YouTube isn’t all cat videos and aspiring singers, you know; it’s actually filled with genuinely creative and talented folks. As proof, we present to you a Japanese guy’s channel dedicated to brushing his teeth with guns.
Internet (Page 78)
Never has something been the focus of so much simultaneous nerd love and outrage than the venerable flux capacitor from the equally venerable film series that popularized time travel, Back to the Future. After all, it was the defining technology for time travel in the films that made screeching about time travel paradoxes all the rage in geek communities.
And now, it can be yours in all its ’80s glory with this official DeLorean Motors Company-licensed hardware that you can actually install in your real DeLorean – or presumably (and much more likely) – the crappy Pinto you’re currently borrowing from your grandpa.
So, now that we’re one month in, how’s everyone enjoying the latest sales tax increase to 8 percent? Pretty awesome isn’t it? I’ve been getting a lot more use out of those one yen coins recently.
Not everyone is as lukewarmly amused as myself, however. A consortium of Japan’s online businesses, including ebook sellers and advertisers, met on 10 April to hash out some demands for the government before they get taxed right out of the competition since business such as segments of Apple and Google aren’t necessarily subjected to Japanese sales tax rules.
Remember the Sailor Moon lingerie that lingerie brand Peach John released in Japan earlier this year? Thanks to them, we were able to feast our eyes on both lovely models and amateur Twitter users posing in the novelty lingerie.
But now the tables have turned! Chinese artist SoudWrong has created a series of illustrations featuring Sailor Moon characters as lingerie models instead. If you’ve ever wondered what the ladies from Sailor Moon would look like posing in their undies (for whatever reasons, we don’t wanna know), now’s your chance!
Okay, we’ve already shown you in the past how utterly adorable otters can be. Now, Miyajima Public Aquarium in Hiroshima Prefecture is offering the public a chance to learn more about their oriental small-clawed otters by giving us a unique, 33-hour live feed look into the otter exhibit. That’s right, it’s a live internet otter-cam that will let you see how the critters spend their days and nights, and we’re sure it will be a total delight for otter fans!
As we’re all aware by now, Russia is apparently filled with the worst traffic imaginable. The seemingly Mario Kart meets Carmageddon levels of danger on the road have led many–if not all–drivers in the country to set up cameras in their cars for insurance purposes. And once something is captured on film, you just know it’ll end up online. Obviously, that means YouTube is overflowing with some of the most terrifying–and hilarious–traffic videos that Russia has to offer.
But a video that surfaced last week has proven to go far above and beyond anything we’ve seen so far. It’s already been viewed over eight million times since it appeared on April 23, and is one that you absolutely don’t want to miss.
Sales of a new survival horror manga from Earth Star Entertainment have been postponed due to an unfortunate case of horrible timing.
The manga, which debuted last November in Monthly Comic Earth Star, features a group of teenaged school girls struggling to survive on a deserted island. The cause for the delay is probably obvious, but click before more information.
My family got its first cat when I myself was barely a year old. She and I more or less grew up together, her dying (at which point I was heartbroken, naturally) when I was 23. We’ve also had a couple of other cats along the way, and whenever I see a cat in my neighbourhood here in Tokyo or visit my friends who have them, I always stop to say hello.
It turns out, however, that for all my years living with and around our domesticated feline friends, I clearly know nothing about them. I mean, can you explain what on earth this cat here is doing!?
How would you like to cook up some sweet and succulent braised pork (kakuni)… while watching a movie? Well, there’s a recipe that actually lets you do that, and it’s recently been a huge hit online inJapan due to its unique and surprisingly effective instructions.
But what could a pork dish and the epic blockbuster movie Titanic have in common? We think you’ll get the idea once you see the instructions in the recipe.
In Japan, omuraisu (rice omelet) is a ketchup-flavored fried rice wrapped inside a thin piece of cooked egg. It’s a popular yoshoku (Japanese-style western cuisine), much like other favorites such as beef stew (beef shichu) or fried prawn (ebi furai). And while rice omelets can be found on the menus of many eateries across Japan, including practically all family restaurant chains, we’re sure you’ll see that there’s something quite special about the omuraisu in the picture above that was recently shared by Twitter user erikichi0115. Yes, the omelet has been infused, it seems almost magically, with pretty white stars. And the picture has taken the Japanese twitterverse by storm, making everyone wonder how in the world the star-spangled omelet was created!
