Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
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It’s easy to forget, but Sailor Moon and her fellow Sailor Senshi actually spend most of their day as students. When there aren’t any monsters around, the anime’s cast should ostensibly have notes to take, worksheets to fill out, and reports to write, and when it’s time to stop fighting and start studying, maybe they reach for one of these pens modeled after the magical equipment of Sailors Moon, Chibimoon, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
Namja Town, an indoor theme park in Tokyo operated by Namco, is putting out a special spread to celebrate Sailor Moon’s 20th anniversary year. With a selection of five beverages and a whopping fourteen types of cute meals and desserts to choose from, this is the most extensive list of Sailor Moon-themed edibles we’ve ever seen!
Maybe we’re just predisposed to thinking with our stomachs, but even with all the brightly colored pleated skirts and magical monster battles in Sailor Moon, we always find our attention drawn to the food that shows up in the hit anime series. So when we heard that the official Sailor Jupiter bento boxed lunch is now being offered by a Tokyo cafe, took a break from marathoning episodes of the magical girl saga to go and try it for ourselves.
While the Attack on Titan live-action movie may have failed to live up to some people’s expectations, we’re still holding out hope for something even greater on the horizon.
It looks like we won’t have to wait too long because come this winter, there’ll be a new game on the market—and it’s set to feature advancing giants, a showdown with the Colossal Titan himself, and gameplay that lets you fly through the air using Omnidirectional Mobility Gear.
Oh, and there’s a ton of blood.
In case you’ve never read any of the Akira manga or seen the landmark 1988 anime movie based on it, here’s a basic rundown of the plot. A powerful organization comes up with what it thinks it a great idea, but before its plan come to fruition, the whole thing blows up in their faces. Years later, though, it tries again, unleashing the danger of potentially even more disastrous results.
In the anime, the “powerful organization” is the military, and the “great idea” is cultivating weaponized psionic children. Some would say this parallels the real-world situation of another powerful organization, Hollywood movie studio Warner Brothers, and its own ambitions to turn Akira into a live-action film, which have faced nothing but roadblocks and angry backlashes from fans of the source material for more than 10 years now.
But just like Akira’s military, Warner Brothers seems convinced that it can still get all the variables just right, and new rumors suggest that the studio might be planning to make not one, but three Akira films, and that it’s courting one of Hollywood’s hottest filmmakers to help.
It’s hard to believe we’re one year shy of a decade since the live-action Death Note movies were released. Fans in Japan were treated to a live-action TV series recently, which broadcast its final episode on Sunday night, but it’s what appeared at the end of the show that’s really got everyone talking.
It’s the announcement of a new Death Note movie to be released in 2016; an exciting sequel featuring L’s successor and introducing the Six-Note Rule, which, until now, has only appeared in the original manga. What’s more, a teaser trailer has been released, giving us a taste of what to expect from the film, which will be distributed by Warner Brothers and directed by Shinsuke Sato, who was also at the helm for popular movies Library Wars and Gantz.
While the well-known Ghibli Museum in Tokyo might be at the top of the bucket list for any fan of legendary animated film director Hayao Miyazaki, there’s actually an even better place to get in touch with the semi-retired maestro himself.
It’s a beautiful stretch of nature just north-west of Tokyo. called Sayama Hills. Situated in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, and nicknamed “Totoro’s Forest”, this area was the actual inspiration for the animated feature My Neighbour Totoro. Miyazaki has been known to take daily walks through the area, and is so enamoured by the place that he actively participates in regular volunteer events and has made generous donations towards its conservation.
Now, the foundation that protects the forest is inviting the general public in for a special guided walking tour to take place on 5 December. The full-day event takes visitors around some very special areas and includes lots of background information for fans.
When you’re feeling down, there’s nothing like a kiss on the lips to lift your spirits, but not everyone has a consenting lip-lock partner nearby. According to one manga, though, you don’t even need another person, because there’s a trick that’ll let you make out with your own forearm.
But is this one-person romantic gesture a viable substitute for actual companionship, or more pervy manga snake oil? We decided to investigate.
Now that the Attack on Titan exhibit has wrapped up in Kyushu, it’s moved on to its next stop, Osaka.
