Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
anime (Page 239)
Japanese beauty product manufacturer, Creer Beaute, has just come out with a new line of professional-grade hair wax with the strength to hold your hair nice and stiff, even in the midst of an hours-long death match. Their Dragon Ball Z Hair Wax promises to hold your spiky hair chunks in place throughout even the most rigorous battles and is a real must-have for any fist-fighting, world-saving hero.
Let’s say you’re looking for a job, and someone offers you a position as the vice president of human resources in a global logistics services company. That’s a pretty plum position, and most of us would jump at the chance.
However, offer a nine-year-old kid the same job, and he’s likely to turn it down and say he’d rather be an ice cream salesman instead. The point is kids don’t always have the most concrete handle on what professions entail, so if you ask them what they want to do for a living someday, you might not get the most sensible answers. This was definitely the case when a number of elementary school boys in Japan recently said that when they grow up, they want to become anime characters.
Currently, the new arrivals section of the Evangelion Store, an online shop filled all our favorite robot-driving, angel-fighting merchandise, lists a very special lingerie set based directly off of a camisole worn by Asuka in the second new Evangelion movie. Unfortunately for fans of the second child, the item is already sold out and in need of restocking. We’ll try to pretend that’s not creepy, considering the character is only 14… Read More
As an admittedly old-school gamer, I sometimes have a hard time grasping the appeal of modern video games designed with light users in mind. Lining up sparkly jewels in Bejeweled? Growing tomatoes in Farmville? Where’s the excitement in that?
Likewise, the trends of modern anime can be difficult to understand, with a glut of shows lacking any discernible concept beyond “cute girls hang out together, and occasionally participate in school club activities.”
If you ask me, both of these entertainment fields could do with a lot more stuff blowing up. Thankfully, that’s just what we can expect from the new collaboration between online game World of Tanks and anime franchise Girls und Panzer.
As you’re surely aware, Pokémon is serious business in Japan, with tournaments and competitions for the myriad playable variations so viciously competitive that many resort to illegally acquiring and modifying Pokémon.
In that sense, it’s odd that one of the most valuable pieces of Pokémon memorabilia, the Pokémon Illustrator card from the Pokémon Trading Card Game, serves absolutely no in-game purpose. It is, however, considered to be one of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence.
We were recently duped into thinking some high-quality pieces of Sailor Moon fan art were from the upcoming new installment in the anime franchise. In light of this, we’ve decided to be more skeptical about news concerning the lunar-themed heroine.
From now on, we’re not believing anything until we’re holding the real deal in our own two hands! Which is just what we did with a set of adult-size Sailor Moon bibs.
Japanese fans can’t get enough of Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan. It wasn’t enough just to watch the anime and read the manga. Next they wanted to dress like a Titan and drink like a Titan. Now they’re taking it one step further so that they can even smell like a Titan! Preorders are now available for a new line of Attack on Titan aroma frangrances!
Given the massive popularity of virtual idol Hatsune Miku, it’s easy to forget that she really hasn’t been around that long. The singing computer construct only recently celebrated her sixth birthday, which inspired one fan to whip up a Miku-themed cake.
This is far from the first time we’ve come across food that’s supposed to resemble the aqua-tressed songstress, and we’ve previously reported on Miku meat buns and even Miku bento. This just might be the most detailed recreation we’ve seen of the Vocaloid in edible form yet, though.
A true symbol of status for a whole lot of folks is the kind of car they drive. So what does it say about a person when a larger-than-life magical girl is bursting out the back of their van?! Someone is either absolutely amazing or amazingly disturbed to have so much love for an animated character. Either way, this has got to be one of the most awesome things we’ve ever seen rolling down the Japanese highway!
It’s almost that time again! The Fall 2013 anime season is absolutely jam-packed with something for every kind of fan. There’s no way you can watch all of these though, so have a skim through this list (put together by Gigazine and translated by yours truly) to pick out the ones you’ll be following.
Read on for the first 20 series that will be hitting screens next week.
On September 1, fans flocked to the Utsunomiya branch of Animate to attend an autograph event for Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan‘s author, Hajime Isayama. During his Shinkansen train ride to Tochigi Prefecture, the artist doodled up some ideas for pictures to draw along with his signature when meeting with his fans. He took a snapshot that quickly spread through the Twittersphere of what everyone assumed would be a superb work of art…
For the most part, people in Japan take pride in being well-groomed. Skin care gets particular priority, and individuals especially concerned about looking their best carry around packs of oil-blotting papers called abura torigami. When you don’t want to wait until you get home to wash a day’s worth of grime off your face, they’re handy little things, and we mean that literally.
Abura torigami tend to be pretty small, so much so that you’ll usually see people stretching them out with both hands to get the maximum use out of the precious surface area each one offers. Granted, this looks dainty and adorable when a cute girl does it. Other people, though, such as the RocketNews24 male writing team, are far too ruggedly handsome to ever be considered “cute.” Are there no larger abura torigami for the rest of us?
