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Master drummers are lurking in Japanese game centers

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 28, 2014
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Sure, you’ve all heard of Dance Dance Revolution (affectionately called DDR by stomp dancing fans everywhere). But how about Taiko no Tatsujin? Translated as “Drum Master,” this arcade game gives players a faux taiko drum to bang out a predetermined rhythm, doling out points for perfect on-time hits. It’s been around in Japan since 2001, but there seems to be no shortage of amazing drummers turning up in game centers across Japan. The photo above, showing two enthusiastic taiko drummers playing the game with movements that are the equivalent of using that extra bar to launch yourself in the air while playing DDR, surfaced on Twitter just this week…which got us thinking, how many other crazy drummers have been spotted in Japanese game centers?

【TBT】Who needs a cherry on top? Osaka café crowns its parfaits with cake

ロケットニュース24
Aug 28, 2014

Tokyo’s restaurants may have more Michelin stars, but for many Japanese foodies, the real culinary action is in Osaka. Particularly if your tastes run more towards good honest grub than haute cuisine, Japan’s second largest city is the place to be.

The people of Osaka enjoy a good meal so much that they coined the phrase kuidaore, to eat until you collapse. But even with this image firmly entrenched in our minds, the city has found a new way to surprise us with its gastronomic decadence.

On a recent day out in Osaka, our reporter stopped by a café and ordered a truly hard-core parfait. It wasn’t that the parfait was so big, and no, it didn’t contain any shocking ingredients. What blew our minds about this parfait was its topping.

It was a slice of cake, and it was so big it wasn’t even trying to fit into the glass.

Hello Kitty isn’t a cat!? We called Sanrio to find out!

Preston Phro
Aug 28, 2014

By now you’ve probably read the earth-shattering, heart-rending news that Hello Kitty’s own copyright holder Sanrio recently alleged that the world’s most famous bow-sporting feline isn’t actually a cat. If, like me, you’re a huge fan of Japan’s unofficial mascot, you probably already started going through the five stages of grief, too.

I, however, never got past denial. Instead, I picked up the phone and called Sanrio’s PR department in Japan. My findings will bring your suffering heart some relief.

Your turn, Samsung – Mr Sato returns the Ice Bucket Challenge to Korea’s electronics giant【Video】

ロケットニュース24
Aug 28, 2014

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is still going strong, thanks to its mix of suspense, physical comedy, and contributions for a worthy cause. Business and entertainment moguls from around the world have participated, and recently even inanimate objects have started taking part with Samsung’s Galaxy S5 smartphone being doused by the Korean conglomerate’s U.K. division.

As per the rules of the challenge, Samsung then exercised its right to pass the dare onto someone else, and it designated rival Apple’s iPhone 5s. A quick comparison of the spec sheets for the two competing phones has some people crying foul at singling out the iPhone 5s, though. Today, we’re offering Samsung a chance to make things right.

Sanrio says, “Hello Kitty is not a cat.” Whaaa?

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 28, 2014

Hello Kitty is one of the most iconic Japanese characters, aside from Pikachu. She screams cute, finds herself in a variety of interesting costumes, and has those adorable pointed cat ears. So with a name like “Hello Kitty” and a face that is decidedly that of a feline, it’s only natural to assume she’s a cat…but you could be wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen of the RocketNews nation, get ready to have your mind blown: someone at Sanrio has just revealed that Hello Kitty is actually a human girl.

Crazy Japanese “doctor” thinks babies live in clouds, choose their mothers from the heavens

Mike
Aug 28, 2014

When a 4-year-old tells you his favorite hobby is riding dinosaurs with laser guns on their backs, you’d probably tend to laugh it off as the whimsical musings of a person whose brain hasn’t fully developed yet. But apparently one Japanese researcher thought taking the nonsensical ramblings of very young children seriously was an important research project lending insight into the pre-conception brains of recently born people.

“Doctor” Akira Ikegawa – who is crazy and is possibly also hoping to defraud at least a few people – says his research in prenatal care has revealed that babies sit up in clouds looking down on the world picking and choosing which mother they prefer to be born to before spiriting themselves into those mothers’ wombs to be carried to term.

