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New poster shows live-action Attack on Titan’s Titan, who’s double the size of his anime version

Casey Baseel
Dec 16, 2014
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Last month, we got our first look at the cast of the two upcoming live-action Attack on Titan films, dressed in the costumes they’ll appear in. But while the actors and actresses looked snappy in their Scout Corps uniforms, the first batch of images neglected to show the movie’s literally biggest characters: the Titans themselves. That’s been rectified now, though, as a new poster shows the gruesome visage of the series’ most iconic giant, and producers have revealed that he’s even bigger than his anime inspiration.

New Pokémon Center opens, resellers snatch up thousands of dollars of limited edition plushies

Casey Baseel
Dec 15, 2014

For the most part, Japan does a pretty thorough job of separating its video games from reality. Even after decades of Super Mario Bros., the country isn’t beset with inhumane monsters stomping on box turtles for fun, and while some dude did once take a swing at me in Shibuya Station, Tokyo’s sidewalks are almost universally free of would-be street fighters.

One notable exception, though, is Pokémon, in that people who love hunting for the monsters in the game tend to also like searching for cool merchandise based on the series in real life. But while fans have a mutual respect for each other’s dedication and efforts to catch ‘em all in the game, some were a little less impressed when they showed up to shop at Tokyo’s newest Pokémon Center, only to find some covetous shoppers had bought up all of the store’s special stuffed animals, with one individual spending the equivalent of thousands of dollars on Pikachu plushies.

Japanese conservatives call for ban on Angelina Jolie’s WWII movie

Cara Clegg
Dec 15, 2014

Angelina Jolie’s latest war movie, Unbroken, has been facing criticism recently from Japanese conservatives for its portrayals of brutality in World War II prisoner of war camps. While the film hasn’t even been released yet, there are some people who want to make sure it never sees the light of day in Japan.

Life imitates (Sword) Art (Online) as Japanese gamers find they can’t log out of online RPG

Casey Baseel
Dec 15, 2014

The big selling point of online multiplayer role-playing games that they never end. Unlike a stand-alone, single-player RPG with a comparatively distinct path from start to finish, the adventure in online titles can go on indefinitely, thanks to periodically added extra content and the huge supply of new companions to go questing with.

But as appealing as a game that never has to end may be to hard-core gamers, many of them recently found out they were playing one that couldn’t, as the logout function mysteriously disappeared from one of Japan’s most popular online RPGs.

Balloon-carrying bunny is too cute not to love 【Video】

Audrey Akcasu
Dec 15, 2014

What do you get when you put a rabbit in a room full of partially deflated balloons? A very happy bunny! Join us after the jump for severe cuteness.

Have a rice cake! Have a tangerine! Why not have both with the visually stunning mikan daifuku?

Kay
Dec 15, 2014

Eating sweet tangerines, or mikan as we call them here, while snuggled in a warm kotatsu table is a favorite winter pastime in Japan. (And believe us when we say it becomes a struggle to leave the comfortable warmth of the kotatsu for anything short of a grave emergency.)

Well, thanks to Japanese confection maker Akasaka Aono, you can now enjoy winter tangerines in a slightly unique form. They’ve wrapped a whole tangerine inside a soft daifuku rice cake! Now, that’s certainly an unusual presentation for a daifuku, so it’s not surprising that the Japanese public has taken notice, and since we’re always on the lookout for interesting foods, one of the reporters from our Japanese sister site Pouch promptly tried the cake to give all of us a first hand account. Let’s hear what she had to say about the unique tangerine and mochi confection!

Key keep getting stuck in the lock? Japan’s Miwa Lock has a quick fix for you!

Preston Phro
Dec 15, 2014

Lifehacking, which sadly is not the act of hacking real life with Doom‘s god code, is more like nifty little tips and tricks that can make life just a bit easier, giving you more free time to read awesome stuff on the Internet. Sometimes, though, lifehack tips aren’t quite as useful as they purport to be–but that’s not the case here! Today’s lifehackery is about keys and it comes straight from the mouth of Miwa Lock, Japan’s largest locks/key/security company.

If you have trouble sliding your key into the lock, it turns out that there’s a quick, simple way to deal with it. And you won’t even need any oil!

