Innovation is the thing that keeps humanity moving towards a new future. That’s the sort of idea that is behind the Tokyo Design Week, which this year was renamed to the Tokyo Genius Expo. Gathering visionaries from all over the world every year to showcase their brilliant work in their respective fields, the Tokyo Genius Expo has taken place since 2005, and attracts over 100,000 visitors intrigued with what the human race can achieve. However, this year one star stole the show at the exposition, and while she is definitely an example of innovation, “human” might not be the right word for her. Meet Asuna.
Posted by Anime News Network (Page 15)
An autopsy performed on Darrien Hunt, the 22-year-old man shot and killed by police in Saratoga Springs, reveals that Hunt was shot five times from behind and had no drugs in his system.
The autopsy report shows that Hunt was shot once in the back, two times in the left hip, and three times in the upper arm. Five of the shots entered from behind, and one of the shots in his hip entered from the side toward the back. A total of seven shots were fired by police, six of which struck Hunt. The fatal shot to his back traveled in an upward direction.
It feels too early to be writing about Christmas, and downright blasphemous to be writing about Valentine’s Day. Nevertheless, Sailor Moon Valentine’s Day chocolates have been announced, and despite their early arrival, they might be worth pre-ordering, because they look delightful.
The Teesside Crown Court of Middlesbrough, England convicted 39-year-old Robul Hoque of 10 counts of possessing prohibited images of children. However, the children depicted in the images were all drawings. Hoque is believed to be the first man in the country brought to court solely over manga and anime images. The court sentenced him to nine months in prison, but the sentence will be suspended if Hoque maintains good behavior and follows the court’s requirements for two years.
Nintendo fans may not be familiar with the name Xander Mobus, but they probably know his voice when they hear it. He’s the announcer for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and WiiU, as well as a few other voice roles, but his talents apparently don’t just end there. A fan asked him to please sing the Pokémon theme song, and he obliged.
The Simpsons had some fun last night in their “Treehouse of Horror XXV” Halloween episode, imagining a world where multiple incarnations of the Simpsons family has been created by an evil marketing entity.
Amongst them was a tribute to some popular anime titles, including Attack on Titan, Naruto, Pokémon, Bleach, One Piece, and Spirited Away.
The Baseball Federation of Japan recently recruited five manga characters to the “Samurai Japan” national team roster—Takao Taniguchi from Captain, Tatsuya Uesugi from Touch, Gorō Shigeno from Major, Ren Mihashi from Big Windup!, and Eijun Sawamura from Ace of Diamond.
If you’ve been to any recreational running events in your lifetime, you know that they’re a great place to show off your personal style, whether it’s tutus, turkey hats, crazy tights, or Santa outfits. For those who love KanColle, it can also be a good place to channel your inner Shimakaze.
This year’s Maizuru Kanko Half Marathon faced some bad weather, but it certainly didn’t deter one man from trying to set a personal best as his favorite destroyer. Known as Micchan, he frequently participates in running events and triathlons in cosplay.
Here are some photos and videos of Micchan as Shimakaze:
There’s something about October 10 and the appeal of seeing 10/10 that makes it a particularly popular character birthday. Like CLAMP‘s reuse of April 1, plenty ofcharacters were “born” on October 10 and the day has only gotten more popular since the spread of moe and the day’s unofficial recognition as “Moe Day” (10 October (十日十月), stacked, resembles the character for moe: 萌).
One character’s birthday this year is especially bittersweet. Naruto Uzamaki, everyone’s famous ninja, is celebrating his last birthday this year since his manga run is ending in just a few weeks.
Square Enix began streaming a video on Thursday of Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura drawing Sora to promote the release of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX game. The game shipped for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on Thursday.
With Halloween just around the corner, enthusiasts are already pouring their hearts and souls into putting together their costume for the year. In case you still need some ideashowever, or are already looking for something to pull in plenty of candy next year, here’s a costume that is sure to get you plenty of treats. In collaboration with Dragon Ball Kai the costume designers at Trantrip have created this official Majin Buu costume.
Namco‘s indoor theme park, Namjatown, is collaborating with Attack on Titan and getting them into the Halloween spirit with adorable cat ears.
Japanese city Matsudo, located in Chiba prefecture, is encouraging cosplayers to visit on the weekends, billing its Yabashira district as a cosplay-friendly environment.
The city decided to launch a promotional campaign, noticing that cosplayers have been congregating at nearby 21 Seiki no Mori to Hiroba Park for photoshoots for several years. Together with the Yabashira Ekimae Chuo-Shotenkai shop owners association, which spearheaded the promotional efforts, the city has been posting posters of two girls, one in fantasy garb, with the phrase, “On weekends, I transform myself.” Incidentally, the girl on the left is wearing an outfit modeled after the actual Matsudo High School uniform.
An editorial published by the Chengdu Daily News is claiming that Doraemon, the popular franchise based on the manga by duo Fujiko F. Fujio, and the recent exhibitions in China that showcase it, are merely attempts by Japan to subvert Chinese culture.
Nintendo has recruited fashion model and singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to promote the New Nintendo 3DS game system before it launches in Japan on October 11. On a new website, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu introduces the system’s interchangeable “Kisekae Plates” (literally, dress-up plates). With these plates, players can customize the exterior design of the New Nintendo 3DS in countless ways.
In a new television commercial, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu plays dress-up by putting extravagant outfits on Mario, Link, and other familiar characters:
Pop idols exist in this strange space between reality and fantasy. While they are living, breathing individuals, they are set on a pedestal and rarely get to interact with people one on one. While groups like AKB48 may be tied to a certain location to serve as a symbol of pride for one area’s people, outside of meet and greet events, fans cannot really get to know them. Of course, the biggest taboo of all is for a pop idol and a fan to begin dating. But one brave group has decided to step forth from the binds of their image. Meet the members of the idol group Happening Girls. These four lovely ladies depicted here are unique in the idol community because they are allowed to foster relationships, date, and even marry their fans.
Apple’s iTunes service released a trailer for the English dub of Studio Ghibli and Isao Takahata‘s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya on Monday.
The lawyer for the family of Darrien Hunt, the 22-year-old man allegedly shot and killed by police officers in Saratoga Springs, Utah last week, said that the family believes Hunt was cosplaying an anime character when he was shot. In particular, the family’s attorney Randall Edwards said that they believe Hunt was dressed as the character Mugen from the anime Samurai Champloo, with a Japanese-style katana sword on his back.
On September 10, two officers confronted Hunt while he was carrying the sword near a credit union in Saratoga Springs. After one shot was fired near the credit union, Hunt was shot and killed about 200 yards away near a Panda Express restaurant.
Previously, we wrote about KFC Japan’s deep-fried celebration of “Colonel Day,” involving a variety of absurd, yet incredible, chicken-shaped computer accessories, like a drumstick mouse, a keyboard with chicken keys, and a chicken USB memory stick. The company even trotted out a pair of stylish fried chicken earrings.
They’ve unveiled a couple more items since then, including this oversized fried chickendrumstick iPhone 5s case (even the Colonel is laughing, asking, “Why is it so big?”).