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Japan (Page 1379)

Evangelion creator says even Hayao Miyazaki anime don’t have enough Miyazaki

How much of a Hayao Miyazaki purist are you? Have you never once set your Spirited Away DVD to the English-dubbed audio? Do you cringe at the thought of watching Castle in the Sky Laputa with its reworked soundtrack? Do you actually pronounce warrior princess Nausicaa’s name with the “shi” sound it contains when rendered in Japanese text?

Even if you answered yes to all those questions, it’s unlikely you’ve got as much love for the Studio Ghibli cofounder as Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno. Why? Because for Anno, even movies directed and written by Miyazaki himself don’t have enough Miyazaki-created content.

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Possibly the most considerate pedestrian crossing button ever installed

Push-buttons at a pedestrian crossing are a pretty standard safety feature at most intersections.

But how long does a push button need to be? And we’re not talking about the length of time waiting once you press the push button, but the length of the actual push button…

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Japanese Fitness expert recommends toddlers play catch, climb on jungle gym, sumo wrestle

Remember when you were a little kid, and your parents would take you to the park to play? Not only were you having fun, you were developing important motor skills as you ran around, did somersaults, and swung on the monkey bars. Maybe when you got a little older and more coordinated, you’d even play catch with your mom and dad.

But did your parents love you enough to have a couple of sumo bouts against you?

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Norman Reedus comments on Silent Hills’ reported cancellation

The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus posted his reaction to reports that director Guillermo del Toro said their Silent Hillsgame project is not going to happen.

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With some jobs, the risks are obvious. Want to be an F1 racer? Driving cars at unsafe speeds is pretty much the extent of your work responsibilities. Firefighter? Be prepared to get up-close and personal with dangerous flames, because after all, the position isn’t called “fire-mediation-and-peacekeeping-liaison.”

Working the gate at a fan event for a video-sharing website seems like it should be relatively safe, though. That’s not always the case, though, as one man found out when he became a human speed bump standing against a crowd of stampeding fans at the recent Niconico Chokaigi.

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Starbucks Japan to release frozen drink maker for homemade cool refreshments

Who’s ready for the hot and humid summer? We’re approaching the second half of spring here in Japan, so that means it’s almost time to get out those Cool Biz clothes and your sweat towels, because this summer is bound to be as uncomfortably muggy as always.

Starbucks has your back this year though. Later this month they’ll be releasing the “Starbucks Frozen Drink Maker” – a reusable mug that doubles as a super simple frozen coffee mixer. It’s easy, it’s cold and it’s delicious. Let’s take a look!

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University students in Gifu Prefecture can now earn credits while working at Aeon shopping mall

On April 15, representatives from Gifu Prefecture’s Chubu Gakuin University and its affixed junior college reached an agreement with Japan’s major retailer Aeon that will allow university students to earn credits while working part-time in paid internships. The deal was born out of a desire to provide students with more practical work experience while at the same time strengthening ties to the surrounding community.

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Are they all duds!? Another defective Attack on Titan Eren official figurine leaves us wondering

Despite the Attack on Titan franchise being massively popular on an international scale, why is it that the toy companies just can’t seem to get the darn character figurines right?

We’ve already seen the shoddy Levi figure that surfaced last year, and now there appears to be another disappointing officially licensed Eren model on the market, too. And we have to say, we really can’t blame one fan for lamenting the poor quality of her new toy at all…

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Dragon Quest Super Light Cafe draws near! Command?

Beating on smiling blue slimes for single points of experience and coins of gold is taxing work. So for those famished dragon questers and/or warriors in the Tokyo area Square Enix and TBI are set to open the Dragon Question Super Light Cafe (DQSL Cafe).

The cafe is expected to be modeled after the Dragon Quest world and feature dishes based on its characters. This may be the only time that you can nibble on a metal slime (risotto) and sip on a killing machine at the same time. But there are more secrets to be had here as well! Command?

Fight

Run

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  • Apr 26, 2015

We love Gudetama so much, we turn him into adorable okonomiyaki pancakes and eat him!

Remeber Gudetama, the lazy egg character from Hello Kitty owner Sanrio? Well, it turns out that the unmotivated egg with an extremely unmascot-like personality has gained quite a following in Japan. Apparently, his soft appearance and to an even greater extent, his lazy disposition, which prompts him to mutter phrases like “I have no strength” and “I can’t feel motivated enough to do anything” have earned him considerable popularity. In fact, he’s popular enough to have had his very own character cafe for a limited time in the past, and recently, he’s been collaborating with Dotonbori, a chain of restaurants that serves okonomiyaki, which are Japanese pancakes containing various ingredients such as cabbage, meat and seafood.

