The last night of the Worldcon in Yokohama, I wound up in a conversation with a couple of Japanese fans and another American. At the suggestion of the other American (whose name I forget– sorry), we spent a while trading questions: we’d answer a question about the US, then they would answer a question about Japan, and so on.
Eventually, one of the Japanese fans asked “Why are there so many otaku in America?” I answered “Because Japanese anime is really good,” (doing my bit for international relations) and that kicked off a general conversation about anime. After rattling off the paltry few shows I’ve watched, they started recommending stuff, and I eventually ended up with two titles written on the back of a business card.
I’ve misplaced the card, but it doesn’t really matter, as they said the anime in question were only available from “otaku stores in Akihabara,” and we didn’t make it there (what I would do with a DVD in a language I don’t understand, I’m not sure…). Also, I couldn’t really read the titles, as they were written in Japanese, in lousy handwriting. But, on the off chance that they’re the sort of thing that will eventually make it here in translated DVD editions, I thought I’d see if anybody could identify them from the partial titles. Somebody on the Internet must know what they are, after all.
The first sounded something like “Green Ladder” or “Green Naga” or something like that. The title started with the katakana “Gu” and “Ri,” and then I think there were some kanji. That, or katakana written so badly I couldn’t make them out.
The second was “Happy something something Go!” Written in Japanese, it started with the katakana “Ha,” and then there was some indistinct stuff, followed by “GO!” in roman letters.
I suspect these are giant-robot shows, given the other things they were recommending, but I’m not clear on that. Did I mention that we had been drinking? Anyway, if anybody can tell me what the actual titles are, I’d appreciate it.