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Hello Kitty Keeps Your Memories Safe from the Kitty Litter
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 27, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections
With this collection Hello Kitty gets the Mimobot treatment! This series of usb drives which each hold up to 4 gigs features five kitty themed memory sticks: Fun in Fields shown above and Hello Kitty X mimobot, balloon, apple and teddy bear each shown below: Read more… Okamiden; the Sequel We Never Thought We’d See
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 24, 2010 in Videogames
Back in 2006, Clover Studios developed one of the most innovative and beautiful titles to have ever graced to the Playstation 2 — Okami. The studio, who had been funded by Capcom Japan, had been riding off the success of their Viewtiful Joe franchise. While their previous games had featured similar cell-shaded graphics, Okami received crtical acclaim for its combination of beautifully rendered visuals and innovative gameplay. Unfortunately the game failed to sell and ended up being a contributing factor in the studio’s subsequent dissolution at the hands of Capcom’s board of directors the following year. As a result many fans who had enjoyed the game were left wondering if a sequel would ever be possible. Read more… Because Even Samurai Need Umbrellas
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 22, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections
It might not be the classiest umbrella I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly one of the coolest. This samurai “busho” umbrella features a designed based on the armor and weapon carried by Kanetsugu Naoe, a famous samurai during Japan’s often romanticized Sengoku era. As you can see from in picture above, the Umbrella’s handle is actually a replica of the hilt from Kanetsugu’s blade and the umbrella itself is lined with his family crest. Personally, I could probably see myself taking one of these along with me to Baltimore next month. I usually attend Otakon each year, and I can’t remember a time when it hasn’t rained for at least one day. If you’re interested in picking one of these up, you can head over J-List and order one for roughly $34 plus shipping. Read more… The Latest Peepo Choo Packs a Punch
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 21, 2010 in Comic Books
I’m always knocked out when ever I see a cover by Felipe Smith! Shown above is a cover from his latest manga which combines an vivid color palette of pinks, yellow and lime green with some very dynamic draftsmanship and composition. Smith of course is an America living in Japan, but I dare say that he’s really earned the right to use the term manga to describe his work. What’s Killing Japanese Manga? A Lack of Discoverability.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 14, 2010 in Comic Books
There was a magic moment in my life when I first ventured into Japanese bookstores here in New York City. Mind you that this was many moons ago, but as an art school student I knew that shows like Star Blazers came from Japan. Not speaking Japanese the first books that caught my attention were the Roman Albums, which were (and still are) published by Tokuma Shoten. These books were miniature coffee table guides to a series, but they left me with a hunger to see the comic books that inspired these amazing animated shows. Nippon Books was a tiny store (which went out of business a quite a few years ago) so it was with a great delight that I discovered the Kinokuniya book store. Read more… Gothic and Lolita Psycho Trailer Comes Packed With Lace and BloodI absolutely love Japanese action films — more often than not, they’re a total tongue-and-cheek gore-fest filled with over-the-top acting and ridiculous special effects. While I admit that some of them can be a bit exploitative, I’m remarkably good at stomaching it and trying to enjoy the films for what they are. Needless to say, Go Ohara’s upcoming film looks to be no exception. Gothic and Lolita Psycho features the beautiful Rina Akiyama, popular gravure model, who plays a young woman who finds her mother murdered by assassins, and exacts revenge while dressed in gothic lolita fashion. There’s plenty of blood, women and a parasol loaded with bullets ala The Penguin in Batman Returns. Sounds awesome right? Watch the trailer and see for yourself. Read more… A Rice Cooker to Warm Up Your Tunes
