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We can’t get enough of The Simpsons’ tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 11, 2014
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I’ve been watching The Simpsons ever since I was a kid and I’ve enjoyed Hayao Miyazaki’s movies for just as long. So you can imagine my delight at discovering this Simpsons tribute to the newly retired director of Studio Ghibli. The minute and a half long clip, uploaded to YouTube by the Fox Network, is merely a sneak peak at this Sunday’s upcoming episode, but the animators manage to flawlessly incorporate aspects of the two imaginary worlds of Matt Groening and Hayao Miyazaki in such a short amount of time.

Think you know your weird news from Japan and Asia? Take our weekly quiz and find out!

Philip Kendall
Jan 11, 2014

Welcome to the weekend, boys and girls! Feels good to be here, doesn’t it? But before you run off startling donkeys and eating moon pies, we have to check that you’ve been paying attention and swatting up on our weird and wonderful news from Japan and Asia.

Suspicious dogs, kindly couples, adultery and the afterlife all feature in this week’s multiple choice quiz based on our favourite bits from the last seven days’ stories. So click the link and let’s find out just how much you went outside this week.

Korean soldier convicted for washing gun in the laundry

Master Blaster
Jan 11, 2014

Last November, a man enlisted in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces was serving his final day before he was scheduled to be discharged. He just had one last order: clean his personal combat equipment – including his firearm – for inspection.

Apparently feeling burdened with this final duty, he must have been looking for a quick fix when – perhaps thinking “Why not kill two birds with one stone?” – he decided to wash his gun in with the laundry. What could possibly go wrong?

Instant boyfriend and girlfriend curry pouches now on sale, shopkeepers “worried”

Master Blaster
Jan 10, 2014

Strolling up and down the aisles of any supermarket in Japan, you are bound to come across several items in sealed vinyl retort pouches. Retort pasta sauce, retort rice porridge, and retort cat food can all be found freshly sealed and ready for quick heating if needed.

Now, all the hassle of landing a boyfriend or girlfriend has been removed, thanks to Retort Boyfriend (Retoruto Kareshi) and Retort Girlfriend (Retoruto Kanojo). Sounds great, but the new product has caused some, like the manager of the Village Vanguard shop pictured above, to become “worried about the future of Japan.”

Mail addressed to “man who wears a red cap and sells The Big Issue on the street” gets delivered!

Joan Coello
Jan 10, 2014

It’s common knowledge that in order to mail something, you’ll need to know the name and rough address of the recipient, even if you’re lacking a couple of minor details. But what if, let’s say, the intended mailing destination is not in a building, but on some random corner of a street? Chances are, your mail is going to be left undelivered. Unless, it seems, you live in Japan!

Japan Post’s dedicated workers successfully delivered mail to someone whose location was “on the street”, leaving Japanese netizens in awe of their dedication and skill! But how did they do it?

Lights! Shadows! Action!! 3 awesome videos from Japanese performance troupe Shiro-A

Philip Kendall
Jan 10, 2014

Shiro-A have been around for over 10 years now, but it’s surprising how few people have actually heard of them. Combining technology, music, dance and comedy to create visually spectacular shows, they continue to wow audiences all over the world, and the snippets we have for you today are bound to leave you wanting more.

The group members perform in front of (or was it behind!?) a series of screens, onto which numerous graphics are projected while live DJs create an accompanying soundtrack. The performances always begin relatively simply, but soon explode into what we can only describe as perfectly choreographed visual chaos, with pumping beats accompanying splashes of colour as group members appear to be physically manipulating the digitally mapped images in real-time.

Be sure to check these guys out!

The good, the bad and the ugly: Japanese kids rate their own country【Survey】

Krista Rogers
Jan 10, 2014

Last year, Japan was thrust into the international spotlight after Tokyo won the 2020 Olympics and traditional Japanese cuisine was named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO (only the second national cuisine after France’s own!). With all of this increased attention on the global stage, one Japanese corporation was curious to know what thoughts Japanese children harbored about their own country. Keep reading to find which things about their country Japanese kids liked and disliked the most.

We fall in (and out) of love with McDonald’s new Diner Double Beef burger

Casey Baseel
Jan 10, 2014

On January 7, McDonald’s Japan started rolling out its new American Vintage menu items, with the first batch inspired by the diners of the 1950s. Our recent taste test of the fast food giant’s Classic Fries with Cheese left us less than impressed, what with a cheese sauce that didn’t taste like cheese and their ineffective “bacon flavored topping,” which McDonald’s is at least kind enough to admit isn’t the genuine article.

Still, the Golden Arches managed to lure us back to give its American Vintage menu another shot with a very persuasive offering. Two very persuasive ones, actually, in the form of the two beef patties in its Diner Double Beef burger.

Japan’s unfaithful women share tips on how to cheat without getting caught

Mike
Jan 10, 2014

Here’s a shocking fact: Despite decades of gender stereotypes insisting that men are disgusting pigs that would gladly hump anything without too much back hair even if they’re already in a relationship, recent studies suggest women are cheating about as much as men (presumably also provided there’s not too much back hair).

One reason for the persistent stereotype may be that women are just a bit smarter and better at hiding their affairs than men are. While a cheating man is liable to show up to his SO’s house with a pair of panties on his head, cheating women are apparently much more discreet, a Japanese survey of 50 unfaithful women reveals. The Niconico News survey also offers a few tips for girls who are currently cheating or who may be considering a little love on the side in the future:

“Family name researcher” discovers the most common full name in Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 10, 2014

What’s in a name? In Japan, those with a strong understanding of kanji, those pesky Chinese characters that are always tripping up language learners, can immediately understand the significance of anyone’s appellation.

