What does it mean to be human? That’s the question being asked in a thought-provoking new exhibition of stunningly lifelike androids, which also suggests that maybe the singularity could be closer than we think.
Japan (Page 1464)
Things I can do that impress Japanese junior high school students: touch my nose with my tongue; recite the lyrics to ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’ on cue; whistle the Benny Hill theme inconspicuously during class and then blame it on the Japanese sensei.
There’s one thing I’ve never mastered though – one thing that would hugely augment my repertoire of “odd things the English teacher can do”. I can’t whistle with grass. Or any kind of plant, in fact. Clearly, I should’ve taken some lessons from this guy, who can play entire tunes with a single pea pod.
Recently, we sent our intrepid reporter Meg to Ehime Prefecture’s Aoshima, also known as Cat Island or even Cat Paradise. We’d heard rumors that the island’s packs of free-roaming kitties were facing an obesity crisis from the snacks given to them by their numerous animal-loving visitors, and wanted to check up on our little friends.
When Meg came back, she reported that the cats were fine, thanks to their active, calorie-burning lifestyle. But how could she be sure? Did she check every cat on Aoshima?
She certainly came close, and we’ve got the photo collection to prove it.
Super Mario Bros., the classic Nintendo game that spawned dozens of sequels and introduced millions of people to video games, has been around for some 29 years now. In that time, along with discovering every secret the game has to offer and performing dazzling speed runs, players the world over have hunted for increasingly creative and complex ways to rack up stacks of extra lives by “juggling” shelled enemies until the timer runs out.
There are a number of “infinite lives” secrets that we’re already aware of, but just last week a new video appeared online showing one that appears to be not just brand new, but one of the most complicated 1-up discoveries yet.
Unlike a lot of children, I never doodled in my notebooks because I was bored at school. This wasn’t because I was consumed with the beauty of education or absorbed in what my teachers were saying. I was simply such a bad artist that listening to them drone on was still more enjoyable for me than trying to draw a picture, even if the lectures ended up putting me to sleep as often as not.
If they’d only had these Attack on Titan notebooks when I was a kid, maybe I would have stayed awake more often.
Okay, we have a question for you. How many of you personally know someone who’s fallen under the spell of Sanrio? We’re guessing, quite a lot. The sheer number of characters the company has come up with during its 54-year history is truly amazing, not to mention the immense appeal and popularity some of these characters enjoy across the world. Even if you’re not a passionate fan, if you have even a remote fondness for anything kawaii, then you’re bound to have a favorite Sanrio character, which is why Sanrio has a popularity poll for its characters each year, called the Sanrio Character Ranking.
Now, considering that most people probably think of Hello Kitty as the undisputed queen of Sanrio, you may expect the international feline celebrity to have an iron-clad hold on the top place in the rankings, but apparently, that hasn’t always been the case. This year in particular, the preliminary results from the first stage of the polls seem to be surprising Sanrio fans, specifically with regards to the votes Hello Kitty has managed, or not managed for that matter, to earn. Could it be that there’s something amiss with Hello Kitty’s reign over the kingdom of Sanrio?
The colossal titan is coming, and it’s your job to keep the wall standing. With this Jenga-esque Attack on Titan tower game, you and your buddies can challenge each other to see who can ward off the intruder the longest.
When starting a new business, one of the most important things to do is build name recognition. An easy, if ethically questionable, way of doing this is to base your company’s name on an existing, more recognized brand, such as calling your new restaurant McBurgers, or your talent agency filled with only the most charming and pleasant-smelling individuals RocketGoodSmell24.
Of course, McDonald’s would probably put a stop to such a plan, even if you weren’t directly competing with them in the fast food market. In fact, the company would probably be all the more swift in dropping the hammer if you were setting up shop in an industry it wants to avoid any association with. For example, if you were a budding pimp and called your brothel McHumptown, you could expect an angry letter from the Golden Arches.