Laughter online as Google mistakes Japanese beauty researcher for someone a little different…

Preston Phro
Dec 15, 2014

When the subject of artificial intelligence comes up, people tend to default to “Skynet is going to murder us all!” mode faster than you can say “overreaction.” While we can understand their concern–even Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk seem pretty intimated by the concept of a sentient Arnold Schwarzenegger–this little story goes a long way to showing just how far we are from computers being able to identify and terminate any random person they feel like…

A Japanese Twitter user recently noticed that Google was accidentally identifying a legendary Japanese entrepreneur and beauty researcher as a certain member of America’s pop royalty. Can you guess who?

We steel our hearts and sample Namikoshiken’s too-cute-to-eat, aquarium-themed wagashi sweets

Megumi Matsuki
Dec 15, 2014

Do you remember our recent article that showcased Japanese confectioner Namikoshiken’s adorable menagerie of bite-sized manjū (sweet steamed buns)? Last week, out of sheer luck and coincidence, I received a box of the Suizokukan (aquarium) variety from a family friend who went on a trip to Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, where the 87-year-old company is based. So of course, this calls for a taste test!

Read on to find out more about the wagashi treats and to view close-up photos of each lovable suizokukan resident. Was this writer able to harden her heart and mercilessly sink her teeth into these little guys? Anything for RocketNews24!

Japanese business women who’ve beaten the system 【Women in Japan Series】

Amy Chavez
Dec 15, 2014

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “womenomics” scheme aims to get more women into the workforce in order to combat the shrinking and aging population and help spur the Japanese economy. While I believe women can save Japan, I don’t think it’ll be through womenomics. As any Japanese woman can tell you, it’s not as easy as it should be for females to work full-time in this country. In the Japanese business world, companies are loath to offer working conditions that males and females alike enjoy in other developed countries, such as reasonable work hours (40 hours a week with optional overtime), work sharing, flexitime and working from home. Whereas in the West the attitude is that as long as you get your work done on time, it doesn’t matter how you do it, in Japan emphasis is more on the hours put in at the office to show your loyalty to the company. Add to that additional cultural biases against gender, age, experience and returning to work after raising children, and you have a recipe for “eternal housewife.”

Clearly, the problem is deeper than merely hiring more women, or adding more day care centers, both actions Abe is pushing. But the good news is that there is a group of women who are beating the system, and who have been for some time now.

This week, as part of our Women in Japan Series, we introduce you to three female entrepreneurs who have successfully forged ahead in the business world by defining their own terms. They can support themselves financially, are able to live more freely, have time for their children and families, and work fewer hours than they’d have to in the corporate world. And the best thing about it? They’re regular women, just like you, me, or your partner. Drum roll please…

Is Japanese TV really as bad as its reputation?

Audrey Akcasu
Dec 15, 2014

Foreigners living in Japan, our own editor included, often give Japanese TV a hard time. For many, it’s either too weird, too predictable or too obnoxious. If it really is so bad though, surely shows like Iron Chef and Ninja Warrior (Sasuke) would never have been introduced in the US? Nor would America have created the show I Survived a Japanese Game Show. So if foreign stations are taking cues from the Japanese TV shows, the originals must have some merit, right?

One Reddit user finally asked the big question, “Japanese television. Is it really so terrible?” As you’d expect, the responses poured in, both in favor of and adamantly against it. One user proclaimed that Japan only has three kinds of programs, “Shows about celebrities. Shows about food. Shows about celebrities eating food.” But like TV in any country, there are actually a lot of different kinds of shows, so it’s probably worth a moment to take a walk through some of the programming options.

Universal Studios Japan reveals details of upcoming Attack on Titan attraction

Krista Rogers
Dec 15, 2014

Universal Studios Japan is about to be hit by an enemy of titanic proportions!

The popular theme park located in Osaka has finally revealed details regarding one of their most anticipated attractions ever, set to be open to the public from January 23 till May 10 of next year. Feast your eyes on all of the epicness that awaits in Attack on Titan: THE REAL!

Celebrate Christmas with Kit Kat themed gift set and cake from the Kit Kat Chocolaterie!

