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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 5)

If you’re happy and you know it… do the Heart Dance! Korea’s new cutesy trend steals hearts

In 2013, the Gwiyomi Song (or Kiyomi Song), a Korean song with cutesy gestures, started a Gwiyomi craze that saw Korean netizens uploading videos of themselves dancing to the catchy cutie tune. The song went on to become an internet meme and eventually went viral in several parts of Asia. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it, because the trend has since died down and a new wave is coming!

Slated to be the successor of the viral hit, the Heart Dance is the new cutesy trend that has been rapidly gaining popularity in Korea. If you like all things cute, prepare to have your heart stolen by this adorable little dance!

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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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This is not just a box, it’s the Condom Bomb Box! Korean guy pulls a fast one on his friend

When I was younger, my father would remind me every time I went overseas, “if a stranger at the airport asks for your help with their luggage, harden your heart and say no, because you don’t know what’s in their bag.” I’ve always kept that piece of advice in the back of my mind although I’ve never come across such a situation in all these years, and most people know not to ask other travellers to handle their bags.

Seeing this prank video created by a Korean YouTuber, however, made me appreciate my father’s words a lot more. Being just a funny prank, nothing dangerous or illegal was involved, but this package sure came with generous servings of embarrassment and hilarity!

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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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17-year-old aspiring artist creates amazing Disney and Marvel fan art with colored pencils

When I was 17, I was an aspiring interior designer, but I lacked the passion, determination and talent for it, and never got anywhere in that trade. 17-year-old aspiring artist Mandy Wang, however, is probably going places with her talent and passion for drawing, seeing as she has already captured the hearts of over 70,000 fans on Instagram! Just look at the lovely drawings she creates with colored pencils and watercolor, after the break!

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Tear-jerking illustrations of a Twitter user’s deteriorating iPod go viral in Japan

Electronic gadgets are part and parcel of our daily lives, helping us get work done, keeping us in contact with our friends and family, and entertaining us even in the most ungodly hours of the night. Our computers, mobile phones, music players and game consoles have become like friends and partners we can hardly live without, yet more often than not, we’re on the look out for newer models that have more functions, better technology, and nicer designs.

Some of us have a greater affection for our “buddies” of technology than others, and prefer to hang on to our trusty gadgets instead of forsaking them for newer ones. Japanese Twitter user Kameco (@kameco3) is one such loyal user, and the illustrations she created depicting the heart-wrenching situation of her deteriorating iPod tugged at the heartstrings of fellow iPod users in a similar plight. Check out the touching story after the break!

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Ago-kui is the new kabe-don, and it looks incredibly cute when done to pets!

Are you still caught up in the kabe-don craze? We’ve even seen some variations to the wall-pounding approach, but it’s time to change it up for the next manga inspired photo trend – ago-kui!

Japanese Twitter users have shifted their attention to another heart throbbing situation that often comes up in manga and anime, the act of gently tilting another person’s head upwards by their chin. Similar to when kabe-don was trending, Twitter users started posting images of themselves getting caught up in an ago-kui situation, but they soon realized, it looks way cuter when ago-kui is done to their pets! More cuteness ahead!

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Pet owners, beware! Cat gets “toasted” by a space heater

Winter has been homing in hard and fast this year, hasn’t it? Two weeks ago a massive snowstorm invaded America, and a cold wave has been sinking into Japan this week, already causing unexpected snowfall two months early in certain parts of the country. It feels almost as if Elsa is throwing a fit because Baymax has been getting more attention lately.

In such unpredictable freezing temperatures, it’s best to stay at home with the heater on so you’ll be warm and dry. All the better if you have a huggable, furry pet at home who wouldn’t mind cuddling up with you. Keep an eye on your pets when you’re using a heater though, or else they might end up like this unfortunate feline who got a pair of charred “wings” on its back!

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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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What’s up doc? Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Lola Bunny in human form are too hot to ignore!

Walt Disney cartoons were one of my favorite things to watch on TV when I was a kid. But giving the ever-popular Disney animated series a good run for its money was the Looney Tunes series by Warner Bros. In fact, if I really had to choose one out of the two, I would have leaned towards Looney Tunes, largely because of my childhood crush, the witty and crafty Bugs Bunny.

As I grew up, I became more interested in Japanese anime, and gradually drifted away from Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang, but my oh my, I think I’m falling head over heels for Bugs again after seeing Canada-based artist Sakimichan’s series of Looney Tunes illustrations. See Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Lola Bunny in their humanized forms after the jump!

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12 creative packaging designs to loosen your purse strings

What makes or breaks your decision to purchase something new and unfamiliar? For some shoppers it may be the peculiarity of a product that loosens their purse strings. Others may be won over by the low price or high quality of an item. And then there are those who have a weak spot for clever packaging.

Of course, price and quality matter, but the packaging of a product plays a significant role too despite the sad fact that it usually ends up in the trash soon after the product has been taken home. If you’re fond of interesting, creative, unique packaging designs, take a peek at this little collection!

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Now you see it, now you don’t! Korean artist creates amazing “empty” sculptures out of paper

Our faces are not symmetrical, and that’s probably why some selfie lovers spend hours on end getting into odd poses and taking shot after shot in order to find their best angle. Some of us might have entertained the thought of perfecting our appearances to be like dolls or sculptures so that we’d look perfect from every angle. But lo and behold, sculptures have their “photogenic” angles too!

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Chinese sand artist tickles the heartstrings of manga fans with stunning sand manga drawings 【Videos】

Many of us can’t even draw a decent manga portrait on paper, but there are talented individuals who manage to replicate character illustrations on food, and some using just their bare hands and sand.

Chinese sand artist Zhao Ying Li creates portraits of manga characters from titles such as Slam Dunk and Detective Conan that are so detailed it’s hard to believe they were drawn with sand. See the creation process after the break!

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Anime-loving mum takes kyara-ben to a new level with these well-drawn anime bentos

We’ve seen quite a number creative character bentos here on RocketNews24, some cute, some educational, and some that didn’t turn out as well as expected. The most common way of creating character bentos we’ve seen so far involves decorating with pieces of seaweed, ham, egg, sausages and the like.

But Japanese Twitter user Akiran takes a different approach to creating anime character bentos for her two sons. Read on to find out how she does it!

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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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