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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 445)

Thomas the Tank Engine’s video visit to Japan is more Japanese than life in Japan

Being that he’s a train on an island, you wouldn’t expect Thomas the Tank Engine to do much international traveling. However, thanks to a bit of clever storytelling (and Thomas’ absolute lack of compunction about stowing away on freight ships), the beloved locomotive has embarked on a globe-trotting tour in an ongoing video series.

In one of the most recent episodes, Thomas even arrives in Japan, where he takes in the local sites in a whirlwind visit that’s more Japanese than actually living in Japan.

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“Attention, all you pigs!” Japan’s anime-style motivational diet CD minces no words or pork

Being overweight can negatively impact your life in a number of ways, but many of them don’t become apparent until after years of a hyper-calorific lifestyle. As such, vague warnings about lowered energy levels and increased medical costs at some indeterminable point in the future, or even a potentially early death, don’t always have enough of a feeling of immediacy to be compelling arguments to eat healthy and exercise.

On the other hand, a better chance at winning the approval of women is almost always a compelling argument, which is why a new motivational CD is being released in Japan with a number of anime and video game voice actresses alternatively offering encouragement to dieters and spitting contempt at the “pigs.”

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Not just Sailor Moon, but Sailor macarons as anime combines with elegant confectionaries

The recent release of fine porcelain Sailor Moon cups and saucers has anime fans ready to add a touch of elegance to their table. Of course, what’s tea time without some equally posh snacks, right? So if you’re looking to keep your refreshments in the same anime family, why not pair your pour of Darjeeling or Lady Grey with some Sailor Moon macarons?

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Stop-motion Attack on Titan/Godzilla crossover is disturbingly awesome 【Video】

Attack on Titan’s adaptations to other forms of media have been sort of hit-and-miss. Sure, the animated TV series that followed up on the success of the original manga is the anime industry’s biggest hit in decades, but kind words for the two live-action movies have been few and far between.

Still, the upcoming video game version looks pretty cool, and as further proof that the series can still be cool in new formats is this awesome fan-produced stop-motion video that’s a crossover between Attack on Titan and Godzilla.

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The musical rhythm games that are fixtures at Japanese arcades blur the line between video games and public performance. Even those who don’t see what’s so special about a 10-hit Tekken combo or one-credit shooter play-through can find themselves enthralled with tempo-perfect drumming or dancing, and expert rhythm gamers often garner a crowd of impressed onlookers watching them play.

The audience for this arcade dancer, though, didn’t consist of a throng of people, though, but instead a single kitty.

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There’s a restaurant in my neighborhood that I ate dinner at shortly after I moved to Yokohama. Since in those days I worked night shift, I walked through the door around 9:30 p.m., asked for a table for one, and ordered my food.

It turned out to be one of the blandest, least satisfying meals I’ve ever had, but that restaurant is still in business, more than a decade later, so the food can’t be that bad. In hindsight, I think the fact that it was about the 20th meal in a row I’d eaten alone was affecting my sense of taste. Spending too much time by yourself can mess with your head, and the social aspect of eating with a friend can really add a lot to your enjoyment of the meal, which is why a researcher in Japan says that if you’re going to be eating by yourself, you should put a mirror on the table.

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Yoshinoya studying what happens to the body after three months of eating beef bowls

In a lot of ways, Japan’s equivalent to the hamburger is the beef bowl, or “gyudon” as the locals call it. Tasty, fortifying, and cheap, beef bowls are so prevalent and popular in Japan that they essentially have their own strata in the personal food pyramids of many college students and bachelors.

Realizing that much of its customers’ bodies are literally made out of beef bowls, Japan’s largest gyudon chain is now embarking on a research project to investigate what happens after three months of eating the dish.

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China looks to be getting a live-action version of anime Doraemon, starring an actual cat 【Video】

There’s a unique problem that the producers of anime-to-live-action adaptations face. Even if the casting director can gather a group of actors that look just like the source material’s human characters, what do you do about the non-human characters?

Using practical effects and animatronics for all those loveable robot companions and magical creatures limits the variety of movements they can handle and the angles you can film from. On the other hand, using post-production CG effects leaves the actors in the difficult position of having to perform while imagining costars that aren’t really there, which often leads to less-than-convincing results.

Maybe that’s why an upcoming Chinese live-action version of Doraemon has decided to go with the obvious solution and just use a real cat for the titular feline robot.

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Thanks to the extensive use of motion capture actors in the modern era, when a video game knight swings a sword to take down a fearsome dragon or a grizzled space marine aims a bazooka at an invading alien army, somewhere out there is a real person who performed the dramatic movements and cool poses. Of course, since the whole point of motion capture is to apply those movements to a totally different-looking frame, the actors themselves tend to live lives of relative obscurity.

At the recent Tokyo Game Show, though, fans got the chance to meet the real Revolver Ocelot, as the actor behind the pistol-loving Metal Gear Solid character showed up in costume and showed off his skills.

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Japan now has Kit Kat croissants, in chocolate and matcha green tea flavors

The delicious delights of being in Japan aren’t limited to the amazing sushi and tea. Being in the country also surprisingly gives you access to the world’s greatest variety of Kit Kat flavors and variations.

We’ve already seen the tasty confectionaries show up in cheesecake flavor and atop pizzas, and now the crossover between the chocolate wafers and baked goods continues as one of Japan’s most popular coffeehouses is now selling Kit Kat croissants.

