Brian Ashcraft

A Relaxing Stroll in 800-Pound Iron Shoes

Everyday, I take a walk. It’s good for health, I think. While I wear sneakers, Beijing factory owner Zhang Fuxing wears iron shoes. Each shoe weighs over 440 pounds… each. Zhang has been wearing his iron shoes to walk 15 meters for the past seven years. He tells AP (via SCMP) that the iron shoes…

An Inside Peek at the Patlabor Movie

In Japan, they’re making a live-action Patlabor. And so far, it looks great. Next year will seea 12-part episodic live-action Patlabor, with each episode clocking in at 48 minutes. The following year will usher in a feature film. Famed director Mamoru Oshii, who co-created Patlabor and is noted for The Ghost in the Shell anime,…

“Round Head” Plastic Surgery Seems Excessive, Even for South Korea

For better or worse, South Korea is famous for its plastic surgery. Maybe the procedures help some put a better face forward. One offers a rounder head. One plastic surgery clinic in Seoul claims to offer the surgery for those “ridiculed” for having a flat or sunken back of the head. The procedure takes under…

Is This the Oldest Working Comic Book Artist in the World?

Honestly, I don’t know. I do know that 91 year-old manga creator Shigeru Mizuki has a new serialized manga starting later this month. Mizuki is best known for creating supernatural horror manga GeGeGe no Kitaro Going on sale on December 25 in the January issue of Big Comic, Mizuki’s latest manga is titled Watashi no…

In Japan, New Metal Gear Bundle Comes with a Puma Jacket

If you plan on buying Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes next spring, there are several bundlesto choose from. One of which comes with a jacket. It was just announced. MGS V: Ground Forces is teaming up with Puma for a limited edition “Diamond Dogs” branded MGS V-themed jacket. The jacket is available for the…

China’s Horrible Pollution Is Certainly Not Fashionable

What’s in this season? Masks, it seems. At a recent outdoor jewelry show in Shenzhen, China, the models strutted their stuff on the runway in masks. This comes as many Chinese cities battle hazardous air quality and pollution in what’s being called a “smog crisis.” Not everyone in attendance wore masks. These folks did, though.…

Bug Sex Book Sparks Surprising Controversy

The Insect Copulation Field Guide (昆虫交尾図鑑 or Konchuu Koubi Zukan) features illustrations of bugs bumping uglies. Illustrations that are causing a fuss online in Japan. People are saying they’re copies. Published on December 7 in Japan, the book was illustrated by a young Japanese art college student named Shoko Hasegawa. Online, people are saying her…

Goofy Kaiju Flick is Sci-Fi Meets Hentai

Earth Defense Widow (地球防衛未亡人 or Chikyuu Bouei Miboujin) stars actress Mitsu Dan as a widowed member of an Earth defense force, out to save the world from deadly kaiju. If only they didn’t turn her on. If only! Dan, a widowed ex-geisha, is a member of a defense force known as JAP (yes, that is…

Female Ninja Serve Up Noodles Amidst Silly Complaints

Men no Sato (麺の里) or “Noodle Village” is a female ninja, or kunoichi(くノ一), restaurant. The restaurant originally opened last year in Tokyo’s Tachikawa, but recently announced it was reopening in nerd paradise Akihabara. Below you can see photos of the different noodle dishes, as well as the staff in their seemingly Naruto-inspired kunoichi costumes. Akihabara…

Korea’s Most Famous StarCraft Player Is Now a Poker Pro

BoxeR (aka Lim Yo Hwan), the brilliant StarCraft player, recently retired from eSports These days he’s appearing on a South Korean reality show as well as cutting this teeth on a new career: poker pro. According to Donga Ilbo (via tipster Sang), Lim announced his new career decision three days ago. The eSports icon will…

In South Korea, Japanese Anime Gets Excessively Censored

Sometimes anime needs to be censored. Maybe it’s cultural reasons. Maybe it society’s values. Maybe there just aren’t enough fig leaves. Below, you can see an image from the Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic anime as it aired in Japan when Sinbad first appears before Aladdin. Yes, Sinbad is sporting a strategically placed fig leaf.…

Some of the Ugliest Cats on the Internet

When you think of “cats” and “internet,” you probably think of adorable fuzzy critters. Not all cats are cute. Some are downright ugly. In Japan, website Naver has done a round-up of “totally not cute cats.” These aren’t even cats that are adorably ugly. They’re just… homely! To be fair to these felines, some of…

By Day, Manga Artist. By Night, Ageless Vampire.

Manga artist Hirohiko Araki is famous for two things. One is JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The other? Being an ageless vampire. Okay, okay. Araki is not an actual vampire. But he sure looks like one. The man is 53 years old! And as noted last year when he was 52, he looks really good for being…

Polka Dots Can Make Anything Sexy. Even Sumo.

This isn’t censorship. It’s called “mizutama kora” (水玉コラ) or “polka dot collage.” Here, it makes a fairly tame photo seem racy. Because sometimes, it’s not what you see, but what you don’t see. Are you ready to see some sexy sumo? Warning: This article might have content some readers will find disagreeable. Others might find…

Daisenryaku Perfect: Ruler of the Battlefield, delayed like eight times, has another release date: February 6, 2014. The previously announced Xbox 360 version of the game, however, appears to have vanished from the game’s official site. I eagerly await the next delay!

I Hope There’s Internet in Heaven

Back in 2010, an unusual gravestone was discovered in Chongqing, China. It featured a PC tower (with a Zip drive!), a keyboard and mouse, as well as an open book. The gravestone was for a young man who passed away in 2003. Chinese site TTmop notes that computer tombstone was apparently the mother’s idea because…

New Domo-kun Figure Looks Like a Turd

Domo-kun is originally a mascot for Japanese public broadcast company NHK. In the stop-motion anime he appears in, Domo-kun doesn’t quite look like a turd. This upcoming figurine? Total turd. Maybe it’s all the points of articulation that give this shiny brown Domo-kun a very poo-like appearance? Or the lack of soft fur? Here’s what…

The World’s Thinnest Condoms Are The Pinnacle Of Japanese Engineering

I would say these condoms are razor thin, but it seems they are thinner than that. As CondomSizes.org explains, the average thickness of human hair is 0.06 millimeters. At 0.01 millimeters, these Japanese condoms are the thinnest in the world According to website ZakZak, it took Sagami Rubber Industries over ten years to realize these…

The Strangest Wii U Peripheral of 2013 Looks Like a Toilet Plunger

It’s called Mike Cover for Wii U. And yes, it really looks like a toilet plunger. See? The Wii U-branded, officially licensed peripheral is designed to be used with Wii Karaoke U, the Wii U karaoke game. It’s basically a hunk of plastic you put over a microphone, but it apparently reduces noise, so people…

Woman Calls the Cops 15,000 Times, Gets Arrested

From this May to last month, 44 year-old Tomomi Monmae has been busy. Almost everyday, she’s called the police. She even called them over nine hundred times in the span of 24 hours. Website 47 News reports that repeatedly Monmae dialed 110, the Japanese police equivalent of 911, from her cell phone. She would often…