Somewhere along the way, however, the titans and military decided to stage a battle in the middle of Osaka’s central train line, or rather, the train line’s bathrooms. On a mission to remodel some of the not-so-popular toilet facilities located inside five of the stations on the Osaka Loop Line, the bitter enemies are working together for the first time to clean things up.
In the lead-up to the release of the first Attack on Titan live-action movie, we were inundated with all sorts of fantastic collaborations. There was the tie-up with an epilation salon in Shinjuku, a campaign against illicit substances with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and even “Advancing hot dogs” at Aeon cinemas.
Since the film’s release, the giants have been quiet for a while but it seems they’ve just been gathering steam for their next amazing project: destroying public restrooms at stations on the Osaka train line.
Although he’s one of the most respected figures of all time in the manga industry, Kazuo Koike isn’t typically associated with the otaku subculture. When his most popular creation, Lone Wolf and Cub, was translated into English it attracted as many international fans from among Western comic readers as from those who favored Japanese manga, and in general his works have a gritty, somber tone to them, unlike the brightly colored daydreams and self-insert power fantasies that are often associated with otaku-pandering fare.
There’s also the fact that Koike was born in 1936, and being old enough and of the corresponding gender to fill two-thirds of a “grumpy old man” bingo card, you might expect him to have harsh words for Japan’s legions of hobby-obsessed individuals, like those that often sputter forth from Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki.
But it turns out that not only is Koike accepting of the otaku life, but he thinks that being an otaku from the cradle to the grave makes for a beautiful life.
This may be a rather random question, but are you capable of drawing a man in various states of undress? Most of us can probably visualize how it should look, but turning those thoughts into illustrations doesn’t always come at a snap of the fingers.
Coming to the rescue of budding illustrators and manga artists is a new pose reference book dedicated solely to men undressing. From T-shirts to kimono to boxer briefs, this is probably the most educational book we’ve seen filled with men stripping off their clothes.
While some Japanese media personalities who claim to be huge fans of anime and video games are no doubt trying to curry favor with the otaku crowd, Shoko Nakagawa’s passion for the hobbies seems legit. Not only does Shoko-tan, as she’s more commonly known, regularly share her love of Pokémon, having served as host of a weekly variety program and lending her likeness to a magazine dedicated to the monster-rearing franchise, she’s always willing to dip her toes in the cosplay waters and share the results with her fans.
Recently, she decided to indulge in some Sailor Moon cosplay, and that’s Sailor Moon the series, not just the character, as she appeared as all five of the anime’s core cast of magical girls.
We’ve written a lot about the Peach John and Bandai collaboration, and the amazing Sailor Moon lingerie and sleepwear sets they’ve been producing.
While we’ve mostly been filling you in on pre-order sale notices and upcoming releases, the popular line of outfits has been so sought after that they’ve been almost impossible to purchase. But today, dear readers, we have for you the best news of all. Due to the huge response from fans, the entire Sailor Moon collection is available online right now!
After coming back to school from summer vacation, it’s customary for teachers in Japan to ask their students to write a short essay about what they did during their break. Many of the youngsters no doubt spent their extra leisure time watching TV and movies, and rather than upbraid his students for wasting their time on such idle activities, one Japanese educator even asks his students for their impressions of what they watched.
At first, this teacher sounds refreshingly flexible and in-touch with contemporary youth lifestyles…at least until he singles out one anime series he expressly forbids students from writing about.
If you’re just starting out on the path to your goal of becoming a manga artist, it can be hard to properly visualize how your characters’ head, limbs, and torso should be positioned for a specific pose. Practicing by sketching with a human model is a time-tested way to hone your understanding of how to draw human anatomy and clothing, but it still poses a problem.
See, most art classes don’t feature models for such manga staples as, say, a girl in a sailor suit firing a pistol. An alternative would be to hire a model on your own, but that’s beyond the budget of many artists who’re still in the amateur stage of their artistic endeavors.
But as long as you can scrape together about 2,000 yen (US$16.26), there’s a new website that will supply you with thousands of reference photos to help kick-start your manga dreams.
