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Despite raging typhoon, Gion Matsuri goes on as it has for over 1,000 years【Video】

Cara Clegg
Aug 2, 2015
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The Gion Festival, or Gion Matsuri, has been celebrated consistently for over a thousand years and is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. The highlight is the Yamahoko Parade which occurs twice, on July 17 and July 24, and our competition winner’s wish was to see it happen with her own eyes here in Japan. This year, with a incoming typhoon, there were rumors swirling about the festival being cancelled, but with hardly any interruptions in its long history, this parade wasn’t about to be stopped by mere weather!
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Attack on Titan: Junior High is the most confusing yet amazing spinoff we’ve ever seen 【Video】

Scott Wilson
Aug 2, 2015

Attack on Titan is no stranger to the world of spinoffs. Its immersive world and plethora of rich characters easily lend themselves to new series with new viewpoints, such as an anime focused on fan-favorite Levi or the manga that focuses on the female point of view with Mikasa and Annie.

But there’s one spinoff coming out soon that’s a little… different: Attack on Titan: Junior High. And yes, we mean that Junior High. Yes, it is cute and silly and stupid in all the right ways. And yes, you need to watch the preview video right now.

WikiLeaks reveals US spied on Japanese government and corporations for at least three years

Audrey Akcasu
Aug 2, 2015

Uh-oh, looks like the political relationship between the US and Japan may get a little shaky as whistleblower organization WikiLeaks has exposed America’s three-year surveillance of the Japanese government, major industries and banks. Even worse, it looks like the US may have also shared their collected info with other countries.

Tokyo man arrested for stealing women’s “treasures” and other general creepiness

Master Blaster
Aug 1, 2015

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have announced the arrest of one Shochi Nagata for allegedly sending an email to a woman in her 30s containing photos of herself along with pictures of her shoes and underwear which he had stolen, together with the caption: “I’ve just snatched your treasures.”

Further investigation is also hinting that the suspect was in the possession of a veritable bounty of other women’s “treasures” as well, making him something of a modern-day pervy One-Eyed Willie.

See Japan like never before at “Ambiguous☆Thighs Photo Studio” 【Pics】

TokyoGirlsUpdate
Aug 1, 2015

On July 5, photo studio “TODAYS GALLERY STUDIO” in Tokyo’s Asakusabashi celebrated its first anniversary with the opening of an exhibition titled Ambiguous☆Thighs Photo Studio – a solo exhibit by Yuria, a photographer who has spent the past five years recording and curating images of women’s thighs as part of the movement to show the artistic side of fetishism.

Previously displaying selected pieces from her collection at Ambiguous☆Bishoujo Art Exhibiton in May of 2015, Ambiguous☆Thighs Photo Studio also gave a preview of “Thighs Photo Studio –Summer Day-” and “Thighs Photo Studio Uniform Photo Club 〜Summer〜” which were released on July 17.

Countries become anime characters, anime characters become real men in Hetalia musical

Casey Baseel
Aug 1, 2015

Anime featuring anthropomorphized battleships or samurai swords seem like no-brainers, given that they have a certain cool factor among young otaku and by their very nature make it easy to develop action scenes. Filling your cast with personifications of sovereign nations, though, sounds like a harder hill to climb.

Nevertheless, Hetalia, which started as a webcomic starring anthropomorphized versions of World War II’s Axis powers, succeeded, thanks to its non-stop winks to historical events, willingness to skewer every country on the planet (Japan included), and undercurrent of homoeroticism. The franchise has since spread to print manga and animated TV and movie forms, and now it’s invading new territory with the Hetalia stage musical.

History Channel shows our Mr. Sato to the U.S.…as a student who’ll eat anything for five bucks?!?

Casey Baseel
Aug 1, 2015

Here at RocketNews24, we like to think our Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato doesn’t just belong to us, but that he belongs to the world. After all, the value of panning for nuggets of wisdom in his stream of craziness transcends any mere national boundaries.

And now it seems Mr. Sato belongs to history as well, as we recently found out he was featured on American TV as part of the History Channel’s family of programing. It’s a great honor…except for the part where they mistakenly introduce him as a college student who’ll eat anything for five bucks!

Feast your eyes on yet more adorable 8-bit GIFs depicting daily life in Japan

Evie Nyan
Aug 1, 2015

A while back, we shared a series of super-cute 8-bit GIFs created by talented Tumblr user 1041uuu which depict everyday scenes of life in Japan in a whimsically awesome, old-school way. Now we’re happy to report that the artist has been busy creating even more GIFs in the same great style!

Get ready for some super sweet moving pixel art!

Dragon Quest XI’s main protagonist’s outfit may reveal a spoilery secret origin

Mike
Aug 1, 2015

Common knowledge to basically anyone conceivably reading this website, Japan is responsible for two of the world’s biggest, longest-running and most well-known console RPG series: Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. While both have historically featured similar gameplay (random enemy encounters, turn-based battles and the like), the two series are distinct enough that many JRPG fans prefer either one or the other series.

While Dragon Quest has evolved into a kind of cutesy, anime-inspired, all-ages RPG series, for example, Final Fantasy has always taken a more adult tack. And while each game in the Final Fantasy series takes place in a totally distinct universe from other entries, the games of the Dragon Quest series are at least loosely related to one another, making some interesting and sometimes dark game-to-game connections evident to observant players.

And one such dark connection may be hiding in plain sight in the upcoming Dragon Quest XI’s promotional materials.

Is there an adorably chubby bird hiding inside the Tokyo Olympics logo?

