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Five reasons why Shiba Inu are the absolute best

Scott Wilson
Jan 8, 2015
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Shiba Inu are adorable, and over the years we here at RocketNew24 have brought you stacks of articles filled with photos to prove just how darn cute they are.

But why exactly are we so drawn to this loveable breed of dog? Recently the Japanese information compilation site Naver Matome put up a collection of tweets, dividing up the reasons people so adore Shiba inu into five different categories. Below you can read their incredibly rigorous scientific methodology, so you can see for yourself if you come to the same kawaii conclusions that they did (spoiler: Yes. Yes, you will).

Updates on new Dragon Ball Z movie has fans excited but also asking plenty of questions!

Kay
Jan 8, 2015

We’re sure that Dragon Ball fans around the world are anxiously waiting for the release of the latest feature-length anime installment in the series, Dragonball Z: Resurrection of F. As we’ve already reported on our site, the new movie is scheduled to be released on April 18 this year, and we also know that the film will feature an intensely cool battle song by the rock band Maximum the Hormone. Now, as more information on the movie has started to become available, though, fans seem to be finding that there are many questions about the plot and characters just begging to be asked — some of which may not be so straightforward to answer. So, what is it exactly about the movie that’s bugging fans? Well, quite a lot, apparently!

Lucky Bag Roundup: Our reporters choose the best fukubukuro of 2015

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 8, 2015

Japan has many wonderful New Year’s traditions, including visiting the local shrine, eating auspicious food, and sending postcards to all your friends. But one of the most exciting and potentially disappointing activities that occur on the first day of January is the purchasing of fukubukuro. Commonly referred to as “Lucky Bags” in English, fukubukoro are specially priced parcels of surplus items from popular stores across Japan that are usually valued well over the purchase price.

This year, we sent 10 of our Japanese reporters out on the streets early New Year’s morning to gather up the best Lucky Bags they could find. Some came back with somewhat useless products even Mr. Sato wouldn’t want. Other’s were pleasantly surprised to find rare and valuable items nestled in their bags. But despite deep discounts, Lucky Bags aren’t always worth the wait and price, so in order to save you time on next year’s Japanese New Year’s shopping adventures, each of our writers has chosen the best Lucky Bags this side of the Pacific.

Japan’s amazing Excel artist wishes everyone a happy new year using the spreadsheet program

Casey Baseel
Jan 8, 2015

All through high school and for the first part of college, I didn’t use Microsoft Word, or any dedicated word processing software, for that matter, to write my reports. Instead, I did everything using Lotus 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program.

While that might sound incredibly inconvenient, it actually wasn’t too bad. Having a dad who’s an accountant and was well-versed in the program was a big help, but once I got the hang of it, I could produce written reports just about as easily as my Word-equipped classmates.

Still, my spreadsheet skills aren’t in the same league as Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi, who’s been making beautiful landscapes and portraits with Microsoft Excel for years, including a New Year’s card that’s just as cute as any made with paint and brush.

Anime feast! Ghibli fan recreates 47 animated dishes in mouthwatering video

Casey Baseel
Jan 8, 2015

When you sit down to watch a Studio Ghibli movie, there are generally three things you can expect to see depicted with unbridled passion and heart-stirring attention to detail: the thrill of flight, the glory of nature, and the mouthwatering deliciousness of expertly prepared food. As a matter of fact, scrumptious fare, ranging from extravagant delicacies to good honest grub, shows up with such frequency in Ghibli’s works that one fan counted 47 anime dishes that looked good enough to eat, then set out to make them all himself, as shown in this amazing video.

‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ took just two hours to write says Evangelion lyricist Neko Oikawa

Fran W
Jan 8, 2015

If you’ve ever been to karaoke with anyone who likes anime, chances are you know ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’, the theme song to Neon Genesis Evangelion – it’s a karaoke classic. Since its original release, singer Yoko Takahashi has re-released the song, which is known as Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze in Japanese, three times; it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

When Neko Oikawa, who wrote the lyrics to the hit song back in 1995, claimed this week that she only spent two hours on it, some fans weren’t too surprised. After all, history is full of hit songs that were supposedly written in mere minutes, from ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ to ‘Under Pressure’ to ‘My Sharona’.

What’s more impressive – especially when you consider how well ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ fits the series’ themes – is that the lyricist knew next to nothing about the show itself when she wrote it.

