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Cardcaptor Sakura is ready to capture your phone with this elegant anime iPhone case

Cardcaptor Sakura’s titular heroine keeps her captured cards in a magic tome called the Clow Book, pulling them out as needed in the course of her adventures. In your daily life, though, you probably don’t run into that many occasions that call for instantly producing wooden cages, creating a labyrinth in an alternate dimension, commanding the sun to rise, or any of the other mystical functions of the Clow Cards.

On the other hand, you probably whip out your smartphone several times a day, and the next time you do, it could be inside this regal-looking Cardcaptor Sakura iPhone case.

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How do they make those amazing life-size anime statues? We find out (and snap tons of pictures)

The twice-yearly Wonder Festival exhibition is all about models of anime, video game, and other 2-D characters. Just like with model airplanes or trains, you can often find multiple versions of the same character in different scales, usually several times smaller than the heroes and heroines they’re based on are actually supposed to be.

Walking around the convention, though, we came across two stunning life-sized figures. It wasn’t just their size that impressed us, though, but their amazing attention to detail. Not only did we stop to gawk and snap pictures, we also got an explanation of how they were made, and it involves a 3-D printer!

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Keep your life in order with this Sailor Moon day planner and its flip-book art

Sailor Moon is a busy girl. Along with having to juggle her responsibilities as both a regular junior high school student and the guardian of humanity, she’s got a packed social calendar of hanging out with her friends and going on dates with her boyfriend/helping him recover his senses from one of his worryingly frequent brainwashings.

If you’ve got a similarly large number of appointments to keep track of, maybe you could use a little help from this Sailor Moon day planner featuring dozens of stylish touches and flip-book art inspired by the franchise.

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New Attack on Titan collaboration takes the fight to unwanted body hair

Fans of the hit anime Attack on Titan may also know it by its original Japanese title, Shingeki no Kyojin, which literally translates to “Advancing Giants.”

Giants aren’t the only thing advancing upon us, though, because now there’s an unusual advertising campaign announcing the arrival of Shingeki no Bijin, or Advancing Beauties, and the war we’re fighting is the war on body hair.

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Sailor Moon and her pals are ready for tea time with these cool cup-hugging figures

While each member of the core cast of Sailor Moon has her own personality, the one descriptor that works across the board for the Sailor Senshi is “helpful.” Even protagonist Usagi, for all of her lack of willpower regarding the temptations of junk food and video games, is always ready to lend a hand to those in need when the chips are down.

Case in point: Not only will the hit anime’s magical girls protect your town from interdimensional monsters on a weekly basis, they’ll even keep you company during your coffee break, in the form of these cheerful Sailor Moon figures that’ll cling to the edge of your cup as you sip your beverage.

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In the name of the monthly moon! New series of Sailor Moon sanitary pads hits shelves in Japan

The earth has always enjoyed a special relationship with the moon. The month-long cycle of push-and-pull between the planet and its natural satellite means we calculate days in terms of lunar months and in Japan they even use the same kanji character (月) to mean both month and moon itself. Oh, and instead of seeing a man on the moon’s surface, they see a rabbit pounding rice.

So when it comes to ‘that time of the month’, the connection with lunar forces in Japan has given birth to an unusual collaboration between Sailor Moon warriors, with a girl called Usagi-chan, or rabbit, at the helm, and Elis sanitary pads. Fans are gushing over the adorable packaging and the chance to win free related merchandise!

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Cute miniature collection reveals the everyday items used by Sailor Moon cast

Would you like to know what Sailor Moon and her pals eat for lunch? Or perhaps you’re curious to find out how they study or what they’d take along to the local shrine. Well now you can find out all that and more, with this gorgeous miniature collection!

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Is One Piece’s end in sight? Editor reveals final arc is mapped out, speculates on timetable

18 years after it first appeared in comic form, creator Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is more popular than ever. But while fans might be happy to see the Straw Hat Pirates keep sailing forever, the manga’s current editor says that not only has Oda mapped out how the story will end, but also that he thinks he knows about how many more volumes the manga has to go before its finale.

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Want to be a manga artist, but can’t draw backgrounds? Website has environments you can download

If you’re a budding manga creator, odds are you spend most of your time working on your character artwork. That’s probably a wise choice, too, as most famous comic artists focus on drawing their stories’ leads, and hand off work on other details, such as background art, to a team of assistants.

Of course, another reality of being a budding manga artist is that you probably don’t have a publisher bankrolling your comic and paying for the abovementioned team of assistants. But thankfully there’s now a way for you to pour your efforts into story and character art and still produce something that looks polished, thanks to a new Japanese website that sells ready-to-use manga backgrounds.

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Escape games, where people work in teams to solve puzzles to free themselves from confined spaces, have become hugely popular in Japan and around the world. When combined with a role-play theme, these events become even more exciting, as participants get to dress up and live out their fantasies in cleverly constructed worlds filled with props, sound and oodles of atmosphere.

As luck would have it, the escape concept is an idea that fits in perfectly with the narrative of the hugely popular Attack on Titan franchise, where members of the human race live in the confines of a walled city and spend a large chunk of time running away from flesh-eating giants. If you ever wanted to experience the thrill of being chased by a hungry Titan while also dealing with the stress of solving a puzzle within a time limit to save your life, it’s time to dress like a member of the Survey Corps and head out to Tokyo or Osaka this summer.

