Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
After the huge success of Frozen, Disney fans are eagerly awaiting the next Disney project! Well, Japanese fans have a really good reason to rejoice! Walt Disney’s Animation Studio’s new movie, Big Hero 6, will feature the first Japanese protagonist!
The recent announcement of Paul McCartney’s illness and subsequent cancelation of concerts in Japan has disappointed many of his fans. But hey, the guy is 71 years old and still rocking out so we all shouldn’t be too hard on him. The sudden cancellation did, however, make some netizens realize just how often this sort of thing happens when it comes to Paul’s concerts (he has a whopping 51% cancellation rate in Japan to be exact). It also reminded many Japanese concert-goers of other foreign artists who have decided to not perform at the last minute…and there’s been a lot of them recently.
The official website for the 20th anniversary of the Sailor Moon franchise announced on Friday that there will be an advance premiere screening event for the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal anime series. The women’s fashion magazine ViVi is collaborating on the June 30 event to celebrate the heroine Usagi’s birthday.
The “birthday party” will feature ViVi models and “secret guests.” The Zepp Diver City facility in Tokyo will host the screening of the new anime’s first episode on June 30 at 7:00 p.m. However, the staff caution that the time is subject to change. Moreover, male attendees will not be allowed — unless accompanied by a female attendee.
Part of the reason smartphones have become so popular is the way in which they combine the functions of so many other devices people used to lug around instead. With the ability to browse the Internet, listen to music, play games, and take high-quality photos, it’s becoming increasingly harder to convince people they need to shell out the cash for a dedicated camera, handheld video game system, or music player.
But why is it that as more people buy smartphones, fewer of them are buying chewing gum?
Since the 1950s, Seizo Fukumoto has been a fixture of seemingly any Japanese production involving samurai. However, you probably wouldn’t recognize his face as he tends to be given the role of “guy who gets killed.” Although he has occasionally taken work outside of period pieces, his constant roles as “soon-to-be-dead guy #2” has earned him the industry title: The Man Who Was Slashed 50,000 Times.
Having enjoyed a long and bloody career in cinema slightly off center-stage, Fukumoto has finally been given his chance at a starring role in Uzumasa Limelight, a new film hitting Japanese theatres this summer.
Even though it’s pretty easy to make, there are times when you just can’t be bothered to whip up a regular batch of curry. While the individual steps might be simple, the total process of peeling, chopping, and boiling all those ingredients can take a long time, so often people who are busy, lazy, or bachelors take the easy way out and just microwave a pack of instant stuff.
Convenient as it may be, though, instant curry isn’t always the tastiest version of the dish. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of ways to spruce it up.
RPGs like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy take us to faraway worlds with extraordinarily picturesque locations; places that couldn’t possibly exist on this planet. Mother Earth would have to be a scenery designer to create locales as visually stunning as RPGs do.
But Earth is a much stranger place than we can imagine, and some of the craziest “must be photoshopped” places turn out to be just the simple strangeness of our planet. Luckily for us, if you ever wanted to visit a place that would fit perfectly into a Final Fantasy world, Earth has you covered. Watch yourself when you stand up, because your jaws are about to be all over the floor.
For those of you who thought phys-ed class never taught skills valuable in the real world, we bring you the story and footage of one Mr. Li of Zhongshan City, Guangdong.
Upon seeing an infant at a second-story window, the man dashed below and readied himself to make the most important catch of his life.
We’ve already talked about Japan’s penchant for limited stock and limited-time seasonal items, but I’m starting to get the impression manufacturers and retailers are playing us for fools. Zipping down to the grocery only to find that at least some of the basic items you wanted are sold out is a common headache in Japan, as if retailers are hoping we’ll all be like, “Oh man, white bread must be really trendy right now. Guess I’ll buy five loaves next time.”
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is downright diabolical about this kind of stuff, with a constantly shifting roster of goods that seem to come and go arbitrarily, which Japanese consumers have apparently picked up on because they’re currently in a crazy purchase panic over 7-Eleven’s delicious new Premium Popcorn.
