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Things to pick up at 7-Eleven: Milk, melon bread, Evangelion sports car

Last summer, we thought the heat might have been getting to the executives at 7-Eleven. Sure, offering two-meter (six-foot, seven-inch) tall Evangelion statues as special promotional prizes was a cool idea and all, but did they really expect anyone to pony up the 1,836,000 yen (US$16,000) they were asking for the 25 more giant figures they was selling outright?

Well, not only did all 25 of those Eva statues find homes, they sold out in just two minutes. Emboldened by that success, 7-Eleven has teamed up once again with the hit anime franchise to release the most expensive item the convenience store has ever sold: the Evangelion car.

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Make (lots and lots of) room for this enormous new Taiko no Tatsujin controller from Hori

Drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin has become something of a poster child for Japanese video arcades over the years, with pretty much every piece of movie or TV footage which shows a Japanese game centre including shots of either smiling schoolgirls or wildly flailing pros thumping away on one of the game’s giant plastic taiko drums in time with the cutesy on-screen icons and J-pop beats.

Up until now, diehard fans of the series had to make do with flimsy miniature drum controllers for their phones and games consoles whenever they couldn’t make it to an actual arcade to challenge their top scores, but peripheral maker Hori has just unveiled the ultimate home taiko experience in the form of the Taiko no Tatsujin Controller Pro – an enormous drum controller being rolled out for the launch of upcoming Wii and Wii U title Taiko no Tatsujin: Tokumori!

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15 years of wonderfully wacky bras from Triumph Japan【Photos】

It is the year 2000. You run the Japanese division of one of the world’s biggest lingerie brands, and are looking for an original way to promote your company – and your country – on the world stage. What do you do? Well, if your company is Triumph International, you begin launching concept bras like last week’s Frozen-inspired sisterhood bra – amazing and ridiculous underwear guaranteed to push the world’s ‘WTF Japan’ buttons.

We can see in Triumph’s creations the Japanese art of ‘chindogu’, inventions that, while they appear to solve a particular problem, are simultaneously useful and useless. Join us as we rifle through the underwear drawer for 21 of the best!

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Mount Aso: I heard you like volcanoes, so I put some volcanoes in your volcano【Photos】

Japan is a country with a whole lot of volcanoes of all shapes, sizes and persuasions. From the iconic Mt. Fuji to the recently erupted Mt. Ontake, you really can’t swing a koto around here without hitting a geological pressure cooker. And nowhere is that truer than the Aso-Kuju National Park in Kyushu, where they literally have volcanoes on top of volcanoes.

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Chinese media tried to censor this moment between Putin and China’s first lady

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, seemed to have a nice time at the official leaders’ dinner at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Beijing.

The two seemed to chat politely before something interesting happened.

“Then Mr. Putin, a former Soviet spymaster who rides horses bare-chested, made his move,” as described by The New York Times. “He whipped a tan coat from beneath the table and slipped it over Ms. Peng’s shoulders as she stood up.”

And here’s how Didi Tang of Associated Press described the scene: “It was a warm gesture on a chilly night when Vladimir Putin wrapped a shawl around the wife of Xi Jinping while the Chinese president chatted with Barack Obama. The only problem: Putin came off looking gallant, the Chinese summit host gauche and inattentive.”

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We go hunting for a fast food venison burger and are not disappointed

Last month, Becker’s, Japan Railway East’s hamburger chain, announced its venison burger, which put us in a bit of a quandary. It’s part of our life’s mission to try every intriguing bun-based sandwich we come across, but could we really bring ourselves to eat something as cute as a deer?

Sure we could!

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Mininja and the future of anime: We talk with an American deep in the heart of Japan’s anime industry

After watching that insanely adorable Mininja short, we decided we had to find out more about it–like when we could watch a full-length film! Fortunately, we were able to track down the tiny “not actually a ninja” alien’s creator–Sean McPhillips, an American who also just happens to be a senior vice president at DLE. In the process of discussing Mininja’s origin, we got the chance to learn about how the Japanese anime industry is growing and just how an American ends up working at a Japanese anime company.

If you’re curious about the future of anime and the origin of our favorite pink ninja, be sure to check this out!

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Four ways to enjoy delicious strawberry Calpis (other than giggling at its name)

With its startling name, it’s taking time for the yogurt-like beverage Calpis to catch on with non-Japanese consumers, who sometimes know it better by its alternate name, Calpico. For people in Japan, though, Calpis is old hat, so much so that its makers occasionally feel the need to mix up the product line with new versions and special flavors.

This year, that means strawberry Calpis. We just got our hands on a bottle, and if you can get past any hang-ups about the name, here are four ways to enjoy this delicious limited time treat.

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For hire! Paying an agency to be your apologizers, families, best friends, and confessors!

Need a friend? Need someone to complain to? Need family? Service agencies for all your needs, seven days a week! If you’ve got money to spare and want to avoid some simple interactions, there are plenty of places that will attend to all your social needs.

