"It always seems to me that people who hate me must be suffering from some kind of lunacy."

To you know who you are, good writers have a point, and wouldn't be random. I'm random. I'm not a good writer. THIS is evidence. Entry yang most likely nobody would read. But who cares?

If you watch Astro, then most likely you know about Astro Box Office. Another way for Astro to eat up our money walaupun dia dah memang bongok ambil duit tapi program tak se up to date 8TV yang free. Buduh.

Last time I really like Astro Box Office. It's a chance to watch foreign movies yang tak berapa senang nak sampai, or indie film yang aku tak rajin nak mendownload. It was better then because there were loads of Japanese movies. One notable favorite yang aku takkan lupa sampai mati is a 1995 movie, Love Letter by Shunji Iwai. That was a damn good movie yang stays with you years after. Melancholic, nostalgic and aching, exactly my kind.

If you paid attention to it thoroughly, it used to be that ABO came with collection of movies that were popular in Film Festivals. Back then lah. They will have like, 5 awesome to good movies and the rest are usually crap. But tak apa, bukan duit aku, duit bapak aku. The number Astro Box Office tu aku memang dah hafal dah. Ramai orang yang paid little to no attention to ABO, but to be fair, its collection of movies these days are crap.

But recently, you must have noticed the excessive advertising of ABO current line up, one notable one being a Japanese movie called Sky of Love/Love Sky. The moment I saw Love Sky it came to me. I remember reading about this movie. This is a movie made from a best selling novel in Japan. What's so fascinating about this novel you say? This is one of those cellphone novels that's was all the buzz in Japanese literary scene.

For the uninitiated, cellphone novels is exactly what it is. Novels typed on mobile phones. As SMSes. Text message format.

[Off topic jap]

We all know the Japanese mode of coming of age is getting a mobile phone. There are no other more robust market for mobile phones than the Japanese, especially so amongst the young. Of course, their technology is different. Here, there are no such thing as ordering shoes through your mobile phone, have it sent to the nearest 7 Eleven for you to pick up.

Especially so the Sony Ericsson ones. They save their best phones for the Japanese market. It's common concept that Sony Ericsson integrates everything Sony into their phones, like Walkman and Cybershot. They now have Bravia integrated into Sony Ericsson phones, for the slowpoke ones, Bravia is Sony's flasghip plasma TV line. One example is this, Sony Ericsson SO903iTV.

A super slim phone with a 3" Sony Bravia widescreen display, 3 megapixel auto-focus camera, software to pause, skip, record live TV, GPS navigation, and Felica cashless electronic payment system. Yes, that's the antenna for them to pick up digital TV signals to watch during long commutes.

This would be a typical day for a young working Japanese.

"His typical day starts with him checking his email on his phone. He gets all his daily tasks and calendaring events this way. He then syncs it with his computer. He pays for the subway by placing the phone on a kiosk granting him access past the gates. The commute is spent watching TV on his phone by rotating the screen. A small antenna extends up and catches the wireless digital TV signals.

About 45 minutes later, he's in Tokyo and heads to a vending machine to buy fresh fruit and water. He places the phone up against a pad. The vending machine reads his bank information which is tied into his phone. He then places his thumb on the phone's tiny thumbprint reader to verify his identity. As he makes his way to the office, he waves the phone near the door handle to unlock it. During a 10 minute break, he's flips thru a magazine and sees something he wants to buy. The item has a tiny stamp size barcode pictogram next to it. He scans the pictogram with his phone. A receipt and shipping confirmation hits his email minutes later.

As the day ends, he syncs with his work computer and goes grocery shopping paying for items with his phone. Before heading home, he heads to a bar his friend has invited him too. He uses the phone to give him step-by-step directions. The day is finally over and his phone's battery is nearing the end of its life. He plugs it in and goes about the rest of the evening relaxing before bed. "

Quoted from Tranism.

And there's been talk about integrating the PSP into Sony Ericsson's line of mobiles, and by then, Nokia's Ngage gaming phones would be rotting in no time. One impressive fan concept I'd like to see Sony Ericsson take into consideration is this one.

Okay cukup la dengan off topic. Takde niat sebenarnya nak go all rabid on Japanese mobile phone technology.

