Japan

The Creator of Lupin The Third Has Died

Manga artist Kazuhiko Kato, better known by his pen name Monkey Punch, has passed away. According to Mantan Web, Kato died from pneumonia on April 11. He was 81 years old. Kato took the name Monkey Punch at a manga editor’s recommendation during the mid-1960s. In 1967, when Lupin III debuted, the moniker stuck. Lupin…

Netflix’s Cute Stop-Motion Animation Points Out That Rilakkuma Is Wearing A Kigurumi Onesie

The Netflix stop-motion animation Rilakkuma and Kaoru is about the daily life of a young woman and her lazy roommate. The character Rilakkuma means “relaxing bear,” and everyone thought it was, well, just a bear. In this show, apparently, it’s not. As the clip, via Anime Anime, points out, Rilakkuma is actually someone in a…

Hayao Miyazaki’s New Anime Film Is Still Hiring

Would you like to work on Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie? Well, you can certainly apply if you live in Japan, know Japanese and have digital paint skills. Previously, a job listing was posted back in 2017. Now, a new one has been made in 2019! According to the listing on Studio Ghibli’s official site, the…

Anime Pokémon Compared With The New CG Movie Version

Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution is the first full-CG animated Pokémon feature film. We’ve already seen how the computer graphic versions of the classic trainers looked. Let’s now see how scenes from the anime stack up. Recently, a new Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution trailer was released. Via 2ch, here’s how scenes in it compare with their…

Drinkable Rice Balls Sure Look Nasty

Onigiri is usually translated as “rice ball,” because the food is often shaped like, well, a ball of rice. For centuries, the triangular onigiri has been a meal that one eats. Until now. Behold “Nomu Onigiri” or “Drinkable Rice Ball.” Packed with 200 kilocalories, this rice ball beverage type thing is made from skipjack tuna…

Virtual Girl Might Be Responsible For Cup Noodle Demand

Yesterday, instant noodle maker Nissin announced it was temporarily halting sales of its miso-flavored Cup Noodle. According to Nari Nari, the reason was that sales of Cup Noodle Miso had gone up drastically and can’t meet demand. It will resume sales once things have stabilized. Nissin is also canceling planned special releases of Seafood and…

Former Tales Producer Hideo Baba Has Now Left Square Enix

In February 2017, it was announced that former Tales producer Hideo Baba was heading up a new studio at Square Enix called Studio Istolia. Last month, however, Baba and Square Enix parted aways. Prior to joining Square Enix, Baba produced Tales games at Namco Bandai. Studio Istolia was working on a completely new IP called…

The Official Translation Of Japan’s New Imperial Era Is Also An Erotic Game Song

The Japanese government has announced that the new imperial era is Reiwa (令和). It has several meanings, but the official English translation is “Beautiful Harmony.” It’s also the name of an erotic game theme. As Otakomu points out, when the official English translation was announced, singer Yui Sakakibara pointed out that “Beautiful Harmony” was the…

Man Arrested After Threatening To Kill Square Enix Staff

A 25-year-old nursing care worker has been arrested after allegedly emailing Square Enix, threatening to kill staff. According to Livedoor News, the man is accused of sending an email on February 5 to Square Enix’s Tokyo office that read, “Hey staff tomorrow I’m going to kill you get ready [for your punishment]” [SIC]. In Japanese,…

Former Esports Champ Allegedly Turned To A Life Of Crime

Back in 2005, Tomoyuki Inui was the best Dead or Alive Ultimate player in the world. Now 33 years 0ld, he was recently arrested for alleged theft. Playing under the name Katuninken, Inui represented Japan in Singapore at the 2005 World Cyber Games, where he was crowned Dead or Alive Ultimate world champ. Inui continued…

Japan’s New Imperial Era Revealed For The First Time

Today, the Japanese government announced the name of the new imperial era: Reiwa (令和). It will replace Heisei, the name of the current imperial era. Heisei (平成) literally means “become peace,” and the era began in 1989 when the current Emperor took to the throne. Thus, the year Heisei 1 is 1989, Heisei 2 is…

Japan Has BBQ Restaurants For You And Your Dog

Going out for yakiniku (literally, “grilled meat”) is always a treat in Japan. At the Ushisuke chain of restaurants in Tokyo and Yokohama, you not only get to grill delicious meat for yourself but also for your dog. Pets can sit at the table and order Then, they watch patiently as the food is cooked…

Sega Producer Discusses Halting Judgment‘s Sales After Cocaine Arrest

After actor and musician Pierre Taki was arrested for alleged cocaine use, Sega decided to stop selling PS4 game Judgment. In a recent livestream, Toshihiro Nagoshi discussed the decision Currently Sega’s Chief Creative Officer, Nagoshi is credited with launching the Yakuza series and now works as Executive Producer on the games and their spin-offs. Nagoshi…

Senran Kagura Creator Is Leaving Marvelous

After 13 years, Senran Kagura creator Kenichiro Takaki is leaving Marvelous. Last December, Takaki discussed how making the curvy ninja Senran Kagura games has become more complicated. “Recently, regulation of sexual depictions has gotten stronger globally and taking that into account, it’s been said [games] need to be made so that they don’t cause misunderstandings,”…

Japanese Pop Idol Apologizes After Being Allegedly Attacked [Updated]

Maho Yamaguchi is a member of Niigata-based idol group NGT48, a sister group of AKB48. Two men have been arrested for allegedly assaulting her. Yet tonight, it was Yamaguchi who apologized. Update Jan. 15 – 6:30 am: On Monday, an AKS official for NGT48’s parent company apologized this week, saying that the reason why it…

An official Pokémon baby brand called Monpoké is launching in Japan with Pokémon themed goods for infant and parents, including maternity clothes and baby gifts. The designs are simple, tasteful and refined.

Collectable Figures Make For Excellent Stop-Motion Animation

Twitter user Kenta Shinohara makes excellent stop-motion animation clips using game and anime figures. Case in point, this one of Ryu beating the crap out of a Red Bull can. Here is how the made the stop motion clip Here is more of Shinohara’s work:

Not All Blu-ray Releases Overhaul Anime

It’s become expected that the disc release of an anime will go back and fix any spotty animation that the show let slide during the broadcast. That’s not always the case! As pointed out on 2ch, Japan’s largest bulletin board, the Blu-ray release of The Quintessential Quintuplets (Gotoubun no Hanayome) didn’t exactly clean up some…

Realistic Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Disk Costs Almost $200

A nearly one-to-one scale Duel Disk is going on sale in Japan. In Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Duel Disk is a piece of dueling hardware for card-carrying Duelists. Priced at 21,600 yen ($195), this realistic Duel Disk has light up effects, and it can play four Yu-Gi-Oh songs and forty different Yu-Gi-Oh catchphrases. It was released on…

Sega is making a new Yakuza game for PS4 that will star Ichiban Kasuga, who made his debut in Yakuza Online. Sega is holding auditions for one of the game’s female co-stars.