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Joan Coello

Native to the sweltering lands of Singapore, Joan spent a substantial amount of her teenage years gnawing through translated versions of Japanese manga and dubbed anime. Picking up the language sparked off something in her to abandon years of education and experience in design to pursue a career in translation instead. After spending a couple of years localizing Japanese product packaging and mobile games for the English-speaking population, Joan gave in to her longing for the magical land of Japan and leapt into the arms of Tokyo (missing by a bit and landing in Kanagawa prefecture). In her free time, she continues to nibble on Japanese manga and anime, now savoring them in full authentic flavor.

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Posted by Joan Coello (Page 4)

No more photo retouches! New makeup for cosplayers claims to create photo-perfect skin

Makeup is one of the most important factors that could make or break a cosplay outfit. Cosplayers sometimes spend hours exposed to sunlight or strong lighting in a photoshoot or at conventions, and it means a great deal to them to have makeup that lasts and delivers the photogenic results that they want.

Want your skin to look effortlessly flawless in photos? The good news is, the cosplay-loving Japanese have just released a lineup of base makeup items designed specifically to cater to the needs of cosplayers! The greater news is, these products are not going to burn a hole in your wallet, and non-cosplayers can use them for regular makeup too!

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Funny Dachshunds and gyoza dresses – Korean retailer’s unique item names tickle our funny bone

I love shopping online; nothing beats shopping at a mega sale sans the crazy crowds and long queues. In fact, I’ve gotten so accustomed to shopping for clothes, accessories, appliances and even manga online, these days when I step into an actual store I feel kind of lost and confused.

Having purchased from various online retailers based across the globe, I think I’ve had my fair share of browsing through all sorts of web stores, yet none of them managed to crack me up like this Korean online shop I stumbled upon a couple of days ago. Think along the lines of kidney bean shoes and dresses with gyoza necklines. Sounds ridiculous, but it’ll all make sense when you see the pictures after the break!

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10 quirky sights at ramen outlets in Japan

Apart from cats, girls and geeky stuff, food is another aspect we often cover on RocketNews24, and among the many snacks and delicacies we write about, ramen is definitely one of the more popular recurring topics that has made a presence in our archives. Yes, we’ve seen quite a portion of the endless possibilities the noodle dish has; from canned ramen to black ramen to ramen in donuts, sushi and even yarn, but we seldom zoom in on the many characteristic establishments that provide the delectable noodles we enjoy.

Sure, you might have seen a ramen shop even in your local neighborhood, but they’re probably not as amusing without these quirky sights some Japanese Twitter users have spotted at ramen shops in Japan!

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Disney, Pokemon, Ghibli and more awesome handmade cosplay aprons and dresses for geeky girls!

Remember the Sailor Moon lingerie sets that were co-produced by Bandai and Peach John? They were such big hits in 2014, even the pre-orders with an estimated delivery date of June 2015 were swept off of the virtual shelves of the Premium Bandai website. It’s no surprise how popular those cute undergarments were given the huge following the manga and anime series has, but let’s be honest, it’s a little underwhelming since those cosplay undies can’t be flaunted in public like your regular cosplay getup.

If the Sailor Moon lingerie sets caught your fancy, chances are you’ll love these totally adorable geeky pinafores and dresses created by Darling Army. Not only are they creative cosplay interpretations, some of them would look absolutely cute as daily fashion too! Be it anime or manga, comics or games, there’s bound to be something that fits right up your alley. Check them out after the jump!

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French artist gives us a case of the feels with his video game & superhero family illustrations

In the world of fiction, some characters have detailed, complex families and backgrounds made known to us, while others have rather vague and obscure origins, which isn’t totally a bad thing because that gives viewers plenty of room to imagine and fantasize.

Ever imagined Superman as a dad? Or, what if, after being rescued for the gazillionth time, Princess Peach actually marries Mario? Check out these beautiful families of various fictional heroes and heroines after the jump!

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Hand-stitched cards are leading the trend in Korea this Christmas

What comes to your mind at the mention of a handmade card? Something drawn, painted, or put together with some form of paper craft? The latest trend for handmade cards in Korea incorporates an entirely different kind of handicraft to create personalised designs – sewing! Check out these stitch message cards!

