We never knew that an “adult movie moan” could ever lead to a finger-biting supermarket brawl, but that’s apparently exactly what happened in northeastern Taiwan.
Attack on Titan may be best known for its iconic giant monsters and cool weaponry, but among the many secrets to the hit anime and manga’s success is its extremely compelling setting. With its cast of human characters forced to live within the confines of their walled city, fans have only been provided with fleeting glimpses of the outside world. Does the story take place on Earth? Is it set in the distant past, or maybe the far-flung future?
As part of walking that fine line, when signs, books, and other writings pop up in Attack on Titan, they’re not rendered in anything that looks like a real-world language. Although actually, some eagle-eyed fans found a way to decipher a portion of the series’ text, and what they found was rather like the Titans themselves: one part shocking, one part baffling, and just a little bit comical.
As a sign of China’s continuing integration into the global community, the country’s long-standing ban on video game consoles was lifted last year. This doesn’t mean Chinese gamers are free to enjoy all that modern gaming has to offer, as censorship regulations mean certain types of content aren’t allowed.
Some of the problem areas are nebulously defined, such as restrictions on games that “besmirch the image of China” or “intentionally blacken the image of the Chinese army.” A possible upcoming addition to the list of punishable offenses is a little easier to understand: no more video game characters wearing bikinis.
Opening in the US on May 16 and July 25 in Japan, Godzilla is making waves as one of this summer’s big blockbusters. But even before Godzilla’s gargantuan presence will grace the silver screen, he’s already making his rounds on the little screen. This latest commercial sees Italian car maker FIAT teaming up with Godzilla to answer the age-old question: “What’s your favorite food?”
Despite its well-deserved reputation as an extremely hard-working nation, Japan is also a country that knows how to relax. Every city has a number of cafes where you can stop, sip a drink, and soak in the soothing ambiance.
Some of these establishments style themselves after a comfy living room, while others feel more like a stylish library or lounge. Or, if you happen to be in Tokushima Prefecture, there’s the café built into what appears to be a crumbling castle.
Your Pokémon has taken you from the elusive Mewtew to the equally elusive and game-breaking Missing No. You think you know all there is to know about the Pokémon series, but unless you’re one of the elite few who have literally spent the last two decades learning all there is to know about the monster collecting series, we’re willing to bet there are at least a few facts about the beloved anime and video game behemoth you’re not familiar with.
Here, in no particular order, are the top 14 little-known facts about the Pokémon universe:
In one of the most obvious conclusions since that survey that found people tend to buy potato chips in grocery stores, a new Japanese poll found that 80% of women have been hit on by strangers on the street at least once.
It’s really not surprising given that most guys have tried the random on-the-street approach at least a few times in their lives, either because of peer pressure or through a fleeting, spur-of-the-moment impulse. It seems to us as long as you’re polite and not overly aggressive, it doesn’t hurt to try, but apparently Japanese women disagree, since the poll also found that 65% of women reject those proposals outright. Why? Well…
If we’re speaking honestly, we don’t really need much of an added incentive to eat a donut. Really, a sweet, inexpensive indulgence that we can eat with our hands is pretty much a laser-guided strike on our willpower.
Still, we can usually muster enough self-control that we don’t plow through a half-dozen in one sitting. But when you take donuts’ numerous preexisting merits and add the visual appeal of shaping them like cats, penguins, alpacas, and even killer whales, that’s when we stop even trying to resist them.
Happy belated Gokusen Day!
What, you forgot that the first ever Gokusen Day was held last Friday (5/9 [“go-ku”]) after being created by fruit brand Dole? It’s okay, I’m sure after reading our previous announcement that little tidbit of trivia fell into the recesses of your memory banks along with the dates of International Lefthanders Day (8/13) and World Wetlands Day (2/2).
That’s sad news, however, because you missed the chance to pick up one of the limited edition 59 Gokusen Premium Bananas sold for one day only. Of course, if it’s limited our own Mr. Sato will be there to get one. He even goes out in search of certain strains of influenza that are available for a limited time only.
With technology moving faster than ever, it’s hard to imagine what careers will look like 20 years from now. But The Canadian Scholarship Trust Plan (CST), a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to helping Canadian families save for their children’s post-secondary education, wanted to find out.