Fox’s Animation Domination HD pays tribute to Ghibli with new video

Anime News Network
Aug 28, 2014

While Fox’s Animation Domination High-Def has a long history of skewering anime properties and tropes, like this battle between Naruto and Sasuke, the ultimate anime hero, and super-powered schoolgirls, it’s all out of love. And now, in response to Studio Ghibli‘s announcement that it may dismantle its production department, ADHD has posted a tribute video called “Goodbye, Ghibli.”

A skeptic’s guide to anime – Five series to ease you into Japan’s most popular export

Philip Kendall
Aug 28, 2014

Viewed from afar, Japanese animation may appear to be populated entirely by giant-eyed, squeaky-voice schoolgirls and young men who suffer from frequent nosebleeds. Their plots, too, can seem awfully convoluted at first glance, and so anyone who didn’t grow up with anime or have the chance to catch popular series when they were just getting started may feel completely out of their depth when trying to get into it.

If you’re the kind of person who, like me, despite being into Japan and Asia, never really understood what all the fuss was about anime, or who would like to give this strange medium a chance but doesn’t know where to start, then we have a special treat for you today: no fewer than five anime recommendations from members of our very own writing staff, guaranteed to be easy for even anime-skeptics to get into. Who knows, these might just be the gateway shows you’ve been looking for!

Cinemas in China let audience post comments onto the screen during the movies

Master Blaster
Aug 28, 2014

With home entertainments systems always evolving, there seems to be less incentive to head on out to the local movie theatre for a $10 cola and four-year-old running up and down the aisle during an R-rated movie. This means it’s up to the cinemas to raise the stakes and provide new and intriguing movie-going experiences.

Some theaters in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou think they have found such an experience by allowing those in the audience to post their comments onto the screen for all to see while the movie plays. So now when I take my mother-in-law she can ask everyone “Why did Bruce Willis just shoot that guy?” instead of just me.

Blown all your cash on anime? New restaurant in Akihabara has pasta for less than two bucks

Casey Baseel
Aug 28, 2014

With the highest concentration of anime and video game specialty stores on the planet, it’s pretty easy to go over-budget spending a day in Akihabara. But while some otaku might claim that Japanese animation is their lifeblood, eventually everyone needs to eat something.

So for everyone with a crying wallet and a grumbling stomach, a new restaurant has just arrived in the neighborhood, serving pasta to-go, starting at just 190 yen (US$1.88).

Shark Cat entertaining Shark Baby while riding a Roomba? Why not!

Krista Rogers
Aug 28, 2014

While some people escape to the beach during the sweltering days of August, others jump in front of the TV to feast their eyes on all the glorious carnage that the Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week has to offer. And now we can add a new form of entertainment to that summer bucket list–watching cats cosplaying as sharks.

Some of you may have already seen this video of a cat dressed in a shark costume riding a Roomba floating around the internet, but don’t let that stop you from giving it another watch!

Hello Kitty as we’ve never seen her before: Drawn by Osamu Tezuka, The God of Manga

Casey Baseel
Aug 27, 2014

Revered as “The God of Manga,” the late Osamu Tezuka is simultaneously Japan’s most revered and prolific comic artist. More than 700 manga series sprang from the mind of the tireless Tezuka, but even with that busy schedule, he still found time to draw his version of Japan’s most famous cat, Hello Kitty, combining her with one of his most-used characters.

Pic of the Week Round 3: WINNER!

ロケットニュース24
Aug 27, 2014

Babies and gentlephlegm, noise and churls, it’s time to announce the winner of our weekly photo contest!

This week, we mixed things up a little by asking you, our dear readers, to vote for which of our 10 favourite photos you thought most deserved to be crowned Pic of the Week, and the results are in! Join us after the jump for our overall winner and two very special mentions!