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Taking the train is by far the most common way to get around urban and suburban Japan. By its very nature, though, using public transportation means being out in public, which in Japan means following social norms about proper manners and not bothering your fellow passengers.

The average Tokyo commuter spends an hour each way on the train, though. It can be hard to follow all of the implicit rules of train etiquette during such a lengthy ride, and here are 10 minor breaches of etiquette that some Japanese men are willing to turn a blind eye to.

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As the last feature-length anime from Hayao Miyazaki, we’re sure The Wind Rises is going to be watched over and over by anime enthusiasts hoping to squeeze one last drop of mana from the celebrated director’s final film. But even if those repeated viewings won’t wear out your The Wind Rises Blu-ray like a fifth-generation Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind VHS fansub, you can only watch it so many times before diminishing returns start to set in.

But soon enough, there’ll be another piece of Miyazaki’s legacy for fans to pore over, as the manga version of The Wind Rises, drawn by the legend himself, is finally being published in a collected volume.

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Hold on to your straw hats, kids! One Piece to hit the kabuki stage this winter

Last December, we here at RocketNews24 gave you the scoop on manga and anime smash One Piece being adapted into a fully-fledged kabuki play. With the performance dates coming up within a few short months, the official kabuki website Kabukibito has released a Laboon-sized amount of new details.

Although a warning before you click ahead: if you have not read or watched One Piece up until the time skip, be aware that thar be spoilers ahead!

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New Attack on Titan Tsutaya point card looks awesome, offers special members-only merchandise

If there’s anyone who should be celebrating the upcoming Attack on Titan live-action movie release, it would have to be Japan’s largest DVD, CD and bookstore rental chain, Tsutaya.

Specialising in multimedia, and with a huge selection of anime and manga titles to choose from, the company is anticipating increased interest in all things Titan-related and is marking the occasion with a special point card we can’t wait to get our hands on.

Not only does the card feature a stunning image of our beloved Survey Corps, it can also be used to accrue points at various stores around the country. And with accrued points comes the chance to receive a variety of special, limited-edition merchandise!

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The brand-new Death Note TV drama just made its debut, and it left us feeling a little lukewarm, what with its rushed pacing and less-than-compelling changes from the manga and anime source material. Still, we probably shouldn’t be too harsh in our criticisms. After all, at just one episode in, there’s still plenty of time for the newest live-action adaptation to turn it around and deliver a portion of the thrills the original Death Note did.

Plus, we’d like to stay on the good side of the series’ death gods, since this creepy photo has us worried that maybe they can manifest in real life, and might even be watching us right now.

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New Sailor Moon Prism necklaces to include chocolate, retail for 98 cents!

Team spirit is everything in Japan. Whether it’s your workmates agreeing to a nomikai with the boss for the umpteenth time or a troupe of Sailor Moon schoolgirls fighting undercover to save the planet, group mentality is always at work, with everyone striving for success under pressure and looking for ways to please everybody else whenever they can.

Now that the Sailor Moon crew are turning 20, they’re reaching out to a number of teams to help share in the celebrations. The latest group to join them is a company known for combining two of our favourite things: pendants and sweet, sweet chocolate. Add Sailor Moon to the mix and you’ve got the release of the millennium: 10 senshi-inspired designs in five different colours that will retail for 120 yen each (US$0.98)!

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Gintama themed cafe coming to Ikebukuro! Get ready for some wacky Edo hijinks

Gintama fans are in for a special treat as a cafe in Ikebukuro is re-working its image and re-opening as Yorozuya, the “we do everything” office from the Gintama manga.

While this cafe won’t be able to help you with all your life problems, they will be able to satisfy your need to eat, dine and be merry surrounded by Gintama characters and decor. This special theme cafe will finally make a Yorozuya store a reality and you only have to wait until this August.

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Want thousands of dollars for your manga fan art? Rose of Versailles creator judging contest now

It’s been made into an anime TV series, live-action film, and Takarazuka stage musical, but more than anything else, it’s the original manga that’s captured the hearts of Rose of Versailles fans. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the series’ themes of desperate love, self-sacrifice, and challenging gender norms have been striking a chord with readers for over four decades.

Unlike last year, there’s no new volume of Rose of Versailles coming out this summer. However, there is still going to be a ton of new illustrations in the form of entries to a Rose of Versailles fan art competition that’s accepting submissions online right now, awarding impressive cash prizes, and being judged by the manga’s creator, Riyoko Ikeda herself.

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No, we didn’t stutter. New Sailor Moon gachapon toys really are compact compacts

Gachapon, the capsule toys sold by vending machines in Japan, are always released in a series, usually with five or six different versions that are dispensed at random. But while that element of chance adds a moment of excitement, sometimes it’s a little hard to imagine anyone really needs a half-dozen different styles of miniature folding chair, sausage/isopod hybrid, or crow chowing down on some delicious garbage.

Every now and again, though, we can easily see how someone would keep coming back for each and every model in the lineup, such as with these compact Sailor Moon compacts.

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Attack on Titan hot dogs! Because the best way to celebrate is with an extra-large sausage

The only thing better than the upcoming live-action Attack on Titan movie is all the related merchandise that’s slowly being pumped out ahead of its release.

The latest offering from the giants is coming to us from Aeon cinemas, who’ll be bringing us two gigantic hot dogs as part of the celebrations. Netizens, however, are pondering why they’ve chosen to use extra-long sausages to promote the film when a similar-looking appendage is so obviously missing from between the Titans’ legs.

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