed the music for a large majority of the Pokemon video game series and television shows. He himself was the sole composer of the original Red & Green versions of Pokemon and was even responsible for the cries of the Pokemon used within the game, all thanks to a program he created called the "Sound Driver."

Unless the last.fm trolls just got to his profile, apparently some of his favorite music includes Stravinsky, Linkin Park, Slipknot, The Prodigy, and Rotterdam hardcore. Who ever thought that 'Smack My Bitch Up' was an important influence on Pokemon?


Nowadays Pokemon still seems to be relatively prevalent in Japan, but has had severely decreased popularity in the states, it's core following now grown up. Pokemon seems to be something held on for nostalgia's sake, and only for that reason, as if Pokemon is a kind of novelty to be treated purely as a childhood memory and to like it beyond those reasons is well... childish. Personally, I do like Pokemon for those reasons, it does indeed bring back memories, however, still to this day I believe that Pokemon is a damn good game, "childish" or not, and I am not embarrassed at all to admit that.


If you are ever wondering who to thank for the flood of nostalgia and tears that overcome you when playing your version of Red or Blue on Gameboy, you have Junichi Masuda to thank.



-Garrett