Anyhoo, the Brickster will try to be a bit more dependable this year in connectin' with all his pals. Even you bitter ones who were hopin' I'd disappeared fer good.


January 1, 2013-Hiya, kids! It’s yer old pal, The Brickster, seemin’ly back from the dead! I kin hear y’all now-“Brickster, where the hell ya been? It’s been over a year! I’ve had nowhere to turn to for my chanbara fix or those brilliant insights you bring to Japanese culture! We’ve all been so worried…we asked around the SA…we checked the hospitals and prisons…we even sent out Lassie to look for you. And now you turn up all safe ‘n sound with that stupid grin on your face and expect us to forgive you. You pompous ass! Bastard!” Well, actually that’s what Ko said last night, except for the part about it bein’ over a year and the chanbara fix/insights.

The truth is pretty mundane and probably happens to ev’ryone at some point in their lives. While in the States, I was doin’ a promo appearance up at the Dent Schoolhouse (one of the nation’s highest rated haunted attractions, and rightly so). Durin’ a break I decided to Skype Koyori back in Japan on my laptop, because I missed her lovin’ presence and sweet words of encouragement. I also figgered since it was early mornin’ in Japan I’d stand a good chance of gettin’ a webcam shot of her au naturel in the bathtub. Winnin’! But as fate would have it, I got called away by some Klown (literally) and stupidly left the laptop sittin’ in the office chair. Yeah, you can see what’s comin’, can’t you? That’s right, some fat chick waddled by, plopped herself down in the vacant chair, and since laptops make for poor seat cushions, smashed it to pieces. Ko told me since I couldn’t take care of my toys, I could forget about gettin’ a new one. So I haven’t had a way to access the site, or for that matter any number of AV idol videos, for over a year. But she’s finally relented and given me a desktop unit for New Years, even though she put a parental block on practically everythin’ that’s worth lookin’ at. There ain’t many guys over 50 whose wives feel the need to do that, so I’m kinda proud of myself. So anyhoo, I can now access the site again and reconnect with my legions of fans, unless they’ve relegated me to the same dustbin of history reserved for other washed up J-idols both male and female, like Itamura Daisuke or Megaru Meronsu.

Not that there's been all that much to talk about-the Brickster has been on hiatus for practically all of the last year. ‘Hiatus’ is Latin for ‘gainfully unemployed’. The Studio wanted to see how the ratin’s fer Season 3 of Abarenbo Gaijin played out before committin’ to any new projects. Luckily fer me, I have a ten year contract, so I was still gettin’ paid but actually had to do some real work for it. I spent a lotta days in the theme park workin’ the ninja star toss booth, bein’ a monster in the haunted house, gettin’ into scripted scuffles in Edo Town with the samurai actors, and otherwise actin’ the part of a trained monkey fer the tourists…kinda like the contestants on “Nippon Daisuki Gaikokujin GrandPrix”. That, and waitin’ tables in the theme park restaurant. Hey, what can you do? I have a rich man’s daughter for a wife, and that rich man also happens to hold my contract and knows lots of yakuza legbreakers. Not providin’ fer her upkeep ain’t an option. Not to mention buyin’ dog treats fer Cuddles McBurly, our outrageously lovable but spoiled dog. But luckily, Season 3 did pretty well, probably because I got down on my knees and practically begged every woman that visited the park to watch it. Japanese women have such big hearts, bless ‘em. So I’m happy to announce not one, but TWO new projects! First off, even though Season 3 was the final run for Abarenbo Gaijin, it’s returnin’ in a new form-kinda sorta. The new series is still under wraps, but the first episode will tie up all the loose ends of the series and lead straight into it. It’s set in the modern world (because that saves money), but won’t skimp on the sammyrai and ninjer bashin’ you’ve come to love. Shootin’ starts in a coupla weeks, so I’ll have some stills and more info then.

The second project is somethin' I was able to post on the front page of the site a few months ago usin' a friends laptop. One more of my many odd jobs at the studio was doin' VO work for third string characters in the anime that The Studio's animation division churns out. The big shots were so impressed with my work that they decided they were gonna make "Abarenbo Gaijin" into an anime! Fer the first time, here's a peek at some production art along with dialogue added by the artist so ya know what the hell was supposed to be happenin' (and who knows, maybe the accountants here will take things one step further and turn it into manga at some point). This is from episode five, markin' the return of feared loyalist drunkard Kuraku'd Tengu to the Abarenbo Gaijin universe. These are ALL-NEW stories bein' told for the 13 episode run, but you'll be seein' all yer fav'rites-Koyori, Seimei, Cuddles, those feisty warrior shrine maidens, Musashi, Susan-no-o, Hattori Hanzo the 69th, and the Brickster's own bad self. You'll also see new characters like Usagiboya-the drunken, fanboyish, soiled hakama wearin' sammyrai rabbit who hates everythin' and everyone (except overrated cartoonists). How can you go wrong? Hey ladies, fer all you know, the Brickster was naked while VO'in every one of these soon-to-be-classics! You can dream, cantcha? Anyway, we'll have more news and an episode listin' as it breaks.

Archives

September 12, 2011-December 24, 2012...Uhh, well, I wuz on a top-tier sekrit mission fer the good 'ol US of A and couldn't break radio silence. Or somethin'. I could tell you, but then you'd have to kill me. Or buy me a beer. Every man has his price.

May 23, 2011-September 5, 2011

August 23, 2010-May 16, 2011

January 4, 2010-August 16, 2010

June 22, 2009-December 28, 2009

October 27, 2008-June 15, 2009

August 4, 2008-October 20, 2008

July 2008

November 26, 2007-June 30, 2008