Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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As western stars who’ve been in the entertainment industry since we were nippers could tell you, reinvention is the cornerstone of a long and successful career. Just like Madonna and David Bowie, Japan’s mega-popular musical powerhouse Gackt loves a good makeover, and his newest incarnation has gotten Japanese netizens all riled up and excited. Why? Because he looks like a total badass!
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that Kingdom Hearts 3 is definitely, probably, hopefully coming out sometime in the future. It might be released in 2016 or 2017 or forever, but it is for sure coming…so they tell us. Like most fans of the series, we’ve replayed Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 over and over again just to get ready for the big release. We’ve made Sora swing the Keyblade around enough times in the game that if given a real Keyblade, we’d probably be pretty amazing at using it.
Luckily for us, there are master weaponsmiths who showcase their talent on YouTube and just this week they uploaded their team making the “Oathkeeper” and it couldn’t be more perfect.
Cute and amazing events happen when you least expect them, but the convenience of smart phones makes it possible to capture those special moments no matter where you are. You might see something at a crowded festival or a totally random happenstance as you’re cruising down the street. Just whip out your phone and share away.
It’s no surprise thatoften times, animals are featured in our smart phone camera moments as they are constantly doing the cutest things, like carrying their puppy in a plastic shopping bag.
Earlier this week, a Twitter user turned to the masses in the hope of learning the meanings behind four common gestures she had often seen in Western cartoons. While many, if not all, of these may be instantly recognizable to our readers, in Japan they are seldom seen and for that reason look understandably odd.
We’ve already examined some Japanese hand gestures; now let’s see how the other half lives as Japanese Twitter users try to unravel the meanings behind licking our fingers and touching someone or “crab-like movement and bending fingers“.
Etsy, the online marketplace filled to the brim with unique handmade goods, can be an absolute treasure trove for people who want to stand out from the crowd with special items that can’t be found in regular stores.
Case in point: these amazing mugs from Californian seller Howard Le. From Naruto to Sailor Moon and Cowboy Bebop to The Legend of Zelda, there are dozens of Starbucks-esque mugs to choose from. And if none of them take your fancy, he’ll even custom make your order for you!
The vibrant Grand Theft Auto mod scene is what keeps the game alive long after people have completed the campaign, making sure gameplay never grows stale and providing plenty of laughs for both the players involved and the viewers of the resulting videos. There are already hundreds of mods available for the latest entry in the franchise, Grand Theft Auto V, and a few creative Nintendo-based ones have been combined to create this surreal video of Nintendo’s Super Mario behaving badly in Los Santos.
This isn’t the Mario that Nintendo wants you to see.
Coverage of the heavy rains and typhoon that have swept through Japan this week have dominated much of the news in the country. Today, TV screens were filled with reports on the devastating flooding in Ibaraki Prefecture, where waters burst through the banks and flooded the city of Joso. Images and videos of rescue operations have been widely broadcast on TV, and the news is nothing less than shocking for many.
But one Twitter user saved from the waters by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces wasn’t too scared to tweet photos of his rescue while still inside the helicopter!
When Japan got its hands on a Marvel property back in the 1970s, it added something that is now recognized as very Japanese: giant robots, which Japanese Supaidaman used to battle his foes like a web-slinging Gundam pilot (even though the original Mobile Suit Gundam wouldn’t make its debut until two years later).
Jump to today, and both Marvel and Gundam are going strong in their respective home countries. However, if Marvel ever wants to increase its market share in Japan, maybe they should be working to create Gundam robots versions of their most famous characters. If you’re having a hard time imagining that crossover, we’ve found some fan art that will have you writing letters to both companies to make this happen.
It is a rare and amazing achievement that we humans have managed to set foot outside the constraints of our lonely planet. And with the prevalence of social media, it is now easier than ever for the humans who are farthest away to communicate with the rest of us down on the ground.
Astronauts stationed on the International Space Station are always finding clever new ways to blow our minds. One such person is Koichi Wakata, the former commander of the ISS, whose gravity-defying photo is currently circling the globe and getting the full Internet meme experience as it does.
