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7 hilarious/inexplicable Japan moments in South Park

With its crude animation and humour, South Park shocked audiences when it first aired back in 1997, with viewers unsure of its place in the schedules and target audience. Since then, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s animated comedy has grown to become arguably one of the most entertaining, risqué and cutting-edge shows on TV today, with episodes pumped out at breakneck speeds so as to ensure that their content is always as topical as it is amusing.

With endless spoofs, homages and no-holds-barred social commentary, South Park has entertained audiences in dozens of countries for almost 17 years now, but there’s one theme in particular that just keeps cropping up season after season: Japan.

So come with us today as we take a look at seven of South Park’s most memorable and outrageous “Japan” moments. Trust us when we say that this isn’t one for the easily offended.

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See life-size Dragon Ball & One Piece statues fight & turn Tokyo street into rubble

J-Stars Victory Vs., the crossover fighting game that pits characters from 32 Shonen Jump manga against each other, debuts on Wednesday, and to celebrate the launch, Bandai Namco Games erected life-size statues of Dragon Ball Z‘s Son Goku duking it out with One Piece‘s Monkey D. Luffy on the streets of Tokyo.

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I’ve always maintained that fish are the best pets, largely because they’re quiet and the chance of them peeing on your sofa is fairly slim. That said, I can see why dogs appeal to some people especially in modern society. When you’re feeling stressed over your latest work assignment, it’s nice to have an animal companion with the kind of straightforward emotional honesty that reminds you how happy life can be when you live in a world that has such awesome things as squirrels to be chased and sausages to be eaten.

But sometimes this phenomenon works in reverse, and if dogs’ can get such a huge boost from small things, it doesn’t always take much to swing their emotional state back the other way, as this troubled little guy shows us.

But what’s he fretting over exactly?

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Japan chooses Pikachu as the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The Blue Samurai, Japan’s national soccer team, will be fighting their way through this year’s FIFA World Cup tournament with the help of one of the world’s most recognizable characters. Adidas announced on Saturday that Pikachu, everyone’s favorite electrifying mouse-like creature, will be joined by 10 other Pokemon to cheer on the boys in blue.

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Dragon Ball Kai: Beautifully remastered but woefully censored for a new generation

A few years back, Dragon Ball Kai was broadcast as a remastered version of the Dragon Ball Z series from the Raditz story arc to the Cell events when production stopped due to the Tohoku Earthquake of 2011. This series boasted more vivid colors, updated music and new voice actors to appeal to a new generation of viewers.

Such changes could be seen as improvement, but surely upset some hardcore fans of the original series with the thinking “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, recently even more casual fans are calling the new series a “corruption” of the original after learning that moves were also made to tone down some of Dragon Ball Z’s violence.

Read on to see which classic scene got “cleaned up.”

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Awesome origami artist recreates the creatures of Monster Hunter 【Videos】

Although it’s had only limited success internationally, in its home country of Japan, the video game series Monster Hunter is a massive hit. New titles have been released for the series at a pace of more than one a year, and the franchise can count 17 titles since it began in 2004.

Monster Hunter is popular enough that you could argue that it’s become one of Japan’s national pastimes, so maybe it was only a matter of time before someone thought to combine it with another of the country’s favorite cultural activities, the paper-folding art of origami.

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New Ju-on/The Grudge horror Film’s teaser streamed

The first teaser trailer for the Ju-on: Owari no Hajimari (The Grudge: Beginning of the End) horror film began streaming on Saturday.

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Four manga that are hits in Japan but relative flops in America

Manga has made its impact all over the globe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all that reads from right to left is gold. While your Dragon Balls, Narutos, and Attacks on Titan have all gone on to fame worldwide, it doesn’t mean every one of Japan’s hand-drawn treasures share the same love abroad.

Japan’s Da Vinchi News recently interviewed a publisher in New York whom they call “Mr. C” about four particular smash hit manga series in Japan that could hardly make a dent in the American market. What was it about these titles that made them perform completely differently in these two parts of the world?

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Tohoku tsunami survivor’s $12K camera: heart-felt gift or PR stunt?

Three years ago, Japan’s northeastern region was devastated by a triple disaster of a Magnitude 9.0 earthquake, an ensuing tsunami that wiped away whole towns and caused the meltdown of a nuclear power plant. Affected deeply by the tragedy, Japan has since rallied together as a country to support those who lost loved ones, livelihoods and homes.

Last week, as a part of remembering the three years that have passed since the disaster, famed German camera maker Leica gave a high-end camera worth 1,200,000 yen (US$12,000) to a high school student whose community was devastated by the tsunami. Initially touched by the show of support, Japanese netizens began a heated conversation online about whether the very generous gift was a heart-felt present or just a PR stunt for the well-known camera maker.

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Frozen’s “Let It Go” sounds just as impressive sung in Japanese 【Video】

I’ve honestly never been much of a Disney fan (anyone else just want to punch Mickey in the face? Just me, eh?), but after having passively listened to Frozen‘s “Let It Go” as my wife played it a good 30 or 40 times over the last few months, I have to admit, it’s a superb song.

