Her name is Nao. And today, she rules the internet—and our hearts. The woman beatboxing is named Aibo, and she’s been beatboxing for about two years. You can catch more of her videos, such as this cool beatboxing in Shinjuku vid, on her YouTube channel JAPANESE MPC CAT NAO [YouTube Thanks, Luke!]
You see them in anime. You see them in manga. And yes, you see them in video games. Octopus tentacles are, and have been for centuries, common tropes. But in Japan, octopus are not just creatures that pop up in popular culture, they are creatures that pop up on the dinner table. Japanese fishermen catch…
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Late last week, a new candy commercial featuring girl group AKB48 began broadcasting on Japanese television. In the commercial, young idols passed the chewy Puccho candy via mouth-to-mouth. Online in Japan, there were the typical, “Oh, this turns me on” or “I want to join in” type of comments, but also harsh criticism, too. “I’d…
Meet Mei Wei. She’s one of China’s top coplayers (or “coser” as they’re called there). She appears in Chinese cosplay mags, at game promotions, and at event after event. Mei Wei’s image appeared on the flier for China Joy’s cosplay event; China Joy, of course, is the country’s biggest game event. Hailing from Tianjin, she’s…
There’s been giant Gundams built in Japan from metal and screws—as well as whatever the hell China used for its knock-off. Now, it’s South Korea’s turn. This Gundam, dubbed “Surface Gundam”, was created for a Korean art exhibit, making it not only one of the best looking large Mobile Suit creations, but best smelling. お花で作られたガンダムがなんだか独特の雰囲気…
If not the greatest, this has to be one of the greatest you’ll see this year. The most recent issue of Comic Yurihime offered up a doozy of a printing error. On page 173, one of the characters of Yuru Yuri exclaimed, “These clothes are so cute,” while reading the magazine. The magazine was blank.…
Leave it to Japanese musician Verbal from hip-hop group M-Flo to take Power Glove to the next level. In the latest issue of rock and fashion mag EyesCream, Verbal talks about his forthcoming album and poses in a spiffy, custom-made Reebok astronaut outfit with dual-wielding Power Gloves, just begging for some cosmic Rad Racer action.…
Nintendo 3DS game Senran Kagura featured large breasts because the game’s creator really wanted to see boobs in 3D. With that as a starting point, you can already imagine what sort of illustrations the game can inspire. You don’t have to! A recent exhibition showed a collection of 57 Senran Kagura illustrations from 50 artists.…
Late last week, respected Japanese newspaper Nikkei (and seemingly Nintendo’s nemesis of late) reported that the Kyoto-based game maker would be launching the 3DS in South Korea next month. That launch would be followed by a release in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China. According to the Nikkei piece (viewable here), Nintendo now looks at…
In the past, the mainstream media’s M.O. has been: If there’s a shooting, blame video games; if kids are having problems, blame video games; if someone farts, blame video games. Like heavy metal and rap music before it, video games are an easy—and often, misunderstood—target. Yet, a recent report fingers video games (among other things)…
Even though many video games are rated Mature, they end up in children’s hands. One youngster totally cannot believe that! “While I was at work today we received this letter from what I assume is a grade school student writing a persuasive essay,” a GameStop employee told Kotaku. “I thought you all would enjoy.” Oh,…
So my eldest son, who is 8, loves reading biographies. But most of the biographies he checks out from the library are in manga form. He’s read about John F. Kennedy, Babe Ruth, and Honda founder Soichiro Honda—all in manga form. Since he loves cars, he really, really liked reading about Soichiro Honda. The manga…
Cosplayers are often criticized for using too much Photoshop for studio pics. Eyes are made slightly bigger, waistlines are made smaller, and the end result doesn’t reflect reality. Yet, they do—just an idealized human reality. Then, there’s cosplayer Hiiro, who’s been going bananas with Photoshop and mixing human features with anime ones. In the photos,…
On March 22 in Japan, Nintendo is launching that goofy 3DS stand it is bundling with Kid Icarus: Uprising. Yours for ¥800 (US$9.50). [Inside]
Sony’s Gravity Rush is one of the PS Vita’s most interesting titles. But like most games, it wasn’t made overnight. These things take time! Above is a 2008 concept trailer from when the game was called Gravité I love looking at concept trailers to see how the final product stacks up. Sometimes the games end…
This past weekend, there was another Shinto fertility festival in Japan. This one, the Honen Matsuri (Harvest Festival), was just north of Nagoya at the Tagata Shrine. These festivals do have religious connotations, and recently, more and more foreigners are showing up. According to Chukyo TV, the Honen Matsuri has been getting more coverage abroad,…
In El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron you are guided by a pre-fall Lucifer who carries a cell phone with God on his speed dial. Inspired by the Old Testament’s Book of Enoch, you star as Enoch himself, a human called to heaven in order to help God round up seven fallen angels in order…
China loves basketball. Fans stay up all night to watch NBA games. They adore the sport. So you’d think NBA 2K Online, the online version of NBA 2K, would be an easy sell. So why the ladies? The game’s Chinese operator, Tencent, aggressively promoting the game with girls in the bikinis, thigh-high socks, and hats.…
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