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Every summer, I try to spend as many days as possible on the beach at Enoshima, and each time I get out of the station and walk towards the sand, I pass a long line of people waiting for a seat at the local pancake restaurant. This isn’t Japan’s only pancake joint with a lengthy wait, either, as you can find similar eateries with comparable lines in Tokyo, too.

It used to strike me as a little weird. After all, whipping up a stack of pancakes isn’t exactly the most challenging culinary feat. It can get tedious, though, as you settle into a monotonous pattern of plopping batter into the pan, flipping the half-cooked cake, and repeating over and over again.

Or, you could bypass all that by making an entire batch of pancakes all at once in a rice cooker.

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Samurai Vader: a historical take on a favorite from a galaxy far, far away

Ever since it hit the scene back in the ’70s, Star Wars was an early pioneer of movie merchandising. Decades later the gravy train of action figures, posters, lunch boxes, notebooks continues. Underoos, Shrinky Dinks, Jell-o molds, clothes hangers, chess sets, virtual keyboards, book ends, and um… I forgot where I was going with this.

For those of you who think it’s all been done before, we present to you something new from Bandai. Behold: Samurai Taisho Darth Vader.

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Oculus Rift vs Project Morpheus: The VR headsets duke it out at E3【RN24@E3】

In honor of the world’s biggest gaming convention, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus were put under one roof for a head-to-head virtual reality battle this week. Both offer players the chance to experience a level of immersion unlike anything that has gone before it in the world of video gaming. Both are astounding feats of technology.

Having tried both out at E3, however, we’ve decided there was clear winner. Find out which VR did it best after the jump!

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In science fiction, 25 years may as well be an eternity. The genre is littered with visions of the future that were initially compelling, yet suddenly felt overwhelmingly dated and dull just a few years later.

That said, it’s been a quarter-century since the first manga installment of Ghost in the Shell was published, and Japan’s most successful cyberpunk franchise is still going strong. Ghost in the Shell succeed where others failed because the story’s true focus isn’t on shiny, imaginary technology itself, but rather on the question of what it means to be human in a rapidly evolving society, and how an individual’s personal answer to that ties into the concepts of identity, free will, and interconnectedness.

Those are concepts mankind has grappled with for centuries, so it’s only fitting that this live performance of the anime’s most iconic piece of music feels at once both modern and ancient.

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Unexpected Japan suicide facts are equal parts depressing and uplifting

Live in urban Japan long enough and, as shocking as it sounds, you’re eventually going to have the distinctly unpleasant experience of riding a train that hits and more than likely kills a human being.

Even if you aren’t experiencing it firsthand, walking into a Tokyo train station only to notice yet another train delay caused by what is euphemistically described as a “bodily accident” (jinshin jiko, or 人身事故) is at least a weekly occurrence. It’s enough to make you think Japan must be wrestling with one hell of a suicide problem.

Which is true. But it’s not quite as bad as the Western media would have you believe. Here are five facts about suicide in Japan that are about as uplifting as we have any right to expect from facts about suicide:

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A new sophisticated take on the Moon Scepter from Sailor Moon R

It’s been a fantastic week for those slightly older, more sophisticated Sailor Moon fans (in other words, the original generation of fans), what with the introduction of Premium Bandai’s Miracle Romance line of quality Sailor Moon merchandise, which includes eau de toilette and Sailors Uranus and Neptune lip balm.

Now, we’re pleased to announce a new collectible toy designed for adults–Sailor Moon’s Moon Scepter (aka Cutie Moon Rod) featured in Sailor Moon R, the second season of the TV anime series!

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Always live where the sun doesn’t shine with the ultimate in weird parasol technology

People from other countries may be surprised by the number of people using umbrellas on a sunny day in Japan. However, after experiencing the scorching summers in many urban centers across the land, it’s not surprising why so many carry their own shade.

Of course there’s the obvious UV protection reasons where people wish to avoid melanoma and maintain that deathly pale complexion that’s all the rage here. There’s also the simpler reason that the sun can be freaking intense during the dog days and shade is a rare commodity on city streets.

In fact it can be so powerful that even with your standard parasol, daylight can manage to creep in and threaten your well-being. That’s why someone developed the next level in umbrella technology with Rain or Shine Umbrella for Use at the Game. With a name that catchy, you know it’s gonna be good!

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2 men arrested for stealing kid’s 320 Yu-Gi-Oh! cards

If you don’t trust your friends with your valuables, this story might bolster your paranoia: two 20-year-old salary men were arrested yesterday in Kōbe for stealing a 15-year-old kid’s Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

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Our favorite photos from Day Three of E3 2014【RN24@E3】

That’s it folks, the third and final day of E3 is over and it’s been a privilege to bring you coverage of 2014’s expo. We’ve had a great time freaking out while trying our Project Morpheus, and were pleasantly surprised to find that Sunset Overdrive is just as fun as it looks. There’s more coverage to come, but in the meantime, here’s our last photo compilation from Day Three to tide you over!

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Booth babes, swag, and cosplay: E3 is a sexy, crazy place【RN24@E3】

As is expected at any gaming expo, there were plenty of booth babes, swag and cosplay to be found. However, unlike events such as Tokyo Game Show, all three were kept to a minimum.

But fear not, RocketNews Nation, we searched high and low to bring you photos of sexy ladies, freebies, and costumed strangers from E3…just because you asked so nicely.

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The singularity is coming: Eerily lifelike androids converge in Odaiba for exhibition

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.

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Evangelion theme song played on a pea pod is just as weird and awesome as it sounds【Video】

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.

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Nearly half of all the people who play video games are women, but you wouldn’t know it by the video game industry’s biggest conference.

Only five women presented on stage at the major press events at E3, the video game industry’s huge conference, which took place in LA this week.

Sadly, that number won’t be surprising to anyone familiar with sexism in the tech industry, and the particularly appalling way women are treated in the video game industry.

But here’s the really shocking part. E3 actually featured more severed heads on stage than women: eight heads.

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There’s something not quite right about these mannequins…

“Hey, you, go dress the mannequins in the window. Do whatever you want, but make sure you show off this season’s gift items. And make it summer-y, you know. It’s getting warmer, after all.” “Ok, boss, whatever you say…”

We have no idea whether this was employee sabotage or a knowing campaign, but this window display is certainly attracting attention in all the right places.

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Aoshima Island has 100 cats, and we photographed almost all of them

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.

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Sunset Overdrive takes over E3【RN24@E3】

Walking through the Los Angeles Convention Center, we can’t help but notice a certain game popping up in all sorts of unexpected places. From the nook in the vaulted ceiling to the women’s restroom, Sunset Overdrive, has taken over E3.

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Mario AND Luigi team up for new infinite lives trick in Super Mario Bros. 【Video】

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.

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Attack classroom boredom with Attack on Titan notebooks

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.

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  • Jun 13, 2014

It’s the annual Sanrio Character Ranking! But could something be amiss in the kingdom of Sanrio?

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?

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Tear down the wall with Attack on Titan Jenga

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.

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