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June, 2015 (Page 3)

Businessman ‘wins’ 4-year battle with Singapore Airlines after being downgraded to economy class

Anyone who is a frequent traveler has probably had their share of ups and downs when flying. But just how far would you go to make an airline pay for a minor inconvenience?

One Mr. GRK Reddy, an Indian businessmen, felt that he was so damaged by Singapore Airlines’ sudden decision to downgrade him from business to economy class back in 2011 that he decided to take legal action against the airline, demanding compensation of approximately US$83,000.

Four years later, Mr Reddy has finally been awarded his compensation, but it’s slightly less than the amount he originally requested…

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Video shows Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heckled by angry Okinawans at ceremony

June 23 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, a bloody, 82-day battle which left thousands of people dead. In commemoration of this gruesome chapter of Japanese history, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared in Okinawa at the Cornerstone of Peace, a memorial to those who died in the battle, to deliver a speech.

However, it turned out that not everyone was happy to see the leader, who faced heckling by some attendees.

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We bump into Kuratas, the 120 million-yen robot, at the Tokyo Toy Show

Many of you may recall the three-meter-tall (12.5 feet) ridable Japanese robot known as Kuratas which we have covered many times before. Earlier this year the real-life mecha made waves when it went up for sale on Amazon for the sum of 120 million yen (US$978,000).

For years now, Kuratas has been charming wannabe mech-pilots around the world until its most recent offering in January, but since then things have been quiet on the giant robot front. So you can imagine our Mr. Sato’s surprise when he stumbled upon one by chance during a trip to the 2015 Tokyo Toy Show.

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Newest live-action Attack on Titan trailer shows 3-D maneuver gear, spurting blood…and a kiss?

The second animated Attack on Titan movie opens this Saturday, but it’s not the only trip the Survey Corps and their people-eating, pants-shunning adversaries are making to theaters this summer. The first of two live-action Attack on Titan films debuts on August 1, and while it might not have the gusting winds and spraying water of the anime version’s special screening, the newest trailer shows that it will have action and destruction on a grand scale, plus a scene where leading lady Mikasa locks lips with one of her brothers in arms on the battlefield.

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Even as discourse over how best to eliminate revenge porn grows overseas, the first criminal case involving the messaging app Line has emerged in Japan. Police have arrested two men for sharing topless images of a woman in her 20s without her permission in April.

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Abandoned Chinese fishing village gets a natural facelift and it’s awesome 【Photos】

There’s something about abandoned buildings, such as Nagasaki’s famed “Battleship Island,” and the ghost skyscraper in Bangkok, that is so creepy and mysterious that we just can’t get enough of them. One Shanghai-based photographer recently journeyed out to the nearby Zhoushan Archipelago to document the remains of a once-prospering fishing village, now abandoned and being consumed by nature.

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Last weekend the inaugural CharaExpo, a celebration of Japanese animation, comics, and video games, was held in Singapore. The event hosted artists, musicians, and voice actors, plus independent dojinshi producers and cosplayers, and also had an array of exhibit booths from a variety of game and anime companies.

At one booth, fans could take photos with some of the characters from Touken Ranbu, the computer game that’s been winning the heart of female otaku for the way it turns historical Japanese swords into handsome young samurai hotties. But while taking a picture with a flesh-and-blood celebrity crush means he might affectionately put an arm around you as you smile for the camera, you can’t ask a cardboard cutout to do the same. However, one attendee has shown that with a little creativity you can take a photo that makes it look like you’re in the passionate embrace of your inanimate anime crush.

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Transform your bottle of tea into Sailor Senshi with these cool Sailor Moon covers from Mini Stop

Heat and humidity are as much a part of a Japanese summer as festivals and fireworks. With the threat of dehydration always looming, it’s a smart idea to always carry a cool, rehydrating beverage with you, but if you’re sweating profusely, you can bet the plastic bottle your drink is in is doing likewise.

To keep the rest of the contents of your bag from getting damp, you could wrap the bottle in a hand towel. A more effective alternative, though, is to slip a specially designed cover over it, and if you’re going that route, why not use one of these cool Sailor Moon costume covers that you can get for free with a bottle of Japanese tea at Mini Stop convenience stores?

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“Gotta catch ’em all, son!” Japanese dad gets game-addicted kid to quit – by making it a chore

You can learn all kinds of things on the internet. How to fix your leaky tap, how to get your baby to go to sleep in five seconds, and now, how to get your kid to step away from the console.

On the Japanese Twitterverse this week we read of one father’s unusual method of getting his son to stop playing video games – by making Pokémon compulsory.

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New model PlayStation 4 is lighter and more energy efficient, hits stores this month

Sony had a pretty impressive E3 this year, with the company basking in the adoring gaze of gamers around the world who imagined themselves playing the remade Final Fantasy VII, back-from-the-dead Last Guardian, and long-awaited Shenmue 3 on the PlayStation 4. As a matter of fact, Sony’s strong showing no doubt has plenty of holdouts thinking that now is the time to finally upgrade to the great-grandson of the original PlayStation.

And as if those upcoming titles weren’t incentive enough to pick up a PlayStation 4, Sony is sweetening the deal with a new version of the console that’s lighter on both the scale and power consumption.

