I was heartbroken to hear that John Hughes passed away: Not only had Hughes shaped my generation in the 80s, but even today teens are rediscovering his films and identifying with them. It’s a bit too early to tell, but to me this hints that some of those films will without a doubt be seen as future classics in the years to come. And maybe that’s because there’s something for everyone to identify with in those films, the Breakfast Club is a great example of this which featured almost every teen archetype of the era. So without further ado here are ten reasons I admired John Hughes: Read more…
This latest Narikiri Hello Kitty Collection 3 features our favorite cat cosplaying as both Godzilla AND the evil three headed monster King Ghidorah! Each kitty figurine attaches to a keychain to conveniently scare your friends while opening doors (that or charming them with your cute accessories). Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 6, 2009 in Videogames
Crude humor? Yes! Cartoon violence? Yes! I’ve been following Mini Ninjas for a while due to the japanophile angle — the game is being developed in England so I was very happy to see that they’ll be bring it to to the good old USA. I loved the concept from the minute I heard it, but these videos give a bit more backstory, and I like what I’m seeing even more! Read more…
This is the latest viral video promotion for Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds — it’s a film within a film trailer. I spotted this last night on YouTube but I didn’t click on the thumbnail to make the connection (shame on me). But one thing I know for sure: Come August 21st I’ll be waiting in line to see this film on opening night. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 6, 2009 in Animation
This is the latest trailer for the Sgt. Frog season one DVD release from FUNImation (which comes out on September 22nd, 2009). Frog is one of the most beloved anime fanboy series due to the generous cultural references to Gundam, Space Cruiser Yamato, Dragonball and Evangelion (just to name a few shows). I’m really happy that FUNImation has decided to invest their resources into a fan favorite, and with 263 episodes and several movies it would be ice to see them get the support to bring over more episodes.
Oh sure any fanboy can put an anime emblem on their car — but it takes a very special otaku to tattoo their beloved Porsche with the characters from Lucky Star and Hatsune Miku! Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 6, 2009 in Videogames
Shown above is the new gameplay trailer for End of Eternity a role playing game for the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 that’s being put out by Sega and tri-Ace (the game is suppose to come out at the end of this year). I’ve got to say that I really love the subtle steampunk look of this game colossal machine-city called Burzel. Below is the first cinematic trailer which came out in April: Read more…
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam there will be a special full scale replica of Char Aznable’s helmet released this month. I think this has to be one of the most distinctive hat designs in the history of anime, on par perhaps with Darth Vader’s infamous helmet: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 5, 2009 in Animation
On this day in 1983 the animated film Rock & Rule opened in the United States: This was the first film produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana and it’s a bit of a lost classic — for starters it features voice acting by Deborah Harry, Lou Reed AND Iggy Pop! The film had been in production since 1979 and the quality of the animation is pretty high, plus this was one of the first feature films to use computer graphics (although in a very limited way). Read more…
Like chocolate and peanut butter — the two tastes of iPhones and Pocky go great together! This ever so cute Pocky iPhone Cozy was designed by Yummy Pocket of Montreal, Canada. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 4, 2009 in Star Trek
I hate to say it, but this is one of the more clever Star Trek t-shirts I’ve ever run across on Etsy! For starters the humor is conceptual which always wins me over, but I also love the smart looking illustrational style on the shirt itself. Credit goes to Cincinnati based artist peanutbutterandyelly. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 4, 2009 in Animation
After all these years I’m always amazed by how much I don’t know about anime: Case in point is the comedy series Ninja Hattori-kun which started life as a manga. Shown above is the opening title to the TV series based upon the manga which aired from 1966 until 1967. So looking at those opening credits you’d just assume that it was an anime series? Wrong! The opening titles were animated but the show is live action — but the show looks very strange as they have live action characters wearing manga like masks: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 4, 2009 in Animation
I’d like to thank Sean Russell for having me on as a guest on his podcast! This episode of his show (click here to listen) was quite amazing (I was scribbling notes during the show) — the theme was the State of the Anime Industry and the two guests other were Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network and Patrick Macias of Otaku USA and Japress. I have to say that Justin painted one of the most devastating accurate portraits of the field that I’ve heard in a long time (well worth hearing for anyone into anime) — and Patrick’s inside view of life in Japan is always fascinating.