The movie finally released here last Friday as Ana and the Snow Queen (didn’t I tell you Japan was always late with movie releases!?) in 2-D and 3-D, with both dubbed Japanese and subtitled versions available. Something of a purist, I insisted on watching the film in its original English if I was to see it at all, but having just caught the Japanese version of “Let It Go”, it almost makes me want to watch the film in its translated version too.

Check out the Japanese version of arguably one of Disney’s best tracks ever after the jump.

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19 movie posters seen through the eyes of Japan, from “Malkovich’s Hole” to “Captain Supermarket”

As we’ve seen before, with many international releases the names of films can sometimes be vastly different from the original. The changes are made for a variety of reasons due to language, culture, or style. This begs the question: How much of an impact do these title changes make on the people who see them?

Just for fun, we took 19 movies from other countries that have had their names changed for Japanese audiences, translated them back to English and put them in their original posters.

So join us after the jump for such gems as Academy Award-nominated Nairobi Bees, Love is Deja Vu with Bill Murray, and cult classic Captain Supermarket. What, never heard of them!?

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Japanese train platform door tech promotes safety, illusions of being in a sci-fi universe

Japan’s “suicide problem” is much talked about, both within the country’s borders and without, with a shocking number of people each year choosing to end their lives by jumping in front of a train. Less talked about are all the other deadly and injurious accidents that take place on train platforms in Japan on a semi-regular basis.

Recently, Japanese rail companies have been experimenting with platform barrier doors to prevent both suicides and other grievous accidents, and most of these inevitably end up looking like something out of Star Trek or a 1990s first-person shooter before technology allowed swinging door animations.

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Ironically, this video of a typical Japanese breakfast doesn’t show one

There’s a certain mystery about what different countries have for breakfast. Most people’s contact with the eating habits of other nations comes from dining out, so as long as you’ve got a Japanese restaurant near where you live, you don’t necessarily need to fly to Tokyo to see what a typical lunch or dinner looks like.

Unless you grew up in a culture, though, you might not have had the chance to see what the locals eat for their first meal of the day though. We recently came across a video that aims to shed a little light on the subject, and while we’re intrigued by the premise, they sort of dropped the ball on what Japan eats at breakfast.

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Words of wisdom and humor from 12 Buddhist temples (and… Cameron Diaz!?)

It’s quite common in the United States for churches to post weekly messages on the signs standing on their front lawns. The public texts can run from deeply religious sentiments to pleas for more tolerance, though it’s also not uncommon for a careless mistake to lead to messages with multiple meanings–hilarious or unfortunate, depending on your perspective.

While Japan certainly does have its fair share of churches–perhaps more than one might expect–it is primarily the Buddhist temples that fill the role of making public, semi-religious proclamations. Like their Western counterparts, these messages can leave passers-by nodding their heads thoughtfully–or perhaps just chuckling. Check out these 12 posters that left a big impact on Japanese netizens! We never knew Buddhist Monks took so much notice of what Western celebrities had to say…

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Every year on 15 March in Komaki City, Aichi the Honen Matsuri (Harvest Festival) is held. Unlike other harvest festivals this one is to celebrate all forms bounty from crops to cash to family.

Also unlike other harvest festivals, this one has a 2.5m wooden phallus that gets paraded through the city during the afternoon. It’s called “Ooowasegata” (lit. big guy stem figure) and this year it drew a crowd of 190,000 spectators according to a Tagata Shrine announcement.

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We test the taste of the King’s Dog from Burger King

And now, due to popular demand, we have the taste test you’ve all been waiting for: the King’s Dog from Burger King. Ever since news of the hot dog offering from the fast food burger chain was released, we’d been anticipating its arrival. Boasting an extra-large sausage 2.5 times the thickness of a regular Burger King hot dog, we bought one of each to really see how the King’s Dog weighs up.

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You’re not seeing things, that’s a cat selling roasted sweet potatoes

It’s a common sight to see hot dog stands in America. In Singapore, ice cream stands are a lifesaver in the sweltering hot weather. In Japan, however, you’re more likely to find a yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato) stand on the streets, especially during winter. If you’re lucky enough, you might even meet the legendary cat that sells stone roasted sweet potatoes in Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture!

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Bandai Japan releases hugely impractical “sprout” desk accessories, catchy jingle

In the world of capsule toys, there’s always room for newcomers. Part of the reason so many people buy gashapon is the tiny thrill of excitement they get as they hear the capsule drop down into the dispenser and excitedly grab it to see whether they were lucky enough to get the toy they really wanted.

The toys themselves are often quickly forgotten about, doomed to a life of rolling around in the bottom of a bag or lining a windowsill turning a weird shade of yellow in the sun. But these new “desktop accessories” from toy maker Bandai, if their accompanying commercial video is to be believed, are designed to make their presence felt at every possible occasion, to the point of making your emails indecipherable.

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Never agonize over your fast food decisions again – Pizza-Burger is here!

Ever had that terrible indecision between pizza and hamburger? Japan’s got your problem solved! It’s not quite as out-there as the bizarre creations we’ve become used to – in fact, maybe this time they’ve actually got things right.

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Why increased thyroid cancer rates in Fukushima kids isn’t necessarily a cause for concern

A “cancer cluster” detected in kids near the Fukushima disaster is probably due to the increased examination of these children, not because of the disaster itself, according to epidemiologist Norman Kleiman of Columbia University.

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