The wedding planning company that coordinated the marriage of Yuria & Kenshiro (a.k.a. The Fist of the North Star couple) began accepting applications back in July for a special wedding ceremony in front of the 59 foot-tall Gundam in Odaiba. 548 couples applied, and one lucky couple was chosen. The couple was already married, and has three children, but their circumstances didn't allow them to hold a wedding ceremony at the time. The husband, Yasuo Kai, age 38, is a great fan of the Gundam series, but it was his wife, Emi, 37, who applied for this wedding event. The couple's youngest girl, who was born in February, was named Sayla after a character in the series. The ceremony was held on the evening of 8/25. The bride wore a white wedding dress, but the groom was decked out in a uniform from the series.

Awhile back I organized a small party for Madhouse and Dynamo Pictures at a Japanese-style bar in Shinjuku. The two companies are owned by Index Group, a provider of mobile entertainment. I was at Dynamo on a four-month contract as a CG Character Animator, working on Rintaro's Yona Yona Penguin feature film before taking on Sōten Kōro at Madhouse. Dynamo turned out to be a great company to work for. I had to return to Madhouse after my contract expired, but I still kept close contact with the former Yona team members and we would go out often for drinks. I figured it might be fun to have the staff from both companies get together for socializing and networking, so I suggested that we organize a small party in Shinjuku. But then Endo-san passied away, followed by a Sōten Kōro deadline, and then Kanada-san passed away, and these things took priority over everything else.

Ultimately, things settled down and plans moved forward again, but the guy in charge of the party at Dynamo ended up recruiting a relatively big crowd, and I found myself pressured to find a place right away. This was on a Wednesday, and the party was supposed to be on Friday evening. I knew there was no way I could secure a reservation for 30 people on Friday night at an affordable price. At least I had a good excuse for not getting the reservation, and I was all ready to cancel the whole thing. But, thanks to the Internet, I found a Japanese-style bar in Shinjuku that was available. The party was a success, and though the food and drinks weren't high-quality by any standards, it was still good to have a place where everyone could meet and get acquainted with each other.

I'm a 2D person who happens to know a little about 3D. And I know that some 2D and 3D artists around here tend to have difficulties getting along, with foolish pride getting in the way of appreciating each other's talents. Both sides actually have the same goal (to entertain audiences through their creation), but have different approaches to achieving it. It always saddened me to see collaborative efforts fail because of lack of knowledge and understanding. Such understandings don't occur naturally, especially not during a meeting in a boardroom. I believe they start out by getting to know each other in a more casual setting, and when the opportunity arises to work together, the good relationship that has already been established enables a productive exchange of thoughts. The staff at Dynamo are probably some of the most open-minded 3D guys ever, and I hope to continue to play some small part in bringing the two worlds together.