NicoVideo for Busy People: Part 1

There is an interesting kind of ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga) called 忙しい人のための... ("... for Busy People"). I find that hilarious since my old Japanese textbook was called Japanese for Busy People. These videos are often songs where they remove lyrics such that the resulting sentences are humorous, or at very least nonsensical, like the text book.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. 忙しい人のための『粉雪』 - "Konayuki" for Busy People



This one is the best by far. レミオロメン (Remioromen) had this song probably about 2 or 3 years ago. It was everywhere. It's one of my karaoke favs. And the version for busy people is pretty epically brief. (Original version for non-busy people: ニコニコ動画, YouTube)

2. 忙しい人のための男女 - "BoyGirl" for Busy People


男女 for busy people! Very well done, IMHO. (Original version: ニコニコ動画, YouTube (subbed))

3. 死ぬほど忙しい人の為の「ポケモン言えるかな？」 - "PokeRap" for Deathly Busy People


Remember the PokeRap? Well, this is the Japanese version... for busy people of course. Note the title says 死ぬほど忙しい人の為 (shinu hodo isogashii hito no tame), which means you are so busy, you might die! (Original version (at least the audio...): ニコニコ動画, YouTube)

4. 忙しい人のためのにっぽん昔ばなし＆にんげんっていいな - "Japanese Fairy Tales" & "It's Great to be a Person" for Busy People


There was a popular show with animated versions of the old Japanese fairy tales, known as 昔話 (mukashibanashi). This is the opening and ending edited. You pretty much should watch the ニコニコ動画 version for the lyrics that people hear. They are too funny. My favorite line: 「人間っておいしいかな？」 ("I wonder if people are yummy?") (Original for comparison... Opening: ニコ動画, YouTube; Ending: ニコ動画, YouTube)

And since I am a busy person as well, I'll do part 2 another time! XD

The SmileVideo Meteor Shower

Say you want to go to DENPA 電刃, that crazy ヲタク (otaku) dance party in Tokyo (as seen on TOKYOMANGO), but you are way behind on your NicoNico culture? Well, this is your chance to study up!

Basically, there is a compilation of popular NicoNico Music called ニコニコ動画流星群 (niko niko douga ryuuseigun, NicoNicoDouga Meteor Shower), as it is a blast of popular songs on ニコ動 in quick succession:



There are a few versions:

1. The original:


2. With VOCALOID lyrics:


3. Orchestrated:


4. With the original songs remixed:


5. Like above but more chaotic:


6. Ronald McDonald style:


And below I have compiled a list of (almost) every one of these songs in order! Title linked to ニコニコ動画 and YouTube embeds. Enjoy!

00. 時報 - This would be a whole 'nother blog post trying to explain these. Basically, sometimes you get the time when watching ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga).


01. Star Rise - The ending theme to バンブーブレード　(Bamboo Blade).


02. 寝・逃・げでリセット！ - a song from the anime らき☆すた (Lucky Star).


03.　ハナマル☆センセイション - The ending theme to こどものじかん (kodomo no jikan)


04. caramelldansen - Best explained over at Tokyo Mango...


05. カービィのグルメレース - Did you know there are lyrics to that Kirby song (besides "drop it like it's hot")?


06. nowhere - a song from the anime Madlax.


07. チーターマン - Apparently a rap someone came up for the Cheetah Men II game theme.


08. Ievan Polkka - I've already posted this one, but hell, I love it so much, here it is again.


09. バラライカ - I won't pretend to say I understand what this is all about...


10. 男女 - A single by an artist called 太郎 (Tarou) released in late 2006. In early 2008, this nicovideo revived the song from obscurity!


11. モンタギュー家とキャピュレット家 - A movement from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" that was in a SoftBank commercial.


12. "I'm lovin' it!" Do I really need to explain this one?

13. The Last Wolf Suite - a BGM song from るろうに剣心 (Rurouni Kenshin)


14. クリアまでは眠らない - "Can't Sleep 'til I beat it!" One of the two awesome Team猫かん (Team nekokan) rock songs about MegaMan.


15. 未来への咆哮 - "Scream to the Future", an opening from the anime マブラヴ (MuvLuv)


16. エアーマンが倒せない - "Can't Beat Airman" The other awesome MegaMan song. So brilliant.


17.　メルト - An original 初音ミク song.