I had wanted to talk about SMS novels/cellphone novels je sebenarnya. Bongok. Love Sky/Sky of Love was originally written in text message form. Of last year's top ten Japan's best-selling novels, half of them were originally written as cellphone novels, mostly love stories written as short stories, characteristic of text messaging format, but contains little of the plotting and character development that would be present in traditional novel format.

"Love Sky/Sky of Love, a debut novel by a young woman named Mika, was read by 20 million people on cellphones or on computers, according to Maho no i-rando, where it was first uploaded. A tear-jerker featuring adolescent sex, rape, pregnancy and a fatal disease — the genre’s sine qua non — the novel nevertheless captured the young generation’s attitude, its verbal tics and the cellphone’s omnipresence. "

Quoted from NY Times.

Of course, cellphone novels are not as long as traditional novels, one chapter would have around 70 words. The 21 year old writer of "If You", had her cellphone novel republished into a 142 page hardcover last year, sold 400,00 copies and became the #5 Best Selling novel last year. Often chided by old school novelist for not having as substantial or extensive storylines, especially so coming from traditional Japanese literary scene, which are most famous for depicting scenes in such emotional breadth.

If you are familiar with Haruki Murakami, Natsuo Kirino or any other Japanese literary sensei, their style is commonly very emotionally descriptive. Take for example Nobel Prize Winner, Yasunari Kawabata's classic, "Yukigini", with its famous opening line, exemplifying exactly that with "The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country. The earth lay white under the night sky. The train pulled up at a signal stop."

Cellphone novels are devoid of all that, descriptive emotional depiction of scenes. It's more direct and forefront, and the lack of descriptives make it highly relatable to any reader, wherever they may live. In cellphone novels, characters tend to be undeveloped and descriptions thin, while paragraphs are often fragments and consist of dialogue. But I highly disagree with the connotation that they lack in emotions, as emotions are subjectively depicted and interpreted, thus cellphone novels should have the same appeal as short stories, the thin air it hangs on to, the simple words that evoke vast varying feelings, ah you know the drill.

Cellphone novels are typically told in first person, making it like reading a diary. It shouldn't be that much different from that of Murakami, Miyuki Abe or Kirino's work, granted that these traditional novelists are of a different league entirely, given that they come up with extensive vocabulary, storyline, execution whilst cellphone novels are straight forward and predictable. Common grounds is in evoking feelings and emotions, and even though I'm being off topic again since they are debating on whether or not they are valid as novels, it shouldn't be discredited as a sub-genre anyway.

Lady Murasaki

But most importantly, I would agree with some opinions that it pays homage to the style of Lady Murasaki herself. Murasaki Shikibu, the aristocratic early 11th century figure, royal lady-in-waiting, noblewoman author of the fictional, "The Tale Of Genji", written in the Heian Period, which is commonly accepted as the world's first modern novel. Unrealizingly, most of the cellphone novel authors, which are female, seem to channel Lady Murasaki's spirit and perspective in writing, by delving into affairs of the meagre heart. Only, of course, how can these 20 something year olds be compared to the most important Japanese literary figure in history, the mysterious literati herself, whose works have been inspiration to multitudes of modern authors till today. "Genji" specifically was noted for its characterization, psychological depiction and internal consistencies throughout all its chapters and hundreds of characters.

Yoshitaka Amano's paintings of Genji. Yes, of course I want this and while you're at it, get me The Sandman one too.

But the point being, I don't entirely agree with the notion that cellphone novels contribute to hasten the downfall of Japanese literature. It's a great way to start as an author, sheer simplicity in evoking feelings and emotions should come first, then polished with better and more accurate vocabulary, superior grammar, quality of execution, extensive development of characters and plots, and such. Why else would the cellphone novels garner such place in the literary scene, becoming this decade's popular culture, if it didn't strike the right chords?

Maybe I should try watching Sky of Love huh.

Post Scriptum: Mentioning Lady Murasaki does not mean in any way I favor her over Sei Shonagon. Their rivalry does not concern me. I would love to read Genji, and I would still love to have Sei Shonagon's work, "The Pillow Book". Buy for me please?