Those hoping to give their Sailor Moon Pullip doll some friends will only have to wait a few more months. Premium Bandai is now accepting pre-orders for a Sailor Mercury Pullip doll.
figures (Page 12)
Japan’s desire to look at attractive women is more or less insatiable. Despite having sizable swimsuit modeling, adult video, and animated pornography industries, the country still finds itself with not enough eye candy.
So now, model maker Kotobukiya has gone looking for female beauty in the most unlikely of places, by turning the iconic villains of slasher movies franchises Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street into sexy girls.
Bandai is giving otaku (especially of the fourth category) all over Japan yet another reason to be grateful. The mother of all toy, video game and anime distributors is introducing their new figure storage service. That’s right, if your living space looks like an anime convention storage locker, Bandai’s got your back.
For a small monthly fee, you can now store your goodies by the box, which means you no longer have to sleep with your beloved figures in your bed—that is, unless, you choose to.
Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in the early hours of Friday morning which injured 14 people and caused a brief power outage in some areas. The quake, which struck off the coast of the southern island of Kyushu at 2:07am local time, caused only minor damage, but the third anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake this week served as an important reminder of the devastation that can be caused by major earthquakes and tsunami.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and as such its people tend to be extremely well-versed in what to do in the event of a natural disaster. Take cover, turn off the gas, open the door to secure an escape route. These collectors of anime figures, however, had a different idea about what to do in the moments after this morning’s quake – check up on their action figures, and immediately catalogue the damage on Twitter.
It may be hard to believe, but it has been almost 17 years since Final Fantasy VII, arguably the most revered entry in Square Enix’s iconic RPG series, was first unleashed on the world. And in honour of the game’s impeding birthday, its creators have commissioned a series of ridiculously cute “chibi” figures for hardcore gamers and fans of all things cute alike to enjoy, with pre-orders already being taken months ahead of their release.
When it comes to language learning, one of the biggest problems is staying motivated. Memorizing 100 kanji for a test next Friday might get you through the work, but memorizing 100 kanji so you can read your favorite comics or talk online with fellow comic-fans will really light a fire under your keister. And we all tend to learn better when we’re having fun! We think someone proved that with science and stuff. It might have been Mr. Sato…he’s been playing with the chemistry set again.
Anyway, we know a lot of our readers are both Japanese-language learners and manga/anime fans. If you fit that description and you’re always looking for something to help keep you motivated to study, why not add these sites to your daily reading list? It might be difficult to get through everything at first, but if you keep with it, you’ll be reading like a champ in no time! Just don’t ignore your real homework! We don’t want any angry Japanese teachers knocking on our doors…
It’s fairly common knowledge that Japan is overrun with vending machines. If they ever gained sentience and decided to go on the offensive, the country would be pretty much screwed as far as we can tell. Fortunately, maniacal wizards don’t seem to be real, so we can keep them around to serve us drinks and snacks without having to worry about being attacked by vicious Coke machines.
Of course, there are tons of different vending machines in Japan, but the most popular must be the gachapon ones. The toy dispensing machines are fun for everyone with an addiction to collecting, from children to adults. The recent trend for gachapon machines seems to be dogs, but today we found an utterly bizarre–and adorable–take on the theme: “Inupan” or “Doggy Bread!”
As we’ve previously mentioned, it’s Obon this week in Japan, and that means festivals, dancing, and ancestral spirits galore! Far from being the terrifying ghosts that you might find lurking in your closest in a horror film like Juon, however, these are spirits that Japanese people are happy to welcome into their houses. In addition to ohakamairi, or visiting graves, Japanese people also offer symbolic sacrifices at their home alters.
Some of the more interesting traditional sacrificial items are the cucumber horses (kyuri uma) and eggplant cows (nasu ushi) meant to carry the ancestors’ spirits to and from our earthly realm, but here’s one designer’s awesome, modern take on this ancient custom!
Kaiyodo is one of Japan’s largest figure makers. Aside from being the manufacturer behind the Revoltech line that’s a hit with hardcore anime fans, over 130,000,000 of Kaiyodo’s Choco Eggs, toy animals, bugs, and tanks hidden inside an edible chocolate shell, have been sold, cementing the company’s spot in mainstream popular culture.
To celebrate its 30 years in the business, the Kaiyodo Figure World exhibition is being held in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. Roughly 2,000 figures are on display, admission is free, and as if that wasn’t enough, photography is completely unrestricted. Visitors are free to snap as many pictures of any figures they like.
In what has to be one of the most random, yet awesome, releases we’ve seen so far this month, Japanese toy and figure fanciers Kitan Club has recently launched a range of six key-chain figures based on… Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo. No, we’re not quite sure why either.
This might be what Toy Story would look like if it were made by Japanese nerds: amazing, fluid animation, incomprehensible story line. There’s even an appearance by Hentai Woody
Check the video, called “The Worst Thing”, below:
A life-sized figure of manga and anime character Fujiko
Mine has been drawing criticism from fans on the Web. Comments have ranged from “Why did they make her like that?” to the more succinct, “Who the hell is that?” Apparently, she’s looking a bit off-color. Read More
MOST POPULAR
Now
Tokyo government organizes food truck event to clear out delinquent/homeless teen gathering area
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
This Japanese vending machine doesn’t sell drinks, but you can buy drinks through it
Foreign tourists in Japan will get free Shinkansen tickets to promote regional tourism
We asked our Japanese team of writers how they deal with seasonal allergies in Japan
Pizza Hut releases a turtle pizza that looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Japan’s “just-born” AI-generated swimsuit/lingerie model’s career/existence is officially over
Bandai to release super-mega-retro-robot made up of Doraemon and friends
Weekly
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character- Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku redesigned with look that adds new elements and brings back old ones
The next time you’re feeling stressed out, you could relax on a Pokémon Psyduck chair from Japan
Cherry blossoms begin blooming in Japan with record-early starts for sakura season
Komachi Shokudo: Japanese mum’s-style cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tokyo
The top 10 graduation songs in Japan as chosen by current Japanese high school students
Monthly
Starbucks Japan unveils new sakura cherry blossom collection for hanami season 2026- Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
- Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
The 10 most annoying things foreign tourists do on Japanese trains, according to locals
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever Hinamatsuri Girls’ Day Frappuccino
Japan’s cherry blossom season predicted to start earlier than we’d thought, especially in Tokyo- Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
- Studio Ghibli adds new Mother’s Day gift sets to its anime collection in Japan
Yearly
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]- Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Pizza Hut releases a turtle pizza that looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
Umamusume food and drinks dash into real world at Family Mart convenience stores[Taste test]
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Japan’s “just-born” AI-generated swimsuit/lingerie model’s career/existence is officially over
Bandai to release super-mega-retro-robot made up of Doraemon and friends
Tokyo government building serves local school lunch to public in Japanese cafeteria
11 different ways to say “father” in Japanese
Family Mart ups its convenience store food game with special burger from beef bowl chain Matsuya
Enhance your texting with new Line stamps featuring Totoro, Catbus, and more!
7-Eleven Japan now sells bagels…cooked in bamboo steamers
Drawing a cop flipping over another cop while they fire guns? There’s a reference book for that!
Super Mario teams up with JR Kyushu for the perfect power-up steamed bun snack
-