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11 never-ending hypnotic GIFs that just made a portion of our weekend disappear mysteriously

We all know GIFs are images set in a motion loop, but many of these moving images have a short story to tell, and we can somewhat tell that there is an “end” at a certain point before it loops back to the start of the sequence.

This series of GIF images we found today, however, simply goes on and on… for an eternity and beyond. We can’t tell how it starts or how it ends as there is no particular message or story, and the image transitions are simply flawless. If you’re the type of person who prefers to spend your weekend doing nothing in particular and spacing out, these hypnotic moving images could possibly keep you occupied for hours!

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Cosplayers visiting Japan, this is your wonderland! Over 40 realistic backdrops in one place!

Anybody can cosplay, but achieving beautiful cosplay photos raises the difficulty level by quite a fair bit. You can tailor the perfect costume, create the most realistic props, complete the look with impeccable makeup, and practice to get every pose spot on, but a suitable backdrop isn’t always easily available.

Finding an appropriate backdrop to compliment your cosplay would be much easier if you were in Japan though. HACOSTADIUM is a mega photography studio that has over 40 different backdrops ranging from Japanese rooms to gothic chambers, and even prison cells! More details and photos of the actual studios after the jump!

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Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball and more now in pseudo 3-D thanks to the magic of white lines【GIFs】

What do you think of 3-D movies? Personally, I’m not a big fan as they somehow tire my eyes. While I have to agree that the effects do make some action and fantasy scenes more dramatic and exciting, I’m totally happy sticking with the 2-D versions, not to mention that those are cheaper to watch at the cinemas too.

But I’m sure there are people out there who love the extra impact and wished that every movie was available in 3-D. It’s probably impossible to remaster every past production in 3-D, but some imaginative cyber citizens have found a low-cost method of eye-trickery that makes 2-D animations appear as if they’re coming through the screen. It’s eye-opening what a few white lines can do!

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This crazy 4-minute clip is the most epic fan-made anime tribute we’ve seen this year

I thought I watched a lot of anime, or at least the number of times someone told me to “stop spending so much time watching anime” put me under such an impression. Apparently I wasn’t viewing anime as extensively as I had imagined, a realization I came to after encountering Anime 404, an incredibly bizarre mash-up video of various anime, songs and trend references. It’s pretty difficult to describe this crazy clip in words, but to put it simply, I think it is what I would call “chicken soup for the anime lover’s soul”. If you like anime, you’ve got to see this!

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Christmas cards are too mainstream, get your hands on these awesome anime-inspired cards!

It’s almost that time of the year! The time of the year that people who work for postal services probably dread the most. Tis’ the season for greeting cards, be it for Christmas or for the New Year. While electronic greetings have become a major trend, what with the wide range of social networking platforms we have access to nowadays, handwritten snail-mailed cards just pack that much more warmth and sincerity than mass sending a copy-and-paste kind of generic message to every friend, family member and I-don’t-remember-who-you-are on your contact list.

If you’re a manga or anime fan who likes to send cards with a touch that represents who you are, or if you know someone who would be thrilled to receive an anime-inspired greeting card, these awesome hand-crafted anime/manga-inspired cards would probably be your best bet!

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McDonald’s Korea now serving up Hello Kitty in cute Sanrio costumes

Hello Kitty has been quite the busy cat celebrating her 40th birthday. Earlier this year, she was making rounds at theatres in Japan dressed as characters from Rurouni Kenshin, and now she has crossed the ocean to make an appearance at McDonald’s in Korea. This time, she’s cosplaying as some of her fellow Sanrio mates. Check out the cute kitty after the jump!

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Japan’s prince of tennis gets his own Prince of Tennis manga portrait

Earlier this year, pro tennis player Kei Nishikori became the first Asian man to make it to the finals of the U.S. Open Championships, and was subsequently the first Asian man to qualify for the star-studded tennis event, the ATP World Tour. He was also the first man in Japanese tennis history to place 5th in the world rankings.

To add to his list of “firsts”, Nishikori is also probably the first tennis star to receive a manga style portrait illustrated by The Prince of Tennis mangaka (manga artist), Takeshi Konomi. Check out the stylish piece after the jump!