Kay
Dec 15, 2014

Remember the Kit Kat Chocolaterie, the world’s first Kit Kat specialty store that opened in the Ikebukuro Seibu Department Store back in January this year? The shop sells limited edition Kit Kats produced by celebrity patissier Yasumasa Takagi, so it’s not surprising that huge crowds of Kit Kat fans have been making their pilgrimage to the store in search of unique Kit Kat products.

Since then, the Kit Kat bandwagon has apparently been going strong, as two more Chocolaterie shops have opened in Japan, one in the Daimaru Department Store at Tokyo Station and another at the Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nagoya. And now, they’ve announced that they’ll be coming out with a special “Kit Kat Chocolaterie Patissier Gift” set for Christmas, and we can’t wait to see what goodies it contains. Plus, there’s even a Kit Kat inspired Christmas cake created by chef Takagi that they’re now taking orders for — who knew that Christmas could be so much fun for Kit Kat lovers?

Pikachu meets Godzilla: 6 Pokémon get the kaiju movie monster treatment

Scott R Dixon
Dec 14, 2014

As two of Japan’s most well-known cultural ambassadors, it’s about time that the worlds of Pikachu and Godzilla collide. And we found some fake movies posters that do just that by combining the imagery of Japanese kaiju movie monsters with six classic pokémon. Click below to see Pikachu and five of his friends destroying cities, crushing buildings and causing quite a mess.

Character images of new Digimon Adventure series released, expected to air in spring 2015

Master Blaster
Dec 14, 2014

At an event marking the 15th anniversary of the original Digimon Adventure series in Odaiba, Tokyo on 1 August, an announcement was made declaring a brand new chapter in the human-monster buddy saga will bring back the original characters.

Along with the announcement came a special anniversary website with some Digi-Eggs containing details of the new series. However, no matter how much you rubbed those suckers nothing came out – until now.

The hatchling information included a brief rundown of the staff and a first look at all eight of the DigiDestined more evolved…I mean grown up.

Who’s still buying physical media in Japan? Top 20 singles lists for the year reveal the answer

Casey Baseel
Dec 14, 2014

With a large music market and some of the world’s highest prices for physical releases, Japan has been very slow in adapting to digital distribution. Rights holders are finally warming up to the idea, though, and it doesn’t look like it’s ruining the industry in Japan. What downloadable music does seem to be doing, though, is splitting the country’s pop music market into two distinct parts, as the lists of Japan’s top 20 single downloads and CD purchases for the year are almost completely different.

This cat has a daily routine that is too kawaii for words

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Dec 14, 2014

The internet can never get enough of cats can it? One cat in Japan has gone viral among netizens after its owner shared its little daily routine on Twitter. Can you guess what it’s trying to do?

Adorable circular capybara formation proves they look cute even when doing something nasty

Casey Baseel
Dec 14, 2014

As someone whose eyes are closed in about 20 percent of his pictures, I’ve always thought it must be nice to be naturally photogenic. If nothing else, you must save a lot of time not having to snap a half-dozen photos in the same spot, just in case you look goofy in all but one.

For example, I have a hunch this group of capybaras in Kyushu looks good from just about any angle. Well, except maybe the one that would have revealed the gross activity they were actually involved in at the moment the shot was taken.

Disney welcomes 2015 with special edition sheep Tsum Tsum soft toys!

Hayashi 'Fang' Hougi
Dec 14, 2014

For those who are unfamiliar with the Chinese zodiac, 2015 will be the Year of the Sheep, which means that as the new year draws near, we can expect Japan to shower us with tons of fluffy sheep-motif products. Disney is quick to hop on the bandwagon with their new Tsum Tsum zodiac series. Just look at those adorable characters!

Hello Kitty hot spring lets you fill two spots at once on your Japan bingo card

Casey Baseel
Dec 14, 2014

For most travelers in Japan, the highlight of a trip to the hot springs is the rotenburo, or open-air bath. The idea of an alfresco dip is so appealing that drawing visitors to your hot spring inn or hotel becomes several degrees harder if you don’t have outdoor tubs.

But you shouldn’t write off indoor hot springs entirely, as they boast a couple of advantages. Having a roof over your head makes them a good choice for a rainy day, and being climate controlled means less shivering once you step out of the water. Plus, if you’re heading to Gunma Prefecture, soon one indoor hot spring will give you the chance to soak in the company of Hello Kitty.