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 9, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
This has to be the ultimate Japanese in-joke peripheral: A mini-speaker for your computer or iPod that looks exactly like a miniature version of a Thanko Rice Cooker! Of your course your non-Japanophile friends will be left wondering what’s hooked up to your computer, but then again that’s what makes clever conversation piece. Read more… Urusei Yatsura’s Lum Strikes a Pose
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 7, 2010 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
I don’t want to brag but back in the day before all the new kids (who are no longer kids) discovered Ranma ½ I already knew who Rumiko Takahashi was because I had already fallen in love with Urusei Yatsura — which by the way I always felt was a much more humorous series. So when I set my eyes on this amazing sculpture of Lum needless to say I was quite smitten. I’m also impressed with the fact that this model comes in one version with green hair and another with magenta hair. This collectable figurine of Lum is designed by the ever so talented Bome who is a Japanese sculptor whose primary focus is the ladies of anime. Read more… This Kawaii Panda Marches to a Different Drummer
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 7, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Tech
It took me a bit of hunting to find the mysterious origins of this Animal Town Panda Speaker and it seems that he’s a character from a series of ultra cute stationery goodies from a company called Q-LiA. Although the flat graphic representations I’ve seen of him don’t quite have the same surrealistic magic of this speaker which has a sort of air balloon quality to him. And making him stranger yet when you plug your device (either an iPod, iPhone or CD/MP3 player) his red nose actually shines just like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. Read more… It’s the Manga for Dudes Who Enjoy Sharing a Brew
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 4, 2010 in Comic Books
Advertorials are those sponsored sections in magazines which are usually trying to give you the soft sell — so I was somewhat surprised to see that not only has this approach been adopted to manga, but used to sell beer in Japan! From my crude translation this is a special publication sponsored by Suntory premium malts and is a “celebration of father’s day” which is June 20th. Read more… His-and-Hers Han-and-Leia Dolls
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 28, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars
This kawaii set of Han and Leia Kokeshi Dolls are designed as cake toppers — although I think they’d stand out on their own as a collectable. They were crafted by PeanutbutterBandit who who hails from Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Read more… Something’s Fishy About This Soap
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 28, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections
Even though I’m vegetarian the Japanophile in me craved this wonderfully detailed Ultra Realistic Sushi Lover Deluxe Soaps Gift Set. Designed by the Two Eggplants Company this set includes soap shaped likes shrimp, salmon, fatty tuna, calamari, cucumber, spicy tuna, roe sushi and a cute little gyosa as a bonus. And best of all the soaps are wasabi scented! Read more… Japan’s Answer to a Struggling Economy? Try Credit Cards
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 26, 2010 in Japanese TV
These commercials for the Japanese credit firm, JCB, feature J-Pop vocalist Ninomiya Kazunari miraculously saving the struggling Japanese economy with a simple swipe of his JCB issued credit card. The commercials are pretty hilarious, but at the same time I’m a little confused. In fairness, they’re technically encouraging some form of economic stimulation, but that’s only assuming people are actually going to pay off the balance they borrow on those cards, which, in part, is the reason behind the current global financial crisis. A bit ironic, don’t you think? Read more… Cosplay in the Garden Brooklyn Style
Posted by Christian Liendo on May 24, 2010 in Fandom
There’s nothing like cosplay to put a bit of spring into your Spring! This photo essay shows off the fashion in action at Sakura Matsuri 2010 which was held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at the beginning of May: Read more… Alien vs. Ninja: Nope I’m Afraid This Isn’t a Fan Video!