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Taking the joke too far? Bloodied zombie subway prank in Shanghai raises eyebrows

Shanghai prankster group Monkey Kingz is in some hot water after one of their latest stunts created mass chaos inside of a subway train and led several people to call the police. It was supposed to be a Halloween prank featuring a rogue zombie, but the additional touch of having the actor cough up a blood-like substance and stumble around in pain seemed to be crossing the line for some people, especially in light of a recent international medical scare. Take a look at the video for yourself and decide whether the prank was a smashing success or downright inappropriate.

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Campaign against pick-up artist who harasses women gathers global momentum

Recently, we reported on professional pick-up artist/dating coach Julien Blanc, who has begun to attract the public’s attention worldwide after a video was uploaded showing him seemingly choking, grabbing and harassing women in Japan, and conducting seminars teaching others his methods. A campaign to block Blanc’s actions was swiftly set up by twitter user @JennLi123 with the creation of the hashtag #TakeDownJulienBlanc and a petition on Change.org helping to raise awareness.

As of this writing, the original petition has 45,829 signatures, and backlash has forced Blanc to cut short his Australian tour after multiple venues cancelled his events. Now, concerned residents of other countries on Blanc’s tour itinerary (including Japan) have begun to take action, as well.

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New coffee-flavored potato chips “taste like chaos”

Just like how everyone gets excited about superhero crossover projects, two different companies combining forces is a sure way to get junk food fans in Japan fired up. We’ve seen this before with Kentucky Fried Chicken potato chips, and now spud lovers have a new flavor many people are used to getting amped by: coffee.

Since we’re always ready to add to our extensive resume of potato chip sampling, we picked up a bag to try some for ourselves, and they turned out to be even more surprising than we’d imagined.

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Japanese band robot-dances their way around London in latest music video

Japanese band World Order robot-dances their way around London in their latest music video while locals look on amused and confused. Check out the full video plus screenshots after the jump!

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Michael Jackson reincarnate found in rural China, moonwalks right into our hearts 【Video】

An internet star was born yet again recently, this time surfacing in the deep south of China. As the legend goes, a traveler one day stumbled upon a farmer dancing most unusually amongst the lush greenery of the countryside and whipped out his camera to capture the scene.

After hitting the internet in China, the mysterious dancer was quickly crowned “The King of Farmers”. His incredibly tight moves, which mimic the King of Pop’s repertoire almost perfectly, drew acclaim from around the country, and his fame has only continued to grow since with a YouTube video earning him respect from all corners of the world.

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Aerial athletes compete in the 2014 Wingsuit World Flying Contest in China

Introducing wingsuit flying, perhaps the most daring, adrenaline-inducing extreme sport ever to be performed on this planet.

“Wait, that kind of thing actually exists? Where can I join in the fun?” is what some of our more adventurous readers may be thinking right now. Well, we can confidently say that the sport exists – and already has quite the following, for that matter – though we’re not so sure about the fun part. Either way, you may want to check out just how crazy the competition is before you sign up for next year’s world event…

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Tiny ninjas, lazy shellfish, and neglected children: It’s time to choose Toho Cinema’s new mascot

If you live in Japan and love movies, there’s a good chance that you’ve been to a Toho Cinema at some point. One of the largest cinema chains in Japan, they show all the domestic and international blockbuster films you could possibly want. They also allow you to reserve a seat when you buy your ticket, so you can be sure to have a perfect view of Captain America’s pert derrière when the next Avengers movie comes out.

In addition to picking your seat, you now also have the opportunity to help choose the theater chain’s new mascot. With lazy shellfish, neglected children, and the absolute cutest ninja you’ll ever see, it may take you a while to choose–so it’s a good thing you can vote online!

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Why, hello there, crow! How may I be of service?

In many Western cultures, the owl is often regarded as a symbol of wisdom. But when you stop to think about it, wouldn’t a more fitting bird for that title be the crow?

If you’re not convinced now, we’re pretty sure you will be after seeing what clever strategy this particular crow uses to crack open an acorn! 

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Japanese nerds pick the feudal warlord they’d most like to be their boss

Sometimes you just have to take a survey for the sake of taking a survey, no matter how seemingly random or inconsequential the contents of the survey may be.

For example, we now have the results of this survey, which we’re pretty sure no one asked for, that gauges which feudal warlord Japanese geeks would rather be working under. We presume this means in an office setting and not, like, on an old-timey Japanese Warring States-era battlefield.

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Cat spotted seemingly being sucked face-first into car

This picture brings up a lot of questions, the biggest one being: “Where is your face, cat?!” Followed closely by: “What the heck is going on?!” Even one of his ears is folded the wrong way! Maybe he actually is being sucked into the car…?

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Raunchy manga title isn’t quite what it seems…or it is?

We often say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but that’s precisely what many of us do when scanning the shelves of a book shop or comic store looking for a new read. With so many titles to choose from, how do you know what is going to be worth your time? Perhaps the cool cover art is what catches your eye, or maybe an interesting title?

Manga writer Onta Sakai clearly felt that the latter was the best way to get his newest manga series noticed. Opting to go with the title “Ane no onaka wo fukuramaseru no wa boku” or “It is me to fill the stomach of the sister” in its slightly awkward English form, this highly suggestive title already has tongues wagging and could only be about one thing…

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