In general, we expect people to be able to identify their family on sight, even if it’s just from the backs of their heads. After all, for better or worse, these are the people we grew up with, right? Who couldn’t pick their little sister out of a crowd based on nothing more than their profile or haircut?
Well, probably not many people, if we’re being honest. Hey, we may love our families, but we’re not spies. But it’s completely different when you mistake someone else for your sister when they’re not even the same species! Just ask this embarrassed manga artist, who had the sense of humor to post about her error on Twitter so we could all have a good laugh.
The release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been met with as much excitement and frenzy as you might expect from the latest instalment of a legendary video game franchise. But while most players are preoccupied with riding D. Horse around, frolicking in cardboard boxes and puzzling over the intricate story, it’s a certain voiceover that’s had us scratching our heads. Where on earth have we heard iDroid‘s soothing tones before? Oh, that’s right – on the Shinkansen!
Voice actor and vocalist Donna Burke is a veteran of the video game industry, lending her vocal cords to multiple games including MGSV and Silent Hill, and she ALSO provided the English-language spoken announcement that’s broadcast on the bullet train to help foreign visitors navigate their way around Japan!
Unusual poses have been big among young Chinese women over social networks recently. Late last month there was the “touch your belly button with one hand wrapped behind your back” fad. Anyone who could achieve this feat was said to have “good style”. Around the same time there was also the “put as many coins into that little divot in your collar bone” trend.
Now it appears a classic yoga pose is making the rounds. It’s called the Pashchima Namaskarasana or Reverse Prayer Pose. However, on China’s microblogging site Weibo, it’s done with the added challenge of raising your hands as high as they can go; the higher your hands can get the more beautiful you are purported to be.
What, you thought “beauty” was a measure of how others judged your outward appearance and to a lesser extent your personality? No, silly, it’s all about how well you can bend your arms behind your back…
Etsy has become the place for the geeky and talented to sell things to their geeky brethren. Every fandom is represented and you can buy creative and fun merchandise, such as accessories, t-shirts and those DIY items you haven’t found the time to make yourself. There are so many artistic and creative things to buy that it’s really hard to exit out of the page before you find something you really, really want.
This week, we found some gorgeous jewelry that’s perfect for an engagement, marriage, or just the otaku who needs some more bling. It might cost you a pretty penny, but according to thousands of satisfied customers, it’s worth the price.
If you’re just starting out on the path to your goal of becoming a manga artist, it can be hard to properly visualize how your characters’ head, limbs, and torso should be positioned for a specific pose. Practicing by sketching with a human model is a time-tested way to hone your understanding of how to draw human anatomy and clothing, but it still poses a problem.
See, most art classes don’t feature models for such manga staples as, say, a girl in a sailor suit firing a pistol. An alternative would be to hire a model on your own, but that’s beyond the budget of many artists who’re still in the amateur stage of their artistic endeavors.
But as long as you can scrape together about 2,000 yen (US$16.26), there’s a new website that will supply you with thousands of reference photos to help kick-start your manga dreams.
One of the great debates about child development is over nature versus nurture—are we the product of our DNA or our environment in which we grow? Most scientists seem to come down somewhere in the middle, suggesting that both play an integral role in who we become.
We’re not about to start arguing with folks who have PhDs, but we have discovered one of the most adorable examples of how nurture plays a role in the wild—or, at least, out in someone’s home. This cute cat has mimicked its way into Twitter’s collective heart and elicited far more than its fair share of “D’awwwwwww!”
It’s no secret that we’re fans of Wagakki Band here at RocketNews24. We’ve been sharing their music with you since 2013, and you can bet we’ll keep sharing their music until they get old and retire! So, as you can imagine, we were eager to get our hands on their new album Yasouemaki. And, now that everyone has had a few days to enjoy all the new tracks, let’s find out what Japanese fans are saying about the album!
The last few years especially have seen a notable increase in the number of western-developed narrative-driven video games. Notable entries include Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and of course Game of Thrones, which deliver their respective stories in downloadable chunks once every few months, leaving players itching to play the next episode and find out what happens.
