Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
movies (Page 48)
Japan’s NTV television network aired a special 30-second preview of Studio Ghibli‘s When Marnie Was There (Omoide no Marnie) film on Friday. Sara Takatsuki (GTO, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Haganai) and Kasumi Arimura (Amachan, Hagane no Onna, Clover), actresses who star as Anna and Marnie, introduce the clip.
Last month, anime, movie and travel enthusiasts all got excited over the Japanese tour company offering a package that included being an extra in the upcoming Attack on Titan live-action movie. Sadly, only 50 lucky people were chosen, and everyone else who had dreamed of stepping into the world of the most popular anime in decades is out of luck.
Or are they? Just like how Attack on Titan keeps viewers on their toes with plot twist after plot twist, there’s been an exciting development regarding the live-action adaptation, which is now looking for a new pair of extras to play two of the Titans themselves.
It’s par for the course that an animated Disney film will include a loveable sidekick providing lighter moments throughout the narrative. But it’s not often that these secondary characters can be replicated so well in edible form. Olaf from Disney’s Frozen though, is an absolute treat for cooks who want to add some cute flair to their meals and sweets. His round, white snowman figure is easily created from rice, potatoes, Japanese radish and even sweet icing. Take a look at some of these gorgeous incarnations of Olaf in the food world.
With her unique mix of weird and cute, you’d be hard-pressed to find an animation fan who doesn’t recognize Ponyo, the fish-girl from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki’s 2008 film of the same name. On the other side of the Pacific, justabout anyone with even a passing interest in comics at any point in the last 40 years knows who Marvel’s Wolverine is.
While one character is a symbol of innocence and whimsy, and the other of machismo and toughness, Ponyo and Wolverine’s paths have actually crossed, in a small fishing port called Tomonoura, where the mutant superhero made such an impression on the locals they named a rose after him.
And no, this isn’t fanfiction we’re talking about.
Fans of Attack on Titan are sort of in the doldrums right now as far as developments go for the smash hit anime and manga franchise. The recent release of a new collected volume for the comic means there’s likely to be a long wait until the next is released. The live-action adaptation isn’t scheduled for release until 2015, and the 50 lucky participants of the package tour that involves filming the movie have already departed.
Thankfully, there’s still one thing to look forward to in 2014, and that’s the first of two upcoming animated Attack on Titan compilation movies, which now has a release date.
In recent years, ramen has been making a name for itself as a respectable, in some cases almost gourmet meal. Japan’s favorite noodle dish has even reached the point where some women feel it’s an acceptable choice for a dinner date (provided you follow certain rules).
That doesn’t mean ramen has been entirely gentrified, though. There’s one noodle joint in Tokyo that’s currently offering a throwback to the machismo that used to define the dish, with a bowl of ramen that has an action movie tie-in and is seasoned with tequila.
It’s not really a secret that Japan can sometimes get a little carried away with its youth obsession. Look no further than the abundance of pre-pubescent, yet disturbingly sexualized, anime characters and girl idol bands with shockingly young “retirement” ages – around 21 in many cases – for proof.
It’s one thing to have a creepy countdown to when Hermione Granger turns 18, but it’s kind of way creepier to just lose all interest in celebrities altogether when they reach official adulthood.
Anyway, a new Japanese film called Sweet Pool Side and a limited run promotional cafe for the film may have just set a new precedent in youth-obsession creepiness. The film, according to the trailer, is lightly related to the trials and tribulations of being on the high school swim team but also focuses on a young boy’s decision of whether or not to shave the pubic hair of one of the girl’s swim team members (at her request). He then at one point appears to eat some of the girl’s body hair.
Have you heard of Tropfest? For thousands of Australians, the name conjures up images of picnics, green grass and long, warm days that turn into night, bringing out stars like Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush.
It’s the biggest short-film festival in the world, born in a small café in Sydney in 1993 and growing every year, travelling to places like New York, Abu Dhabi and Cape York. This year the outdoor film festival is making its debut in Japan, bringing with it Aussie food stalls and a great selection of film shorts.
I’m fortunate in that my wife and I have fairly similar tastes in movies and TV shows. We both agree that Modern Family is funny, seeing the Hulk beat up Loki in The Avengers is deeply satisfying, and that the anime Escaflowne is an extremely compelling take on the standard plotline of “boy meets girl, girl falls in love with other boy, and by the way both boys pilot giant robots.”
At the same time, we’re also mature enough to respect each other’s opinions when they do diverge. Unfortunately, not all spouses can agree to disagree when it comes to entertainment, as is the case with the woman in Japan who’s looking for a divorce because her husband isn’t a fan of Disney’s Frozen.
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.
Japan loves package tours. For many of them, you meet up with your tour guide and fellow travelers, hop on a bus for the countryside, then spend a few days relaxing in a hotel with some occasional shopping or sampling of local delicacies. It’s more or less the definition of safe and convenient, if not exactly exciting, travel.
If you’re looking for a trip with a little more adrenaline, though, there’s a tour next month that includes an activity set to get any anime fan’s pulse racing: helping to create the Attack on Titan live-action movie.
“Godzilla” opened in theaters late Thursday evening.
If you’ve seen the trailers, you know one of the coolest parts is a skydiving sequence, showing members of the military paratrooping from a plane in order to engage the monster.
Check it out:
Although Warner Bros. acquired the rights for a live-action version of legendary anime and manga Akira more than a decade ago, the studio has yet to produce even a minute of its promised version of the psychic cyberpunk epic.