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The weirder the better? These Japanese zakka are hot sellers in Korea

There are many Japanese products that are popular overseas, such as Japanese snacks, beauty products, character goods… the list goes on. Character franchises aside, some of the more common reasons why people living outside of Japan purchase Japanese products is because they generally tend to be produced under higher quality and hygiene standards, and more often than not come in temptingly beautiful or cute packaging.

Japanese zakka (sundries/miscellaneous goods), however, are popular for entirely different reasons. Check out these Japanese zakka that a Korean retailer has picked for their website to get a clearer idea of what tempts the purse strings of Korean consumers!

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The 9 types of basketball players in Slam Dunk – which type are you?

Playing sports brings out a different side of us. This is especially so in sports that require cooperation within a team in order to go up against an opposing rival. It’s easy to put on a front at normal times when you’re composed and in your comfort zone, but it’s a battlefield out on the courts. That’s probably why some people say that you can tell a person’s personality by the way he/she plays on a team.

Here’s a personality analysis derived from the play styles of the characters from a certain popular basketball manga and anime series. Which type of athlete are you? Read on to find out!

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It’s Pikachu! No, it’s Jibanyan! No… what IS that?

Rumored to be the new wave to take over the long-running multimedia kid’s series Pokémon, Youkai Watch and its various colorful characters can be seen all over the streets in Japan. Just as how Pokémon posters and merchandise used to be visible almost everywhere, the streets and shelves are now occupied by Jibanyan and his fellow youkai counterparts from the hit series Youkai Watch.

Pokémon has yet to back out from the race though, as loyal fans who loved the series since they were kids continue to shower their love (and money) on Pikachu and his hundreds of mystical friends. What are fans to do? Cling on to the old, or embrace the new? Check out the ingenious solution Twitter user @umeko_kj8 came up with after the break!

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Poor bunnies! Chinese news program makes rabbits wear contact lenses to test what we already know

In recent years, contact lenses are used not only as a means of correcting eyesight, but also as a fashion element as colored lenses, also known as circle lenses, gained worldwide popularity for their iris enlarging effects which give the illusion of bigger, brighter eyes.

An article from ETToday suggests that the annual sales of circle lenses in China exceeds one hundred million pieces. Where there is demand, there is supply, but it’s no secret that Chinese manufacturers do not have a good track record where quality and hygiene standards matter. In an attempt to find out if circle lenses are safe for everyday wear, one Chinese news channel put the contact lenses to the test, however not on human subjects but on rabbits, enraging many animal lovers online.

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Yowamushi Pedal set to delight fangirls with karaoke rooms, mocktails and men’s boxers

Anime series Yowamushi Pedal has set off on its second season, titled Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road, and its creators have shifted gears with new goods and collaborations to up the game.

Starting with a collaboration with karaoke chain Karaoke no Tetsujin (AKA Kara-Tetsu), the series’ makers also have plans to release men’s boxer shorts, however ironically, at an event targeted for girls. Whether they expect their fangirls to wear men’s undies themselves or are hoping the girls will buy them for their boyfriends, we haven’t got a clue, but we have all the details about this peculiar collaboration after break!

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Taiwanese YouTuber’s punny pick-up line gets him a girl’s number in just 36 seconds

Many people think that good-looking guys get all the girls, but many a time, a guy’s creativity and sense of humor is more charming than a handsome face.

As if first impressions weren’t tricky enough to deal with, pick-up lines make things even more challenging. Instead of going halfway around the planet in an attempt to hit on a girl in a not-so-obvious but not-too-subtle way, a Taiwanese YouTuber demonstrates that making a humorous approach is the fastest way to get a girl’s contact details.

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Transform a sushi mat into a stylish makeup tool organizer in just a few steps!

Sometimes, people are subconsciously bound by their cultural habits and traditions, and fail to see beyond the appearance of things. To the Japanese, a bamboo makisu (sushi mat) is used to make sushi, but in the hands of someone outside of Japan, the traditional culinary item is transformed into something completely unrelated to food. If you’re looking to add some Japanese element into your daily life, read on for the simple DIY instructions to make your own sushi mat brush organizer!

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