You know who else doesn’t like being connected to the skin trade? Denny’s, as three men in Japan who appropriated the restaurant’s logo for their sexual services company just found out.
With their dramatic posing, frenetic accessorizing, and manic shouting, you could easily arrive at the conclusion that the cast of long-running manga and anime Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures is one seriously over-caffeinated set of super powered bare-knuckle brawlers.
Don’t expect Jojo and company to settle down anytime soon, though, as the characters created by artist Hirohiko Araki are set to grace cans of Coca-Cola Japan’s Georgia coffee this summer.
A filmmaker based in Los Cabos, Mexico, is attracting attention online in Japan with his stunningly beautiful food video. Entitled “A Taste of Japan”, Mike Arce’s video features the food he fell in love with on a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. In an impressively expansive gourmet tour, Arce sampled everything from Kyoto speciality tofu cuisine to delicious hot-plate favourites like okonomiyaki and sukiyaki, even squeezing in a trip to Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi for some high-class sushi, too.
If you didn’t already want to go to Japan really, really badly, you will after you watch this!
While TV and movies seem to have a hard time grappling with the evolving role of women in society, animation has been delivering strong female leads for decades.
Sure, some of their empowering swagger is tempered with skimpy clothes and breasts so large they’re almost certain to cause major chiropractic problems, but animation has been surprisingly progressive when it comes to depicting women in comparison to film and live action television.
So it was only a matter of time before someone put together a list of the most badass female characters in animation, and it makes sense that the list is heavy on the anime; Manga and anime artists infamously have a bit of a fetish for strong female leads, after all.
It’s amazing how much Japan loves KFC. I pass by more locations of the world’s most popular fried chicken chain on an average day in Tokyo than I ever did in Los Angeles, and it’s even the meal of choice for most Japanese diners on Christmas Eve.
Now, just as Japan has embraced KFC, KFC is embracing Japan by expanding the number of locations where you can get your hands on one of the restaurant’s rare Kentucky Fried Chicken rice bowls.
Here at RocketNews24, we consider wasting food to be one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Whether it be a 1,000 bacon slice burger, feces wine, or the most disgusting ramen ever, we always clean our plates or ask for a doggie bag.
And so it’s with heavy hearts that we bring you the story of a particularly disgusting crime. This suspect stands accused of buying, having his way with, and then dumping 208kg of potato chips in the wilderness, eating hardly any of them. As it turned out, this was all part of a bigger scheme to meet the talented voice actress and vocalist Nana Mizuki.
***Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of delicious snack wastage which some readers may find disturbing.***
Men are, in many ways, simple creatures. Our two greatest desires in life are, without question, women and food.
While a tasty meal or a good-looking lass with a nice personality are both things to be thankful for on their own, it’s hard to top the bliss that comes from eating a home-cooked meal made by the girl you like. Still, just as guys have preferences in women, they’ve also got preferences in food, as revealed in a poll that asked Japanese men what dish prepared by their girlfriend makes them the happiest.
As the art of cosplay steadily proliferates into the culture of Japan, even traditionally stodgy institutions like universities have begun accepting it at their graduations. So it would seem obvious that more “carefree” places like theme parks would embrace the costumed fun.
Tokyo Disneyland had their own cosplay event and Universal Studios Japan makes provisions for it in their park rules and regulations. Still, with these companies and others protecting their own brand interests there’s bound to be some lines one shouldn’t cross when trying to gain entrance in costume. But with no official bans on dressing up like certain characters it’s up to Twitter users to test the waters and find where these parks draw the line.
Japanese aquariums are a pretty popular destination for families during the summer break in July and August. As a part of Enoshima Aquarium’s 10th anniversary celebration, it is putting on a show called “Night Aquarium” where 3D projection mapping will make it seem like visitors have traveled to the deepest parts of the ocean.