With help from foresight strategists, CST took a look into the future to find the jobs that may be commonplace by the year 2030.
When novels are adapted into live-action movies, it’s hard to maintain the fine balance between keeping things faithful to the original story and realistic enough to fit into the real world. There have also been countless flops of manga to live-action movie adaptations in the past as well. Therefore, I had relatively low expectations for the 2012 live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s beloved semi-historical manga Rurouni Kenshin. I went into the theater not expecting much, but came out pleasantly surprised! The casting was overall spot-on, and the characters kept many of their signature mannerisms that had made them popular in the original manga and anime series.
Last week here at RocketNews24, we released an article showcasing the rocking new trailer for the 2012 film’s two upcoming sequels. One of the major characters of the next two films is Sojiro Seta, the assassin companion of primary antagonist Makoto Shishio. Sojiro will be portrayed by young actor Ryunosuke Kamiki. Furthermore, his costars can’t seem to stop gushing about his love for his part and the extreme efforts he takes to give the best performance possible.
Golden Week in Japan is a great excuse to use those consecutive spring days off to relax, see a new part of the country or just enjoy some cheap ice cream. But vacationers wanting something a little different got an extra special Golden Week treat last week when a museum in Shizuoka dissected an incredibly rare megamouth shark in full view of the holiday crowd.
Fewer than 60 megamouth sharks have been caught around the world and this 4.4 meter-long specimen was caught last month at a nearby port. Click below to see photos and videos of the live dissection.
I’ll have a grande caramel macchiato and your cutest cat, to go. Whether your Monday is just beginning, or you’re already partway through and starting to flag, here’s a little pick-me-up for you!
Now, we at RocketNews24 aren’t afraid of admitting that we have a huge love of cats–we’ve featured felines and cat-related products on our pages hundreds of times over the last few years. Well, once again, we’ve found another irresistible cat-themed creation that we just had to share with you. That’s right, here’s another utterly adorable treat designed after cat paws — and this time, they’re not marshmallows, but tasty fishcakes known as kamaboko!
It is now approaching one month since the passenger ferry Sewol sank off the coast of Jindo, South Korea. The whole world has watched the death toll rise to an official count of 275, with several dozen people still missing. Compounding the catastrophic loss of life is the fact that the majority of the victims were mere high school students on a field trip to popular Jeju Island.
Many South Korean citizens are lambasting the government for its response to the disaster. Several crew members, including the captain, have also been arrested during the ongoing criminal investigation.
In light of these events, one question that is currently on everyone’s mind is how on earth is the ship’s operating company going to handle the financial burden of this disaster? Join us as a lawyer knowledgeable about shipwrecks gives his preliminary monetary estimates.
The Oricon Style website reported on changes that the Doraemon television anime is undergoing before its American television premiere this July. The Disney XD channel will run 26 episodes of the quintessential Japanese anime about a robot cat. The anime has been adapted for American culture and customs, as well its strict guidelines on violence, depictions of discrimination, and depictions of sexual content.
Our long-time readers will remember Lotteria’s famous–or possibly infamous–ramen noodle burgers last May. We even set Mr. Sato off to try out an extra-massive ramen noodle burger and were amazed by his ability to consume gargantuan amounts of food. As strange as the combination of noodles and buns seemed at the time, it apparently earned the company a lot of happy customers, since Lotteria will be bringing back noodle burgers at the end of this month, with a few new twists…
In any other country this advert where two people proudly announce: “Our total annual income is 3.55 million. We bought our mansion!” would be one of those pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams that many young professionals could only dream of.
However, in Japan this ad has left people feeling despondent about the future of the country and thinking to themselves, “I wouldn’t be smiling so much, if I were them.”
Remember all those toys you had as a kid that seemed so cutting-edge at the time? They probably don’t seem quite as exciting any more with all the advances in technology over the years. In fact, you’ll be willing to trade your Furby in a heartbeat once you see what these Japanese kids get to play with nowadays!
Take the “Sketch Aquarium” for example – a play area where children can foster their creative skills by designing a fish and then interact with it in a virtual tank. I wonder if adults are allowed in, too…
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