China’s People’s Liberation Army recruitment video promises aerial dog fights, lots of dancing

Master Blaster
Aug 27, 2014

Making a recruitment ad for military service is probably one of the hardest sells around. It’s easy to make someone want to buy a cookie. In fact, I want to buy a cookie just after typing that sentence, but motivating someone to put their life on the line takes a whole lot of finesse.

And finesse is what this new recruitment video for the Chinese communist party’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has in spades. Clearly intended for a younger audience, some of the hipper aspects of military service such as flying helicopters backwards, firing missiles and ensemble dancing are highlighted in this high-adrenaline three-minute promo video.

Are Chinese “dama” masks actually fashionable now?

Preston Phro
Aug 27, 2014

After saving global gold prices in 2013, Chinese dama, or middle-aged women, have found another claim to fame: Influencing world fashion trends.

While most think of going to the beach as an excuse to wear as little as possible, many of these women prefer to stay covered up. But don’t start calling them prudes, since, for them, it’s a matter of practicality and beauty!

Make a map of Japan in your oven with these intricate cookie cutters

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Aug 27, 2014

Think you can identify all the prefectures of Japan? Yeah, neither can we. But that’s okay because now with the help of this impressively accurate cookie cutter set, you can study and eat a map of Japan at the same time. Mmmm, knowledge.

Anime mega-store lets fans handcuff themselves to hunky 2-D swimmer for photos

Casey Baseel
Aug 27, 2014

Being the biggest anime retailer in Japan means having to please all of the many different subgroups that Japanese animation aficionados fall into. So while one day mega-store Animate might cater to old-school fans by letting them slap 90s basketball saga Slam Dunk’s coach in the neck, they also have to do something for fans of more modern series too.

Stepping up to the challenge is Animate’s Yokohama branch, where lovers of high school swimming story Free! can now photograph themselves handcuffed to shark-toothed pretty-boy Rin.

We check out the new Rose of Versailles comic — the first one to come out in forty years!

Kay
Aug 27, 2014

Earlier this month, we reported to you about how a new volume of the popular girls’ manga The Rose of Versailles was coming out, after more than 40 years since the last volume was published in May of 1974. Now, that’s certainly a long time to wait for a comic, and just as promised at the end of our previous article, we were at the front of the line to get our hands on the new volume when it was released this Monday. We didn’t want to be kept waiting any longer than necessary, after all, to take a look at the newest addition to the series. And how was the new volume? See our impressions and pictures below to find out. Oh, and we’ll also take a look at a collaboration between the manga and a fashion magazine as well!

Are Women-Only train cars illegal in Japan?

Mike
Aug 27, 2014

File this one under things we hope don’t fall into the wrong hands: Those Women Only train cars in Japan aren’t actually enforceable under the law.

All foreign men in Japan can recount their first harrowing experience of obliviously stepping onto a train, only to find that literally every single other passenger was a woman. There’s a moment of confusion and, if you’re lucky, a good Samaritan politely explaining that wieners don’t belong here, followed by the terrible realization that you’ve broken not only an official rule set forth by the train company but also an unwritten social rule, which is kind of almost worse. But, from here on out, you can rest assured that even though you’re committing a social taboo, you’re not breaking any laws!

“You’re so messed up!” Complaints come after broadcaster edits infamous Evangelion scene

Casey Baseel
Aug 27, 2014

The 1997 anime movie The End of Evangelion was in many ways an unprecedented exercise in creative freedom for animation studio Gainax. The franchise-starting TV series had wrapped up a year earlier, with Gainax’s coffers drained and a highly metaphorical, sparsely animated finale. End of Eva would be a reimagining of the ground-breaking anime’s final act, and its theatrical release format meant a bigger budget and no more pesky broadcast content restrictions.

As a result, the film is graphic and jarring in its raw depictions of both violent urges and sexual desire. But while none of that was a problem in theatres, it was a different story when End of Eva was recently shown on TV in Japan, which necessitated some fan-angering cuts, including the movie’s most infamously shocking scene.

Heads-up, gainfully employed readers! While you won’t see any offensive pictures below, the subject matter might not be the sort of thing you’ll want your coworkers to see you reading at work.