With the World Cup just around the corner, participating nations are getting ready to cheer on their country’s team. Japan is no different with both the men and women getting behind “Samurai Blue” and small country flags and plastic megaphones have been purchased by the Kei-truck loads.
Parked in front of the TV at home or out with friends, we fret about what the final score will be, and who the next match will be against. But what we fret about more is deciding the most fashionable way to adorn ourselves in team colors. How best to wear our team jerseys and show support but also, work it! But just how do you make the men’s style jersey look good on a woman’s body? What to do!!! Worry not ladies, fashion magazines and the internet to the rescue!
Besides, nothing says “GO TEAM!” more than a horde of cute girls in the team’s uniform!
Japan’s desire to look at attractive women is more or less insatiable. Despite having sizable swimsuit modeling, adult video, and animated pornography industries, the country still finds itself with not enough eye candy.
So now, model maker Kotobukiya has gone looking for female beauty in the most unlikely of places, by turning the iconic villains of slasher movies franchises Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street into sexy girls.
When I woke up this morning, there were a few things I had expected for my day: a few gallons of coffee, a couple hundred photos of cute cats on the Internet, and a dozen more replays of Urbangarde’s music videos. What I had not expected to see was an origin story for none other than Sailor Suit Old Man.
And in case you’re wondering, no, he’s a not a grand wizard from an alternate dimension. But that might not be too far off!
Since its first performance 100 years ago, Japan’s Takarazuka Revue has been the country’s most respected theater company. While the troupe is known for its lavish costume and set designs, as well as its bombastic musical performances, its most distinctive characteristic is that the group is composed entirely of actresses, with women playing both male and female roles.
To their fans, Takarazuka actresses are the epitome of grace and poise. There are a lot of pitfalls that have to be avoided to maintain that pristine image, though, as shown by the company’s list of the 25 marks of ugly women.
Hey, you! You’re a busy person! You have status updates to write; tweets about your lunch to send; videos of cats dressed as humans to watch. You don’t have time to read things like some kind of ridiculous, well-educated duck.
So instead watch this video, which tells you everything there is to know about Japan – covering population, annual food wastage, social awkwardness and much more – in just 10 minutes and 59 seconds.
Go! Time is of the essence!
Fans may be counting the days with anticipation until the launch of the new Sailor Moon anime series in July, but in the meantime, the good folks at Bandai have come up with yet another attractive product inspired by the series. Yes, the new “Pullip Sailor Moon” has just become available for pre-order, and it looks like Sailor Moon fans now have one more lovely product to seriously covet. And unlike some of the other Sailor Moon goods from Bandai, this one is not just a cute gadget, but a re-creation of the magical guardian warrior herself!
Kyoto, Osaka, Nara…southern Japan seems to get all the love from both international and Japanese tourists alike. But what about the rest of the country, like the six northern prefectures? Northern Japan, known as Tohoku in Japanese (東北, “the northeast”), is a hidden gem full of unique cultural traditions, unspoiled natural scenery, and some of the warmest people you’ll ever meet, despite the chilling winters.
This weekend is a better time than ever to hop on the bullet train up north to take part in the Tohoku Rokkonsai “mega-festival”. The festival began in 2011 to lift the spirits of the people of Tohoku after the deadly earthquake and tsunami just months earlier. The highlight of the festivities is a massive parade composed of segments from all six of Tohoku’s major summer festivals. Where else can you experience the excitement of SIX major festivals all at once FOR FREE??
Think you know your Nintendo? Our pals over at BuzzFeed have just released one of their famous “BuzzFeed Pop” videos which reveals a whole host of little-known facts about the House of Mario.
Join us after the jump to test your knowledge and find out how much of your life you’re wasting indoors.