As tricky as the process of adapting a hit anime to live-action can be, in the case of the most popular series, it’s not hard to see why someone would want to try. Even if you can’t please everyone when making the transitions, in the case of something like Attack on Titan, having a huge, solidly cemented fanbase that’s hungry for more content is incredibly attractive to producers.
But not every anime-to-live-action project is based on such an established hit. While creator Akira Hiramoto’s Prison School manga was first published in 2011, its TV anime hasn’t even been on the air for two months yet. Nevertheless, there’s already a live-action television drama in the works, and the first pictures of the cast, in costume, have just been released.
Some reviewers weren’t exactly kind to the first live-action Attack on Titan movie, and the adaptation of creator Hajime Isayama’s tale of brave youths fighting naked giants didn’t capture the hearts and minds of the movie-going public to anywhere near the extent that the smash hit anime and manga have.
But while the first film is looking like a swing and a miss, the live-action Attack on Titan is still getting a second chance, in the form of its sequel, Attack on Titan–End of the World, which hits theaters in Japan on September 19. Will the film, set to conclude the live-action version of the story, spell redemption for director Shinji Higuchi and his cast and crew?
Not in the eyes of one critic, who after watching an advance screening of the film condemned it as “miserably made.”
In recent years, it’s become increasingly popular for doting dog-owners in Japan to dress up their pets in little outfits when they head out for a walk. But since their canine companions are already equipped with a natural coat, all doggy fashion is really doggy cosplay, so why not dress your dog up like a member of the cast of smash-hit anime Attack on Titan?
There’s a huge variety of fees that need to be paid when renting a new apartment in Japan. In addition to an advance payment of your first month’s rent, there’s insurance, the security deposit, the realtor’s fee, and the dreaded “key money,” basically a sign-up cost that you pay to the landlord for the privilege of being allowed to start giving him money on a monthly basis.
Add it all up, and you’ll probably find yourself out several months’ worth of rent before spending the first night in your new home. But there’s a nice upside if you chose to go through one unique realtor, because while you’ll still have some fees to pay, you’ll also get a nice housewarming present in the form of several hundred dollars’ worth of anime merchandise.
Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan
Japanese government ID card and app to be required for certain Pokémon card purchases next month
Studio Ghibli releases new Totoro coin purses…but who’s the blue character?
Tokyo’s Giga Mart lets visitors “steal” from a convenience store… if cameras don’t catch you
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Hiker needs to be rescued from Mt. Fuji two times in two days, but system is working as intended
Japan’s new Calpis pudding: The right call for summer, or tampering with purin perfection?
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Starbucks Japan adds shaved ice desserts to the menu at select locations
Studio Ghibli brings anime characters to the table with new Totoro placemat that’s like a movie cellStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attractionUniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
Japanese airport rebrands itself as “Sushi Airport” to attract foreign tourists
Three new starter Pokémon Jets to fly in Japan, first begins carrying passengers this month
New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail
Tokyo revises accommodation tax amidst tourism boom, Airbnb rentals now included
Yoshinoya and Dragon Quest slaying scalpers with shift to made-to-order collaboration merch
Tochigi man shares his family’s process for creating 16 years worth of rice paddy art
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the countryStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noonFamily Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countriesJapan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in TokyoStudio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Hiker needs to be rescued from Mt. Fuji two times in two days, but system is working as intended
Japan’s new Calpis pudding: The right call for summer, or tampering with purin perfection?
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Starbucks Japan adds shaved ice desserts to the menu at select locations
Studio Ghibli brings anime characters to the table with new Totoro placemat that’s like a movie cell
Onidon opens in Tokyo with unique fusion tempura rice balls you won’t find anywhere else
7-Eleven Japan reimagines the fruit sando with new chocolate bread version
Japan now has a takoyaki sandwich…created by a Michelin-listed restaurant
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Japanese recipe for Tempura Twinkies takes America’s favourite snack to a whole new level
Can instant TKG from Don Quijote really recreate Japan’s beloved raw-egg-on-rice dish?
Burger King Japan goes viral for its new Big Mouth Dirty, but is it really worth the hype?
Man arrested in Tokyo after allegedly luring foreign tourists into shady Kabukicho establishments
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark