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Love anime and driving? Carmaker Subaru now selling official itasha

Different people have different concepts of Japanese automaker Subaru. For motorsports enthusiasts, the first image that comes to mind is the company’s all-wheel drive cars doing sick jumps on rally gravel stages. Technology buffs, meanwhile, may think of their EyeSight automatic braking safety system.

Japanese animation fans, though, may best know Subaru as the major sponsor of animation studio Gainax’s celestial-themed magical girl anime Wish Upon the Pleiades (known in Japanese as Hokago no Pleiades). And while the series’ TV run is over, that doesn’t mean Subaru’s love for the anime has expired, as the car manufacturer has created, and is selling, an official Wish Upon the Pleiades itasha covered with graphics of the show’s cast.

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If people, not pocket monsters, battled it out in the Pokémon world【Video】

In the Pokémon world, trainers collect and battle their pet monsters against other trainers to gain experience, earn badges, and aim to become the greatest pocket monster master in the world. But what about the Pokémon themselves—do they even get a say in whether or not they want to fight? If trainers want to determine which of them is the strongest, why don’t they just duke it out themselves?

Well, the folks over at Dorkly ran with that clever idea and made it happen, with two guys fighting it out to familiar chip-tune battle music in this all-too-perfect video showing just what it would look like if humans battled it out in the Pokémon world!

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Asahi Shimbun’s app featuring moe school-girl broadcasters is a deceptively good study tool

As in any country, a Japanese newspaper’s credibility often rests on a very fine political line. If their reporting leans even a little left or right, they run the risk of being called a stack of toilet paper scribbled on by talentless hacks by half the population. It’s a precarious position, and one in which releasing an app wherein you dress up school girls as a reward for current event awareness only seems to provide fuel for your detractors.

And yet on October 14 one of Japan’s leading newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, released just such an app called Kikasete Tensei Jingo. It features several moe girls reading from selected editions of the paper’s long-running Tensei Jingo editorial column. However, as pointless as it may appear on the surface there is some heavy language practice potential buried in there.

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Viewers got an eye full of Tezuka’s iconic doctor’s abs in the first episode of Young Black Jack‘s but opening theme song singer UMI☆KUUN is giving the 2D bishōnen a run for his money. The singer reproduced an image by the manga’s artist Yū-Go Ōkuma where Kuroo Hazama appears only half clothed.

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Barring the most delusional individuals, cosplayers don’t really think they’re becoming their favorite anime or video game characters by putting on a costume. Cosplay is all about playing make-believe, and recently more and more cosplayers are willing to share the “make” portion by revealing the silly process by which they create a cool photo, including all the embarrassing slouching and off-camera assistance they get from their friends.

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Hiroya Oku, Keita Iizuka launch Gantz spinoff manga in November

The November issue of Shueisha‘s Miracle Jump magazine is revealing on Tuesday that Hiroya Oku and Keita Iizuka (Blue Gralia) will launch a Gantz spinoff manga temporarily titled G-GANTZ in the magazine’s December issue on November 17.

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Ghost in the Shell in costume as producers reveal cast photos, reason for no DVD plans

The recent boom in live-action movie, TV, and stage adaptations of hit anime has to be a headache for producers. Most anime start out as manga, where the only limits on outlandish character and costume design is the imagination of the original artist, and we imagine it’s an exhaustive search to find real-life actors and actresses who look the part.

But Japan’s casting directors are proving themselves up to the challenge. Hot on the heels of the recently revealed Prison School TV drama come photos of the cast of the stage adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, and not only are there some uncanny resemblances, we now know why there won’t be a DVD or live streaming of the performance.

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Do you want to hug a Snow Pikachu? Special Christmas-version Pokémon plushies coming soon

As much as Japan loves Halloween, the country’s favorite foreign-introduced holiday is still Christmas. It’s not hard to see why, since in Japan the December celebration is both the nation’s biggest date night and also its most accepted excuse to gorge yourself on fried chicken. Plus, this year good boys and girls can expect a visit from someone very special at Christmas: Pikachu Snowman plushies, plus a whole stocking’s worth of new winter-themed Pokémon goodies!

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Dragon Ball Z’s Piccolo and Frieza show their Halloween spirit, help bring the holiday to Japan

For most of the western world, October is a month of ghastly ghouls and Halloween hijinx. But in Japan, Halloween wasn’t really celebrated up until fairly recently, and even now trick-or-treating at random houses is still a pretty uncommon occurrence.

This year however, Halloween has exploded in popularity. Retailers have been getting ready for the big night several months in advance, and even Pepsi Japan has released a spooky new flavor to celebrate. The pagan festival has become so popular that even some of the characters from Dragon Ball Z are joining in on the fun.

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We try cute meals, drinks and sweets from Namja Town’s Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal menu

We recently brought you news of the enticing Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon-themed menu at Namja Town, an indoor theme park operated by Namco, in Tokyo. The themed offerings were really quite something, and after spending so much time poring over the unbelievably cute items on offer, we found ourselves itching to stop in for a visit!

And visit we did. Come with us now as we eat everything from Luna P-Ball, Sailor Moon’s Moon Stick, and even Tuxedo mask’s pocket watch. These incredible edibles are absolutely adorable and filled with so many surprising details they’re almost too cute to eat! Almost…

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Totoro made me do it! Man says he was inspired to shoplift by Studio Ghibli anime classic

As popular as Japanese animation is, some critics argue that it can have negative psychological effects on audiences. After watching anime martial artists solve their problems with their fists, will fans try to resolve their own conflicts in similarly violent ways? Isn’t is possible that witnessing lewd acts in animated form will cause impressionable viewers to become more sexually aggressive in real life?

We don’t know about those scenarios, but one recently arrested man was led down the path of crime by his love of anime, and the unlikely corrupter was Studio Ghibli’s Totoro.

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Hatsune Miku appears with J-pop legend Namie Amuro in new music video

Vocaloid music still isn’t exactly what you’d call mainstream in Japan, but the genre of virtual idols has made considerable strides in popularity over the last couple of years. Just last month, Vocaloid Hatsune Miku appeared on perpetually popular TV program Music Station, a feat that’s considered a feather in the cap of any performer.

Now, Japan’s most popular virtual vocalist has teamed up with one of its most popular human ones, as Hatsune Miku and J-pop recording legend Namie Amuro have collaborated on a new song and music video.

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Tokyo’s Hana Yori Dango cafe features cool 3-D art panels of anime hunks and special desserts

We’ve recently seen a pair of Sailor Moon-themed dining options appear in Tokyo, allowing fans to wrap themselves in the hit franchise’s atmosphere as they enjoy a bite to eat. But if your anime and manga tastes run more towards beautiful boys than magical girls, now there’s a place for you too, at the new Hanai Yori Dango Cafe in Tokyo’s Shibuya.

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Sipping a hot cup of tea can be an enjoyable way to relax and put your brain on auto-pilot for a few minutes. Waiting for your tea bag to steep, though, can be downright dull. Sitting there, staring at the bag’s string and tab, you might find yourself wishing for a view, and if your preferred view is a pair of large anime breasts, this Japanese company would be happy to oblige.

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Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade now showing in Japan with exclusive merchandise

Never has there been a more enchanted tale than that of a school of young witches and the small, newly founded animation studio that created them. Their success story reads like a fairytale: two former Gainax employees create Studio Trigger in 2011, release the animated short Little Witch Academia two years later, and thousands of fans across the world immediately fall madly in love with their film, eagerly raising funds through Kickstarter for a follow-up movie, which surpassed its goal of US150,000 in five hours, and ultimately made $625,518 for their next film.

Now it’s time to see what this group of dedicated fans helped to create, as the new film, Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade has finally hit big screens for a limited two-week run in Japan. And to add to the excitement of the highly anticipated release, there’s a line of exclusive merchandise available for film-goers to purchase until the film finishes screening on 23 October.

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Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro comes to life with ingenious lasercut paper set from Studio Ghibli

Out of all the Studio Ghibli films, My Neighbor Totoro remains one of the most beloved, with the tale of two young girls and their magical forest friends capturing hearts and imaginations around the world.

While the story centres on Totoro, the furry, forest-dwelling giant, his unique mode of transport very nearly upstages him. What’s not to love about a multi-legged bus-shaped cat that bounds over hills beaming trails of light from its huge yellow eyes and carrying mice along as tail-lights?

Now it’s time to take the iconic catbus home and when we do, we’ll be making him entirely from scratch, with a specially designed kit made from lasercut paper materials.

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Sailor Moon compact goes full-size with gorgeous new Crisis Moon Compact replica

Last summer, merchandiser Bandai released a line of Sailor Moon compacts modeled after the lunar heroine’s transformation items. Happy as fans were, there were two little drawbacks. First, the items were sold through randomly dispensing gachapon toy vending machines, meaning there was no way to be sure which one you’d get. Second, the compacts were literally compact, with tiny mirrors that weren’t the most practical.

The newest piece of Sailor Moon merchandise from the company’s upmarket Premium Bandai brand addresses both of those issues, though, in the form of this full-size replica of the Crisis Moon Compact, with a large mirror and compartment to hold your accessories in.

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When most Americans hear the name Conan, they’re likely to think of either Conan the Barbarian or Conan the Late-Night TV Host/O’Brien. But when people in Japan hear “Conan,” they immediately think of the star long-running anime hit Great Detective Conan (which was released in the U.S. under the title Case Closed).

After being transformed into a child, brilliant detective Shinichi Kudo chooses the alias of Conan Edogawa, borrowing his new first name from Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. But even trapped in the body of a young boy, Kudo continues solving crimes. Like Doyle’s famous consulting detective, no detail escapes the sharp eyes and clever eyes of Conan.

Well, except for this gigantic art mistake in a recent episode of the Great Detective Conan anime.

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  • Oct 14, 2015

Believe it! Naruto’s creator Masashi Kishimoto comments on plans for new manga at New York event

Fans of the internationally popular hit manga Naruto were dealt a huge blow when the series ended last November after 15 years of serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Who would have thought that the story of a young ninja with high hopes and ideals (and named after a ramen ingredient, no less) would become such a success world-wide and go on to continue for 15 years?

Well, it did, and while Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto has been enjoying his well-earned rest since finishing the series, fans will be delighted to know that he apparently hasn’t been completely idle, as he publicly commented on plans for his next manga recently at an Apple Store event in New York!

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Sailor Moon tenugui towels are a handy and elegant crossover of anime of tradition

When speaking English I generally try not to insist on using a Japanese word for something we’ve got a perfectly serviceable English term for. Onsen? Hot spring. Genkan? Entryway. Omotenashi? Hospitality.

Still, there are times when Japanese vocabulary can be really handy. Tenugui, for example, is a lot more succinct than its English equivalent: “cloths with decorative patterns, often traditional, that are longer than hand towels, yet narrower than bath towels, and can be used as handkerchiefs, tablecloths, gift wrapping, or interior decorations.” And as if linguistic convenience wasn’t reason enough, now there’s one more reason to embrace the Japanese word, or actually two, with these beautiful Sailor Moon tenugui.

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