Ever wondered what J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter would have looked like if it had been an anime made in the 1980s? Neither had we, but now that we’ve seen it we think it’s the <hyperbole but for good reason> BEST THING EVER </hyperbole>.
Join us after the jump for bike-based quidditch, a cat-eared Hermione, Tetsuo/Voldemort battles and more.
Being an international pop star like Canada’s Justin Bieber is certain to have its share of pitfalls. Scandals such as unfortunate comments at the Anne Frank house and more recently charges of drunk driving and egging a house have continued to dog him.
So this Easter weekend, the award-winning performer made a trip to Japan to get away from it all. After all, what could possibly go wrong here?
Throughout his long career as an animator and manga artist, Hayao Miyazaki has created a particular style and theme throughout his works that have inspired an untold number of younger artists. However, what if Miyazaki himself had been influenced by some of the other popular series to come out of Japan, like Dragon Ball Z or Sailor Moon?
Brian Murphy and Patrick Cassels from College Humor have dreamt up exactly such scenarios by combining anime hits like Pokémon with Miyazaki classics such as Spirited Away in an animated short titled: If Miyazaki Films Were Like Other Anime. And it’s truly glorious.
The creators of Pokémon were nothing if not brilliant when they decided to make the collectible creatures cute and cuddly fantastical cryptid-like animals influenced by – yet sufficiently removed from – the designs of real-world critters. This allows the player/collector to suspend their disbelief enough that they don’t feel too bad about enslaving a living, breathing thing to battle other living, breathing things for their amusement.
But when you make it the other way around – real-world animals made to look like pokémon – things get a little more disturbing. Are you or your kids willing to capture, for example, an actual fox with nine tails and make it battle a giant frog with a flower on its back for bragging rights? That scenario isn’t too far removed from real-life cockfighting and dog fights.
This wasn’t a question we had to ask ourselves in the early days of Pokémon. But then, of course, the Internet happened, and the Internet is uniquely capable of making us feel bad about almost anything. So, for your amusement/guilt, we present to you real-world animals if they were pokémon:
After receiving rave reviews for last year’s model, the Xperia Tablet Z, Sony has refreshed its flagship with a sleek waterproof design that’s just a hair thinner than the last.
It’s even just slightly thinner and lighter than the iPad Air.
Packed with a high-resolution screen and great battery life, the Z2 Tablet is among the best Android tablets you can buy today, although it doesn’t feel quite as premium as the iPad.
As a two-party democracy, the United States can be a fickle place for marketers. Republicans and Democrats are so different ideologically that certain words and phrases on your product label or in your ad campaign are practically guaranteed to alienate half of the market; or, if you’re especially unlucky, all of it. Take the word “immigrant,” for example – it’s a loaded word that will make Republicans shun your product believing that it advocates rights for immigrants (Remember, this is the same party whose leaders sometimes suggest in all seriousness building a moat – complete with cartoonish man-eating alligators – around the US to keep illegals out), while Democrats might see the word “immigrant” on a product and suspect some type of labor exploitation going on.
Luckily, Americans – and Japanese – of all stripes are united in their love of beer, so Chiba, Japan’s Loco Beer brewery’s rendition of an old American beer recipe, originally brewed by German immigrants, gets a pass from American expats and Japanese consumers alike on the unfortunate naming of its new Immigrant Pilsner craft beer.
One of the benefits of living in a modern society is letting other people worry about building all the stuff we use–like cars or blenders or cell phones. After all, do you really know what’s going on inside an internal combustion engine or how your juicer works? Well, okay, actually, you might know, but even so, it’s fair to say that the average person probably doesn’t have a very clear idea of how all their appliances–kitchen or otherwise–were actually put together.
And there’s nothing wrong with that! That’s the whole point of living in a society–DIYers and insane survivalists aside–specialization is what lets us have so much cool stuff. But sometimes our ignorance can lead to certain, um, embarrassing situations, as one Japanese Twitter user recently learned.
