A rubber suit monster, surreal humor, and a heaping helping of sexual subtext that has nothing to do with the product itself? This might be the alpha and the omega of Japanese commercials.
toys (Page 16)
Sliced bread. The smartphone. A computer that sits on your lap. The flying buttress. Occasionally, a new person or thing comes along that proves to be a total game changer; something that completely redefines the way you look at and interact with the world around you.
This unassuming device is one of those: A contraption that literally injects chocolate into a banana, forever rendering the humble banana into an amazing new food group and essentially negating any nutritional value the protein-packed fruit once had (not that this bothers us).
Halloween is over, so we can officially talk about all the presents we want this holiday season! A gift that has always been popular is the Easy-Bake Oven, which is one of the coolest presents ever and a great way to get young ones interested in the joy of cooking.
Baking isn’t an especially big pastime in Japan since very few households have a proper oven, but this product from Mega House is the perfect way to get kids interested and involved with cooking. It probably won’t be just kids clamoring for this kitchen aid either; adults are certainly going to want this as well because it teaches us a skill every grownup gourmand will appreciate: how to make homemade ramen noodles!
Are you terrible at drawing but really wish you could to sketch some pictures of things you like? Do you have zero qualms about using a giant plastic drawing board designed for small children?
Well then we have good news for you! Bandai’s “Magical Illustrator” turns anything you can look at into something that you can trace into a perfect two-dimensional rendition. The only catch? Well, you’re going to have to be taught how to use it by two elementary school girls.
Japan is really putting on a show for the upcoming release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. From cute, bite-sized character sweets to samurai figurines and even a special train, welcome celebrations in the Land of the Rising sun are proving to be the best this side of the galaxy.
Fortunately for us, the special releases just keep on coming. And now, Takara Tomy Arts have joined the party by metamorphosing our favourite characters into adorable plush toys that are small enough to sit in the palm of your hand!
As a child, playing with mini remote-control cars definitely made you the coolest kid on the block. You could drive over almost any surface, reach top speeds in a matter of seconds, and send your animals chasing after them (or perhaps the cars chased the pets?) much to the irritation of adults
Now, as “responsible” adults, we don’t get much of a chance to play with toy cars anymore, unless that toy car has been turned into a real, drivable, 1:1 scale car. This road machine modeled after the Aero Avante won’t be seen running around any toy tracks, as it drives on real roads at speeds over 100 miles per hour!
For a relatively young band, BABYMETAL has lost no time in spreading their music around the world with festival appearances, adorable videos, and endorsements by numerous metal icons. Sadly, they can’t be in every city every day, so your chances of actually seeing the group perform may be kind of low. However, thanks to Funko, you no longer have to wait until their tour pass through your town for a chance to see the fox god devotees. Soon, you’ll be able to buy the whole group and keep them on your shelf!
As much as Japan loves Halloween, the country’s favorite foreign-introduced holiday is still Christmas. It’s not hard to see why, since in Japan the December celebration is both the nation’s biggest date night and also its most accepted excuse to gorge yourself on fried chicken. Plus, this year good boys and girls can expect a visit from someone very special at Christmas: Pikachu Snowman plushies, plus a whole stocking’s worth of new winter-themed Pokémon goodies!
Last summer, merchandiser Bandai released a line of Sailor Moon compacts modeled after the lunar heroine’s transformation items. Happy as fans were, there were two little drawbacks. First, the items were sold through randomly dispensing gachapon toy vending machines, meaning there was no way to be sure which one you’d get. Second, the compacts were literally compact, with tiny mirrors that weren’t the most practical.
The newest piece of Sailor Moon merchandise from the company’s upmarket Premium Bandai brand addresses both of those issues, though, in the form of this full-size replica of the Crisis Moon Compact, with a large mirror and compartment to hold your accessories in.
Fans of the Sailor Moon anime franchise have been enjoying some extra special items this year; we’ve seen tiny, miniature replicas of the girls’ everyday items, lip balm transformation rods and even Moon Stick pens, and now it’s time to add a life-sized addition to our collections.