Telltale pretty much cornered the market on this genre until French development studio DONTNOD Entertainment released the absolutely captivating five-part supernatural high school story game Life Is Strange. The game has been a surprise hit, selling over a million copies to date, with players falling in love with the endearingly complex characters, time-travelling mechanics, mellow game atmosphere, and killer soundtrack. In fact, the game has done so well for itself that publishers Square Enix have decided it’s time Japan got a piece of the photo-snapping, heavy decision-making, time-rewinding fun for themselves. Yep, Life is Strange is being released in Japan, and it’s getting an entirely new Japanese voice cast, too!
Check out the reveal trailer to hear Max, Chloe and the rest of the characters speaking Nihongo!
Music is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful artistic mediums humankind has. It can move us in ways that are hard to understand or even describe, eliciting everything from tears to vicious mosh pits. Of course, one of its most renowned powers is helping people concentrate.
Take, for example, classical music, which seems to help students focus while cramming for finals or aid tired workers in getting through a long day. So, to promote their new drink Shuchu Regain (集中リゲイン), Suntory has released a series of YouTube videos demonstrating the power of concentration. Today, we’ll be looking at “the world’s fastest orchestra,” The Extreme Minuet, played by having 43 men toss coins into beakers from several feet away.
Earlier this summer, RocketNews24 brought you the breaking news that the United States’ MegaBots had built a giant robot and had challenged Japan who, to no one’s surprise, already had a giant robot themselves. This challenge for robot supremacy was quickly accepted and the ante was upped to include melee combat.
MegaBots couldn’t back down from a challenge they issued first, so it was back to the drawing board in preparation for next year’s battle for national pride. They have some ideas, but are going to need your help to “kickstart” an American victory.
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Bros? Kart? Party? Japanese gamers pick their top 5 Mario series
Gangnam Style Parody “Gaijin Style” Hits the Web With Mixed Reviews
Beautiful, intricate drawings of snowflakes from Edo-era Japan
69-year-old Tokyo man arrested for driving without a license for over 50 years
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
The 6 best frozen foods at a Japanese grocery storeTokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the monthStarbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Street Fighter Hadouken Churros to be launched and eaten in Tokyo, Okami pudding on offer too
More Shinkansen trains being added to Japan’s “golden route” to meet traveler demand
Japanese avoiding domestic travel as foreign tourists increase, possibly creating vicious cycle
Japanese woman mistaken for bear
Return of Totoro sequel short anime announced for Ghibli Park
Starbucks Japan quietly slips fans another Christmas present with Joyful Medley Strawberry Milk Tea
Japanese man who didn’t know how banks work defrauded out of 21 million yen
Gundam and Reebok team up for new GQuuuuuuX Pumps【Photos】
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods and a rhinestone tumbler that costs 19,500 yen
Real-world Nausicaa Ghibli anime glider completes its final flight in Japan【Video】
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood?
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in JapanTokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
A guide to visiting Sagamiko Illumination, one of the three biggest light-ups in Kanto
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answerJapan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Beautiful, intricate drawings of snowflakes from Edo-era Japan
69-year-old Tokyo man arrested for driving without a license for over 50 years
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
The 6 best frozen foods at a Japanese grocery store
How to get all-you-can eat doughnuts at Mister Donut for just 12 bucks!
Mr. Sato tries to eat a cheap beef bowl, gets a massive, luxurious surprise in the process
Is Oni Koroshi sake in a drink box wino fuel or a hidden gem?
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas Frappuccino and drinks for the 2022 holiday season
How to stop a chikan pervert from groping on a Japanese train
Evangelion original anime studio Gainax is now completely dissolved, Eva’s creator mourns ruined friendships
Tokyo’s Vampire Cafe serving up blood-sauce burgers and sweets with fire and dark magic spells
Poll finds support to let women inherit imperial throne as Japan faces possible succession crisis
Popular Osaka all-you-can-eat yakiniku chain Yakiniku Rikimaru opens its first location in Tokyo