Harmagedon (1983)

Bob Dylan poster found inside the main character's room.


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Two posters of Harmagedon spotted in Harmagedon. Nope, I'm not spelling it wrong. It's Harmagedon with just one d.

Eden of the East

2009's Eden of the East has several references to popular and obscure movies. I'm no cinephile so I probably fail to notice most. The DVDs should definitely have some really interesting director's comment track. Mentioned directly or indirectly by the characters til now: Kate and Leopold (2001) on episode 2 and Quadrophenia (1979) on episode 4. There is a scene in episode 6 where the character Haruo Kasuga talks to his friends while inside a roll-top desk which I suppose is a reference to His Girl Friday (1940). Below are the posters that appear on screen. First one is an altered version of Le Grand Bleu (1988).


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Below are four posters seen on episode 6. I can't identify the ones in the left, but the two to the right are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).

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On episode 7, the hall with the posters is shown from another angle. It shows the Full Metal Jacket once again and another poster I'm not able to recognize.

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Lots of images of altered posters from episode 11. Rear Window on the left and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid once again to the right. No idea of the middle one.

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I'm unable to identify any of the posters below.


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This is a reference to Truffaut's Les Quatre Cents Coups.

Detroit Metal City

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain poster featured on the episode 4A of Studio 4°C's comedy, Detroit Metal City. Link to the original poster.

Touch

Summer of 42 (1971) poster found on the sixth episode of Touch, a 1985 romance/baseball TV series. Asakura Minami asks if Uesugi Katsuya, her childhood friend, wants to watch the film with her. Unfortunately he already has a date. Below is a quick montage for a better view I did. This is the original poster.


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On episode 44, Tatsuya and Minami are going to a movie theater together. On their way, there is a billboard of Cocoon (1985). Link to the original poster.

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On episode 54, classes end for that year. Tatsuya and Minami agree to watch a movie that just premiered, The Natural (1984). In front of the theater, a poster of Roman Holiday (1953).


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Below is an image from the 1998 movie Touch: Miss Lonely Yesterday. The outdoor on the left named River is a reference to Six Days, Seven Nights (1998).

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Another image from the Miss Lonely Yesterday movie. It's written Summer of Angels, obvious reference to City of Angels (1998). The drawing of Nicolas Cage looks like Thom Yorke.

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On episode 33, the new transfer student, Yoshida Takeshi, lends Uesugi Tatsuya an LP. Released in 1985, Half Time was Yoshimi Iwasaki's 13th album. It contained Touch's first opening (タッチ) and ending (君がいなければ) themes. Jacket of the album.


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On episode 35, Tatsuya goes to Yoshida's house where he spots what I believe is Iwasaki Yoshimi's 20th single, タッチ.


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On episode 45, Yoshida is talking to some girls about a record he is holding. It's Yoshimi's 14th album, タッチ.

Tenchi Muyo in Love

Some posters that appear in the 1996 movie that is a sequel to the Tenchi Muyo TV series. What makes these posters a bit more interesting is that the story is set at Japan in 1970. Easy Rider, Beatles, and ウィスキー レッド (Whiskey Red) were what I could spot. IMDB points out that there is a reference to the 1987 OVA Black Magic M-66, but the only connection I could find between both animations is that Chisa Yokoyama (Sasami) acted in both.

Top o Nerae! (Gunbuster)

Lately I've been re-watching Japanese animations from the 80's with abundant female cast members on primary roles. Dirty Pair, Gall Force, Project A-Ko, and Gunbuster. They probably reflect who was the primary demographic target during the 80's. They also demonstrate the contrasting difference of who is today's audience.

The 1988 Top o Nerae! stands to me as one of the landmarks of what anime meant back in the day. Science fiction tales told in the most fun possible way. If you get annoyed in things like "no way a robot could do that" then you better stick to documentaries and the daily news. One of the things I love the most about the medium is how it can bend the rules and still seem... coherent. Knowing how much you can bend the rules is the true talent of a storyteller.


The design of the aliens is incredibly detailed in Top o Nerae! It must have been murderous to animate them. I wonder what was the source of inspiration for their ingenious layout.

Below are some images from episode five of Gunbuster. Really cool posters. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Uchuu Senkan Yamato (1974), and... Van Halem! I knew that Hideaki Anno, director of Gunbuster, had worked in Nausicaa as key animator because Hayao Miyazaki had seen his work in Daicon 4, but I had absolutely no idea that Noriko Hikada, voice of Noriko Takaya (main character of Gunbuster who can be seen in the images below), was the voice of Satsuki Kusakabe, the older sister in My Neighbor Totoro.