The Rainbow Moon Chalice, the magical object that transforms the heroine of the popular anime franchise into Super Sailor Moon, is available now as a 1:1 scale replica from the Proplica series of life-sized props. Featuring lights and music from the series and also the voice of Kotono Mitsuishi, who voices Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon and Chibi Chibi/Sailor Chibi Chibi in the anime, this is one item that can let you play out your fantasies of transforming into a super you!
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.
Even if you’re happy to share your home or workspace with a cat, there are still certain boundaries you want to maintain. In the past we’ve looked at special products designed to keep your feline companion off your chair or keyboard, and to make sure everything stays tidy most people want their desk to stay cat-free as well. However, with this new line of kitty-shaped pencil stands you can have a whole team of organizational felines adorably holding everything in its proper place.
Having a handheld device that tells us how to get places, allows us to check our E-mail, and browse the Internet has been one of the greatest inventions of this century. Plus with video streaming services like Netflix and others on our phones, we are carrying around a library of entertainment. The problem with using our phones like a mini-TV, though, is that it’s difficult to prop them up at the right angle with the myriad objects that fill our homes.
While we’ve brought our readers an inexpensive solution to that problem in the past, some of us want to do it in the cutest and most fashionable way possible. Thankfully, gachapon capsule toy machines are dispensing prizes that feature famous characters and other eclectic figures that are designed to hold up phones for our viewing pleasure. You’ve never seen a phone held up with such panache before.
Star Wars fans have been blessed recently with a veritable Imperial March of fantastic toys. Many fans dream of possessing the coolest, best action figure out there and Bandai has been making it pretty hard to choose just one. They’ve made the choice a little more difficult with their newest toy now, however, which is modeled on a new character from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Move over Fett clones, the troopers have a new captain in town. Fall in line for Captain Phasma.
It is a well-known stereotype in Japan that Osaka oba-chans, or Osaka ladies of a certain mature age, are strong-willed, sassy, love loud clothing, and aren’t afraid to speak their mind. And with cup clingers being all the rage recently, who better to sit on your cup and chastise you then a set of the legendary Osaka oba-chans?
Will you get a mouthy, big-haired cougar-type? Or perhaps you prefer the UV-hating full-body track suit oba-chan? Read on to see all the oba-chans that await you!
Children all over the world idolize at least one TV or comic book character at some point while growing up. For everyone who gets a rush of excitement whenever they fondly recall their favorite childhood character toys, we’d like to introduce you to a must-see event that’s currently going on in Tokyo’s Odaiba district: the “Nostalgic Toy Great Exhibition” (懐かしのおもちゃ大博覧会)!
This event is a massive display of classic Japanese character toys that date from the Showa period (1926-1989) to the present day. Everything from ultra rare vintage tinplate toys from the 1960s to Sailor Moon figurines from the 2010s are on display, for a grand total of approximately 2,000 toys. On top of that, photography is permitted—it’s truly a toy lover’s paradise!
We all need cool smartphone covers, right? Well, these might be the perfect phone accessory if you’re a fan of the hugely popular Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. Yes, these futuristic-looking items are smartphone cases made in the image of Evangelion machines, and what fan wouldn’t want a bit of Eva armor protecting their phone?
The miniature toy market is huge in Japan. From tiny Hello Kitty baked goods to pint-sized supermarket items and even scaled-down Japanese-style rooms filled with traditional furnishings, you don’t have to be a child with a doll-house to delve into the world of miniature here in Japan.
Adults have become so transfixed with all the adorable items on the market that there are a number of YouTube channels purely dedicated to the art of petite cooking, using everything from tiny utensils to working miniature ovens.
One of the latest videos to appear takes us through the sushi-making process, transporting us to a tiny world that viewers say is so calming it can cure all types of stress and anxiety. Watching this short clip will be the best few minutes of your day!
Itazura Banks are a series of cute little Japanese coin banks that look like cardboard boxes, each with an adorable animal hiding inside. You place a coin on the edge of the box and a sweet little kitty’s paw pops out to grab your money and keep it safe in the bank for you.
But if that all sounds a bit too cutesy for your liking, never fear—the newest Itazura Bank doesn’t contain a kitten or a panda, but Godzilla himself!
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