Alibaba, the enormous Chinese e-commerce company, is about to file for an IPO in the U.S.
The two most popular Alibaba websites — Taobao and Tmall — are Chinese marketplaces and rather inaccessible if you don’t know the language, but there’s also Alibaba.com, an English site for sales between importers and exporters in more than 240 countries.
Alibaba.com has been known to sell different types of well-disguised counterfeit goods. Not only that, but a lot of the stuff on the site is just straight up bizarre or oddly labeled (we found quite a few normal products that for some reason had the phrase “hot” or “girl” tacked onto them).
We dug around Alibaba.com, and here are some of the gems we found:
To all of our lovely women readers out there – have you ever felt betrayed by another female friend? Perhaps you were deceived and taken advantage of. Perhaps the coworker you trusted as your confidant was surreptitiously spreading scandalous rumors about you behind your back. Whatever the situation was, it was sure to have been an unpleasant experience.
A recent survey on popular Japanese site Mynavi Woman asked its female readers the same question as above. Dozens of women shed light about backstabbing friends and unbelievable scenes from the past. Have any of the following situations ever happened to you?
Writing for RocketNews24, we get to see some unusual stuff nearly every day. The Internet, in all its infinite wisdom and fluffy kittens, can get pretty weird sometimes, as you are all probably very well aware. And that’s fine! When you’re tapping into the collective consciousness of the whole globe, you should expect to find the unexpected. But sometimes you really hit the wacky gold. Like this cartoon of Doraemon mashed together with Dragon Ball, complete with strained voice acting, over-the-top sound effects, and the most painful battles we’ve ever seen. It’s…look, you should just go ahead and click to read more now.
MOST POPULAR
Today
Tokyo sweets store has a “350% Pudding Soft Serve”, and people are going wild for it
Studio Ghibli adds new Jiji’s baby plush toy to its anime merchandise range in Japan
The Japanese city where ordering grilled chicken doesn’t guarantee you’ll actually get chicken
Beautiful off-the-beaten-path spot near samurai castle in rural Japan looks like a Monet painting
Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu and Winne-the-Pooh announce crossover merch line [Pics]
Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo announces cosplay ban
Wagyu ramen for foreign tourists appears in Kabukicho, with a very high price tag
Hello Kitty x Godzilla Happy Meals are coming to McDonald’s, but not in Japan [Video]
This beautiful Okinawa beach gives you the best of both worlds when visiting the prefecture [Pics]
McDonald’s Japan’s new Chiikawa Happy Meal figures are here![Photos]
Weekly
Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
New Japanese vending machine at Shinkansen station sells cups of ice on platform
Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
Japan’s new beer glass is designed to force you to drink…water [Video]
Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
End of a manga era as Weekly Shonen Jump’s circulation drops under one million- Studio Ghibli adds new Jiji’s baby plush toy to its anime merchandise range in Japan
This beautiful rural Japan river is a great alternative to touristy summer retreats [Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases new Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji music box for anime fans
Monthly
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji
Yearly
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]- Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo announces cosplay ban
Wagyu ramen for foreign tourists appears in Kabukicho, with a very high price tag
Hello Kitty x Godzilla Happy Meals are coming to McDonald’s, but not in Japan [Video]
This beautiful Okinawa beach gives you the best of both worlds when visiting the prefecture [Pics]
McDonald’s Japan’s new Chiikawa Happy Meal figures are here![Photos]
Studio Ghibli releases new Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji music box for anime fans
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
This awesome Japanese arcade chain has crane game coaches to help you win prizes
Japan’s new beer glass is designed to force you to drink…water [Video]
Did you know? Only one Beard Papa’s in all of eastern Japan sells soft serve in a cream puff
Delta Airlines adds first nonstop flight between Japan’s Narita Airport and U.S. in seven years
Stray cats almost became classified as an invasive species in Japan but the change was overturned
This Japanese chopping board sanitising bag might be the handy kitchen gadget we never knew we needed
Japanese convenience store food gets turned into hyper-realistic stationery you can peel open
-