Want to buy a giant, rideable robot? Amazon Japan will sell you one

Casey Baseel
Jan 8, 2015

This year, my sister-in-law and nieces gave me an Amazon card for Christmas. The bookstore near my apartment in Yokohama doesn’t stock English-language books, so it’s an extremely thoughtful gift, but I haven’t actually visited Amazon’s site to pick out my new reading material, since I’m still in the middle of a lengthy novel I started during my recent flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles.

With a couple of hundred pages left to go, it might be a while before I actually use the card, and while I’m leaning towards a National Geographic subscription, I still haven’t ruled out the alternative of putting the card towards purchasing a giant robot, since Amazon Japan now sells those, too.

Would you date a girl dressed head to toe in Uniqlo? 76% of men say “of course!”

Evie Nyan
Jan 8, 2015

Uniqlo, the hugely popular Japanese chain store that stocks a variety of simple, practical and affordable clothing, has expanded into a world-wide venture, with stores in Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and, well, you get the picture. In the West in particular, Uniqlo has a pretty cool image thanks to its simple, pared-down designs and celebrity approval (for example, Pharrell Williams designed a range for them in April 2014), so it might surprise some of you to hear that there are people in Japan who tend to be a bit snobby about Uniqlo, looking down on its regular clientele for lacking in fashion sense.

Your nail art may be cute, but is it Kabuki-cute? New style trend begins with 100 yen stickers

Evie Nyan
Jan 7, 2015

Nail art is something that’s increasingly popular among Japan’s ladies due to the fact that it’s an easy way to express your individual style. As well as DIY-ing it at home with 100 yen store nail polishes and nail stickers, you can also get reasonably affordable yet super-durable gel manicures in a salon which are set by UV light and last for at least a month. Nail art trends tend to come and go depending on the season and whatever’s in style, but occasionally there’s a “boom” for a certain kind of design, with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon. First came anime nail art, and now it’s the turn of traditional Japanese performance art, Kabuki!

Is One Piece sexist? Twitter user posts scathing essay about Japan’s favorite manga

Scott Wilson
Jan 7, 2015

One Piece is the top-selling manga of all time, with over 350 million volumes sold in Japan alone. For fans of the series, it’s a no-brainer why the comic is so popular. The author/artist Eiichiro Oda is a master storyteller, turning what could have been a run-of-the-mill shonen manga into something special. One Piece often tackles deeper themes including racism, abuse of power, justice, moral ambiguity, and of course, big dudes with sweet powers slamming into each other.

What’s even more surprising are the readership demographics. Nine out of ten people who buy One Piece are adults, and over half of the manga’s readers are women. This might make it seem like it appeals to everyone, but apparently that is not the case. Japanese Twitter user @ykhre recently tweeted a controversial essay, making her case for why One Piece, despite its broad appeal, is sexist.

We play little-known instrument the Udar, which does a killer Final Fantasy Prelude

Master Blaster
Jan 7, 2015

The world is full of musical instruments with varying degrees of notoriety. Many instruments, like the guitar and piano, have legions of followers, while others like the sheng only get picked up by a select few. The Udar falls into that latter category with Mr. Sato having just become one of the very few people who have ever picked one up.

Join us as we listen to the musical stylings of the Udar as played by its inventor Michinobu Uda and learn a little about how it works.

Next time you eat an orange, why not make it into an orange caterpillar first?

Master Blaster
Jan 7, 2015

During the winter months Japanese people often like to relax under their heated tables (kotatsu) and enjoy a nice mikan tangerine. Its juicy sweetness and vitamin C is a great compliment to these chilly nights. But really, anywhere in the world, anytime is a good time to enjoy some variation of orange, isn’t it?

So next time you get ready to peel a mandarin or clementine how about making it into a caterpillar first like many Twitter users in Japan have been doing in recent years? It’s super easy and we’re going to show you how.

Japanese UFO catcher prizes just keep getting weirder…

Audrey Akcasu
Jan 7, 2015

“Oh shoot, I’m out of dish soap, let’s go to the game center.” If this sentence seems incongruous, you clearly have not spent enough time in Japanese game centers. Sure game centers have good old fashion arcade games, air hockey and photo booths, but a lot of the space is taken up by UFO catchers (adorably pronounced, oo-fo in Japan), aka claw/crane games.