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 22, 2010 in Cinema
When I first looked at this very silly low budget trailer for Alien vs. Ninja my first thought was “this isn’t a bad fan video, but they could have spent some more time on the alien!” Little did I realize that this is very much a real film directed by Seiji Chiba. My only major critique is that these are most damn lazy ninjas that I have seen in my entire life — they seem to have a bit too much spare time on their hands to be so caught off guard by a guy in a second rate giger rubber suit. Read more… Partying Cosplay Style at the Japan Society
Posted by Christian Liendo on May 20, 2010 in Fandom
Cosplay Party 2.0 was a special event held at the Japan Society in New York City last Saturday, May 15th, The event included a screening of Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone. Here are some photographic highlights of the gala: Read more… Transformable Kanji Are More Than Meets the Eye
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 19, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections
Get a load of these upcoming Mojibakeru kanji transformers from Bandai. Each one’s an animal such as a tiger, dragon or dog, that’s capable of transforming into its kanji, the Chinese and Japanese character for which it belongs. I’m not sure why I’ve always loved transformable toys so much, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy them all. I should probably note that these are just trading figures, so they’re not made of fancy PVC or anything and they’re certainly not an Autobot or anything, but for $1 how can you go wrong? I haven’t been able to locate a vendor for pre-orders, but you’ll probably be able to pick them up from AmiAmi. Read more… Anime: It’s About the Hits Stupid
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 17, 2010 in Animation
Above: Lady Gaga conquers Japan — love her or hate her, you can’t ignore somebody who has a hit. I just read yet another blog entry on how illegal fan subtitled shows are killing anime, which I think misses the point. Anime is yet another branch of the entertainment business, and despite how much we fans pride ourselves on how different we are the cruel fact is that the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is that only the hits count. Now some economists will all harp about “the long tail” effect, but the harsh reality is that show business is a popularity contest (just like high school). And even in an industry that has been worse hit by piracy like the music industry you still have the likes of a Lady Gaga who is pulling in the moolah — and is thus a success. Read more… The Care Bear Stare, Japanese Ero Edition?
Posted by Gia Manry on May 15, 2010 in Japanese TV
What do you get when you throw a hot Japanese actress into a costume vaguely reminiscent of a bit player in Xena: Warrior Princess and give her breast beams? The answer, of course, is something like the above video, found by Topless Robot. Read more… Why do the New Pokemon Have Such Terrible Names?
Posted by Gia Manry on May 14, 2010 in Videogames
As any good Pokefan knows, the next Pokemon generation– Pokemon Black and White –has been announced, along with the requisite end of the current anime (presumably to be replaced with a new one), and with images of the new Pokemon. Read more… These Kingdom Hearts Figurines are Royally Cute
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 9, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections, Videogames
For those who aren’t familiar with it Kingdom Hearts (キングダム ハーツ) is a Japanese RPG series that has been around since 2002 that combines original anime characters with old school Disney critters. To celebrate the series in August Square Enix will be shipping this set of Kingdom Hearts Avatar Trading Arts Mini Vol. 1 collectables. In this set of figurines the original Kingdom Hearts characters have been turned into ultra-cute “avatars” — included in the set are Cloud, Tifa, Sora, Riku and ginger haired Axel: Read more… Kitty Knickknacks Worth of the Kremlin
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 8, 2010 in Hobbies and Collections
This ever so kawaii collection of Hello Kitty Formation Arts miniatures reminds me a great deal of those famed bejeweled Fabergé eggs (Яйца Фаберже). Aspiring nouveau riche feline fans can decorate their drawing room (didn’t you always want one of those?) with kitty characters who come fashioned as a roper Parisian mademoiselle, a Chinese Empress, a Greek goddess with leafy wreath on her head, the Queen of England with a scepter in her paw and as an Arabian belly dancer. Although be warned: At $65.90 for the entire collection lesser financed fans might find themselves going more broke than baroque. Read more… Japanese Candy That Even Makes Mona Lisa Smile
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 4, 2010 in Japanese TV
I’m not sure what it is with Japan and making still images come to life, but the latest commercials for their Shigekix candies — I’m told they’re kind of like WarHeads, but not as sour — do just that. The commercials, which feature some well known paintings, such as the Mona Lisa, have the portraits belting out a cute little jingle while enjoying the tasty snack food. It almost kind of reminds me of a Japanese iPhone app called PhotoSpeak which allows you to animate still pictures with audio recordings. If you’re interested in the app, check out the app store for more info, and if you want to see more of the commercials, check the Shigekix website — they’re all there. Read more… Manga Mad: A Nice 101 Guide Available on Hulu
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 3, 2010 in Comic Books
Manga Mad is a documentary made a few years ago that is now available on Hulu (seen above). The video is only an hour long and a bit flashy, however it does have quite a few good mini-interviews. I was quite impressed to see clips of Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese comic book shop owners, a publisher from Kodansha and best of all Yoshihiro Yonezawa the founder of the Comiket Market who passed away not long after the documentary came out. Read more… |
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