Recently, the project has been hit hard by a fan backlash to alleged deviations from the source material, such as moving the setting to New York. The reaction has also been less than positive to rumors of changing the ethnicities (but not the names, curiously) of Akira’s originally entirely Japanese cast. With Zac Efron, James Franco, Justin Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, and Gary Oldman all at some point rumored to be attached to the film, I was starting to feel a little left out, as I suspected I might be the last non-Japanese guy not being offered a chance to portray motorcycle gang leader Kaneda or his mentally unstable pal Tetsuo.
But while Warner Bros.’ Akira looks to be stalled for the foreseeable future, a group of Canadian fans has out together a trailer showing what they’d like a live-action version of the anime to look like.
This year is shaping up to be the year of live-action anime adaptations. First up is the second installment of samurai action series Rurouni Kenshin, which opens August 1 and is followed in rapid succession by the trilogy’s finale on September 13. August 30 sees the long-awaited return of the band of thieves from Lupin III, which hasn’t been attempted with live actors for three decades.
And now there’s one more group of manga-originating criminals coming to the big screen — the live-action version of ultra-violent gang story Tokyo Tribe.
Disney’s Frozen is a big hit in Japan, where it’s known as Anna and the Snow Queen. It’s not such a big surprise, as Japan’s always had a soft spot for Disney and stories about the power of friendship and family, and the film’s lack of dramatic, showy romance also fits in nicely with Japanese narrative sensibilities.
So when Disney decided to bring the sing-along version of Frozen to theatres in Japan, a country where you’re never more than a few minutes from a place to sing karaoke, you’d think it’d be an amazingly enjoyable experience for moviegoers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s always the case.
With the release date of Gareth Edwards’ new take on Godzilla fast approaching, there’s been a lot of chatter on the Net comparing the original kaiju with his latest incarnation in terms of his size, his abilities, and even the amount of pee he would produce.
YouTuber Broad Strokes wasn’t interested in comparing the two, though. He wanted to combine them, and the result is a mashup trailer for a Godzilla movie we would very much like to see.
Lupin III isn’t the only anime character coming to life on the big screen this summer. Building off the success of the first live-action adaptation of comic artist Nobuhiro Watasuki’s immensely popular tale of samurai redemption, the cast of Rurouni Kenshin returns for not one, but two sequels before the leaves change color in the fall.
Releasing two films in such rapid succession is a bold move, but if this newly released trailer is anything to judge by, the producers’ confidence isn’t misplaced.
Fans of monster movies or big Hollywood blockbusters are no doubt aware that a reboot of the famous Godzilla franchise is due to hit theaters next month. As you might imagine for a movie featuring one of their most beloved pop culture icons, the Japanese are deeply interested in how America is going to bring their national kaiju to the screen.
When clear pictures of the creature hit the net this week, the response was probably not what studio execs were hoping for. Some Japanese fans are apparently calling this incarnation of Godzilla “fat”. Ouch.
How would you like to cook up some sweet and succulent braised pork (kakuni)… while watching a movie? Well, there’s a recipe that actually lets you do that, and it’s recently been a huge hit online inJapan due to its unique and surprisingly effective instructions.
But what could a pork dish and the epic blockbuster movie Titanic have in common? We think you’ll get the idea once you see the instructions in the recipe.
Family Mart Japan installs red-eyed “Monster Wolf” to keep bears away from convenience store
Japanese man’s gross conveyor belt sushi social media prank video gets him a 500,000-yen fine
Starbucks Japan reopens Shinkansen platform store after redesigning it for speed
Pikachu brings electric style to brand-new Pokémon G-Shock watch featuring every stater trio
The adorable, delicious joy of the Totoro cream puff gift box[Taste test]
Krispy Kreme Japan releases new fruit doughnuts…that taste better cold
Japanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
Tokyo cops arrest foreigner for suspected visa violation, don’t know what new residence cards look like
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Testing Japan’s latest food hack trend: Adding instant corn soup powder to popcorn[Taste test]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadJapan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summerJapanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Starbucks Japan creates special drink bottle bags, adorable stickers for all 47 prefectures[Pics]Family Mart Japan installs red-eyed “Monster Wolf” to keep bears away from convenience store
“Phantom Egg Shop” opens in Japan, with a dozen rare Japanese varieties
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino, tea and soda drinks for summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noonJapan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the countryJapanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroadStudio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel styleJapan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in JapanJapanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in JapanJapan 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 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
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】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Krispy Kreme Japan releases new fruit doughnuts…that taste better cold
Japanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
Tokyo cops arrest foreigner for suspected visa violation, don’t know what new residence cards look like
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Testing Japan’s latest food hack trend: Adding instant corn soup powder to popcorn[Taste test]
Japanese theme park adding Immersive Death Game with a “bomb collar” you have to wear
Starbucks Japan creates special drink bottle bags, adorable stickers for all 47 prefectures[Pics]
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing crosses over to Baskin-Robbins Japan with special ice cream and merch
Starbucks Japan releases three new peach drinks, but the real star isn’t the Frappuccino
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Private Shinkansen Supreme Class Cabin pricing, start date, and details announced by Japan Railways
Over a billion yen in smuggled gold found inside sex dolls by Japanese investigators
Totoro Soot Sprites are here to help keep your organized as adorable paper clips[Photos]
Will we eat the gyoza or our words at this all-you-can-eat dumpling challenge?