Usually, UFO catchers are filled with cute toys or cool figurines, but sometimes things get a little too practical. Other times, the prizes are just a bit… off. Twitter users across Japan have shared their strange finds with us before, but they just keep coming and they keep getting weirder.

iMakeover: Can a haircut turn Mr. Sato into Steve Jobs?

Scott R Dixon
Jan 7, 2015

Everyone has that one celebrity that we have been told we sort of look like if we squint our eyes and look into a foggy mirror. For our beloved RocketNews24 reporter Mr. Sato, that celebrity doppelganger is none other than former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. As a frequent participant at iPhone launches and Apple’s annual “luckybag” sale in Japan, Mr. Sato decided maybe it was time to see if a shorter haircut (and a black turtleneck) would indeed make him look like the tech icon. Armed with an iPad and a digital photo of Steve Jobs, Mr. Sato began his iMakeover.

Enjoy a platter of Youkai Sashimi while we explain that cat’s name

Master Blaster
Jan 7, 2015

As we’ve been constantly reminding you over the past year or so, Youkai Watch is really big in Japan now, and yet some of you out there still don’t seem to believe us. We’ve watched them rip the annual McDonald’s calendar endorsement deal out of the cuddly clutches of Pokemon. We’ve seen fans carve their graven images into pumpkins. We’ve tasted of their milk. Still, there are those who think that it’s just a flash in the pan.

For those people, we present the highest honor a character in Japan can receive: a sashimi platter in their likeness.

Ouch! That’s awkward: Fleeting train romance wasn’t quite as it seemed

Audrey Akcasu
Jan 7, 2015

It was a moment all romantics dream of: He’s sitting in a train stopped at a station when he locks eyes with a cute girl waiting on the platform… but then the train leaves, the girl is gone forever and he’s left with nothing but the memory. This happened to one lucky guy, but unfortunately, the other person saw the experience a little differently.

Stinky train tracks, expensive imports and no weekends: netizens remember Showa-era Japan

Scott R Dixon
Jan 7, 2015

The Showa period (1926-1989) was a time of immense change for Japan when the country went from being an imperial power to a poverty-stricken post-war nation and then becoming an economic powerhouse that dominated automotive and electronic industries around the world. Twenty-seven years since that era ended and the current Heisei era began, fond memories of “Showa Japan” still flood many Japanese minds.

But a recent online poll asked netizens to take off their rose-tinted glasses and consider the aspects of daily Showa-period life that, while seeming completely normal back then, would be unthinkable now. Join us after the jump for a look at the slightly grim feedback.

New Fukushima school gets uniforms designed by the AKB48 costume designer

Anime News Network
Jan 7, 2015

The new Futaba Future School, a combined junior and senior high school set to open in Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture this April, is getting some pretty snazzy uniforms. They were designed by Shinobu Kayano, the woman behind AKB48‘s colorful and memorable costumes.

Cosplay ideals vs. cosplay reality, a.k.a. cool vs. funny 【Photos】

Casey Baseel
Jan 7, 2015

For many cosplay enthusiasts, the appeal of the hobby is deeper than just the clothes. The most dedicated cosplayers don’t just slip on costumes, but also the personas of their favorite characters from Attack on Titan, Final Fantasy, or, well, Persona.

But while the perfect cosplay photograph might recreate the flawlessly cool poses of anime and video game icons, the reality of how those shots get produced is often quite a bit less stylish, as shown in this series of behind the scenes peeks at cosplay photo shoots.

Tough lesson learned: Snowboarders safely rescued after getting lost on mountain for two days

Meg Murphy
Jan 7, 2015

Japan takes a lot of pride in its four distinct seasons, and everyone seems to enjoy all the changes that each new time of year brings. With winter, you’ll see people setting up their kotatsu tables at home to keep warm, convenience stores starting to sell delicious hot bowls of oden, and what seems to be just about everyone in the country gearing up to hit the slopes. With mountainous regions throughout Japan, and travel companies offering super cheap ski-tour packages, it’s hard to ignore the call to pack up your board or skis and head for the powdery slopes.

A fun weekend at the Kagura Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture is probably what 45-year-old Koju Neriko, his wife, and their friend had in mind when they set out with their snowboards last Friday, only to become terribly lost on the blustering mountain for two days.