Beginning on July 20, the special show will use the aquarium as a backdrop during the evening and project moving images of sea life around the awestruck sightseers. Although other aquariums have given visitors a rather intimate look at deep-sea creatures, this is the first time an aquarium has use this projection mapping technology and is sure to draw big crowds.
Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. was a hit almost immediately upon its release in 1985. Everyone who played it knew right away that it was fun, but what wasn’t so immediately apparent was just how solid, and therefore timeless, the basic game engine was.
You’ll find very few gamers today who remember, and even fewer who honestly care, about titles such as Comic Wartoad and Section Z, both of which saw release in 1985 and were moderate hits in their day. More than 30 years later, though, Mario still has a special place in gamers’ hearts. Now, even if you’ve played through all of Mario’s adventures, both new and old, the fun doesn’t have to stop, as Nintendo is releasing a new piece of software that’ll let you create your own Mario levels.
Details, and photos from the E3 show floor after the jump!
There’s a unique challenge for anime professionals working on a franchise with as long a history as Gundam, which aired its first episode 35 years ago. Since each new series does away with the war mechs of its predecessors, designers are always under pressure to come up with giant robots that look more powerful, technologically advanced, and, in the case of the villains’ machines, sinister than what fans have seen before.
With Gundam Unicorn’s NZ-999 Neo Zeong, piloted by baffling-named antagonist (and Toyota owner) Full Frontal, we think the animators did a pretty good job. From its sharp, angular lines, blood-red paint job, and the crevices in the sheet metal produce murky shadows, the mobile armor appears immediately menacing and dangerous.
Unless that is, you remove the head unit and replace it with a cute anime girl or kitty cat.
What’s in a name? New parents often look for a name that they hope will embody the spirit of their child or be something that their son or daughter can wear with pride throughout their life, but even the most heartfelt monicker can prove awkward when taken out of context, and can be more funny than beautiful when heard by speakers of other languages.
For Japanese parents, the meaning of kanji characters used for a child’s name are just as important as how it sounds. Recently, however, one young couple had the name they chose for their new baby daughter rejected when they attempted to register it at their local town hall. It was probably a good thing, though, since the characters they had chosen had an altogether different, rather unpleasant, meaning that the couple were completely unaware of.
When you stop and think about it, personal grooming should be everything to the man-eating giants of Attack on Titan. After all, it’s not like they can rely on their fashion sense to look their best, since they’re constantly naked.
By nature, though, giants have giant beards. So how do you fight back against so much facial hair? With a whole new branch of Attack on Titan’s military, as documented in three new animated shorts.
MOST POPULAR
Now
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Japanese government says country needs more women’s room toilets to meet modern society’s needs
Japanese man drives truck that’s on fire directly to fire station, drops flaming potatoes[Videos]
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Starbucks Japan opens new Kyoto store in Place of Scenic Beauty
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Who the heck is this dancing foreigner advertising products in Japan?
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Weekly
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones- The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan opens new cafe and art gallery in top Tokyo tourist neighbourhood- Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
7-Eleven Japan’s giant fried chicken skewer would be too big to eat, so it’s really for cuddling
Monthly
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026- Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
- Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Naruto and Converse team up for new line of shinobi sneakers[Photos]
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino- Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases a new Cream Puff Frappuccino for a limited time
Yearly
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]- Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Starbucks Japan opens new Kyoto store in Place of Scenic Beauty
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo
Who the heck is this dancing foreigner advertising products in Japan?
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Criminals of Japan’s Edo Period Were Often Punished by Getting Face Tattoos
Old postcards reveal famous Japanese tourist spots as they appeared 100 years ago
Eight Ways You Really, Really Shouldn’t Use a Japanese Toilet
KFC Japan opens a Christmas restaurant in Tokyo…but why???
One of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost
Sanrio’s adorable Embroidered Badge Biscuits solve the too-cute-to-eat snack dilemma【Photo】
Japanese convenience store sandwiches get extra protection from new business backpack
-