18. だんご大家族 - "Big Family Dango" An ending theme from the anime Clannad.


19. 風の憧憬 - Known as "Wind Scene" in English, this is a song from Chrono Trigger.


20. 雪、無音、窓辺にて。　- A song from the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.


21. you - a song from the game ひぐらしのなく頃に解 (higurashi no naku koro ni kai)


22. 魔理沙は大変なものを盗んでいきました - a popular flash video made by IOSYS (featured previously).


23. U.N.オーエンは彼女なのか？ - Originally from the game 東方紅魔郷, this one has been remixed so much! My favorite is the Ronald McDonald one.


24. お嫁にしなさいっ！ - Another IOSYS production. "Make me your wife!" @_@ Very cute though.


25. ロックマン2 ワイリーステージ1/おっくせんまん/思い出は億千万 - Another hard one to explain in complete. The short version is that this the Dr. Wily Stage 1 song from MegaMan 2. The long version is that X Japan did a cover, and then someone did the linked video, and... I dunno. When culture gets remixed so much like this, it is awesome and really hard to follow! XD


26. After Dark - (Åh) När Ni Tar Saken I Egna Händer - Another one where I'm fairly confused about, but everyone calls it オナニー. Oh, nani?


27. ハレ晴レユカイ - That dance song from Haruhi, probably popular enough for you to have already heard of it. There's even a MegaMan version.


28. God knows... - Another song from Haruhi.


29. JOINT - The opening from the anime 灼眼のシャナII (Shakugan no Shana II)


30. 解読不能 - another anime song from コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ （CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion).


32. パーフェクトスター・パーフェクトスタイル - A perfume song!!! This is the version with the Idol Master characters.


33. 患部で止まってすぐ溶ける～狂気の優曇華院 - Another IOSYS creation.


34. Help me ERINNNNNN!! - Another IOSYS creation. From the CD Flowering ERINNNNNN!! Seems to have a lot of stuff going on related to it.


35. 千年幻想郷　～ History of the Moon - from the game 東方永夜抄.


36. Little Busters! - opening theme to the game of the same title.


37. 1000％SPARKING! - From an anime called ネギま！？ (negima!?)


38-39. Some songs from the Prince of Tennis musical


40. エージェント夜を往く - From THE IDOLM@STER game.


41. ネイティブフェイス - from the game 東方風神録


42. true my heart - Opening from the game Nursery Rhyme, here is the VOCALOID version.


43. ケロ⑨Destiny - Another IOSYS production.


44. YATTA! - You know this one if you have been alive sometime in the last decade. I'm actually in this video if you know where to look. :)


45. みくみくにしてあげる♪ - An original 初音ミク song by ika.


46. レッツゴー！陰陽師 - a song from the game 「新豪血寺一族 －煩悩解放－」


47. Air on the G String (nice boat)


You can now go to 電刃 without feeling too much like a 外人 (gaijin). I hope you enjoyed going through all these songs as much as I did. XD

Yuriko Koike on NicoNicoDouga and YouTube

In case you haven't been in the Japanese government loop, Fukuda has resigned and there are a bunch of people who want to be the next prime minister. One of the many is 小池 ゆりこ (Koike Yuriko). If she were to actually become prime minister, she would be Japan's first female prime minister.

She's not really a front runner, but she does have an interesting strategy. She is using ニコニコ動画 (NicoNicoDouga) and YouTube to post videos of herself talking about the issues (or riding in jet planes). Why stand on top of a van in Shibuya when you can be on ニコ動... standing on top of a van!

I'd love to see her do well. Advancement of women and all that. But I have one major problem with her ニコニコ動画 videos; no comments! Comments on ニコ動 give you a sense that others are watching it too. So watching her comment-less videos (commenting seems to have been disabled) makes it feel like she is unpopular.

So, Yuriko-chan, let's start seeing some commenting, huh? I'd love to see some "wwwwwwww" comments stringing across when you get out of that F-15!

A Better NicoNico Douga English Guide

When I post videos, I try to find the YouTube version for our ニコニコ動画 impaired friends, but I highly encourage everyone to visit the site and attempt to watch them. It improves your Japanese and is much more fun than watching a boring non-commented YouTube video.

So, for those of you without an account, there is a pretty good guide on how to sign up and watch videos over at Asiajin:

English guide for Nico Nico Douga, part 1: How to register

English guide for Nico Nico Douga, part 2: How to use

And if you already have an account, here is your reward:

Fukuda Kirby!!!

