#hakkaido

One anime series was forced to postpone the broadcast of its latest episode. It wasn't due to a script rewrite or actor availability, but rather to the recent earthquake in Hokkaido.

According to Anime News Network, the 11th episode of Hanebad!, based on the manga of the same name, was slated to air on Sunday, September 9 in Japan. For westerners, Crunchyroll is streaming each new episode as they premiere in Japan, while Funimation is airing an English dub. The series follows the efforts of young, athletic Ayano Hanesaki, who is reluctant to join the school's faltering badminton team.

The earthquake put a halt to that schedule, prompting the production studio to leave an apologetic note to its fans on its website explaining the dire circumstances behind the delay. As the photography studio for the series is located in Sapporo City in Hokkaido, it was struck by power outages as a result of the disaster. Needless to say, the animators working at the studio were of course victims of the devastation themselves and must focus their own efforts on far more serious matters.

We hope to be walking through Jigokudani (Hell Valley), in a few hours, then maybe a good soak (I don’t really like water that’s too hot though).

One last cherry blossom as we leave.

Two spots in northwest Washington will likely be the next ones sprayed with an insecticide to fight an outbreak of gypsy moths, including the Hokkaido gypsy moth, a native to Asia which has never been found in the U.S. before.