Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Haruna Anno: Classic Game Princess
Decided to take a break from my Omocha Souko retrospective to do a quick post on Haruna Anno`s classic game collection.
I was just sitting here watching TV and a variety show on RKB came on. Usually I hate Japanese TV, but this program had something worth watching. They were showcasing people who collected various things and they did a 1 minute clip about Ms. Anno`s Famicom collection, which was quite impressive. Intrigued, I did a little Google search and was directed to the above YouTube video in which she takes the viewer through her retro gaming museum.
Its in Japanese, but she has a pretty amazing collection going there with 80s cabinets, a complete Game and Watch collection and a ton of CIB Famicom stuff. According to the TV show I just saw her collection is worth ten million yen, which might be in the ballpark judging by what I saw. They say she has over 800 Famicom carts, which means she is a bit ahead of me in my quest to collect them all.
I hope I catch up, I would hate to be beaten by a girl.
Anno is, I should note, a minor celebrity in Japan who has appeared on TV as a talento and been in a lot of DVDs, etc according to her Japanese Wikipedia entry, a large part of which is actually devoted to discussing her retro game collection, which I think is kind of cool.
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Hah, she's the same age as me! Meaning that it's not unusual for me to collect old video games. Well, not that unusual anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'll just say it's too bad I already have a girlfriend! I kid I kid.
Not unusual at all! Fine taste in video games is completely unrelated to age:)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, too bad....no, wait....
Maybe unusual is the wrong word, more like, I've never really met anyone else who collects retro games.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm surprised she hasn't made an appearance on Gamecenter CX. I found this YouTube video of her playing some "Kuso-Ge" with some comedians. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6NhWMykws8
I saw the same segment on TV too.
ReplyDeleteI soon as I saw the E-tank and Mr. Saturn cushions on her sofa I knew it would be a game collection.
Nate - actually I don`t think I`ve ever met anyone who collects retro games either. Still seems to be a bit of a niche hobby!
ReplyDeleteNice find with that video BTW. I can`t believe they include 4 Wheel battle and Sqoon in there though, those games are awesome. Also I have to deduct points from the producer for using some cheap Famiclone rather than the real hardware.
Mike - Yes, I saw that too. It took me a second or so to realize though!
I thought the same thing about the Famiclone. But, from the way they had to tape over the PSX logos and couldn't refer to it by it's proper name, I'm guessing it might have been a licencing issue. Though, it seems like Nintendo is pretty good about that sort of stuff anyway, so who knows.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it seems that the games they chose were not all "Kuso-Ge" and some were just obscure. Though, I thought Sqoon was pretty decently known in the retro gaming community at least.
I was really interested in the final game that was her choice, Esper Bouken Tai. I've never heard of it before, so I downloaded the game and it's really, really weird.
I saw this exact same show too, then subsequently did a youtube search and linked friends back home. I have been on the hunt for a square button Famicom ever since. :)
ReplyDeleteHollo - great minds must think alike:)
ReplyDeleteI have a square button Famicom, but I dont have a boxed one like hers. That is also high on my want list!
I initially missed this post but am glad I ventured back to see it! Seeing that nice complete Moon Crystal was a slap in the face considering how hard a decent priced cart is to come by. I would not consider my collection complete unless I had a game signed by Arino, do you think any of the show winners ever sell? ;)
ReplyDeletergallant - that is a hard one to find, isn`t it? I would love to get a cart signed by Arino, but if I had ever gotten one I don`t think I would ever let it go!!
ReplyDeleteWow, very impressive indeed! I sometimes wish I had a collection like that but the missus wouldn't be very happy. I wonder if I would prefer to have a missus like this girly here... :|
ReplyDelete