Years before the Apple iPad tablet ever hit stores, similar style devices popped up in sci-fi movies, manga, and anime. The latest rediscovery of a similar device was recently spotted in the 1982 manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In a post titled “Is Nausicaä Using an iPad?”, Japanese blog Kojima Piypiyo points…
There’s this notion that “kawaii” (可愛い) or “cute” rules Japan. That’s not entirely true. Everything isn’t simply cute—and kawaii isn’t the only game in town. There’s also gurokawaii (グロカワイイ). This is the world of the grotesque and sadistic filtered through kawaii. This is the world of Momoka Kinoshita. The concept of gurokawaii has been increasingly…
Jaywalking is a big problem in China. One news station decided to use Frogger (or rather, a Frogger clone) and some Mario music to show that jaywalking is not the best idea! In the new clip, you can see folks walk across several lanes of traffic Edmonton Rd. in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. Scary stuff. As…
Get your mind out of the gutter! Just because one pig is flashing a pig boob and another pig seems to be…that doesn’t mean you are looking at sculpted stone porking. Located in Zhengzhou, this Chinese statue is making many blush. According to ShanghaiIst, some are even calling it “vulgar” and dubbing the piece “hooligan…
Remember when Blu-ray first came out? And Sony was trumpeting it (and the PS3) as the paramount of HD clarity? Well, yes, Blu-ray still looks fantastic. Thing is, this LG TV just looks fantasticer. Today, LG unveiled a new LCD-TV in South Korea. According to The Wall Street Journal, it’s 84-inches across and boasts a…
Dead or Alive isn’t only about curvy ladies. It’s a proper fighting game. But some might not like—or cannot get pass—DOA’s hyper sexualized female fighters. What does Team Ninja, DOA‘s developer, think about those reactions? Team Ninja head ninja Yosuke Hayashi told website MCV that the goal is to make the female characters look “as…
Square Enix launched a teaser site with lightning for its new Final Fantasy XIII game with…Lightning.
A Chinese cook is the brains behind these noodle-slicing robots. Japanese superhero Ultraman inspired the appearance, but necessity inspired the concept: last year, the cook needed help slicing the Northern Chinese dish “knife cut noodles” and created a robot friend to pitch in. Now, the cook is mass-producing the robots—robots with pissed-off eyebrows—and selling them…
That’s model Stav Strashko strutting about for the Toyota Auris. The Ukrainian-born Tel Aviv resident has made waves in the modeling world for his striking, androgynous good looks. And now Stav’s doing the same for Toyota. Japanese mass media and popular culture seem more than open to individuals who cross gender roles or shake them…
This Metal Gear Rex plastic model kit from figure maker Kotobukiya might not look so impressive if you compare it to the insane (and huge) Rex figure from ThreeA. But this Kotobukiya version has more than a Rex. It also has little people. That’s right, the 1/100 scale comes with teeny-tiny Metal Gear characters: Liquid…
This November in Japan, Vita title Hot Shots Golf 6 is coming to the PS3 with Move support.
Hatsune Miku, the virtual idol, is truly a star in Japan. From a lowly beginning as a piece of music composition software, she now does everything from TV commercials to live concerts via hologram—in addition to “singing” thousands of fan-made songs across the internet. Since 2009, Miku—and her many virtual idol friends—have starred in a…
For those of you who’ve always wanted to smell like One Piece, you’re in luck! Namco Bandai is offering perfume crafted in the image of One Piece characters Luffy, Boa, and Ace. Luffy smells fresh and green, Boa smells fruity and floral, and Ace smells of citrus and lavender. Bandai’s online shop is currently sold…
My memory is foggy. I’m getting older. But I sure don’t remember Digimon being this sexualized. Do you? Today, Namco Bandai announced some new Digimon content, including touch-based mobile title Digimon Crusader. The game, which is an RPG, seems way more adult than the Digimon games I remember. Maybe because the first wave of Digimon…
Luigi has it rough. He has to play second banana to Mario, save for those occasional movements when he can strike out on his own. But, heck, the new Luigi’s Mansion game was delayed to next year. But that’s the least of the character’s troubles. See, Luigi wears a green hat. In China, Luigi’s get-up…
Hatsune Miku is more than a little big in Japan. She appears on billboards, in TV commercials, and gives sold-out concerts to legions of fans the world over. Of course, being a popular singer in and of itself isn’t something that out of the ordinary. However, what makes her unique is the rather large obstacle…
According to Chinese site NetEase, iPhone 5 parts are floating around Shenzhen, where the device is supposedly assembled. Floating around for a price, that is. The site has numerous photos of what’s purported to be iPhone 5 parts, but it adds (via MIC): “…taking a peek at it will cost you money. If you want…
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Extend is a music game starring virtual idol Hatsune Miku. It plays similar to most music games. When a shape lines up with its corresponding shape-outline, press the button on the PSP that matches the shape. The game also includes an edit mode which not only allows you to remake the…
If you’re Japanese and you’re in Korea, you might want to check your email or play some computer games. Good thing the country has thousands of net cafes (called PC bang). Too bad this one is run by a jerk. The above image is making its way through cyberspace in both South Korea and Japan.…
Because, let’s face, it: Pokémon are already pretty damn cute. Yet, Japanese artist Ginger Ale is turning up the adorable meter up to ten (eleven?) for this series of Pocket Monster art. Love the pastels, and the whole watercolor look. There’s a nice children’s book vibe going on that really doesn’t exist in the games…
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