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Casey Baseel

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Casey Baseel spent his formative years staring in frustration at un-subtitled Japanese TV programming shown on Southern California’s international channel. Taking matters into his own hands, he moved to Tokyo to study the language, then found work in Yokohama a decade ago teaching, translating, and marketing hotels he can’t afford to stay in. When not participating in the eternal cycle of exercising to burn the calories form his love of Japanese food, Casey scours used comic and game shops for forgotten classics, drags his wife around the country in a quest to visit all its castles, sings karaoke not nearly as well as he thinks he does, and counts the days until the summertime bars open on Enoshima Beach.

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Posted by Casey Baseel (Page 424)

Love anime and driving? Carmaker Subaru now selling official itasha

Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.

Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.

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Three tricky ways the Japanese entertainment industry keeps idol singers from dating

It’s widely known in Japan that idol singers are often contractually prohibited from engaging in romantic relationships. The reasoning goes that if word gets out that an idol singer has a boyfriend, her fans will feel betrayed that she isn’t solely devoted to her role as a musician and entertainer, and thus stop buying her CDs (there’s also the unspoken implication that openly dating someone will destroy the fantasies of individual fans that would like to date the singer themselves).

A signed contract isn’t always enough to keep young love and hormones in check, though. And when you consider that idols are almost always attractive, outgoing young women, it seems like it should be only a matter of time until they find a guy they fancy out of their swarms of would-be suitors. That’s why in addition to legal pledges not to date, the Japanese entertainment industry has a number of sneaky tactics up its sleeve to prevent its idols from falling in love or going on a single date.

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Zelda orchestra provides legendary performance of series’ music on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show

This year marked a huge change for American broadcaster CBS’ Late Show. After 22 years of hosting the program, David Letterman finally stepped down, and the reins of the show were handed to Stephen Colbert, who took over in early September.

The move instantly attracted fans who’d been hungry for more Colbert since the final episode of The Colbert Report aired last December, and as proof that the Late Show is hoping to be more relevant to this younger demographic, the new host recently welcomed the members of The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses to perform music from the series live in front of the studio audience.

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Japanese-style sangria with sake and pear: One of the best things about fall【RocketKitchen】

If you’re someone who loves the sunshine and hates the cold, you’re probably feeling a little down that we’ve now undeniably entered autumn. Maybe you’re doing your best to look on the bright side by enjoying some tasty seasonal produce, like delicious Asian pears, or maybe you’re just trying to brace yourself against the advancing chill in the air with a stiff drink.

But why rely on just one of those coping strategies when you can employ both by whipping up an easy and delicious batch of Japanese-style sangria with fruit and sake?

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Barring the most delusional individuals, cosplayers don’t really think they’re becoming their favorite anime or video game characters by putting on a costume. Cosplay is all about playing make-believe, and recently more and more cosplayers are willing to share the “make” portion by revealing the silly process by which they create a cool photo, including all the embarrassing slouching and off-camera assistance they get from their friends.

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Ghost in the Shell in costume as producers reveal cast photos, reason for no DVD plans

The recent boom in live-action movie, TV, and stage adaptations of hit anime has to be a headache for producers. Most anime start out as manga, where the only limits on outlandish character and costume design is the imagination of the original artist, and we imagine it’s an exhaustive search to find real-life actors and actresses who look the part.

But Japan’s casting directors are proving themselves up to the challenge. Hot on the heels of the recently revealed Prison School TV drama come photos of the cast of the stage adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, and not only are there some uncanny resemblances, we now know why there won’t be a DVD or live streaming of the performance.

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Do you want to hug a Snow Pikachu? Special Christmas-version Pokémon plushies coming soon

As much as Japan loves Halloween, the country’s favorite foreign-introduced holiday is still Christmas. It’s not hard to see why, since in Japan the December celebration is both the nation’s biggest date night and also its most accepted excuse to gorge yourself on fried chicken. Plus, this year good boys and girls can expect a visit from someone very special at Christmas: Pikachu Snowman plushies, plus a whole stocking’s worth of new winter-themed Pokémon goodies!

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Just like magic, Japanese Wizard Parka will transform you from mundane to mystic

With Halloween fast approaching, you may find yourself in the market for a cool costume. But if your cosplay activities are confined to strictly on and around October 31, you might not think it’s worth the time and effort to put together an outfit you’ll only wear once, since by the time next All Hallows’ Eve rolls around you might want to dress up as something else.

But now there’s a single piece of clothing that will let you enjoy a little Halloween fantasy while also being a viable fashion option for the reality of the rest of the year, with Japanese clothing brand Itemya’s Wizard Parka.

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Totoro made me do it! Man says he was inspired to shoplift by Studio Ghibli anime classic

As popular as Japanese animation is, some critics argue that it can have negative psychological effects on audiences. After watching anime martial artists solve their problems with their fists, will fans try to resolve their own conflicts in similarly violent ways? Isn’t is possible that witnessing lewd acts in animated form will cause impressionable viewers to become more sexually aggressive in real life?

We don’t know about those scenarios, but one recently arrested man was led down the path of crime by his love of anime, and the unlikely corrupter was Studio Ghibli’s Totoro.

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Hatsune Miku appears with J-pop legend Namie Amuro in new music video

Vocaloid music still isn’t exactly what you’d call mainstream in Japan, but the genre of virtual idols has made considerable strides in popularity over the last couple of years. Just last month, Vocaloid Hatsune Miku appeared on perpetually popular TV program Music Station, a feat that’s considered a feather in the cap of any performer.