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Korean “restaurant” just for singles has a romantic surprise 【Video】

Eating out by yourself can feel a little awkward and embarrassing, but a restaurant in Korea billing itself as being just for single diners caught the attention of plenty of passersby. And that’s “single” diners in both senses of the word: unaccompanied and also without a boyfriend or girlfriend.

But while all of the diners walked in lacking a romantic partner, some of them significantly improved their dating prospects while they filled their stomachs, thanks to a special surprise that was waiting for them.

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Chewbacca and Darth Vader show up in the mountains of Japan thanks to cosplaying outdoorsman

There are certain things you expect to find when hiking through the mountains of Japan, like towering waterfalls, serene temples, and little stands selling soba noodles and dumplings. If you’re lucky, you might even run into some of those awesome hot-spring bathing monkeys.

And if you’re really lucky, you’ll bump into Chewbacca and Darth Vader if you happen to be on the same trail as this cosplayer and his awesome outfits.

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“Why do I have to study?” Japanese educator’s answer to kids is half kind, half harsh, all wise

Japanese society may greatly value education, but it’s not like every kid in the country is born with an innate attraction to long division or vocabulary lists. Given the choice, even Japanese kids would much rather be playing video games or watching cartoons than doing homework, and given how active the country is in producing content for those two entertainment sectors, steering your children away from such tempting distractions and back towards their studies can be a tough challenge.

So what do you do when your kid declares he’s sick of school, and asks “Why do I have to study?” One Japanese education expert has an answer that’s half kind, half harsh, and entirely wise.

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Kaitenzushi restaurants have come a long way. In the beginning, their system of having diners grab their own plates of sushi from a revolving conveyor belt was seen as a quirky technological novelty, or by more severe critics as a sub-par tarnishing of the proper sushi-eating experience.

Since then, though, kaitenzushi has become one of the most broadly beloved sectors of the Japanese restaurant industry, having grown so popular that certain operators are experimenting with unique new kaitenzushi niches. Now, one company is planning to take its revolving sushi restaurants into a bold new direction by revamping them so that the sushi doesn’t revolve.

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Domestic culture shock – 30 things people from Hokkaido experience when they move to Tokyo

When foreigners first move to Tokyo, they’re often amazed and overwhelmed by Japan’s biggest bustling metropolis. But sometimes culture shock can be more localized, and just because you haven’t left the country doesn’t mean there aren’t any surprises in store when you move to a new town.

Hokkaido has more than five times the area of any other Japanese prefecture, and the lowest population density in the country to boot. So when someone born and raised on the northern island moves down south to Tokyo, which is more than 90 times as crowded as Hokkaido, he’s sure to be surprised by a lot of things, and here are 30 of them.

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Trailer for Totoro character designer’s new movie is a sampler of Ghibli’s best themes 【Video】

Studio Ghibli, as an entity, is more or less in a coma, but that doesn’t mean that all of the talented artists that made up the storied anime production house have retired.

Veteran animator Yoshiharu Sato has worked on a number of Ghibli films, most notably as the character designer for My Neighbor Totoro and its sequel Mei and the Kitten Bus. Now, Sato is serving as animation director for an upcoming theatrical anime release that may not bear the Ghibli name, but captures much of the famed studio’s style and atmosphere.

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McDonald’s Japan’s straws are designed to mimic the experience of drinking breast milk

Even if you’re not a fan of McDonald’s burgers, fries, or food offerings of any kind, you have to admit the fast food chain knows how to make a pretty tasty shake. Thick and creamy, sipping on a McDonald’s shake can instantly bring back those feelings of happy contentedness you felt as a child, and in Japan part of the reason might be that the experience is designed to make you feel like a baby sucking down a meal of breast milk.

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A young Japanese woman suddenly finds herself surrounded by four hot guys, each one vying for her favor. One is tough, another is cool, and the third is going with the soft sell. There’s even a handsome man trying to game her or rule her or neg her, whatever the term is when pseudo-aggressive dudes simultaneously tell a girl that she’s insufferably lame but that they also desperately want to hook up with her.

The woman’s pulse races as she realizes she hold all the cards in this game of love. But this scenario is too good to be true right? Is it a dating simulator video game? A reverse-harem anime?

Nope, it’s the cell phone corner of a Japanese electronics store.

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In Japan, customer service tends to pretty amazing across the board, but perhaps nowhere more so than in the restaurant industry. Some restaurants may be boisterously friendly and others may be quietly courteous, but you can just about always be assured that everyone on the staff, from your server to the owner, is working hard to ensure an enjoyable dining experience.

But even by those standards, this yakiniku restaurant goes above and beyond the call of duty, with an extensive list of extra special services they’re willing to provide. Of course, courteousness is a two-way street, so the restaurant also has 10 unique requests it in turn makes to its customers.

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en though a lot of couples in Japan officially start their relationship with a dramatic and explicit expression of love, that level of passion can be hard to maintain indefinitely. Especially among married couples in Japan, it’s not common to say “I love you” every day, and after a few years as husband and wife, some spouses stop seeing each other as a man and a woman.

But marriage is a long string of small shared experiences, and sometimes couples find a spark that rekindles the flames of their emotions for one another, like in this list of the top 10 times Japanese men fell in love with their wives all over again.

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