Japanese is not an easy language to learn. Though, we have to say, we’re not sure that any language is easy to learn when you’re a beginner! But for English speakers, Japanese is certainly one of the most difficult languages to pick up. Anyone who’s taken a class will surely remember the first time they opened their textbook and saw two massive charts full of squiggly lines and realized that they now had to learn two more alphabets! And then start on kanji…
However, it looks like one Japanese-speaking UK native has found the key to Japanese using just one word!
Ties are serious business in Japan. Since all but the most informal businesses require all men to wear one during working hours (unless, of course, it’s “Cool Biz” time), it’s pretty much a necessity for every guy to own a few and if you know more than two or three ways to tie one, all the better.
But, surprisingly, it’s not uncommon for Japanese guys to have no clue whatsoever how to tie a tie. The stereotype goes that these mostly young sartorially-challenged individuals rely on their girlfriends or even dads and moms to knot their tie for them, and in a pinch they’ll just stash an already-knotted tie somewhere in their closet, tighten it on and dash out the door.
One such less-dexterous individual apparently took it upon himself to solve his problem by building an automatic tie tying machine, presumably so that he could finally stop relying on his dad for his wardrobe and move out of his parents’ basement:
Like a lot of sports anime, Haikyuu!! features a hot-blooded, unrefined but friendly protagonist. Likewise, the volleyball series, which premiered in April, doesn’t get any points for originality by pairing its lead up with a cocky, aloof partner.
A few years ago, the show’s commitment to character design that pleases female fans would have been unique, but shows about athletics with eye candy for the ladies have been done before with The Prince of Tennis, Kuroko’s Basketball, and not-immediately-evocative-of-its-featured-sport Free!, which focuses on high school swimming.
Haikyuu!! does have something that currently no other anime does, however, and that’s talking posters.
Foreigner’s request for help in Tokyo makes us sad for the state of society
Harajuku Station’s beautiful old wooden building is set to return, with a new complex around it
Ghibli Park now selling “Grilled Frogs” from food cart in Valley of Witches
Japanese city loses residents’ personal data, which was on paper being transported on a windy day
Historical figures get manga makeovers from artists of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia and more
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
All-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
French Fries Bread in Tokyo’s Shibuya becomes a hit on social media
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
New private rooms on Tokaido Shinkansen change the way we travel from Tokyo to KyotoRed light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping centerBeautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Studio Ghibli releases Kiki’s Delivery Service chocolate cake pouches in Japan
New definition of “Japanese whiskey” goes into effect to prevent fakes from fooling overseas buyers
Our Japanese reporter visits Costco in the U.S., finds super American and very Japanese things
Studio Ghibli unveils Mother’s Day gift set that captures the love in My Neighbour TotoroJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
New Japanese KitKat flavour stars Sanrio characters, including Hello KittyAll-you-can-drink Starbucks and amazing views part of Tokyo’s new 170 meter-high sky lounge
More foreign tourists than ever before in history visited Japan last month
New Pokémon cakes let you eat your way through Pikachu and all the Eevee evolutionsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitely
Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season
Japanese government to make first change to romanization spelling rules since the 1950s
Ghibli founders Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki contribute to Japanese whisky Totoro label design
Doraemon found buried at sea as scene from 1993 anime becomes real life【Photos】
Tokyo’s most famous Starbucks is closed
One Piece characters’ nationalities revealed, but fans have mixed opinions
We asked a Uniqlo employee what four things we should buy and their suggestions didn’t disappoint
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
Beautiful Ghibli sealing wax kits let you create accessories and elegant letter decorations【Pics】
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】
Japanese politician’s birthrate plan: Have parents nag their kids to have “at least three babies”
Coca-Cola Japan unveils new sakura design bottle for cherry blossom season 2019
Why doesn’t every Japanese bakery sell this amazing anime-only bread we just made?【SoraKitchen】
Century-old Hiroshima brewery in one of Japan’s three great sake-brewing spots offers tours in English
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
10 awesome ice creams available from convenience stores in Japan
Japan’s massive matcha parfait weighs 6 kilos, contains hidden surprises for anyone who eats it