Casey Baseel
Aug 1, 2015

It’s been a rocky debut for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics official logo. First, it elicited mixed reactions as to whether its somewhat obtuse aesthetics really conveyed the noble sentiments it was aiming for. Then came the allegations that the logo was plagiarized from the emblem of a Belgian theater.

But let’s set aside the issue of whether or not the design is a copy or not and ask another artistic question: Is the Tokyo Olympics logo actually an adorably stylized bird?

Can our Japanese writers guess what this pink soy sauce is by taste alone?【Video】

Preston Phro
Aug 1, 2015

Soy sauce is delicious, and it’s by far one of our favorite condiments. It can enhance all manner of foods and make even something as boring as plain tofu delicious. But even as much as we love it, how well do we really know it? For example, could our gourmand Japanese writers figure out they were eating soy sauce even if it didn’t look like soy sauce?

This might seem like a silly question – and it definitely is! But it’s also a legitimate question thanks to the clever food processing skills of a company that also makes pink curry. So, do you think our food-loving writers will be able to identify pink soy sauce? Or will we have the last laugh? Find out below!

Disney to release ‘Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki’ Blu-ray set

Anime News Network
Jul 31, 2015

Disney announced on Thursday that it will release “The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki” Blu-ray box set. In addition to Miyazaki’s 11 feature films, the set will include a bonus disc with the 1972 television pilot film Yuki no Taiyō (Yuki’s Sun), three episodes of the 1972-1973 series Akado Suzunosuke (Little Samurai), and a video of Miyazaki’s retirement press conference.

How many Mentos can the human body handle with a gulp of cola? We experiment 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Jul 31, 2015

There are some food and beverage pairings pretty much everyone finds complementary. Wine and red meat. Milk and cookies. Draft beer and edamame soybeans.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are certain combinations we’ve learned to stay away from. Soda and Mentos, for example, are well-known to produce a volatile reaction if consumed together. But just where exactly is the human body’s threshold for these two incompatible mouth-mates?

Or, more specifically, where is RocketNews24 reporter P.K.’s body’s threshold?

Keep your life in order with this Sailor Moon day planner and its flip-book art

Casey Baseel
Jul 31, 2015

Sailor Moon is a busy girl. Along with having to juggle her responsibilities as both a regular junior high school student and the guardian of humanity, she’s got a packed social calendar of hanging out with her friends and going on dates with her boyfriend/helping him recover his senses from one of his worryingly frequent brainwashings.

If you’ve got a similarly large number of appointments to keep track of, maybe you could use a little help from this Sailor Moon day planner featuring dozens of stylish touches and flip-book art inspired by the franchise.

How to make Japan’s coolest summer snack: Onigirazu! 【Recipe & Video】

Evie Nyan
Jul 31, 2015

Everyone knows and loves onigiri, or rice balls. They’re the perfect portable snack, available in every conbini with a wide range of different fillings. But some of us have grown tired of the same old snack. Thus, the “onigirazu” was born! We’ll show you how to make it right here!

Snoopy Museum scheduled to open in Tokyo’s Roppongi

Casey Baseel
Jul 31, 2015

As the glitzy center of Tokyo’s nightlife scene, Roppongi is best known for its high-profile dance clubs, high-class restaurants, and high-cover charge bars. But even if you’ve got no interest in dancing, dining, or drinking, there’s a new attraction coming to the neighborhood: the Snoopy Museum.

Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward to begin legally recognizing same-sex partnerships

Meg Murphy
Jul 31, 2015

In a landmark move last February, Shibuya Ward in Tokyo announced it would begin legally officiating same-sex partnerships, giving gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples. While the movement, set to begin in October this year, has received some scrutiny, it has also seen plenty of support.

Now, in what may be the beginning of a domino effect, one of Shibuya’s neighboring wards, Setagaya, has also announced that it will be offering the same legal recognition to same-sex couples, beginning this November.

Don’t like the new Digimon character designs? Look like one of the old ones with Taichi’s goggles

Casey Baseel
Jul 31, 2015

With Digimon returning to the world of anime after a 15-year break, you’d think fans of the original series, which aired in 1999 and 2000, would be uniformly ecstatic. Nostalgia is a funny thing, though, and while some are glad to have the cast of kids and digital monsters back in any form, others are unhappy that the human characters look different from how they did in the original TV show.

Unless you’re a producer for the upcoming Digimon Adventure tri. movie series, though, there’s not much you can do about the onscreen visuals, except maybe sign a petition denouncing the new artwork. On the other hand, you can choose to make yourself look more like the classic Digimon cast with a pair of these goggles, modeled after lead character Taichi’s.

Awesome retro faceplate turns your New Nintendo 3DS into an old-school Game & Watch

Philip Kendall
Jul 31, 2015

With its Super Famicom-esque face buttons, the New Nintendo 3DS is already rocking the retro in a big way. But if you’d like your portable console to look even more old-school, this fully functional Game & Watch-themed faceplate from Japanese gadget and accessory maker Colombus Circle is sure to do the trick!

Sanrio mascots promote pacifism on 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender

Anime News Network
Jul 31, 2015

On August 14, 1945, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Forces it would come to be known as V-J Day before signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on September 2. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender but the anniversary is also in the midst of debate over constitutional revisions with criticism honed in on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Sanrio has seemingly voiced its option, albeit through the mouths of its popular mascots, in the latest issue of the company’s Ichigo Shimbun magazine. The magazine includes an article reflecting on the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender and is titled “Let’s think about what we can do for peace” with a sub-headline reading “No more war!” It calls for readers to research war through popular media and the memories of those who lived during that time.