Recently, we’ve been seeing what appear to be cracks in Nintendo’s outer image as a smiley, pure-hearted, “I’m OK, you’re OK” kind of company. First, we saw that the company’s official Line account is still holding a grudge against Sony for the industry-changing success of its PlayStation console. Now, some fans have found that their new figures of presumable nice guys Mario and Luigi reveal the Nintendo stars to be smirking, gloating jerks.
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Career arcs in Japan used to be simple. You finished school, got a job, and worked there until it was time to retire. Along the way, you were paid a salary calculated strictly on the basis of how long you’d been with the company.
That’s not necessarily the case anymore, and as more and more Japanese switch employers, and even industries, they need a baseline from which to evaluate the pay of potential posts, which is where Japanese website Kyuryo Bank comes in. Yes, Kyuryo Bank has all the salary-related numerical data and progression charts you’d expect, but it also has something truly unique: awesome anime-style illustrations of professions ranging from public accountant and lawyer to web designer, pro blogger, and yes, even “chicken sexer.”
For most people in the country, the trains in Japan are relatively pleasant outside of rush hour, though they’re generally not exactly entertaining. Which is probably a good thing, because an entertaining train would probably be an annoying train! But if you ride them long enough, there’s a good chance you’ll accumulate a few funny stories.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be in Japan to hear the good ones—Twitter users are happy to share them online! Below, we’ve gathered a few of our favorites to give you a good laugh. So hop aboard as we take a look at some of the funniest train-related stories found on Twitter.
Fictional characters can get away with just about anything, especially if they dwell in a fantasy setting where superhuman abilities exist and extraordinary events occur. But even in such fictional worlds where anything is possible, many creators design their characters and settings with a certain amount of realism, perhaps to keep things relatively convincing and logical.
Take the characters of Attack on Titan for example. It is shown that the members of the Training Corps go through rigorous training in order to become official members of the military, so it’s understandable that they are physically fit and athletic. A Taiwanese variety program made a parody of the series, though, that proved exactly why the titan-slaying heroes and heroines have to keep their well-toned physique. Watch the clip after the break!
Japan’s Meiji period ushered in revolutionary changes to the country. As over 200 years of self-imposed isolation came to an end, centuries of economic, political, and scientific advances came flooding into Japan, and the nation’s thinkers and entrepreneurs began scrambling to modernize. Thanks to their efforts, soon after the Meiji period began in 1868, Japan had its first railways, banks, and apparently a dog-powered butter-making machine.
Since 2001, the Google Street View truck has been rolling through neighborhoods all over the world, taking photos of our towns and city streets in order add to its parent company’s enormous library of 3D street-level images. In the search for the perfect panoramic image, however, Google doesn’t always have time to wait around for the streets they’re mapping to clear, leading to the occasional unintentional photobomber.
Luckily, Google also has a pretty advanced facial technology recognition system, used to blur out the faces of those caught on camera as a way of protecting their privacy. The only caveat is that sometimes it works a little too well, and to hilarious results.
Japanese inventions have a reputation for being incredibly awesome, incredibly bizarre, and, um, even more incredibly bizarre. And this latest creation is no exception: say hello to the chair-umbrella.
Ever needed a seat but all you had was a stupid, useless umbrella? Well never again! Just turn this amazing invention upside-down, open it up, sit on down, and prepare to be stared at and asked if you need to be taken to a hospital.
Unlike in the U.S., legal adulthood in Japan doesn’t begin until the age of 20. But while that means an extra two years to enjoy the benefits and protection society affords to minors, everyone has to grow up sometime, and for one Japanese Twitter user the transition was especially abrupt.
On his 20th birthday as his parents presented him with a written notice congratulating him on graduating from childhood and celebrating his newfound freedoms, while spelling out exactly what they, and the world, now expected of him as an adult.
Maybe you’ve heard about the legendary used panty vending machines of Japan. With all the “weird Japan” news floating around out there, it’s hard to miss the exaggerated stories of hidden vending machines selling used undergarments so that shy pervs can indulge in the, erm…unique fragrance without actually having to go out and interact with a real live woman.
Of course, the used pantie vending machines are kind of a myth; sure, one or two of them exist, but it’s not like they’re on every other block like breathless news coverage suggests.
However, lonely weirdos shouldn’t give up hope just yet, because it turns out we’ve reached a technological point in time in which Japanese companies are able to recreate the fragrance of a woman’s bath towel fresh from the shower, which is maybe, we guess, the next best thing to used panties.
Last month, we got our first in-costume look at the cast of the upcoming live-action TV adaptation of manga and anime Prison School. But while the production’s casting directors, stylists, and costumers have done a commendable job making the real-life performers look like their 2-D inspirations, fans have been wondering if the live-action Prison School will still feel like its source material.
After all, it’s not uncommon for there to be a major shift in tone when anime goes live-action, and a lot of the outlandishly pervy stuff that goes on in the animated Prison School ostensibly gets a pass from censors because it’s not being done by real people. Still, it doesn’t look like the live-action Prison School is looking to change the formula that worked for both the anime and the manga, as its two preview videos show it’s still perfectly happy to bask in its ludicrous lewdness, as well as repeatedly ask the question “Do you prefer butts or breasts?”
Heads-up! Depending on how accepting your workplace environment is of ludicrous lewdness, you might want to save these videos for after you get home.
