First you see The Ring, and then this shit happens...

August 27, 2013 9:58 PM

Sadako throws out the first pitch at a baseball game - undoubtedly you'll want a Sadako Hair Dog and Sadako Well Water after watching that, just be careful when you order it.
posted by Artw (19 comments total)

It's like a home game for the A's at the Oakland Coliseum -- there's not very many people there!
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 10:45 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

Guys, relax. She just wants a hug.
And people call HER the monster.
posted by GoingToShopping at 10:56 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

And you thought J-horror style movies had jumped the shark in the west.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:13 PM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I just think it's swell that Japan embraces its weirdos and monsters.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:30 PM on August 27, 2013

Man, I already told my Kyra Schon story in the OTHER THREAD.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:31 PM on August 27, 2013

Back when Ringu was a big thing in the UK, I was working on a Sadako costume for Halloween. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right kind of dress for what I wanted, but I did work out how to get that really gross-looking ripped-out nails look for cheap - in fact, hitting the 99-cent store or the poundshop gets you what you need for less than $5/£5, and you have plenty to last.

To do it, you need:

1. Cheap and nasty black cherry/dark red nail polish (the kind that takes like five coats to get rid of streakiness and even then it's still semi-transparent)
2. Thin cheap tissues or toilet paper
3. Superglue
4. A small paintbrush you don't mind fucking up
5. Nail polish remover (the kind with acetone in it)

Put on a layer of nail polish. If it streaks, that's good.
Take one of the thin tissues, dip in the nail polish remover, then gently touch it to each nail. You want to take it off the centre and top of the nail, but leaving plenty at the base and on the sides.
Put a drop of superglue on each nail.
Press tissue into the glue and smear it around a bit, then pull as much of the tissue you can away. You want bits to stick.
Dip the paintbrush into the nail polish remover. Attack each nail, pushing the glue and tissue around, really making it look fucked up.
Add more superglue as needed and attack it with the paintbrush. You want ridges and streaks and trauma.
Let your nails dry.
Put on another layer of nail polish. This time, let it pool a bit around the ridges.
Let that dry.

If it starts getting a bit too matte, add a topcoat. You want it to look wet.

It all comes off with the acetone remover, but you do have to scrub a bit (like with glitter polish).

I went around work with nails like that for a day, and everyone freaked out asking me what happened.
posted by Katemonkey at 1:40 AM on August 28, 2013 [5 favorites]

I just think it's swell that Japan embraces its weirdos and monsters.

"In fact, the stunt was just one part of a multi-tiered advertising strategy with lots of other attention-getting components."
posted by three blind mice at 1:41 AM on August 28, 2013 [2 favorites]

They made a movie called (translated to English) "Sadako 3-D 2"

It's clear that The West has no monopoly on shitty sequel titles.
posted by ShutterBun at 2:17 AM on August 28, 2013

The weirdest Ring-related thing I've seen was in the UK. Ages ago I saw the original Ring and Ring 2 at the Prince Charles in London. For some reason they did the whole thing as a movie double bill plus live comedy night, cause nothing goes better with morbid J-horror than light-hearted stand up, apparently. The acts included Hattie Hayridge (Holly off of Red Dwarf), a man who did mime versions of pop songs and a pre-The Office Ricky Gervais, who proceeded to puzzle the fuck out of the largely Japanese student based audience by telling Hiroshima jokes.

Still, the films were brilliantly scary. Ring 2 has probably the most unsettling opening of any film I've seen. Just watched the Sadako 3D trailer and it looks quite poor. There's no way a 404 not found error is going to give me the willies.
posted by permafrost at 4:48 AM on August 28, 2013 [2 favorites]

I just think it's swell that Japan embraces its weirdos and monsters.

Chicago has the Cubs.
posted by srboisvert at 5:01 AM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]

And you thought J-horror style movies had jumped the shark in the west.

Coming this fall: Sadako 3: Sadako Humps a Foam Finger at the VMAs.
(Should be even bigger than Sadako Bombs the Hell Out of Syria.)
posted by PlusDistance at 5:05 AM on August 28, 2013

Sadako is purely a defence force.
posted by Artw at 5:58 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

After a few off-field warm-up throws, Sadako marched on field accompanied by three miniature doubles

I am not sure if having a bunch of smaller replicas of herself trailing her like ducklings diminishes or augments the weirdness.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:05 AM on August 28, 2013 [2 favorites]

a pre-The Office Ricky Gervais, who proceeded to puzzle the fuck out of the largely Japanese student based audience by telling Hiroshima jokes.

Fame hasn't changed him.
posted by Artw at 6:09 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

First pitch? That's nothing. Sadako's had some hard times recently. Not a lot of good vocational training to be had at the bottom of a well, so she's had to find whatever arubaito she could to make ends meet. The other night, doorbell rings, it's my package from AmazoAAAAHHHHHHHHH! There's Sadako, on the doorstep, asking me to sign for my box. I apologized, and asked her if a lot of other people have the same reaction. She sighed and said yes, and that she was looking to transition to a more 'in office' sort of job. I signed the paper, and she tried to drag me to hell.

All in all, a pretty ordinary Tuesday in Chiba.

As for Sadako costumes, this is a little story about the time my then-girlfriend and I dress up for Halloween and took the train to a friend's party. God, that was fun.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Guys, relax. She just wants a hug.
And people call HER the monster.

Coming this fall to Disney! "Aw Nuts! Mom's A Ghost!"
posted by filthy light thief at 7:51 AM on August 28, 2013

I was so confused - trying to picture one of the opera stars of the Ring des Nibelungen opening a Seattle Mariners game. Maybe in an alternate universe. I bet Brunnhilde would pitch a strike out. Except this year's Brunnhilde was British and unlikely to have played US baseball (cricket, maybe).
posted by Dreidl at 11:09 AM on August 28, 2013

There's the part when Sadako ascends the mound, and the little Sadakos all stand with palms outstretched towards her.

The announcer says something like, "And now the little Sadakos are transferring their "Qi" to the Big Sadako to help her pitch."

And the crowd lets out a collective, knowing chuckle.

Japan's sense of whimsy (it's not weird at all) is what makes it such a lovable place.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:17 AM on August 28, 2013 [4 favorites]

Except this year's Brunnhilde was British and unlikely to have played US baseball (cricket, maybe).

Rounders.
posted by Artw at 11:21 AM on August 28, 2013