swords
This ultra high-definition documentary is scheduled to come out this year. You can help support its production, and get some pretty cool things for doing so too!
The final item in the Evangelion x Japanese Sword doll series looks awesome…and she’ll cut you if you disagree.
Remember Touken Ranbu, that game where you turn historical Japanese swords into hot men? Well, one shop is now turning those men into delectable cakes!
You know all those cool-looking anime warriors with a katana strapped to their back? It turns out some of them would be really easy to beat in a fight, and it’s all the artist’s fault.
Female fighters in Japan and all across the globe and are inspiring a whole new generation of young women to take up martial arts in what has traditionally been considered a male-dominated domain, like this adorable pint-sized warrior who’s starring in a new music video.
But another young female athlete found herself suddenly in the spotlight for her proficiency in multiple martial arts, catching the attention of viewers all across the world by channeling her inner ninja with an amazing video of her performing her best sword fighting techniques.
Though the live-action Attack on Titan movie wasn’t the gigantic hit it was supposed to be, director Shinji Higuchi is moving forward and has already been signed to co-direct the 2016 blockbuster Shin Gojira (“New Godzilla“). One would think that the Japanese follow-up to the 2014 American reboot of Godzilla would be enough to keep a director busy, but it seems he is multitasking by working on another project with the action director of the live-action Rurouni Kenshin films, Kenji Tanigaki.
This brand new project is titled Voices and features action-packed footage and some stirring theme music. That seems like some solid preview material, but it appears they have left out one key point, what in the world is “Voices”?
It’s been 20 years since the critically acclaimed Evangelion series first came to life on the small screen, and to this day it remains one of the most successful animated series to ever come out of Japan.
With such a dedicated legion of fans, the merchandising has been off the hook, with everything from burgers to lingerie and even a bullet train getting the Eva treatment. But amongst all this, there’s one special limited-edition range that’s really striking a chord with Japanese fans, as it takes the tough, sexy heroines of the series out of their futuristic battle cockpits and re-imagines them as katana sword-wielding ladies in kimono.
Japanese company Volks has been making Super Dollfie dolls for more than a decade. The ball-jointed doll-figures are designed to be fully customisable, with removable wigs, interchangeable appendages and resin parts that can even be sanded for reshaping.
One Super Dollfie fan has taken the concept of customisation to a whole new level by melding the cute doll parts with robot skeletons, which allows the dolls to dance, play violins, and take part in some awesome samurai-style katana swordplay.
The master swordsman Isao Machii has been dicing up whatever has been thrown at him so far. Whether it’s shrimp, fruit, or soybeans, this expert has left his cutting mark in a field of sliceable items.
One field he hasn’t turned his sword on yet is baseball, but considering how much Japan loves the game, it was only a matter of time before Machii would step up to the plate, and he’s done so in an impressive display of swordsmanship you won’t want to miss.
If you’re anything like us, you spend a more than healthy amount of time day-dreaming about cutting down enemies with a katana. Not that we really have any enemies or even people we’d glare at on the subway. Heck, we’re pretty peaceful, loving folks here at RocketNews24! But that doesn’t change the fact that Japanese swords are just freaking awesome.
Still, there’s not much cause to walk around with a sword strapped to your hip these days. Fortunately, Nikken Cutlery has found the perfect compromise: scissors inspired by the swords of Oda Nobunaga and other samurai!
Two weeks ago, we were blown away by the Oathkeeper Keyblade created by the talented blacksmiths and craftsmen over on the YouTube show Man At Arms: Reforged. After binge-watching all their previous episodes, we drummed away at our keyboards, waiting for their next beautiful piece to show up, and when it finally did, we weren’t disappointed.
This week the team crafted the holy sword from the mega-popular series Fate/Stay Night. Spoiler alert, the finished Sword of Promised Victory looks absolutely stunning and incredibly deadly.
There’s a growing fitness trend in Tokyo, but it’s nothing new really, being based on age-old traditions: Katana Exercise.
Not only will you be taught to swing a sword like a samurai by a handsome teacher, but you’ll cut out stress and extra fat. Check out our hands-on experience of the class after the jump!
It’s no secret that we love the Wagakki Band around here at the RocketNews24 offices. Their music just has a thundering pulse to it that draws you in like a whirlpool. Between the soaring vocals delivered by Yūko Suzuhana and the fusion of rock and traditional Japanese instruments, it’s hard not to start pounding a fist in the air whenever they release a new song. And we totally failed to restrain ourselves tonight!
Just a few hours ago, the band published a new release on YouTube: A music video for “Akatsuki no Ito,” or “The Thread of Dawn,” a new song to be release on their forthcoming album Yasou-emaki. Featuring awesome music, a dragon, swords, and a night sky filled with clouds, the video is sure to get fans excited for the new album!
Statistically speaking, we’re going to guess that a few of our readers have a soft spot for katanas. In fact, if we were to really go out on a limb, we’d say a whole bunch of you probably like the swords — and with good reason. They’re just really freaking cool! Now, we’re not going to objectively state that katanas are the coolest swords ever, mostly because some of the people who disagree probably have access to swords. But we think they’re pretty darn nifty, especially when they’re made out of meteorites.
Of course, we’re not the only ones who love old samurai swords. Director Quentin Tarantino, for example, seems to have a strong affection for them, if Kill Bill is any indication. So, it’s probably only logical that the most recent episode of Men at Arms: Reforged features a group of swordsmiths creating a Hattori Hanzō katana. To watch the process from ore to sword, check out the video below!
In any situation, it’s important to dress appropriately. It can be tough to get all the little details just right, though, especially when dealing with articles of clothing you don’t have occasion to use very often. If you’re still a student, for example, you might have trouble tying a nice, crisp knot in your necktie, and even if you’re an adult working in a suit-and-tie business environment, you might not know all the finer points for more formal accessorizing, such as where to position a tie bar or the proper way to fold a pocket square.
Or, if you’re going to meet up with your fellow samurai, should your sword point upwards or downwards?
A while back, we introduced a realistic ninja throwing star origami template for all of you ninjas-in-training, but if you’re more of a sword-wielding samurai-type (and you happen to drive a truck), you can now turn your shift knob into a samurai sword! Or, well, at least half of one…
We recently took a look at the latest iteration of the DARPA Robotics Challenge, which showed us how far scientists have come in building sophisticated robots, and yet how far those machines have left to go before they can get from point A to point B without falling down hilariously. But little did we know that while we were snickering at those clumsy creations, another group of engineers were building their own robot that can perfectly perform a severing strike with a samurai sword.
You could say that the traditional Japanese sword, or katana, symbolizes the strength and beauty of the Japanese spirit. We see these swords quite often in comics, anime and movies, but how well do we really know the spiritual and cultural elements they embody?
To find out, we went to a true expert to learn about the fascinating and mysterious world of Japanese swords. Join us for an in-depth interview with master katana maker Norihiro Miyairi!
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