Many Japanese animation fans, after having their hopes dashed and their hearts broken one too many times, come to accept the truism that it’s just not possible to make a good live-action version of their favorite anime. Right now, it’s Attack on Titan’s turn in the hot seat, as its two recently released movies have been roundly roasted by fans of the original work and critics alike, and years ago Dragonball Evolution had far more people groaning than cheering as their left theaters.
But maybe it’s not so much that anime has to stay hand-drawn, but just that it can’t be replicated by human actors. We’ve seen Attack on Titan look cool in stop-motion and sheep sub for the cast of Dragon Ball. As a matter of fact, maybe you can even show part of a human actor, just not the whole person, like in this epic and funny battle between two of Dragon Ball’s mightiest martial artists…as played by a pair of finger puppets.
If you’ve ever seen shoji, the sliding wood-framed paper doors that are a common element of traditional Japanese architecture, you’ve probably been overcome by two strong emotions. First, a sense of admiration for the timeless beauty of the elegantly simple aesthetic. Second, a burning desire to know just how hard you can poke that translucent paper before you puncture it.
Poking holes in the shoji paper is a major faux pas, however, and even young kids in Japan know they’re supposed to resist the temptation. It doesn’t look like this kitty got the message, though, as it unleashes its adorably destructive hunting instincts on a defenseless shoji in this video.
High school girls. In all seriousness, are they aliens??
Japanese Twitter users delight in sharing the perplexing, nonsensical, contradictory, or downright outrageous behaviors that they observe high school girls engaging in around the country. Below, we’ve gathered together a sampling of some such anecdotes for your reading pleasure. What strange escapades are the girls up to now?
Unless you’re striving to become one of the big guys yourself, you may not have much connection to the world of professional sumo. As an ancient sport with plenty of ritual elements, the wrestlers, known as rikishi in Japanese, have a highly regimented training lifestyle. With all those rules, it’s certainly easy to overlook the comedic side of sumo.
Wait, there’s a comedic side to sumo?
In the US, you don’t see a whole lot of people putting around on tiny scooters very often. The long highway commutes and high speed limits make your standard Vespa types pretty impractical for all but the most dedicated of Williamsburg hipsters.
It’s another story in Japan, though, where road commutes are comparatively shorter and speed limits within the city are only a little faster than a light jog anyway. Scooters are a common sight and come in tons of varieties, with two of Japan’s two-wheeled vehicle heavyweights, Suzuki and Yamaha, neck and neck for market share.
But it turns out that the two companies’ nearly identical scooter designs take a remarkably different tack when it comes to storage space. Tennis enthusiasts, especially, may want to take note:
Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding yet difficult jobs one can do; on the one hand, you’re helping to shape the next generation, and you get to help kids learn and grow. On the other hand, though, kids will be kids, and you’ll always have those one or two students who really know how to get under your skin.
Even the most patient teacher has their limit—they’re still human after all. Like this Japanese high school teacher, who apparently had it “up to here” with students spitting their gum out on the floor. So what did he do? Wrote a scathing note of epic proportions and pinned it to the wall for all to see.
Nintendo has a squeaky clean image. Its titles are family-friendly, and no other company does more to make quality video games accessible and enjoyable to inexperienced or casual players. The company managed to create a hit team-based shooter that’s completely devoid of the sort of violence that’s so commonly a selling point for the genre, and even its two most committed rivals, Mario and Bowser, regularly take time out from fighting to play golf or tennis together.
So you might expect Nintendo to have nothing but friendly affection for anyone and everyone, but its official Line account shows that rival Sony’s PlayStation is strictly excluded from the circle of good vibes.
Traveling in a country where you aren’t super confident with the lingo can be extremely daunting, and simple acts like ordering food become a bit of a nightmare. If you don’t speak the language, you won’t know what foods are on the menu or how they are prepared. Dictionaries, both paper and electronic, are definitely helpful tools when deciphering a menu and many restaurants also try to provide at least some English—one of the most used languages in the world—on their menus.
But sometimes, for all their good intentions, restaurants fail. While this may make ordering lunch a little bit trickier, it is at times like these that we are blessed with some wonderfully bad translated food names.
Today’s special dishes come compliments of restaurants in Taiwan and China that just couldn’t quite find the right words to describe their respective delicacies. Look forward to dishes including mermaids, fried Wikipedia and confused pizzas after the jump.
As a man, I have to admit that sometimes we can be a little confusing. Why do we do weird things like try to flavor food with burps, or lock iPhones with our butts? There are some mysteries that may never be solved.
But one Japanese Twitter user thinks they’ve found a list of 18 things that apply to pretty much every man, especially concerning relationships. Will this list help decode the confusing “man brain,” or is it just a mass of macho mumbo jumbo? Read on and decide for yourself!
Not everyone loves Japanese TV, but we have to admit that one thing it has going for it is absolutely bonkers commercials. You can find weird, unsettling, funny, emotional, or even just hilarious commercials the world over, but it sometimes seems that Japan has a particularly high concentration of them. Maybe there’s something in the coffee…
And speaking of coffee, Japanese coffee brand Blendy has produced one of the most bizarre commercials we’ve seen to date, mixing absurdist comedy with unsettling, dark undertones. Oh, and milk. Lots and lots of milk.
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