Oh 福田康夫 (Fukuda Yasuo)... he went from Prime Minister of Japan to viral web meme in two seconds flat after he made the comment 「あなたとは違うんです」 (anata to wa chigaun desu, "I'm different than you") during his resignation speech. There are a lot of good memes around, but my favorite is the following nicovideo one:



Someone aught to draw a Kirby with that look. Then again, what powers would Kirby get from eating Fukuda? Bitter resignation powers?

Check out Pink Tentacle, Tokyo Mango, and Japan Probe's coverage for more Fukuda Fun™.

Hatsune Miku: Virtual Idol

The title may read like a bad anime series title, but 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku) is not fictional. Well, she doesn't really exist, except for in ニコニコ動画, but she is the closest thing to a real virtual idol that I can think of.

Let me give you some background. Yamaha came out with a singing virtual vocalization program. It was released in Japan as Vocaloid. People started to make videos of it singing things, associating it with a cute anime girl character, and now all of this is exploding on ニコ動.

Imagine all those people who do karaoke on YouTube, but with a sense of shame. Why not have a virtual proxy sing songs for you. It's so meta.

I'm still amazed that they can even get a computer voice to sing. And the fact that this idol is a community created thing and not some corporation's mind control world domination plan (yet...) is something that makes me feel good about the world. The future really is here!

Here are a few of my favorite 初音ミク songs:

1. ワールドイズマイン / World Is Mine (an original song)

2.　みくみくにしてあげる♪ / MikuMiku ni shite ageru♪ (an original song)

3. Ievan Polkka

4.　ﾄｩﾙﾄｩﾙ☆ﾀﾞﾀﾞﾀﾞを初音ミクが歌って踊る / Hatsune Miku does Tunak


There are lots of covers and original songs, so go seek out your favorites!

Tunak vs. Capsule

A new remix video from the guy who brought us IKZOLOGIC... Tunak vs. Capsule. Enjoy.

IKZOLOGIC

This ニコニコ動画 video is the pinnacle of human evolution. It has since inspired not only the name of this blog, but also my newly re-born love of electronic music in general. The title is "吉幾三×Capsule×DaftPunk×BeastieBoys　StarrySky - IKZOLOGIC Remix."



For those without a NicoVideo account, here is the YouTube link. For those who don't get it, you should first get familiar with 吉幾三's song 俺ら東京さ行くだ.

Basically, since April or so of this year, there has been this crazy fad of mixing 俺ら東京さ行くだ in to all sorts of other songs. From the Jackson 5, to the Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop themes, to Nirvana, to Philharmonic Symphony Orchestras.

It's kinda like the Japanese version of mixing Cosby with everything on YTMND.

Anyway, so in the mix I am posting about, they mixed 俺ら東京さ行くだ with capsule, Daft Punk, and the Beastie Boys... It blows my mind clean off my shoulders. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Also, since it is the pinnacle of human achievement, I think we can all pretty much give up since it is all down hill from here until the end of the world in 2012. ;)

Nico Nico Douga

ニコニコ動画 (niconico douga) is often touted as "Japan's YouTube." I dunno how fair/accurate that description is, but here is what it is; it's an online video site that is very popular in Japan.

The first thing that make ニコニコ動画 stand out is its unique comment system. Rather than putting comments at the bottom of the video, what you write is immediately put over the video anonymously at whatever timestamp you happen to be watching at the moment.

What this leads to is every video being covered up in everyone's comments. Popular videos end up with so many comments, it is sometimes hard to see what is going on in the video! I have to admit that at first, it was really distracting. But once you start getting into it, it's almost like watching a video with friends who are commenting in real time. What you get is an amazing feeling of community.

And that's the other thing that makes ニコニコ動画 so amazing. The community, which is pretty much all anonymous in nature, is much akin to the sort of people you might find on fark or YTMND. Culture is happening en mass. It's brilliant.

The reason I even mention the site is that I watch it pretty maniacally. I've even been called a ニコ厨 (nicochu) at work. If you are going to read this blog, you are going to get a lot of links to ニコ動画. Thus, you need an account!

If you speak Japanese, just hop on over. If not, Tokyotronic walks you through the registration process.

If you are having second thoughts, let me assure you... someday, you will thank me for it. XD