Now, Japan’s most popular virtual vocalist has teamed up with one of its most popular human ones, as Hatsune Miku and J-pop recording legend Namie Amuro have collaborated on a new song and music video.

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New Dead or Alive beach volleyball game full of the busty ninjas, steel drums fans love 【Video】

After Sega got the 3-D fighting video game craze rolling with Virtua Fighter in 1993, latecomers had to do something to differentiate their own games in the genre. Namco added accessible controls for its Tekken series, Tamsoft spruced up its Toshinden, and Tecmo added attack reversals to Dead or Alive. Oh, and also large, heaving breasts.

Over the years the supersized busts of Dead or Alive have sort of become the tail that wags the dog, or the bouncing bosoms that lead the torso and shoulders. So after releasing Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, the third upgrade to the fifth game in the main series, publisher Koei Tecmo is taking a break from the fighting and doubling down on the eye candy with a new beach volleyball game, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, starring its female martial artists, and the first gameplay video has just been released.

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Tokyo’s Hana Yori Dango cafe features cool 3-D art panels of anime hunks and special desserts

We’ve recently seen a pair of Sailor Moon-themed dining options appear in Tokyo, allowing fans to wrap themselves in the hit franchise’s atmosphere as they enjoy a bite to eat. But if your anime and manga tastes run more towards beautiful boys than magical girls, now there’s a place for you too, at the new Hanai Yori Dango Cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya.

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Sipping a hot cup of tea can be an enjoyable way to relax and put your brain on auto-pilot for a few minutes. Waiting for your tea bag to steep, though, can be downright dull. Sitting there, staring at the bag’s string and tab, you might find yourself wishing for a view, and if your preferred view is a pair of large anime breasts, this Japanese company would be happy to oblige.

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Can you figure out this Japanese puzzle that’s “harder to solve the smarter you are?”

Usually, riddles are kind of an all-or-nothing deal. Either you figure it out and get to pat yourself on the back for being smart, or you get to spend a few frustrating minutes trying to find the answer before giving up and feeling like a dummy.

So it’s nice to come across something with a consolation prize, such as this puzzle from Japan that’s said to be harder to solve the smarter the are.

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Many foreigners who travel to Japan are relieved to find that it’s common for restaurants here to have a display window filled with plastic models of the food they serve, which is a huge help in getting around the language barrier. That’s not really why restaurants have them, though. After all, the potential number of foreign customers is a drop in the bucket compared to the native Japanese population that has no trouble reading the menu or placing an order.

The real reason for those plastic models is that they catch the eye and stimulate the appetite of passersby, be they foreign tourist, local resident, or adorable cat.

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Giant collection of 16-bit Nintendo cover art is ultimate coffee table book for old school gamers

Thanks to modern Internet marketing, it’s unlikely that anyone buys a video game without first having seen multiple gameplay videos of it as various stages of production. Gamers didn’t used to have access to so much information, though. In the 16-bit era, the less developed video game journalism sector meant that only major releases would get spreads in print magazines, and for some niche titles the only available visual preview came on the box itself.

As a result, the cover artwork played a huge role in catching customers’ eyes and conveying the mood and style of the game. Like classic movie posters, the best examples are works of art, and many of them are now being assembled in the upcoming book Super Famicom: The Box Art Collection.

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Sailor Moon compact goes full-size with gorgeous new Crisis Moon Compact replica

Last summer, merchandiser Bandai released a line of Sailor Moon compacts modeled after the lunar heroine’s transformation items. Happy as fans were, there were two little drawbacks. First, the items were sold through randomly dispensing gachapon toy vending machines, meaning there was no way to be sure which one you’d get. Second, the compacts were literally compact, with tiny mirrors that weren’t the most practical.

The newest piece of Sailor Moon merchandise from the company’s upmarket Premium Bandai brand addresses both of those issues, though, in the form of this full-size replica of the Crisis Moon Compact, with a large mirror and compartment to hold your accessories in.

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Michelin-listed ramen restaurant will turn you into a tiger with a single bite

It wasn’t so long ago that you’d hear expats and travelers in Japan express shock over the concept of sitting down in a restaurant and paying good money for a bowl of ramen. Seriously, aren’t those the cheap, instant noodles that college students, bachelors, and other people too lazy to cook survive off of?

Things are very different today, though. Ramen is currently the hottest segment of Japanese cuisine in the international dining community, with restaurants dedicated to it opening up in cities across the U.S. The humble noodles’ stock has risen so high that this ramen restaurant in Hokkaido is listed in the esteemed Michelin guide, so we decided to see if it was deserving of the honor.

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Awesome animatronic dinosaur rampages through crowd at train station in Japan 【Videos】

Considering some of the cute critters we’ve seen recently, you might have come away with the impression that Japan is all generous birds and adorable yet spatially confused dogs. But you still shouldn’t let your guard down, because as this video shows, you never know when you’re going to run into a robot dinosaur that breaks away from its handlers and rampages through a crowd.

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When most Americans hear the name Conan, they’re likely to think of either Conan the Barbarian or Conan the Late-Night TV Host/O’Brien. But when people in Japan hear “Conan,” they immediately think of the star long-running anime hit Great Detective Conan (which was released in the U.S. under the title Case Closed).

After being transformed into a child, brilliant detective Shinichi Kudo chooses the alias of Conan Edogawa, borrowing his new first name from Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. But even trapped in the body of a young boy, Kudo continues solving crimes. Like Doyle’s famous consulting detective, no detail escapes the sharp eyes and clever eyes of Conan.

Well, except for this gigantic art mistake in a recent episode of the Great Detective Conan anime.

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