On this day in 1932 the horror film Doctor X opened: Directed by Michael Curtiz and featuring King Kong’s girlfriend Fay Wray this film is interesting because it was one of the last Hollywood films shot before the infamous Production Code and as such it features all sorts of mature themes like murder, rape and cannibalism that wouldn’t find here way back into filmmaking for decades to come. Another thing that makes this film interesting for the 30s is that it was shot in Technicolor — so it’s a rare color film from that era: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2009 in Japanese TV
This new commercial in Japan for SoftBank is the coolest thing right now: It features the J-pop group SMAP (Sports Music Assemble People) with the powerful 1974 recording of The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad. I’ve got to say I usually hate when an agency grabs an old hit, but in this case they’ve done a nice of bringing it back to life! Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 3, 2009 in Comic Books
Licensed comics never quite get the limelight that their original cousins always grab: There’s a cool factor to working on a Spiderman comic which may inspire a film, but there’s just no love for a comic book that’s based upon a toy or a pre-existing film or TV show. Yet while fandom looks down upon these books, they serve as an important “gateway drug” of sorts — attracting young and new readers into being the next generation of comic books fans. Recently I found myself guilty of this snobby fanboy mindset while looking at the work being produced by Boom! Studios — so I decided to give them a second chance and give them a serious look: And lo and behold I think they’re doing a rather decent job with their Finding Nemo and Muppets books! Read more…
This segment from a Japanese game show features quite a bit of silly cosplay. I’m not sure what show this is from, but it was titled “An Idol and a Pair of Geeks”. Two of the idol singers featured in this skit are Seira Sakurai and Matsumoto Wakana. My favorite part of this video come at the 4:21 mark where the singer is beating up the poor otaku while performing her song.
What makes this blanket strange to me isn’t that it’s a Hello Kitty blanky, but the fact that it’s a heated blanked that plugs in the USB port on your computer! The website selling this pink goodie recommends that you either use it for “over air-conditioned offices” or “during the winter months when you’re sitting in front of your computer”. Although for the record we should note that a good old fashioned analog cat can keep you warm by sitting in your lap: Read more…
Frankly for me Stargate was like frozen food, if there was nothing else around at the time I wanted to watch some sci fi I’d have to settle for it! I’ll be honest it was the low budget feeling to the show, and also I got that “hidden secrets of Atlantis” thing out of my system years ago. However sadly it seems I’ve overlooked the Stargate F-302 which has a pretty nice design to it — now that I’m seeing it outside the show! So I’d have to say that this limited edition model isn’t too shabby: Read more…
Before the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 fades into memory we present these highlights from the show — presented by the talented artist and toymaker David Foox:Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 31, 2009 in Animation
When I caught this trailer my first thought was “oh no, not ANOTHER damn 3D looking animated film!” Although then I noticed that the directors credit belong to Wes Anderson who’s done such an amazing job on films like The Royal Tenenbaums. This film is titled Fantastic Mr. Fox and is based on the book by Roald Dahl. From what I’m seeing in the trailer I have a bit of a mixed reaction: One one hand the animation looks terrible, everything is so stiff and there’s no timing to be found. Yet in the other hand the story looks like it could be good, in which case I might forgive the animation to a degree. I guess we’ll have to see how this goes when the film comes out this fall.
Update: I’ve been informed by the talented wardomatic that this film is stop motion not CGI – however sadly the animation is still terrible looking…Read more…
Oh sure any toy can give you the fanboy dream of being Captain James T. Kirk! But how many goodies can give you the illusion that you’re in 1960s Hollywood working in the props department on that cool new sci fi show Star Trek? And that’s what this Star Trek Hero Prop Type-I Phaser Kit is all about — this isn’t some toy you rip out of the case and start shooting your office buddies with for mere amusement. Instead you get the pleasure of taking vintage parts and crafting a prop that looks like it came from the set of the original series: Read more…
From the Netherlands comes Boardy — a clever origami USB stick that you create from recycled paper. This clever design has mostly been used for advertising campaigns, allowing for advertisers to include electronic info on the USB stick while being eco friendly with the packaging. Here’s how you fold one together: Read more…
I was heartbroken to hear that John Hughes passed away: Not only had Hughes shaped my generation in the 80s, but even today teens are rediscovering his films and identifying with them. It’s a bit too early to tell, but to me this hints that some of those films will without a doubt be seen as future classics in the years to come. And maybe that’s because there’s something for everyone to identify with in those films, the Breakfast Club is a great example of this which featured almost every teen archetype of the era. So without further ado here are ten reasons I admired John Hughes: Read more… 