Indeed there are, thanks to a tie-up with anime smash hit Attack on Titan.
I’m sure that many of our readers are acquainted with the Japanese word otaku and its assimilation into English. For those that aren’t, it is a special label given to people who are especially obsessed with what might be considered nerdy hobbies, particularly those related to Japanese anime and manga. In Japanese, it can refer to any person with an obsession, whether it be half-naked figurines or interior design, but it almost always carries the negative connotation of being obsessed to the point of anti-social behavior. In the Western world, however, being an otaku is a badge of honor for many. People who like Japanese manga, anime, and games will often self-identify as otaku and join together with others of like interests over the Internet and other social outlets.
For better or worse, this circle of online anime fanatics has adapted a small vocabulary of Japanese words, creating a sub-set of Internet slang that bridges the language gap between these two similar cultures. Japanese pop culture enthusiasts worldwide cling to words like baka, moe, hentai, and more. But is this particular aspect of otaku culture a healthy thing to have spread? For example, there’s also the potentially disillusioned concept of “mai waifu.”
The manga for the fan favorite series, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu), drawn by Gaku Tsugano, will release its final chapter in the next edition of the monthly manga magazine, Shonen Ace (on sale 9/26), and fans are already feeling a little bit down in the dumps.
It’s finally here, the video game that anime and manga fans have been drooling over for months: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle. And better yet, our resident manga fan and gamer extraordinaire Kuzo managed to grab us one of the “Gold Experience Box” sets, which comes with a heap of limited edition Jojo merchandise.
Join us after the jump as we rip into this box of delights!
As the birthplace of modern anime culture, Japan has more than its fair share of hardcore anime fans, or otaku. But what starts someone out on the potential path to wall-to-wall DVD box sets, shelves of figures, and a bed full of love pillows? An online survey asks Japanese people to reveal the series that showed them the light.
Sometimes, despite the director’s best efforts otherwise, the villain of a movie or TV series ends up stealing the show. Luke Skywalker became the archetypical example of a pure-hearted but bland hero, while dark side practitioner Darth Vader went on to become a true cultural icon.
Similarly, you’ll be hard pressed to find any viewers of long-running anime mecha franchise Gundam who name its original hero, Amuro, as their favorite character. His nemesis Char, on the other hand, has legions of fans, even though his last on-screen appearance was way back in the 1988 motion picture Char’s Counterattack. Despite his occasional attempts to drop space colonies onto Planet Earth, fans are drawn to the stylish Char, who has always had cool robots and a cool mask. Now, he’s got a cool car, too.
Earlier this week, we told you about the Yamanote Line train that will be decked out with the characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle (coming to PS3 on August 29). At the time, we could only provide you with a few artist renditions of what the train might look like. But now, may we proudly present to you 31 photos of the actual JoJo train, inside and out!
Red light district sushi restaurant in Tokyo shows us just how wrong we were about it
McDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
Japanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
Anime girl English teacher Ellen-sensei becomes VTuber/VVTUber and NFT
Tokyo Tsukiji fish market site to be redeveloped with 50,000-seat stadium, hotel, shopping center
Starbucks Japan adds a Motto Frappuccino to the menu for a limited time
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel starsMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
All-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 monthJapanese ramen restaurants under pressure from new yen banknotes
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 Kyoto
Starbucks reopens at Shibuya Scramble Crossing with new look and design concept
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Beautiful 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 Totoro
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 loungeMore 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 evolutions
Disney princesses get official manga makeovers for Manga Princess Cafe opening in Tokyo
Sales of Japan’s most convenient train ticket/shopping payment cards suspended indefinitelyMcDonald’s new Happy Meals offer up cute and practical Sanrio lifestyle goods
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
Starbucks Japan adds a Motto Frappuccino to the menu for a limited time
Akihabara pop-up shop sells goods made by Japanese prison inmates
Pokémon Sleep camping suite and guestrooms coming to Tokyo Hyatt along with giant Snorlax burgers
Sandwiches fit for a sumo served up in Osaka【Taste Test】
Beautiful Red and Blue Star luxury trains set to be Japan’s new Hokkaido travel stars
We tried Korea’s way-too-big King Tonkatsu Burger at Lotteria 【Taste Test】
Studio Ghibli glasses cases let anime characters keep an eye on your spectacles
Secret Kitchen bento serves Japanese flowers, birds, wind and moon in a box, but is it worth it?
Sakura tree falls on man at Sannenzaka near Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto 【Breaking News】
Starbucks Japan unveils New Year’s collection for 2024, with daruma, dragons and Mt Fuji for luck
Pizza Hut’s new coriander pizza contains more cilantro than ever before!
We tried a Japanese egg steamer to achieve the perfect breakfast eggs without a stove
New Mochi Cream Doughnuts from Mister Donut pay homage to Japanese confectionery
Getting free ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s just became every Japanese citizen’s civic duty