That’s right, at Dotonbori, you can use actual eggs to add realistic Gudetama faces to your food. Now, that sounded like too much fun to pass up, so our reporters from our Japanese sister site went to one of the Dotobori shops and actually tried it!  Read More

We take the Toyota i-Road electric vehicle out for a spin, find out it’s awesome 【Video】

Not quite a car, not quite a motorcycle, the Toyota i-Road is a three-wheeled electric vehicle designed just for urbanites. Small, sleek and ultra slim, on paper the i-Road seems like the perfect solution to Tokyo’s traffic jams and woefully limited – not to mention expensive – parking.

But what’s it like to actually drive one of these things? Our Japanese team headed out to try an i-Road for themselves. Check out their video after the jump!

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Shawn Wasabi’s digital mash-up samples Pikachu, Final Fantasy, Perfume

Shawn Wasabi mashed up a list of his favorite songs and sound effects to create the original track “Marble Soda.” Wasabi uses a Midi Fighter by DJ Techtools to assign 153 different sounds used during the song. Among them are “Fushizen Na Girl” by Perfume, “PONPONPON” by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, “Prelude” from Final Fantasy VII, and Pikachu’s iconic “Pika!”

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Sailor Shoes and Luna too! Sailor Moon pumps are the latest way for anime fans to get their kicks

You could argue that it’s silly for the heroines of Sailor Moon to wear heels, seeing as how, like clockwork, they’re required to head into battle against dangerous monsters once a week. But while the Sailor Senshi are the defenders of humanity, they’re also five fashionable young girls, so you can see how they (or series creator Naoko Takeuchi) would be reluctant to go with, say, combat boots instead.

If you’re a Sailor Moon fan living in the real world, though, fighting evil probably doesn’t figure into your footwear choices, leaving you free to step out in these heels inspired by the Sailor Senshi, or the sensible flats modeled after their feline mentor Luna.

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  • Apr 25, 2015

Love Ghibli? Meet Kurosuke, the man who just might have the most amazing Ghibli collection in the world!

Needless to say, the magical animated works of Studio Ghibli have long enchanted fans around the world. But today, we’d like to introduce to you one very special Ghibli fan in particular.

Meet Kurosuke, who at first glance may not seem like an exceptional Ghibli enthusiast. In fact, we’d say he looks like an average 40-year-old man who happens to work as a production operator. But take one step inside his apartment, and you’ll immediately see that his home and the way he lives is far from ordinary. You see, his entire home is filled with countless Ghibli memorabilia, and what’s more, most of them are rare, not-for-sale items. RocketNews24 visited him for a personal interview, and of course, to see his amazing Ghibli collection!

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Tokyo exhibition on cultural impact of anime and video games adds list of series to be examined

On any given day in a Tokyo summer, you can expect the weather to be hot, rainy, or a sticky mixture of the two. As such, it’s usually a good idea to have a couple of indoor activates in mind in case you need a break from the sweltering heat.

Thankfully, Japan’s capital is filled with museums, and one will be holding a special exhibition on the cultural impact of anime, manga, and video games. We’ve been looking forward to this event for a while, and now there’s even a partial list of titles that are scheduled to be highlighted.

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If you haven’t heard of the Twitter account Anime in History yet, then you need to follow them right away. They put out near-daily pictures of anime characters flawlessly Photoshopped into historical photographs, making you swear that they were actually there.

With over 100 pictures and counting though, we figured it was about time to do a list of the best pictures released so far. So we here at RocketNews24 present to you the top 20 anime photobombs throughout history, as made possible by Anime in History.

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It’s well known that many anime fans, in the midst of watching a show, start to develop a crush on their favorite character (and sometimes that crush becomes a full–on obsession). But the admiration fans feel towards a 2-D character isn’t always tied to romantic rumblings. Sometimes, they see an anime icon and instead of “I wish that was my girlfriend/boyfriend,” they find themselves thinking “I wish that was my boss!”

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Tochiotome 25 invite you to a unique onsen experience in the music video for “Yu”! 【Video】

Tochigi local idol group Tochiotome 25 have once again released a music video showcasing the charms of their rural home town with “Yu” (release date: April 22). This one’s… a little different.

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Toddler Evangelion Rody rompers now come in more colors

The slightly sinister line of children’s clothing crossing Evangelion and Rody from Premium Bandai just got updated with more colors. The original included Unit 01 and Unit 00 with matching bibs. The new onesies are based on Asuka’s Unit 02, Mari’s Unit 05, Kaworu’s Unit 06, and the Yuru-Shito mascot.

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These Japanese cat masks both enchant and terrify

Cats have been our free-willed companions for centuries, even revered as gods in some cultures, and in modern times still have our hearts (and the internet) wrapped around their little kitty toes. But despite their closeness to our hearts, there is still so much about them that remains mysterious, and it is this mystery that captured the imagination of Japanese artist Junko Koguchi as she rendered these gorgeously enchanting cat masks.

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