Although the most common surname in Japan is “Sato,” it turns out that there’s a far more popular name combination that doesn’t include our quirkiest reporter‘s last name. Let’s take a look at the most common given and family names in Japan and the meanings behind them.

Too lazy to think up excuses for not getting anything done? This calendar has them for you!

Casey Baseel
Jan 10, 2014

I recently took a few days off to visit my hometown in California. In keeping with Japanese norms, I spent most of my time there eating and loafing around my parents’ house (in my defense they have a really nice couch, and the soba noodles my wife makes at New Year’s are amazing).

Reenergized from a week of rest and relaxation, I arrived back in Japan and went to sleep, fully intending to jump out of bed at the crack of dawn and get right to work. But when I woke up around 5:30 a.m., I stopped to reconsider my plan. Given the near-freezing temperature, was crawling out from under my warm blankets really the best choice, health-wise? Shouldn’t I take it easy for a day and make sure I was over my jet-lag? I could always get serious about work the next day, right?

It turns out that not only is New Year’s procrastination common, there’s even a calendar for it, with solid excuses for nothing doing anything printed right there on it.

Who’s afraid of the big Four-O? Not this Kitty!

Kay
Jan 9, 2014

About two months ago, we reported to you that 2014 was going to be a special year for Hello Kitty. That’s right, the busiest cat in the world will be hitting the big Four-O on November 1 this year. Lucky for her, she doesn’t have to worry about crow’s-feet or gray hairs — she just seems to become more popular and wiser (some would say more business-savvy) with age.

Now, when we heard that our favorite feline entrepreneur had started off the new year with a 40th anniversary sales event at Tokyo Station, we of course had to go and see what special goodies may be on offer. As it turns out, we weren’t disappointed, as there were plenty of goods to be seen and bought! Read More

Huawei’s “TRON” marks China’s first major entry into the games console market

Philip Kendall
Jan 9, 2014

Just a day after we brought you news that China had temporarily lifted a 14-year ban that prevented foreign companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony from selling their consoles in the country, homegrown telecommunications company Huawei has unveiled a brand new games console of its own at the CES 2014 trade show.

Weirdest collaboration ever? Convenience store + menstruation website = pink bread

Jessica
Jan 9, 2014

Japanese marketers love a good crossover product. We recently covered the very strange Mountain Dew-corn chip mashup, a Pizza Hut-Evangelion pairing, and any number of Hello Kitty crosses. But even weirdness-loving Japanese may be put off by news of the latest crossover collaboration between Circle K-Sunkus convenience stores and menstruation-tracking website Luna Luna: a pink steamed bun.

Naruto’s fictional apartment valued at $100K

Anime News Network
Jan 9, 2014

Real estate brokerage Movoto generally focuses their interests on, you know, real estate, but every now and again, they’ll also post their estimates on fictional properties. Most recently, they turned their interests to Naruto Uzumaki’s apartment in Hidden Leaf Village. Factoring in location, furnishings, size, and market, they came up with $100,000.

Here’s the listing they whipped up:

A better use for your smartphone than Angry Birds: Remotely driving your car!

Preston Phro
Jan 9, 2014

It’s only a matter of time until we’re all riding around in self-driving cars, texting our hearts out without having to worry about running anyone over. With all the companies working on the technology, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before you can slip into your automated automobile and say, “Carrie, take me to the bar!”

Unfortunately, “a matter of time” could very well be a few decades for all we know. So maybe we need to limit our dreams a bit. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could, at the very least, get our cars to pick us up outside the mall with an app on our phones? Yeah, that’ll probably never happen.

Or will it??

Cappucino art that’s out of this world: Twitter cappuccino artist shows off his extraterrestrial skills

Preston Phro
Jan 9, 2014

We’ve seen some pretty cool latte art over the years, but this might be the most, um, unusual we’ve spotted. It’s not exactly cute, but it certainly is out of this world!

From aliens to bunnies to Ghibli’s Catbus, this guy does it all in 3-D foam sculptures atop cups of coffee!

We try McDonald’s Japan’s new “Classic Fries with Cheese”

Mike
Jan 9, 2014

When McDonald’s Japan announced recently a rolling set of new menu items based on supposedly classic American recipes, the majority of the Internet – recalling how awesome the Big America series was – collectively foodgasmed in anticipation.

Unfortunately, now that the first items are finally here, consumer reviews have viciously skewered the new “Classic Fries with Cheese,” with comments ranging from, “This is unpleasant” to “This tastes like sloth pee.” Questions of how some Netizens know what sloth pee tastes like aside, it’s safe to conclude opinions are widely divided. So, of course, fast food connoisseurs that we are, we had to try the item for ourselves and throw our hat into the public debate ring.

Watch the “world’s largest firework” go off 【Video】

Master Blaster
Jan 9, 2014

That bad boy pictured above is the Yonshakudama (Four Shaku Ball) and it claims to be largest single firework in the world. At a pot-smoker pleasing weight of 420kg (926lbs) and with a diameter of 1.2m (4 feet), most people tend to take the maker’s word for it.

Fireworks of this immense size are launched during a show at the Katakai Festival in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture and are said to have a beautiful blast radius of 800m (2,625 feet). But enough talk. Let’s kick the tires and light some fires watching them in action thanks to a video uploaded to YouTube by Temple Fireworks.