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Announcing the winners of our Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition giveaway!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s finally time to announce the winners of our Anime Encyclopedia 3rd Revised Edition giveaway!

Click the link below to find out if you’re one of the four lucky people who won a copy of this gargantuan guide to all things anime!

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In any situation, it’s important to dress appropriately. It can be tough to get all the little details just right, though, especially when dealing with articles of clothing you don’t have occasion to use very often. If you’re still a student, for example, you might have trouble tying a nice, crisp knot in your necktie, and even if you’re an adult working in a suit-and-tie business environment, you might not know all the finer points for more formal accessorizing, such as where to position a tie bar or the proper way to fold a pocket square.

Or, if you’re going to meet up with your fellow samurai, should your sword point upwards or downwards?

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Attack on illicit substances! Colossal Titan stars in Tokyo Government anti-drug campaign 【Video】

Anti-drug posters and commercials usually have a way of getting us down. Dark images of despair, death and homelessness rely on realism to get the message across, leaving us with tiny mental scars as a warning to stay away from the dark side and walk on the right side of life.

Here in Japan, though, anti-drug tactics are very different. Instead of scaring citizens, animated images are used to inform and empower people. And when the Tokyo Metropolitan Government enlists the help of the Survey Corps and Colossal Titan to fight the war on drugs, you’ve got a campaign that catches everyone’s interest.

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  • Jun 22, 2015

Hello cronuts! Tokyo welcomes arrival of Dominique Ansel Bakery in Japan

It so happens that this past Saturday was kind of a big day for sweets lovers in Japan (well, at least for this writer). That’s right, June 20 was the much-anticipated grand opening of the Dominique Ansel Bakery, home of the original cronuts, in Tokyo’s Omotesando district.

For those of you who may not be into sweets, the cronut is a hugely popular baked creation the bakery is known for which can be described as a hybrid between a croissant and donut. Not surprisingly, stories of people forming long lines every morning at the New York City-based bakery for the cronuts and other delightful baked treats have reached Japan, and many sweets fans were ecstatic when it was announced that the shop would be opening in Tokyo. Not to miss out on the sugar-filled excitement, we were there bright and early on opening day, all psyched up to try the cronuts we had heard so much about!

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June 21 was Father’s Day, so hopefully everyone took a moment to appreciate all the things your dad has done for you. But while a father’s job includes providing loving support and teaching some of life’s most important lessons (such as how to believe in yourself, have empathy for others, and drive a manual transmission), it takes more than just kindness to be a good parent.

Sometimes, a dad has to give his child a push in the right direction, which is why it’s appropriate that one day after Father’s Day, June 22, 2015, is the in-anime date of the first time Neon Genesis Evangelion’s mad and sad scientist Gendo Ikari looked at his son Shinji and told him to get in the damn robot.

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Commercial for latest The Grudge film removed from air after complaints of being “too scary”

Japanese horror films are their own special brand of awesome. Movies like The Ring and The Grudge will sometimes make you roll your eyes with their cheesy acting and special effects, but at the same time contain certain horrifying scenes that will stick with you in your nightmares for weeks to come.

The latest installment in The Grudge series, Grudge: The Final has just come out in Japan, advertised by commercials airing all over. However, one commercial received so many complaints about it being “way too scary” that it was taken down and replaced with something more tame.

Are you brave enough to watch the original commercial? Then read on to get your chance.

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Swiss hotel fights food wastefulness with photos of starving children

As a child, did your parents ever try to get you to finish everything on your plate by telling you how there are starving children in the world who aren’t lucky enough to have the luxury of a decent meal? As a kid, it probably just seemed like an unfair guilt-trip, but as adults hopefully we have all now realized the truth behind those words and the importance of not being wasteful.

A particular Swiss hotel has taken similar tactics to curb the wastefulness of its guests at the breakfast buffet, after shameful amounts of food have been left partially or wholly uneaten and then thrown away. But the hotel took it a step further by including shocking photos to help drive the message home.

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All-female Takarazuka Revue set to perform Rurouni Kenshin musical early next year

In early 2016, the beloved Rurouni Kenshin series will be getting its first musical adaptation by the Takarazuka Revue, Japan’s all-female musical theater troupe! If you’re a fan of the manga and singing, check out when and where the musical will be performed and start planning accordingly.

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Full cast revealed for the third Black Butler musical – did the butler do it again?

You know something is popular when it starts getting adapted into anime, drama CDs, movies and games. But maybe one of the biggest and strangest adaptations is the musical. Oddly enough, staged musicals are popular enough in Japan that plenty of series get live-action singing and dancing versions performed for ecstatic fans in packed theaters. If you’re not convinced that a musical means a popular title has hit the big time, how about a third musical?

That’s right, Black Butler is set for its third musical and the final cast photos have been released!

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Regionally themed cat socks are insanely cute, great souvenirs, even educational

I love socks. Not your boring old gym socks and stockings, though. I like ’em bright and patterned, the more obnoxiously the better. If it doesn’t look like something a child should be wearing, I’ll pass.

Two other things I love are Japan and cats, so you’ll understand why my squees of delight filled the aisles of popular bargain chain 3 Coins when I spotted this huge rack of cat socks with designs inspired by each of Japan’s 42 prefectures and regions. 

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